NORWOOD -- Clarkson University hosts the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Upstate New York Student Conference, featuring concrete canoe  competitions Saturday, April 20.

The concrete canoe display and races will be held on Saturday from 9:30a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Norwood Lake Pavilion

It is free and open to the public.

"Most people won't believe that the canoes are made of concrete, but it's truly an engineering feat," says Clarkson ASCE student chapter president Alex Deduck. "In addition to the race, each school will have a display of its canoe, showing a cross section, photos of the building process, and a report showing the methods and Ideas behind the choices each team has made."

There will be several classes of races, including men's and women's sprint, men's and women's endurance, and co-ed races.

"The conference is a great way for schools in the area to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real life situations," says Deduck. "Not only do we have a chance to showcase our 'solution' to a given problem or constraints, but we get to see how other students went about solving the problem. It's a great learning experience and a lot of fun."

Colleges and universities competing over the weekend include Clarkson University, Cornell University, Ecole de Technologie Superieure (Montreal), Hudson Valley Community College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Canton, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the University at Buffalo.

The first place concrete canoe team will be invited to the ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition in June.