Read Story in New Haven Register 
UNH Civil Engineering students demonstrated the seaworthiness of their latest engineering marvel-a concrete canoe-at the Metropolitan Regional Concrete Canoe Conference on April 27, at Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, N.Y. They took first place for their oral presentation, second for overall workmanship and display, and second in men's slalom. The event was hosted by Brooklyn Polytechnic University.
Much more than a nautical novelty, the concrete canoe project helped UNH students develop their professional skills, including time management, planning, designing, building, and networking with professional engineers, for starters. According to student team leader Chris Stankus, "This project is a real application of physics," Stankus says. "We synthesized all the concepts we've learned in our course work and applied it to a tremendous design problem." He notes that the beauty of design is that there is never one single solution to a problem, but often many. "The key," Stankus says, "is to come up with the best solution." He believes his team may have done just that-and explains that the bow (front) of the UNH canoe is wider and lower than usual, enabling it to pivot more readily-and the stern is tapered to create less drag.
The UNH team constructed the craft from concrete mixed with nylon and polypropylene microfiber and tiny glass bubbles. During the molding process, the concrete mixture was layered with carbon-fiber webbing for added strength and stability. The molded canoe was "cured' for 30 days, followed by an initial "swamp test"-floating then filling the canoe with water-to measure the vessel's buoyancy.
Student participants included: Chris Stankus, Prospect, Conn.; Aaron Champagne, Hanover, Conn.; Jesse McIntyre, Watertown, Conn.; John Hearns, East Haven, Conn.; Matt Burke, Ansonia, Conn.; Shalal Hussein, Hamden, Conn.; Dustin Briere, Wolcott, Conn.; Tony Colangelo, Cromwell, Conn.; Matt Palmer, Grey, Maine, and Devin Racicot, East Longmeadow, Mass.
A leader in experiential learning, the University of New Haven provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. A private University founded in 1920, UNH has a full-time undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,400 students-with 70 percent residing on its 80-acre main campus-and a graduate school enrollment that exceeds 1,700. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its four colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition and dietetics, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science, fire science and criminal justice.
