Florida Tech Hosts Successful Concrete Canoe Competition
24 Teams, Hundreds of Students Participated in Prestigious Annual Event
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Though they may look simple, the 24 canoes that raced across Turkey Creek at Goode Park in Palm Bay on June 8 represented critical lessons for the college students who designed them, from structural and hull-form analysis to properties and mechanics of materials to ocean and civil engineering.
It takes all of that scholarship and plenty of ingenuity to make a boat made of concrete float.
For the first time since 1999, Florida Tech hosted the 2019 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition. Florida Tech is only the second university in Florida to host the 32-year-old event, which featured two dozen teams from the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Canada, India and China.
University of Florida won the overall competition, with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo coming in second and Université Laval in third. Tongii University and Western Kentucky University finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“This weekend, we watched as teams from around the world competed in this unique competition for the ‘Civil Engineering Cup,’” said ASCE President-Elect Kancheepuram N. Gunalan, Ph.D., P.E. “Most people don’t think of concrete as a material that can float, but the students participating in the National Concrete Canoe Competition combined creativity, hard work, engineering expertise and teamwork to prove this myth wrong. They overcame challenges and used this hands-on learning opportunity to create a concrete canoe that would not only float, but also push them across the finish line.”
The students involved certainly received a unique educational experience, said Quinn Duffy, past president of the ASCE Student Chapter at Florida Tech, president-elect of the ASCE Space Coast Chapter, and chairman of the competition. He was lead author of the winning proposal to host the competition.
“This event allows for hands-on learning that takes students above and beyond what comes out of the classroom,” he said.
Here’s a look at the top five finishes from the event across several categories. Florida Tech did not have a team participating.
Overall
1. University of Florida
2. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
3. Université Laval
4. Tongji University
5. Western Kentucky University
Design Paper
1. University of Florida
2. Université Laval
3. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
4. Tongji University
5. Western Kentucky University
Oral Presentation
1. University of Florida
2. Université Laval
3. Tongji University
4. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
5. University of California, Los Angeles
Final Product
1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. University of Florida
3. University of Wisconsin – Madison
4. Université Laval
5. Western Kentucky University
Women’s Final Sprints
1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. University of Florida
3. Université Laval
4. Polytechnique Montréal
5. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Men’s Final Sprints
1. Université Laval
2. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
3. University of Florida
4. Polytechnique Montréal
5. Tongji University
Women’s Slalom Race
1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. Université Laval
3. University of Florida
4. Polytechnique Montréal
5. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Men’s Slalom Race
1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. Polytechnique Montréal
3. University of Florida
4. Fairmont State University
5. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Coed Final Sprints
1. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. Université Laval
3. Polytechnique Montréal
4. University of Florida
5. Fairmont State University
Innovation Award
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
For a complete list of the results from the 2019 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition, click here.
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