McNeese Students Compete with Concrete Canoe

McNeese State University civil engineering students were successful with their concrete canoe built from scratch at the Gulf Coast American Society of Civil Engineers Student Symposium in New Orleans.  

The symposium hosted universities from across the gulf coast where students competed in engineering competitions, including the concrete canoe race. 

The McNeese team placed in four competitions: first in concrete canoe project proposal and third in overall concrete canoe competition, concrete canoe technical presentation and topographic maps survey. 

“In the concrete canoe competition, students are entirely responsible for the design, securing funding and logistics of developing their canoe,” Dr. Dimitrios Dermisis, McNeese associate professor of engineering, said. 

Senior civil engineering major, Pavel Kraus, from the Czech Republic, was the concrete canoe team captain. 

“Being the captain is equivalent to being a project manager. I made sure that all deadlines were met, all deliverables were submitted and that everything was done ethically,” Kraus said. 

Before construction began, the team chose materials, a construction method, dimensions and reinforcement for the canoe. Then team members cast the canoe from a mold that they created. During the process, the students drew from what they learned in their engineering classes. 

Despite their meticulous planning, the team members had to think on their feet when they ran into issues. 

“Due to the underperformance of the final concrete mix, our canoe broke in half a week before leaving for the competition. So, we had to quickly come up with a solution,” Kraus said. 

Working as a team of civil engineers on a project helps the students develop the skills needed to succeed in their professional careers, Dermisis explained. 

“This competition is a very fun way to apply engineering concepts into something tangible. We had a lot of fun building and working on the canoe,” Kraus said. “We learned a lot from this competition that will help us succeed again next year.” 

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