BY EMILY NESS | the Statesman
With an interior of maroon, an exterior of gold and a Bulldog carved on its bow and its stern, the Civil Engineering Department’s concrete canoe is off to a great start.
This April marks the University of Minnesota Duluth’s fourth year participating in the American Society of Civil Engineers Canoe Competition.
The purpose of the competition is to expose engineering students to real-life projects that, at first glance, appear to be incredibly challenging. In this case, students must come up with a concrete mix that will allow a canoe to float in water.
Senior Nick Osmundson is a Civil Engineering major. He has participated in the competition three out of the four years.
“The first year that I participated, I was a laborer. The second year, I was the project manager. This year, I am the captain,” Osmundson said.
The group of just over a dozen students has been hard at work mixing up material to create their canoe.
“The canoe is made out of cement, sand and light weight aggregates, including expanded glass bubbles, as well as other add mixtures to reduce water content,” Osmundson said.
While it may seem peculiar to build a canoe using concrete - a material probably thought of as heavy and unsuitable for flotation devices - concrete experts and engineers say the substance works well when specially prepared for canoe construction.
“In the end, it must be lighter than water,” Osmundson said.
Junior Aly Berreth and senior Brittany Fossell are also Civil Engineering majors. Both participated in the competition last year.
“The girls do everything that that the guys do,” Berreth said.
It is true. In order to participate in the competition, teams must have at least two girls.
“I paddled last year. We ended up getting third place,” Fossell said. “Regardless, we did better than many teams.”
UMD has yet to take first place in the competition. However, each year their canoes have improved.
Past canoes are mounted on the wall for display in the Civil Engineering Department.
“Each year, we come up with a new theme,” Osmundson said. “We try to tie our themes in with local things.”
The first canoe was called “The Ice Breaker.” It represented UMD’s first go at the Competition.
Strong and steady, the second canoe was called “The Iron Oar.” It represented UMD’s rich history in mining.
Complete with lumberjack axes, the third canoe was called “Babe,” after Paul Bunyon’s ox. Legend has it that the two once wandered along Minnesota’s North Shore.
“We don’t have a name for this year’s canoe yet,” Osmundson said. “We were thinking of calling it Champ.”
The team still has time to decide. The competition is scheduled to take place on April 22-23.
They will be traveling to Lake Macbride in Iowa, where they will be judged in four different categories: the final product, the race itself, a design paper and an oral presentation. Those who rank high in the regional competition will be invited to the national competition, scheduled to take place in June.
“Participating in a project like this is great for resumes,” Fossell said. “Employers are impressed by the time and dedication that goes into creating a concrete canoe.”
The team hopes that their time and dedication will pay off. “Being both a senior and the captain, I, along with the rest of the team really hope to win this year,” Osmundson said.