ASCE takes third in regional concrete canoe competition

UMD ASCE comes in third place at the annual Concrete Canoe Competition

By Jeff Trull

UMass Dartmouth’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers placed third at last weekend’s Concrete Canoe Competition, in Quebec. Left to right: Chris May, Kevin Paradise, Aaron Jamous, Jackie Schmidt, Meghan Aratrudo, Rebekah Novak, Matt Gagnon, Shane Soiusa, Ian Bettencourt, Tom Perry and Jeff Trull.

Didn’t think 200 pounds of concrete could float? A team of UMass Dartmouth students proved naysayers wrong this past weekend by placing third in the annual American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition.

This was the first time the UMD student chapter has placed in the top three since placing second in 2002. Meghan Amatrudo, ASCE’s president, expressed excitement about the result. “All I could do was look around at my teammates in shock after we won,” she explained. “Even UMass Amherst and UNH congratulated us on our huge upset to beat URI for third.”

Eleven UMD students traveled with their canoe in tow, named “Pirate’s Booty,” all the way to Université Laval in Quebec, Canada to compete with other New England schools. The team made the 500-mile journey to compete in the competition against UMass Amherst, UMaine, University of Rhode Island, University of New Hampshire, and Université Laval. The UMD team overcame several obstacles to finish the canoe and simply be able to compete. “We should have started the production of the canoe back in September, but most of the work was done in the final few weeks and days before the competition,” Amatrudo admitted. “Also, our $1,000 budget for the project was miniscule compared to the $23,000 that first place Laval had to work with.”

The competition tested both the performance of the canoe along with the research and design behind it. On Saturday the students presented their report in front of their competitors as well as the competition judges. Amatrudo and fellow team leader Chris May delivered the presentation and tackled difficult questions from judges as well. “The judges asked questions that I hadn’t specifically prepared for, but I was able to answer them based on what I learned in my geotechnical engineering class,” Amatrudo said.

With the racing portion of the event cancelled, the competition came down to the team’s written report, presentation, and buoyancy of the canoe. The canoe, which weighed approximately 200 pounds, floated with no problems in the “swamp test.” The boat’s 19-foot length and 32 inch width kept the canoe high up on the water. Despite the success, not all team members were certain it would float. “I really didn’t think the canoe would float because of the weight we calculated, but I was pleasantly surprised when it did,” stated May.

To build the canoe, the students did careful research in order to make the concrete design float, as well as hold four people at a time without capsizing. The concrete mixture of the canoe, which consists of cement; aggregate; and tiny, ultra-light glass spheres, among other things, was developed and tested over the 2007-2008 school year. The competition has strict guidelines for the project, as these rules are similar to building codes or other laws that civil engineers may encounter in the “real” world. Not only does the mixture need to be strong to prevent cracking but too much weight means the canoe will simply sink. “This isn’t your typical concrete that you would see in buildings and sidewalks,” May explained. “It’s purposely made with lighter materials so that it can float but still be strong enough to support the weight of the paddlers.”

On top of coming up with a concrete mixture, the students also designed the size and shape of the canoe. Most of this was done using computer software. A hull mold consisting of foam board was generated using measurements from the software. The concrete mix was then piled on top with fiberglass mesh serving as reinforcement between concrete layers.

The Canoe competition is the major ASCE student event for the UMD chapter. The event is held in different locations across New England each year. UMass Dartmouth hosted the event in 2006, and UMass Amherst will do so in 2009. On top of judging the report and presentation, the competition traditionally includes a rowing portion of the event. With up to four students in the canoe at a time, the students paddle around a course against the other teams. However this part was cancelled this year due to unsafe conditions.

The event gives the students a chance to apply what they have learned in class about concrete and analysis of building materials and put that knowledge into practice. “It was great to use some things I learned in my concrete engineering class this year,” May explained. “To actually apply my knowledge and come up with our final product was a lot of fun.”

Université Laval came out on top at the competition, with last year’s winner UMaine placing second. The winning school from each regional event moves on to the national competition, which is in Montreal this year. UMD’s third place finish was not enough to get them there, but Amatrudo is confident that this is a stepping-stone to achieving that. “I learned a million new things this weekend about building the canoe, and I’ve taken a lot of notes on how to perfect ours in the future,” she noted. “Third place this year along with more experience and funding in future years will definitely allow us to get out there and compete for first.”

Campus Community member talks about sustainability

By Katie Bresnahan

During Earth Week, UMass Dartmouth held various lectures, panel discussions and activities, one of which featured UMass Dartmouth student Ellie Early and Marina Dippel of the Office of Campus and Community Sustainability speaking about different ways that UMD can become more sustainable.

Early spoke about what students can do to make the university more sustainable. She spoke a lot about food, including the successful farmers’ markets held last semester and the campus garden that will be started up in the near future.

She explained to her audience, made up mainly of students from a sustainability class, that she works at Silverbrook Farm, located only a few miles from UMD. “It is an organic farm that has been in production [for a very long time]. It’s very old,” stated Early. She added that they have been farming organically for about the last six years.

Last semester was the first time that UMD held a weekly farmers’ market, which Early helped put together. “We’re hoping to bring farmers’ markets back on campus, but the problem is that people are very used to buying coffee and their produce at Stop and Shop and they’re not used to buying whole food,” she said.

Early posed several questions, regarding the farmers’ markets and the food provided there, to the student population. What would make students want to buy whole food? Should it be emphasized as more convenient? Does it need to be jazzed up? Would they want to be given recipes in which to use the food? Early said, “The reason why I support the farms is because I work on one. I get free food and I see how good that it is and I can put it in things that I like.”

For a little while last semester they experimented with serving locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables in the Residence Cafeteria. However, this did not last long because students complained. For instance, Early explained, even though the local apples were fresher, students did not like that they were smaller than the ones they were used to eating, ones that came from places including the West Coast of the United States and South American countries such as Chile. “We’re trying to get more local food. If there’s a demand for local food it will definitely happen quicker,” Early said.

Since gas and oil are getting more and more expensive Early believes that “buying local will become more viable.”

She also spoke about starting an on-campus garden. She explained that the garden has been there for a long time, but has not been used in many years. It is located about 40 feet from the Dell Pond, she said. She suggested that maybe some of the vegetables grown in this garden could be used at Res Café.

Dippel spoke about the business side of campus and global sustainability. She mentioned a group, Net Impact. The point of this group, with over 135 chapters around the world, is to “mingle and share your projects with students from other schools… It’s about building relationships with other students,” she said.

The four initiatives that Net Impact has are education, career, community impact and campus greening. Members of Net Impact can attend regional events, global competitions and an annual conference (which usually features around 80 speakers).

For more information on Net Impact, go to netimpact.org.

Res floor buckles under pressure

By Stephanie Luz

A construction worker removes the damaged tiles from the landing of the Resident Dining Hall.

“I’m standing there working at the desk and it started shaking and trembling! I thought it was an earthquake!” said Beverly Brown, known as Bev, who swipes UMass Passes at the Resident Dining Hall.

On the morning of Tuesday, April 29, Brown experienced a row of tiles buckle under her feet. The general manager of Sodexho Dining Services, Maryanne Conroy-Miller, commented, “We don’t know why the floor buckled.” She said that the engineers examined below the tiles and found no cracks in the foundation.

Below the safety cones that blocked the top of the stairs, students could see a row of lifted tiles on the landing where food service employees, such as Brown, would normally swipe students’ UMass Passes. The lifted tiles took the appearance of a long ridge. After a construction crew came into the area, more tiles were removed and ply-wood was applied.

To alleviate the problem, facilities and Sodexho decided to close off the main entrance of Rez and channel people through the use of signs and a Sodexho employee to the emergency entrance located behind the Frederick Douglas Unity House. Conroy-Miller continued, “We don’t want to send students in the rain but we also don’t want them to walk somewhere that is unsafe.”

Engineering student Tom Golden was not surprised when he found out about the tile incident. He said, “We have an old campus and a lot of work has been done on the buildings.” He added, “I think the Rez staff did a good job responding to this; I certainly wasn’t inconvenienced.”

Nathaniel Becker was impressed: “They responded to the incident on a timely fashion.”

English major Hope Middleton liked the change. “I personally think they should have the back door open more often,” she explained. “I think it’s more convenient if you’re coming from Oak Glen or Pine Dale.”

Jason Ruth, an employee of Sodexho, was not surprised by the news when coming to work. Ruth said that he knew the tiles were fallible: “The tile is a waste of time and money; the food carts break it and even when plates fall, the tile chips. The tile just can’t support the weight. They will probably replace the tile two years from now.”

Construction workers expect the repair of the Resident Dining entrance to take about three days before it will be fully functional for students and employees.