The UH chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers participated in the concrete canoe competition at the 2012 Texas-Mexico Student Regional Conference in San Antonio last month, taking third place overall. The UH team’s entry named HOPE was dedicated to raising awareness of breast cancer.
Over 25 UH students were involved in various aspects of the competition, which comprised a design paper, an oral presentation, the final product of the canoe, and five paddling race categories. UH was the only school to win a top-three award in each category.
The team’s video presentation detailed the management, design, analysis, and construction of HOPE, and three team members narrated the presentation to judges and representatives from other schools. Team captain Quyen Le addressed technical questions from the judges following the presentation.
The final product category included the canoe, a display table and cross-section of the canoe. "HOPE was one of the most popular canoes at the competition, and the only leading canoe on which all graphics were made of colored concrete mixes," said team member Scott Wallace.
The streamlined UH canoe performed well in the paddle races on the final day of the competition, allowing UH to win either second or third in each racing category: two-person male sprint, two-person female sprint, two-person male endurance, two-person female endurance, and four-person co-ed sprint.
"Construction of this canoe has been a great experience for the students on the team," Wallace said. "We have had a great opportunity to see what a lot of hard work and determination can accomplish."