Concrete Canoe Team Takes Fourth at Nationals
The Cal Poly Pomona American Society of Civil Engineers chapter paddled its way to a fourth-place finish at the 24th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition. Led by team captain and civil engineering major Bladmir Payan, the team competed with 23 of the top teams in the country at the University of Evansville in Indiana in mid-June.
"I'm fiercely proud of our students. Our best previous finish at nationals was eighth," says William Kitch, a civil engineering professor and the team's advisor. "To reach the top four in the nation is a huge accomplishment and speaks to the technical prowess, leadership and tenacity of our team."
The competition's four events tested students' application of engineering concepts, ability to work as a team and their project management skills. Cal Poly Pomona placed sixth in the technical paper component, first in technical presentation, eighth in final product and sixth in the races.
Cal Poly Pomona qualified for the competition by earning second place at the Pacific Southwest Regional ASCE Student Competition, behind the defending national champion Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The regional competition included 18 teams from universities in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.
