Missouri S&T’s Concrete Canoe Design Team earned fourth place at the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2018 Mid-Continent Student Conference.

The competition was held April 19-21 at the University of Southern Illinois-Carbondale. During the event, the team proved its concept of a lightweight canoe that minimizes drag in the water, is strong enough to hold several paddlers and can remain buoyant after being completely submerged in water.

Teams were judged on engineering reports, a presentation and displays that illustrate the manufacturing process. After a “swamp test,” designed to test the buoyancy of the canoe, the S&T team competed head-to-head in short-distance and endurance racing events.

This year’s canoe theme was Joerassic Park, a play on the S&T mascot Joe Miner and the canoe’s paint scheme of Jurassic Park. The canoe was made of a mixture of Portland cement – the same material found in sidewalks – carbon fiber and repurposed ash.

The Concrete Canoe Design Team is one of 18 student-run groups in Missouri S&T’s Student Design and Experiential Learning Center (SDELC). The SDELC, housed in the Kummer Student Design Center, provides teams with computer design laboratories, a manufacturing shop, office space and logistical support. Design teams mirror small start-up companies that plan large-scale projects, organize into departments, raise funds, communicate their ideas and solve open-ended design challenges. Almost every team competes annually at an event against other collegiate teams from around the country and the world. For more information about the teams, visit design.mst.edu.