Students work on the canoe, while being observed by Bob Phelan, outreach manager of the student design center.

Students from Missouri University of Science and Technology have built a 270-pound canoe out of concrete and will attempt to prove that it floats as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Mid-Continent Student Conference.

The Missouri S&T Concrete Canoe Design Team will showcase its canoe and compete against other regional universities at the conference, held April 24-26, at Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Okla.

For the competition, students must design a lightweight canoe that minimizes drag in the water, is strong enough to hold several paddlers and can remain buoyant when completely submerged in water.

Each team is judged on engineering reports, a presentation and displays that illustrate the manufacturing process. After passing a “swamp test,” designed to test the buoyancy of the canoe, the team will then compete it head-to-head short-distance and endurance racing events.

This year’s canoe is christened “Mother Rowed,” a play on the colloquial name of U.S. Route 66, the Mother Road, which runs through Rolla. The canoe is 18 feet long, 3 feet wide and 14 inches deep at its lowest point. It will be painted red, white and blue to fit its historic Americana theme. It is made of a mixture of Portland cement, the same concrete found in sidewalks, ceramic air-filled bubbles and coal ash.

Dr. John Myers, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at S&T, and Dr. Eric Showalter, associate teaching professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at S&T, are the Concrete Canoe Design Team faculty advisors.

The following team members will be rowers at the competition:

Blake Berkowitz, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Overland Park, Kan.

Brandon Enke, a junior in mechanical engineering from Independence, Mo.

Melissa Heskett, a senior in mechanical engineering from St. Louis.

Behzad Moghaddam, a sophomore in civil engineering from St. Peters, Mo.

Kenneth Olsen, a senior in mechanical engineering from Raymore, Mo.

Sarah Reynolds, a freshman in civil engineering from Nixa, Mo.

Aspen Williams, a junior in civil engineering from Rochester, Ill.

Katrice Williams, a freshman in ceramic engineering from Ashland, Mo.

Additional members of the team traveling to the event include:

Erin Bolling, a senior in engineering management from Kansas City, Mo.

Reice Golden, a sopohomore in nuclear engineering from Milaca, Minn.

Devin Shannon, a senior in metallurgical engineering from Saratoga, Calif.

Nick Traub, a junior in civil engineering from Green Bay, Wis.