"University of Rhode Island"
(18th place overall; 19th in paper; 15th in presentation; 17th in product)

Presentation:

The presentation was given by four men and three women dressed in formal attire.  The theme was posed as a business venture by the team to a potential investor.  The investor  asked questions and the team presented their business plan.  They explained how their management would be run, how practice would be handled.  They presented a Gant chart and explained how last year’s design would be improved to allow the team to win.

 Questions posed to the team were:  "What items are on the critical path and how were they identified to be on the critical path?"  "Why was Type II cement used?"  "How was the factor of safety determined?"  "What were the conditions under which prior cracking was observed?"

"How was the reinforcement designed to resist the stress due to torsion?"  "What were the target values for the strength and density of the mixes?"  "Were any other aggregates evaluated except for micro-balloons?"

"What is the canoe’s most innovative feature?"  "What safety precautions were taken during the project?"  "What is the difference between the water to cement ratio and the water to cementitious material ratio?"  

During the question and answer session, the team used an interesting technique where one of them repeated the judge’s question in order to give the team additional time to answer.   In general, this was a strong effort and the team did very well in addressing questions.

Product:

Name: Ocean's 11
Length: 20' 11"
Weight: 194 lb
Color: Rhody blue

Vital Stats:

The University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston, Rhode Island, was the representative from the New England Region.  This was the team's eighth consecutive appearance at nationals.  Their highest finish to date was eighth in 1998.

Canoe/Materials/Facts:

RI's canoe had an asymmetrical hull design and their team employed a new reinforcement scheme to gain additional strength for the heavier mixes mandated by this year's rules.