Crowley backs UPR-Mayagüez in national engineering competition
Shipping company Crowley is supporting a team of 16 students at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez (known as the RUM) by providing free shipping and logistics services for their entry in the American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition in Jacksonville, Florida.
The engineering students designed and created a concrete canoe that not only floats but can race in a March 25 competition at the University of North Florida. The canoe, 20 feet in length and 245 pounds, was loaded and will depart aboard the MV El Coquí ship from Crowley’s Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan on Friday.
The support continues Crowley’s commitments to the island of Puerto Rico and to helping people through educational programs that provide access to practical, in-demand industry skills, it said in a statement.
The competition, hosted by the University of North Florida College of Engineering, challenges students to leverage their engineering knowledge and creativity while putting into practice the engineering principles learned in the classroom. The university is also home to the Crowley Center for Transportation and Logistics.
“The RUM team represents the best-in-class and our future leaders,” said Sal Menoyo, vice president of Puerto Rico and Caribbean services, Crowley Logistics. “We are excited to cheer them on as they put their hard-earned skills to the test and go for their next championship title.”
The concrete canoe competition demands teams demonstrate their technical expertise in design, structural analysis, and project management. After constructing the canoe, students compete in five rowing races to test its effectiveness in a challenge of knowledge, creativity, and innovation.
“Crowley’s support has not only afforded us the opportunity to move our concrete canoe in a timely and safe manner to this year’s Jacksonville competition but played a crucial role in our overall project management process,” said Ariana Rodriguez, RUM engineering student and 2023 concrete canoe team captain.
“We’re thankful to Crowley and everyone for believing in us from start to finish. This is just the beginning of our engineering journeys,” she added.
With more than 200 members, the ASCE student chapter of the RUM is one of the largest and most competitive in the ASCE Southwest Region, made up of 25 universities from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico.
