Michigan Tech Makes Concrete Canoe Finals
The names are ominous: Infamy, Knight Rider, The Final Countdown, Turning Point and Bootlegger.
No, these are not characters from Halo, nor are they new video games or movies. They're actually canoes.
But not just any type of canoe -- these are canoes made of concrete that weigh anywhere from 151 to 405 pounds. And these canoes will compete with others created by civil engineering students from the United States and Canada in the American Society of Civil Engineers 24th Annual National Concrete Canoe Competition June 16-18 at the University of Evansville in Indiana.
Michigan Technological University is the only Michigan qualifier in the national finals this year.
Throughout the year, teams of civil engineering students logged thousands of hours researching, designing and constructing their concrete canoes in search of the winning combination of creativity, knowledge and teamwork. After coming out on top in conference competitions throughout the spring, the best and brightest from 24 top engineering schools will match wits and skills in four categories -- the aesthetics and structural integrity of their canoe; a technical design paper highlighting their planning, development, testing and construction; an academic presentation covering their canoe's design, construction, racing ability and other innovative features; and, of course, the performance of the canoe and its paddlers in five different races -- men's and women's slalom and endurance races and men's, women's and co-ed sprint races.
"The National Concrete Canoe Competition tests competitors' knowledge and ingenuity as they work to overcome the challenge of building a canoe out of concrete that is able to both float and race," said ASCE president Kathy J. Caldwell. "This seemingly impossible task allows the students to creatively apply classroom principles in a real world setting, which will help prepare them to address the challenges they will face in their professional careers."
The competition will kick off Thursday, June 16 in the Sesquicentennial Oval at the University of Evansville as the teams' canoes are weighed, measured and judged for aesthetics. The teams will then "swamp" their canoes in a tank of water to test their flotation ability.
Students will also have an opportunity to participate in a career fair, where both national and regional sponsors will discuss their products and employment opportunities.
On Friday, June 17, the teams will deliver and defend their academic presentations -- including outlines of the design, cost and construction of their canoe -- in front of a panel of professional civil engineers.
Finally, at daybreak on Saturday, June 18, the students will gather in Audubon State Park on the banks of the Ohio River for the first of the day's races in the park's lake. The races -- women's slalom-endurance, men's slalom-endurance, women's sprint, men's sprint and a co-ed sprint race -- will begin at 8 a.m., run throughout the day, and conclude with the sprint race finals between 2 and 4 p.m. (approximately). The event will conclude with a banquet, where the winners will be announced and the competition awards distributed.
The National Concrete Canoe Competition is organized by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and is made possible by the support of the World of Concrete, Baker Concrete Construction, DS Solid Works, U.S. Silica, Traylor Bros., Inc., PCI and the Indiana Section of ASCE.
More at www.asce.org.
