Student Organizations

CU Boulder’s Concrete Canoe Team takes on new challenges

sugl6437 — Mon, 04 May 2026 15:39:40 +0000

CU Boulder’s Concrete Canoe Team takes on new challenges sugl6437 Mon, 05/04/2026 - 09:39

Susan Glairon

Mary Grace Lemkuhl raises her paddle and Claire Harvey raises her arms, while Vadim Uzchenksky paddles in the front and Graeme Schnarre paddles in the back during the co-ed canoe sprint race competition.

Cold, snowy conditions didn’t stop �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder students from competing in the American Society of Civil Engineer’s (ASCE) concrete canoe competition, an annual event where teams design, formulate their own concrete mixtures and paddle floating canoes made of low-density concrete.

CU Boulder’s ASCE student chapter competed at the Rocky Mountain Student Symposium, held April 23-25 in Rapid City, South Dakota and hosted by South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The group was led by ASCE co-presidents Mary Grace Lehmkuhl and Julian Kotara, and Associate Teaching Professor Chris Senseney, the faculty advisor for the Concrete Canoe team.

“Julian and I are super proud of this year's symposium,” Lehmkuhl said. “Although CU Boulder did not do as well as we hoped, we competed in more competitions than ever before.”

Around 25 students from the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering designed and built this year’s 300-pound canoe, “Gone Bananas,” featuring bright yellow paint and a tropical theme. The team wore colorful Hawaiian shirts while presenting the canoe to the judges. During the races, the men's slalom team placed second against five other schools. CU Boulder placed fourth overall in the canoe competition.

“The success of getting a canoe to the conference unscathed is always something to celebrate,” Lehmkuhl said. “We’ve had canoes crack during transport in the past and a few schools had canoes break during the long journey to South Dakota this year.”

In addition to the canoe competition, the CU Boulder student chapter competed in the Timber Strong category for the first time. Led by CEAE students Boden Kaminski-Willard and Hannah Berger, the Timber Strong team finished third.

The event challenges teams to construct a two-story timber structure within 90 minutes; the team finished in 81:20,1:20 over their proposed time. While some wall components were prebuilt, most of the structure was assembled during the build period. The final structure was then inspected and load-tested to verify its strength.

Hanah Berger, Boden Kaminski-Willard, Joe Osborne, Tyler Rockey, Julian Kortara and Evelyn Ingraham (not pictured) construct their wood framed structure during the Timber Strong competition.

The team also placed third in the Sustainable Solutions competition, which challenges students to deepen their understanding of sustainability and apply it to real-world engineering problems. This year’s challenge focused on developing site and energy management plans for data centers.

“The team did a great job, incorporating water loop energy recovery systems to lower the effect the center had on the surrounding environment,” Kotara said.

CU Boulder also placed third in the Surveying competition.

The team is already looking forward to next year, when CU Boulder will host the regional ASCE Rocky Mountain Student Symposium.

“I’m incredibly excited for what’s ahead,” said Graeme Schnarre, next year’s ASCE president of CU Boulder’s student chapter. “Hosting the symposium will be a major undertaking, but it’s an amazing opportunity for our organization and one that will be incredibly rewarding.

“We’re planning to compete in most competitions next year, which is a huge step forward for our chapter. It speaks to the growth, dedication and momentum we’ve been building.”

Students interested in joining the ASCE student chapter and the 2026-27 team can email asce@colorado.edu and follow @cuboulderasce on Instagram.

CU Boulder ASCE student chapter symposium participants hold their awards.

CU Boulder’s ASCE student chapter competed at the Rocky Mountain Student Symposium, held April 23–25 and hosted by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. In addition to the canoe competition, the team competed in the Timber-Strong category for the first time, earning a third-place finish.

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CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team places third overall

Susan Glairon — Thu, 01 May 2025 14:41:56 +0000

CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team places third overall Susan Glairon Thu, 05/01/2025 - 08:41

Susan Glairon

CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team after placing third in the Coed Sprint race. From left to right: Madisyn Manka, Lucas Spector, Macy Brinker and Kieran McCarron.

CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team placed third overall at the regional American Society of Civil Engineers Rocky Mountain Student Symposium, which took place April 10-12 in Fort Collins and was hosted by Colorado State �Թ��. The popular student group—known for designing and racing a concrete canoe each year—had a record 28 CU Boulder civil, architectural and mechanical engineering students participating in this year's events.

“Our chapter and student enthusiasm for the competitions has grown,” said ASCE chapter president Dana Majer, a senior majoring in architectural engineering. “It has been exciting to see more students get involved each year.”

In the canoe races, CU Boulder students secured first place in the Men’s Slalom and third place in Best Final Product, the Women’s Slalom and the Co-ed

The Concrete Canoe team adds the final layer to their canoe on "Pour Day."

Sprint. In other conference competitions, the university placed first in the Construction Institute, second in Surveying and third in Sustainable Solutions.

It was the students’ first opportunity to race, as the open water races had been canceled for the past two years due to poor weather.

“The weekend was filled with a lot of fun, teamwork and learning,” Majer said.

The build

Concrete canoes float due to a unique concrete mix, which has a unit density lower than water. Student teams develop new concrete mixes each year.

More than 30 CU Boulder students helped build this year’s concrete canoe, which weighs approximately 220 pounds.

“It can be a challenge to move it from the lab into the U-Haul, and then into the display,” Majer said. “We have all hands on deck so that we don’t risk dropping it.”

During the construction process this year, the team forgot to apply Crisco, a vegetable shortening used to keep the concrete from sticking to the foam mold–but the team found a solution to separate the two. For the first time, the group implemented post-tensioning—a technique that uses steel tendons, cables or rods to reinforce the concrete—resulting in a lighter, stronger canoe, with a reduced risk of cracking.

Dana Majer, right, ASCE chapter president, holds the Overall Symposium third-place award, while Philip Weller, the concrete canoe captain, displays the third-place award for Best Final Product.

The team took extra precautions this year, especially when strapping the canoe into the trailer, as last year’s concrete canoe broke during transit to the competition.

Once on site, they faced another critical test. Before racing the boat, teams must complete a “swamp test,” which involves fully submerging the canoe in water. To pass, the canoe must resurface on its own.

“We passed, therefore we were able to race,” Majer said.

Another first

This year marked the first time a faculty advisor race was included on race day. CU Boulder’s concrete canoe faculty advisor, Associate Teaching Professor Chris Senseney, raced against South Dakota School of Mines and the U.S. Air Force Academy. CU came in third place.

“It was super exciting,” Majer said. “It was so much fun to see and watch Chris in the canoe, especially since he has helped so much over the years.”

Julian Kotara and Mary Grace Lehmkuhl, both juniors in architectural engineering, will serve as next year's ASCE co-presidents. They hope to build on this year's success at the next ASCE Rocky Mountain Student Symposium, hosted by the South Dakota School of Mines.

“We’re really excited about next year, with all the new interest from students and sponsors,” Kotara said.

Also of note, unlike past years, the canoe wasn’t damaged while racing.

“Now we have a practice canoe for future years!” Majer said.

Students interested in joining the ASCE student chapter and the 2025-26 team can email asce@colorado.edu and follow @cuboulderasce on Instagram.

CU Boulder’s concrete canoe team placed third overall at the ASCE Rocky Mountain Symposium, with a record 28 students participating in this year’s event.

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