Florida Tech Concrete Canoe Team Is #1 in Region

– Florida Tech civil engineering students bested about 25 colleges and university teams to take first place for their 2003 concrete canoe, Terminal
Velocity, in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Southeast Regional competition. It was held at Miami’s Florida International University, March
20-22.

Faculty advisor Dr. Paul Cosentino, professor of civil engineering, fulfilled his pledge to shave his head if the team took top honors. “But our win wasn’t
a close shave,” said Cosentino. “I don’t think there was a close second.”

Florida Tech’s 27 students competed in 12 various civil engineering events, and also earned first place in the geotechnical competition. The winning team
built a 32-inch column of reinforced soil. The Terminal Velocity concrete canoe team took top honors in the paper and presentation events as well as for
the final product — the quality of the canoe itself. This year’s canoe is 21-feet-long and weighs about 140 lbs.

The Florida Tech team will compete in the 2003 ASCE and Master Builders, Inc. (MBT) National Concrete Canoe Competition, June 20-22. It will be held in
Philadelphia, Pa. Florida Tech earned first place at the nationals in 1997.

“We’ll need about $8,000 to get the team to Philadelphia and back again in June,” said Cosentino. The team seeks sponsors to support the trip. For more
information, call (321) 674-8048.