Badgers take on Design-build project in ECIC 2025

The 2025 Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge (ECIC) is underway and Badger engineers are ready to compete.

This year’s competition focuses on the electrical design of an office and warehouse building. It tasks students with creating construction drawings as the electrical engineer, estimating the project, and scheduling onsite work as the electrical contractor. They must consider lifecycle costs and sustainability in their design while balancing costs. It is a Design-Build project, instead of traditional Design-Bid-Build, so there are opportunities for value engineering, preconstruction, time savings, and innovative design.

This 8-person team representing the University of Wisconsin-Madison includes a mix of sophomores and seniors from civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering.

• Aubrey Barthel, senior, environmental engineering
• Isabel Petricka, sophomore, civil engineering
• Josh Radtke, sophomore, mechanical engineering
• William Regan, senior, civil engineering
• Sabeel Samrah, senior, civil engineering
• Derrick Thomas, sophomore, civil engineering
• Ava Wendelburg, sophomore, civil engineering
• Rudy Wicker, senior, civil engineering

Faculty advisor Awad Hanna and grad student advisors Alexa Rademacher, Erin Rice, and Veronica Morse of the Construction Engineering and Management program are assisting the team. Professional mentorship is being provided by Westphal Electric, with additional support from the NECA WI Chapter and Pieper Electric.

This is the third time Badgers are competing in the ECIC, following first place finishes in 2024 and 2023. With only a few weeks left in the spring semester, we caught up with the team to learn more about this year’s competition and what their experience has been like.

ECIC encourages students to think outside the box and solve problems in creative ways. What challenges have you encountered this year and how have you overcome them?

This year’s competition is heavily centered around sustainability. We initially had a hard time finding exciting and new sustainability methods that we could incorporate in a more nontraditional way. We overcame this challenge by meeting with various industry professionals who specialize in sustainability and provided unique ideas for our group to utilize and study. – Ava Wendelburg

This is the third year Badgers are competing in this event. What sets this year apart from others (either in terms of the competition focus, the knowledge/expertise of the team, and/or other aspects)?

NECA does a great job of creating new challenges each year. I’ve been a part of the ECIC all three years, and I think this one is the most all-encompassing in terms of what students could be doing in the future. It’s also one of the most innovative challenges because the project is Design-Build, which is becoming more common than the traditional bidding project method. The students are involved in design, estimating, and scheduling and must support their work in a report for the owner, which gives them a chance to be involved in almost every phase of a full construction project. Our UW-Madison team this year has a really great split in age groups – half the group are sophomores, and the other half are seniors. The seniors have been able to take a mentor role, working closely with the younger students while getting practice managing a team. The sophomores have taken on leadership roles and really embraced the opportunity to try new technologies and network with industry professionals. – Alexa Rademacher

Experience is a helpful tool. What will you carry over from last year to support your success this year?

Being the only returning undergrad this year, I’m excited to bring what I learned last year, especially how we tackled the project and presented it under pressure. Mostly, I am excited to help create the same team energy and drive that made last year so successful.  – Ava Wendelburg

Hands-on learning and professional development opportunities are valuable. How does this experience support you as students and future engineers?

Within our NECA team, we have various sub-teams that have been working more closely throughout the semester. I have been a part of the design team with two other members, William and Erin. Our main objective is to model a functioning electrical system for a two-story building using Revit, which is an engineering software. We must follow the requirements for the ECIC as well as national safety guidelines when constructing our model. I came into this team knowing close to nothing about electrical systems, so it was imperative that we, as a modeling team, connected with industry professionals. Working with Westphal has been an incredible learning experience for us. Their team walked us through real-world applications of electrical systems, provided feedback on our model, and helped us design with purpose like professional engineers do. As I grow into my professional career, this experience has taught me that initial knowledge is just the first step to success. Teamwork, collaboration, and the willingness to step outside of your comfort zone are what truly make a difference in succeeding as an engineer.  – Derrick Thomas

What advice do you have for other Badgers who may follow in your footsteps?

This being my first year on the team, I came in knowing next to nothing about electrical contracting. The advice I would give anyone considering joining the team is to just go for it! It’s been such a cool experience jumping right in and learning so much as we work through the competition, both from industry professionals and my peers. – Isabel Petricka

Featured image: The student team poses for a group photo during the 2025 Construction Club Banquet at Union South. Back row from left to right: Rudy Wicker, Erin Rice, William Regan, Isabel Petricka, Darren Johnson (Executive Vice President, WI NECA Chapter), Alexa Rademacher, and Crystal Knipp (Assistant Chapter Manager, WI NECA Chapter). Front row left to right: Veronica Morse, Ava Wendelburg, Dr. Awad Hanna, Derrick Thomas, Aubrey Barthel, and Sabeel Samrah.