"University of Nevada - Reno"
(3rd place overall; 1st in paper; 14th in presentation; 1st in product)

Presentation:

The University of Nevada, Reno represented the Mid-Pacific Conference and made their second consecutive national appearance.

Reno relied on 2 people to make their presentation; 1 man and 1 woman.  The presenters were dressed business casual and the presentation was business oriented.  The team used 1 screen and included videos (animations and time lapse photography).                

After introducing themselves, the team elaborated on their goals.  They began with project management and followed by describing the objectives of their hull design.  Then the team elaborated on the steps taken to improve the hydrodynamics of their entry.

Structural analysis came next.  The team mentioned that the critical load occurred during the two-man sprint.  They described their finite element analysis and elaborated on the benchmarks that needed to be achieved.

Then it was on to mix design.  The team described the steps taken to achieve their goals and elaborated on the steps taken to do so.  They described the techniques used to construct their mold and canoe and elaborated on the advanced techniques used to orchestrate their delivery.

The team described the spring deflection method employed to obtain their pre-stress.  They described how they maintained quality control and described the methods used to avoid air voids.

The team commented on the time that it took to construct their boat and showed a very nice time lapse sequence of the process.  Then, they brought their presentation to a strong conclusion.

Questions and Comments:   

• What was the most significant factor that you overcame in reviewing past efforts?
• How did you keep everyone motivated to keep up with your very aggressive construction schedule?
• What was your most valuable resource that allowed you to make such great strides so quickly?
• Why did you use so much super plasticizer?
• Did you consider the adverse reactions associated with such a high dose?
• How did you narrow down your goals to the point at which you questioned the specific gravity of the aggregates provided by the manufacturer?
• Are the trowels that you used for construction commercially available?
• How did you arrive at your modified turning moment calculations?
• How well does your boat perform with respect to this analysis?
• How did you get compaction to be uniform across the canoe’s hull?

Note: I thought that the team performed very well during the presentation, moving from behind the podium to center stage while elaborating on their project.  During the question and answer session, team members often elaborated on the answer given by their fellow team members.  Overall, this looked like a very strong delivery… and I was very surprised that the team didn't score higher in this category.  Turns out that they went a few seconds over the allotted time and received a 15 point penalty.

 Product:

The University of Nevada - Reno fielded "Cerulean."
Length: 19' 11.5"
Weight: 165.5 lb
Color: white and blue

The team employed two layers of epoxy coated carbon mesh and multi-level pre-stressed tendons to reinforce their hull.  They stitched the carbon fiber mesh to the tendons in order to hold it in place.

Vital Statistics