96 Academics Laying the Groundwork Engineering students compete in the concrete canoe competition for the first time. The Harding Engineering Department designed the civil engineering major to include a year-long Design Build class during the students’ junior year. The course was meant to cover research and project trials worth two hours in the fall and a lab worth one hour in the spring. Before the 2023–24 school year, the only option for the students taking the class was to develop a scale-model steel bridge for an annual regional competition. The American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter offered another regional competition that Harding designated as a secondary option for the Design Build class in the fall of 2023—constructing a functional canoe made of concrete. Instructor of engineering and physics Joey Parker served as the facilitator of the course and lab and as an advocate for the hands-on aspect of the major that the students didn’t always receive in the classroom setting. “There is no textbook to teach out of for this class,” Parker said. “These projects force them to think outside of what they’re used to. The class is built around trying to tackle problems.” The first students at Harding to tackle the concrete canoe course were juniors Reese Dodd, Claire Hounshell and Ines Sanches Lopez-Almansa. Since the school had never participated in this particular competition before, the three students had a limited frame of reference and a lot to research. They were responsible for all of their own research, trials and the finished product. In the fall, the students read over the rule book for the competition, referenced previous projects from other schools during previous years and began designing the canoe and mixing concrete. “One of the most difficult parts for us to figure out was the mix design because we are supposed to do all of the calculations ourselves,” Dodd said. “We had to be doing lots of hands-on research like figuring out ‘how does this hypothetical mix actually work, and what are the issues with it?’ Then we had to look long-term since concrete takes 28 days to completely solidify. There were so many components that were trial and error over and over again.” By the spring semester, the group found a concrete mix that worked, so they designated a day to pour their mix into the mold they had constructed over multiple months. The canoe was approximately 18.5 feet long, 32 inches wide, a little over a foot tall and could seat four people. The competition took place in late March 2024 at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Dodd was not able to make the trip, but Hounshell and Sanches Lopez-Almansa still decided to participate. Construction Management students helped the group construct a cradle for transportation of the canoe in a U-Haul trailer, but the bumpy road trip concluded with a crack in the middle of the canoe. The crack meant that they were not able to participate in the race aspect of the competition but were still able to present their research and final product. Even though the group could not compete, they did not receive last place due to their work on presentation and display. Despite last-minute challenges, the group succeeded in producing a final product and an impressive presentation. Parker showed great pride in his students and their ability to adapt to uncharted territory. “[The group] especially did a really good job creating a whole presentation,” Parker said. “The project is not easy to do, and I am so proud of them.” Dodd, Hounshell and Sanches Lopez-Almansa all valued the experience of working on the canoe with each other because of the teamwork and real-world applications for their future careers. “Engineering is very collaborative, and sometimes in your classes it is more individual,” Hounshell said. “Having a team and a finished product you’re working towards is more real-world engineering.” Sanches Lopez-Almansa agreed with Hounshell and Parker that the hands-on aspect of the course was especially valuable. “We were actually putting into practice what we study,” Sanches Lopez-Almansa said. “We’ve never put our hands in our studies before.” Dodd helped the following year’s students with their concrete canoe project. He hoped to be a guiding light for students working on a project that caused him and his group members to research far beyond what their scope had ever been. Written by Randi Tubbs
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