"University of Wisconsin - Madison (Badgers)"
(1st place overall; 1st in paper; 3rd in presentation; 4th in product)

Presentation:

University of Wisconsin - Madison represented the Great Lakes Conference and made their thirteenth national appearance.

The Badgers relied on 3 people to make their presentation; 2 men and 1 woman.  The presenters were dressed in suits and the presentation was business oriented.  The team used 1 screen and did not include any video.

The presentation began with a very strong introductory statement.  The team introduced themselves and explained the philosophy underlying their theme.

The team explained the attributes of their hull design and explained that these were confirmed during the stint.  They mentioned how they performed their stress analysis and elaborated on how they designed their concrete to meet the required expectations.  Then the team outlined the tests conducted to verify their analytical analysis.

Form construction came next.  The team outlined the steps taken to develop their pre-stressing scenario and they elaborated on their construction and curing techniques.  They mentioned quality control before giving details regarding construction.

The team explained how they incorporated different structural elements and how these elements were integrated into the design.  Project management came next. 

The team explained how they developed their schedule and mentioned their safety program.  They ended the presentation by explaining how they bridged the gap between past and present efforts. 

Questions and Comments:

• Who had the expertise to conduct your air entrainment tests?
• Did you experience any cracking when using Type III cement?
• How did you cure it?
• How did create your prototype?
• Did you weight your prototype down to simulate your concrete canoe?
• What type of sample did you test to obtain your air content?
• Does a shorter length change the assumptions made during your efficiency calculations?
• How do you account for changes in the crew members?
• Did you account for different racing conditions?
• What percentage of losses did you use for your pre-stressing?
• Why was the percentage amount of cementitious materials in your mix so low?
• How many cycles did you initiate in your testing?
• Did you bring the plate to failure? 

 Product:

 The Badgers from the University of Wisconsin - Madison fielded "Descendant."
Length: 19' 11 3/4"
Weight: 176.5 lb
Color: natural gray

The team employed three layers of fiberglass scrim and pre-tensioned cables to reinforce their hull.  Two layers were placed on the outside of the hull and one on the inside.  They truncated their stern to increase the effective length and hull speed.

Vital Statistics