Rowan Engineering Students Win With Concrete Canoe
Rowan Engineering Students Win With Concrete Canoe
May 14, 2001
Teams of Rowan University College of Engineering students took top honors in the regional contest of the recent American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Master Builders, Inc., (MBT) National Concrete Canoe Competition held in New Britain, PA.
The <+>Rowan Rascals, <+> racing the 120-pound, 20-foot <+>Rowan Flyer,<+> won the men?s endurance, women?s endurance, men?s sprint and women?s sprint races, and they captured best display, best technical paper, best final product and best oral presentation.
The Rascals, a team of 13 engineering majors, will go on to the 14th annual ASCE/MBT National Concrete Canoe Competition, to be held June 14 to16 at The San Diego State University in San Diego, Calif. Last year, Rowan won the regional contest and competed in the national contest in Colorado.
Under Professor Doug Cleary, students on the Rowan team this year are David Marks, team leader, of Oceanport; Joe Kociuba of Ogdensburg; Brian Atkins of Beachwood; Joe Cugino of Vineland; Doug Gabauer of Bordentown; Frank Brown of Bayville; Brad Summerville of Pitman; Jill Ferraris of Rockaway; Tara Spencer of Philipsburg; Amy Ross of Iselin; Stacy Bush of Westville; Rosie Tortirice of Deptford; and Emily Stidworthy of Tewksbury.
More than 250 college civil engineering students will compete in regional races held March through May in an attempt to qualify for the collegiate engineering event, which challenges students to design, build and race concrete canoes. Teams compete for $9,000 in scholarship prizes awarded by MBT. The competition provides students with hands-on experience with engineering principles and encourages them to use problem-solving and project management skills. Seventy percent of their score will be based on the appearance and structural integrity of the final canoe, a display and written and oral presentations detailing the canoes? design, construction and materials. The rest of the score depends on the students? paddling prowess in various races.
The canoes are constructed with concrete and reinforcing materials, but the students don?t use traditional concrete. Instead, the students use lightweight aggregates like glass beads or microballoons, chemical admixtures and light but strong reinforcement materials such as graphite and carbon fiber mesh. This enables them to create lighter, stronger and faster canoes with high-performance concrete that is even lighter than water. While the concrete mix is an important factor in the success of a canoe on the racecourse, so is the design. Students must find the right balance of conflicting characteristics for speed, maneuverability and stability to do well in all the races. The Rowan team constructed its canoe out of Portland cement, silica fume, slag, 3M glassbubbles, fiberglas fibermesh and stucco mesh reinforcing.
The <+>Rowan Rascals, <+> racing the 120-pound, 20-foot <+>Rowan Flyer,<+> won the men?s endurance, women?s endurance, men?s sprint and women?s sprint races, and they captured best display, best technical paper, best final product and best oral presentation.
The Rascals, a team of 13 engineering majors, will go on to the 14th annual ASCE/MBT National Concrete Canoe Competition, to be held June 14 to16 at The San Diego State University in San Diego, Calif. Last year, Rowan won the regional contest and competed in the national contest in Colorado.
Under Professor Doug Cleary, students on the Rowan team this year are David Marks, team leader, of Oceanport; Joe Kociuba of Ogdensburg; Brian Atkins of Beachwood; Joe Cugino of Vineland; Doug Gabauer of Bordentown; Frank Brown of Bayville; Brad Summerville of Pitman; Jill Ferraris of Rockaway; Tara Spencer of Philipsburg; Amy Ross of Iselin; Stacy Bush of Westville; Rosie Tortirice of Deptford; and Emily Stidworthy of Tewksbury.
More than 250 college civil engineering students will compete in regional races held March through May in an attempt to qualify for the collegiate engineering event, which challenges students to design, build and race concrete canoes. Teams compete for $9,000 in scholarship prizes awarded by MBT. The competition provides students with hands-on experience with engineering principles and encourages them to use problem-solving and project management skills. Seventy percent of their score will be based on the appearance and structural integrity of the final canoe, a display and written and oral presentations detailing the canoes? design, construction and materials. The rest of the score depends on the students? paddling prowess in various races.
The canoes are constructed with concrete and reinforcing materials, but the students don?t use traditional concrete. Instead, the students use lightweight aggregates like glass beads or microballoons, chemical admixtures and light but strong reinforcement materials such as graphite and carbon fiber mesh. This enables them to create lighter, stronger and faster canoes with high-performance concrete that is even lighter than water. While the concrete mix is an important factor in the success of a canoe on the racecourse, so is the design. Students must find the right balance of conflicting characteristics for speed, maneuverability and stability to do well in all the races. The Rowan team constructed its canoe out of Portland cement, silica fume, slag, 3M glassbubbles, fiberglas fibermesh and stucco mesh reinforcing.