Concrete Canoe Goes to College
customImage
The Applied Engineering Team before the launch of the concrete canoe.
The Miller School of Albemarle Engineering Program made a big splash this spring, and are eagerly preparing for the next round of competitions. In April, MSA became the first high school in America to compete in the American Society of Civil Engineers Concrete Canoe Competition. Hosted by Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, the regional competition brought together the brightest aspiring civil engineers from Virginia and West Virginia’s colleges and universities, including teams from nationally recognized engineering programs like Virginia Tech and UVA. After nearly two years of work, Miller School students floated its first full-length canoe side by side with the collegiate crowd.
Participants in the competition often joke that “just making it to the event” is a huge accomplishment; they are not exaggerating. A number of college teams were unable to compete due to their canoes disintegrating during transport or failing to be successfully constructed during the school year. Our Miller students not only made it to the event with a strikingly hydrodynamic concrete canoe, the team excelled in all aspects of the three-day competition. In particular, MSA students demonstrated exemplary public speaking skills during the presentation segment. The following day, the MSA WaveMaker, was one of only three canoes to pass the difficult “swamp” test–a test in which teams attempt to sink their own canoe by filling it with water demonstrating it will float, even if completely submerged. Later, students paddled their 400+lbs. canoe in a series of slalom races that proved their concrete canoes could move swiftly and agilely through the water loaded with two or four students.
Guided by then Applied Engineering Program Director, Ryan Henry, and current Director, Christine Zito, students became wavemakers themselves this year. Head of School, Mr. Drude remarked: “The Engineering Program and the concrete canoe team is a marvelous example of our mission in action. Each student’s individual strength was called upon to succeed in the project. It took great minds, strong and capable hands, and a lot of heart for this project to float.”
Despite being in the midst of competition, Miller School students noticed immediately that the spirit of the ASCE Concrete Canoe event was collaborative. Teams closely examined each other’s canoes and openly discussed successes and failures in their designs. Miller School was not just a team of high school students, but a group of like-minded individuals worthy of professional dialogue. The atmosphere of the event was celebratory, one of learning from peers and encouraging each other to improve designs, concrete formulations, and racing tactics. Everyone seemed as eager to help others as they were to show off their own work.
MSA’s concrete canoe team members have not forgotten their lessons from April’s competition and are already hard at work for a wavemaker 2.0. They have already chosen a hull design, have begun concrete mix strength testing, and have cut molds and mesh. This 2.0 version has been officially christened the MSA Ripple Effect for 2023’s competition. As the team continues to grow, this name pays homage to the idea that they are still impacting our community in a positive way. Led this year by co-captains Quinn Davenport and Vivian Eanes and with guidance from last year’s captain, Zoe Martin, the team is paddling in the direction of victory.
