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by student writer Danny Messinger and senior writer
Marcia Goodrich
June 2, 2011
After winning their regional qualifiers, Michigan
Tech's concrete canoe team is preparing to show off its
engineering and design skills on a national level.
The team placed first in the North Central Regional
Concrete Canoe Competition, held in April on the
University of Michigan campus. The American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) is slated to host the annual
National Concrete Canoe Competition June 16 to 18 in
Evansville, Ind.
Members participate out of a genuine interest in
civil engineering, says Bill Baxandall, concrete canoe
team advisor. The team attracts bright, innovative
students who, over the course of their involvement with
the team, gain valuable out-of-classroom experience.
"I watch students come out of their shells,"
Baxandall adds. "Students learn what they're going to
face in the outside world before they leave Tech."
Each year, the concrete canoe team puts their
engineering know-how to the test as they construct a
floating vessel out of specially designed concrete.
Teams are judged in four categories: races, technical
presentation, technical paper and final product, which
takes the canoe's theme and aesthetics into account.
This year, the vessel has an Alaskan theme.
Jon Zalud, senior cocaptain, says that the commitment
of his team played a big role in their success. He
estimates 6,000 to 8,000 hours have been spent on the
project this year alone.
"Before we go to nationals, we're going to work on
our paddling to get our race times down," Zalud said.
"We also need to incorporate what we learned at
regionals into our paper and presentation."
Baxandall is also confident that the team will be
successful.
"I think concrete canoe is going to take first in
technical paper, and if our presentation is as good as
it was at regionals, we should take first there, too,"
he said. "And, we had the best-looking canoe at
regionals. We're going to do very well."
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