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NEWS RELEASE

06-12-02

Contacts:
Jessica Slavik, ASCE Concrete Canoe co-chair, (515) 201-8352
John Dostart, ASCE Concrete Canoe co-chair, (515) 290-7852
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917
Dennis Smith, Engineering Communications, (515) 294-0267

IOWA STATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS COMPETE IN
NATIONAL CONCRETE CANOE COMPETITION

AMES, Iowa -- Members of the Iowa State University student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will travel to Madison, Wis., June 20-24 to compete in the National Concrete Canoe Competition. The ISU team qualified for the national event by winning the ASCE regional competition held in April in Platteville, Wis.

The Iowa State team will go head-to-head for national honors with student engineers from two dozen of North America's top engineering schools. ISU's entry, christened "Fever," is 19.2 ft long, and weighs approximately 155 lbs. It uses lightweight aggregates that allow the craft to float in water without the need of additional flotation devices in its hull, said Jessica Slavik, co-chair of ISU's team.

The competition is being held in conjunction with ASCE's 150th Anniversary National Student Convention, which also features student competitions in high-speed bridge building and water purification using only common kitchen items such as colanders, pots, and coffee filters.

"Designing a canoe made mostly of concrete or purifying polluted water with household items is not much different then the everyday challenges these students will face as the future designers and builders of our infrastructure," said ASCE President H. Gerard Schwartz, Jr.

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Note to TV editors:
On Friday, June 21, television and radio stations can conduct satellite interviews with local student teams attending ASCE's 150th Anniversary National Student Conference. B-roll footage of the concrete canoe and steel bridge competitions will be available at these coordinates at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. CDT.

Feed Time:	10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. CDT
Coordinates:	Ku-band satellite (analog) on AMC2/Ge2 (Transponder 1K)

Stations wishing to participate in this free satellite media tour originating from the event are encouraged to contact ConnectLive at (202) 513-1010 to schedule interviews with participants.