Engineering students race concrete canoes at conference

Approximately 300 students from 10 universities throughout Ohio and Michigan participated in the American Society of Civil Engineers North Central Student Conference this past weekend.

The two biggest events at the conference included a concrete canoe race and a steel bridge competition, with the concrete canoe race taking place on Saturday at Maumee State Park. The conference allowed engineering students to get hands-on experience in their field as well as have an opportunity to network with students from other universities.

The canoes were judged on aesthetics, design paper, presentation and the race itself by a panel of 25 judges.

Katie Burns, a fourth-year civil engineering student and conference chair, said she believes the conference is a great opportunity for students.

“The conference is so important to us, not only as a profession, but as students,” Burns said. “This gives us the opportunity to apply what we have learned in the classroom in a hands-on environment and the opportunity to network with students from other universities and professional engineers.”

According to ASCE, the conference and its activities allowed for students to “gain hands-on experience in planning, design, construction, material sciences, estimating/budgeting and public speaking all in friendly competition among regional universities and also increase awareness among industry leaders, opinion makers and the general public of civil engineering as a dynamic and innovative profession that is essential to society.”

Matt Creed, a fourth-year civil engineering student from the University of Michigan, said he thought the conference was a great way for students to utilize their talents.

“We put in two semesters of hard work into these canoes and I think it is really cool that we can use what we learned in the classroom in a real-world application outside of class,” Creed said. “This is the kind of thing that is going to get people in my field jobs, not just a degree, but actual experience.”

Several students were excited to participate in the conference.

“This is my second year participating in the concrete canoe race and it is still just as exciting as the first time around,” said Jordan Bick, a third-year civil engineering student from Wayne State University. “I think that all the students participating this year will learn a lot and take away a lot of good experience and skills as well as improving upon the ones that they already have.”

Rules for the concrete canoe completion were released early in the fall semester to give students two semesters to design the mold, select an optimal mix, pour the concrete and give the canoe a theme.

“Civil Engineering is a dynamic profession where one is always learning and adapting to the situation at hand,” Burns said. “The conference is a great example of how dedicated students are to their profession and how they prepare themselves for full-time careers.”