Jun 19 2008
After a year spent doing the impossible - learning to make concrete float by researching, designing and building a canoe made of the unlikely material - civil engineering students from the United States and Canada travel to Montreal June 19-21, 2008 for the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) 21st Annual National Concrete Canoe Competition.
"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 David G. Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE. "This allows the students to creatively apply classroom principles in a real world setting, which will help prepare them for the challenges they will face in their professional careers."
The competition kicks off June 19 as the teams' canoes are weighed, measured, judged for aesthetics and "swamped" in a tank of water to test their flotation ability. Then, on June 20, the teams will deliver and defend academic presentations on their creations. Finally, on June 21, the students will compete in a variety of sprint and endurance races at the Olympic Basin on Notre-Dame Island.
The 2008 National Concrete Canoe Competition finalists are:
- California Polytechnic, State University San Luis Obispo
- Clemson University
- Drexel University
- Ecole de technologie superieure
- Fairmont State University
- Florida Institute of Technology
- Louisiana Tech University
- Michigan Technological University
- Milwaukee School of Engineering
- Polytechnic University
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- United States Air Force Academy
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Florida
- University of Houston
- University of Maine
- University of Nevada, Reno
- University of Washington
- University of Wisconsin - Madison
- University of Wisconsin - Platteville
- Youngstown State University
For more information on the National Concrete Canoe Competition, including downloadable high-resolution photos, please visit: http://content.asce.org/conferences/nccc2008/index.html.