July 26, 2024
K-State Concrete Canoe team finishes among top 10 at national competition
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The K-State Concrete Canoe team poses next to its canoe, "Connected," as well as information displays detailing the group's work at the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition hosted by Brigham Young University. The team finished in a club-best 10th place at the national competition. |
The Kansas State University Concrete Canoe team finished 10th overall at the American Society of Civil Engineering Concrete Canoe Competition, hosted by Brigham Young University June 20-22.
The top-10 finish among 25 total competing teams is the team's best showing at this national event in the club's history. The group earned the chance to compete after winning its regional at the Mid-America Student Symposium in April.
The team's score was paced by a fourth-place finish in the final product prototype scoring category, which judges the canoe itself.
"The team did a great job of rallying around an innovative idea and bringing it to fruition in a globally competitive manner this year," said Cody Meyer, team president and senior in civil engineering. "I am very proud of the work that the team put in, and in true K-State fashion, this year's canoe, 'Connected,' was an absolute tank. Despite its weight, the sheer strength of the canoe helped it place fourth in the world.
"I don't recommend challenging it to a bumper boats battle."
The event challenges participants to create a functioning canoe made of concrete. The process includes designing a hull, performing structural analysis and designing a concrete mixture that satisfies the strength requirements found in the structural analysis. Teams are judged for their final product, design paper, oral presentation and race results.
"We are incredibly proud of all our team has accomplished this season," said Kayleigh Bednar, senior in industrial engineering. "Not only did we produce a top-notch product, but we've come together as a team of many skills and disciplines to achieve one goal. We have come a long way in the past few years of concrete canoe, and I can't wait to see what we are able to accomplish next."
Joining Meyer and Bednar at the competition were Jenna Haas, Ally Hower, Campbell Gaskill, Elle Dragone, Lindsay Schupp, Michael Dishman, Keegan Harris, Ethan Holder, Nathan Streeter, Alex Ko and William Matchell.
Christopher Jones, professor and interim head of the civil engineering department, serves as the team's faculty advisor.