New York University Tandon Concrete Canoe Team advances to compete in society-wide contest in June at Louisiana Tech University

Reston, Va. — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2022 Metropolitan Student Symposium took place at Rowan and Rutgers Universities April 8–10, 2022. At the event, approximately 150 civil engineering students from 8 universities in New York and New Jersey put their academic and project management knowledge to the test participating in annual society-wide competitions including the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition. 

The New York University Tandon team won the Concrete Canoe Competition, and has qualified to compete at the 35th Annual ASCE Society-wide Competitions June 3–5 at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA. 

The Concrete Canoe competition requires students to collaborate as teams and use engineering skills to design and construct a seaworthy canoe made entirely of concrete. Each team must compete in multiple categories: Technical Proposal, Technical Presentation, Enhanced Focus Area, Final Product, and several racing events, for a chance to move on to the finals where the winner will compete against 23 other teams from schools around the globe.

“Congratulations to the New York University Tandon team on their success at the ASCE Metropolitan Student Symposia competitions, and kudos to all who participated in the symposia,” said Dennis D. Truax, President of ASCE. “These competitions bring out the best in students, who are able to showcase their creativity in a collaborative manner. The Society is proud to recognize the work these students have put in throughout this difficult school year and wish them luck at the Society-wide Competition in June.”

In its 35th year, the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition, the student symposium’s flagship event, challenges civil engineering students to apply the engineering principles learned in the classroom to a real-world task, while utilizing project management and team building skills. The Concrete Canoe program consists of both athletic and academic events. The competition is designed to test the knowledge, creativity and stamina of each team. Over the course of the school year, teams plan, research, and construct a canoe out of concrete. The competition evaluates teams on design and construction, a technical proposal, an enhanced focus area, a formal business presentation, and five different races—men’s and women’s slalom races, men’s and women’s sprint races and a co-ed sprint race.

The Society-wide Concrete Canoe Competition+ is organized by ASCE and hosted annually by a university student chapter, thanks in part to funds provided by the ASCE Foundation. 

The following schools were represented at the symposium: 

  • The College of New Jersey
  • The Cooper Union
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University
  • Manhattan College
  • New Jersey Institute of Technology
  • New York University Tandon 
  • Rowan University
  • Rutgers University

About the American Society of Civil Engineers

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.