The team mixing and pouring this year’s build.

Students from Missouri University of Science and Technology have built a 200-pound canoe out of concrete and will prove that it floats during the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2015 Mid-Continent Student Conference.

The Missouri S&T Concrete Canoe Design Team will showcase its canoe and compete against 11 other regional universities at the conference, held April 25-26, at the University of Kansas, located in Lawrence, Kansas.

For the competition, students must design a “lightweight” concrete canoe that can remain buoyant when completely submerged in water, is strong enough to hold several paddlers and can easily maneuver through the water.

After passing a “swamp test,” designed to test the buoyancy of the canoe, the team will then race it in head-to-head short-distance and endurance events.

The students chose a “Star Wars” theme for this year’s competition, christening their canoe “Joebi-Wan Canoebe,” a play on the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi featuring the university’s mascot name – Joe Miner – and the boat type featured in the competition. The canoe is 18 feet long, approximately 2.5 feet wide and 15 inches deep. It is painted blue and orange like a spaceship in the “Star Wars” franchise. It is made of a mixture of Portland cement, the same material found in sidewalks, ceramic air-filled bubbles, carbon fiber and repurposed coal ash.

Each team is also judged on its engineering reports, a presentation and displays that illustrate the manufacturing process.

Erin Bolling, a senior in engineering management from Kansas City, Missouri, is the team leader. 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 students are part of this year’s team:

Katie Allen, a sophomore in engineering from Tulsa, Oklahoma

Blake Berkowitz, a junior in applied mathematics from Overland Park, Kansas

Erin Bolling, a senior in engineering management from Kansas City, Missouri

John Buback, a junior in civil engineering from Chesterfield, Missouri

Kelsey Buford, a freshman in aerospace engineering from Wentzville, Missouri

Tim Cockrell, a freshman in chemical engineering from Marissa, Illinois

Elizabeth Edwards, a junior in civil engineering from Tigard, Oregon

Brandon Enke, a senior in mechanical engineering from Independence, Missouri

Matt Gibson, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Jackson, Missouri

Reice Golden, a senior in nuclear engineering from Milaca, Minnesota

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

Caroline Ketterer, a freshman in mechanical engineering from St. Louis

Nicole Korklan, a junior in ceramic engineering from Tucson, Arizona

Behzad Moghaddam, a junior in civil engineering from St. Peters, Missouri

Clayton Natoli, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Foristell, Missouri

Scott Neustadt, a freshman in information science and technology from O’Fallon, Missouri

Alex Olsen, a senior in mechanical engineering from Raymore, Missouri

Sarah Reynolds, a sophomore in civil engineering from Nixa, Missouri

Devin Shannon, a 2014 metallurgical engineering graduate from Missouri S&T

Sonya Snyder, a senior in metallurgical engineering from Las Vegas, Nevada

Nick Traub, a senior in civil engineering from Green Bay, Wisconsin

Kole Turley, a sophomore in computer engineering from Raytown, Missouri

Sarah Vanhooser, a senior in civil engineering from O’Fallon, Missouri

Aaron Vonderhaar, a senior in mechanical engineering from St. Louis

Alexandra Wampler, a freshman in chemical engineering from Farmington, Missouri

Aspen Williams, a senior in architectural engineering from Rochester, Illinois

Katrice Williams, a sophomore in ceramic engineering from Ashland, Missouri.