"University of Texas at Tyler"
(19th place overall; 17th in paper; 21st in presentation; 17th in product)

Spirit of the Competition Award

Presentation:

The University of Texas - Tyler represented the Texas-Mexico Conference and made their debut at nationals.

The University of Texas at Tyler relied on 5 people to make their presentation; 4 men and 1 woman.  The presenters were dressed in formal attire.  The team used 1 screen and did not include any videos.  A foam prop was used to illustrate structural behavior.

Texas-Tyler made their debut and was the first team off the blocks in this phase of the competition.  After a brief introduction, they began by outlining their presentation.

The team described the constituents used for their main mix and explained that they had added free fibers to increase ductility.  They outlined their reinforcement scheme and described how they analytically determined the service load.  After specifying the factor of safety, they went on to construction.

The team explained how they used a male mold that they constructed themselves.  Then it was on to project management.

 The team explained how they initially struggled before becoming more efficient.  They discussed sustainability and described the innovative features of their cane.

 After giving a brief summary, the team brought their presentation nicely to conclusion.

Questions and Comments:

• Why did you decided not to use silica fume?

• How did you get your constituents in powder form?

• Can you describe the materials used to build your mold?

• Did you have any issues associated with the canvas that you used to construct the frame?

• What is the effect of lowering the water content of your mix?

• What type of a slump test did you do?

• How did you determine that the slump was the correct one for your application?

• Why did your canoe turn out to be so heavy?

Product:

The University of Texas at Tyler fielded "Krewe of Rex."
Length: 20.0'
Weight: 420 lb
Color: purple, green, and yellow

Vital Statistics (debut)