CEEM Students Design Student Union's New Rooftop Garden

The University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center will be a lot greener come fall 2017, thanks to the efforts of civil engineering undergraduates Nic Tritz, Robert Melvin and Raul Moraga. 

The three students, along with teammates Daniel Gillespie and Brian Caplan, took first place -- and $1,000 each in food court vouchers -- in the UA Rooftop Garden Competition to design desert-friendly rooftop and mall-side gardens. The gardens will provide food for the Student Union's food pantry and Pangea restaurant.

Their contributions included the integration of greenhouses that schools across campus can use as teaching tools.

Another team composed of civil engineering students Fernanda Fraijo, Hunter Brown, Erik Petersen and Francisco Gomez placed in the top six teams. That team also included Seth Buell, a major in agricultural tech management and education.

All of the CEEM students are members of the UA chapter of the Design-Build Institute of America, which was formed in fall 2016.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Tomaszkowicz/The Daily Wildcat