A team from Texas A&M University finished 16th in the 2005 American Society of Civil Engineers National Concrete Canoe Competition at Clemson University.

First place went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose students crafted a 21.5-foot concrete canoe that weighed in at 175 pounds.

"Every year we challenge these students to come up with new and inventive designs, and every year they prove that concrete is a remarkable and versatile building material," said Degussa Admixtures President and CEO Mike Shydlowski.

"Their work, during the competition and in the future, will have a tremendous impact on the building industry."

Degussa Admixtures awarded a $5,000 scholarship to the winning team.

"The engineering students that participate in the Concrete Canoe Competition are some of the most innovative and creative young minds today," said ASCE President-Elect Dennis R. Martenson.

"They will be the ones to solve our nation's infrastructure problems. Their ability to not only build a canoe made of concrete, but to successfully race it, proves further that they are equal to the challenge."

The race itself counted for just 25 percent of the teams’ overall scores.

The rest of the points came from academic papers, oral presentations and the canoes themselves.

2005 CONCRETE CANOE RACE RANKINGS

1) University of Wisconsin-Madison
2) Clemson University
3) Michigan Tech University
4) University of California, Berkeley
5) The United States Military Academy, West Point
6) University of Evansville
7) University of Florida
8) California State Polytechnic University _ Pomona
9) The City College of New York
10) Western Kentucky University
11) Drexel University
12) Fairmont State University
13) North Carolina State University
14) New Mexico State University
15) Oklahoma State University
16) Texas A&M University
17) Wentworth Institute of Technology
18) University of Wisconsin-Platteville
19) Boise State University
20) Tulane University
21) The Catholic University of America

Click Here For American Society of Civil Engineers National Concrete Canoe Competition Web Site