PSU team wins concrete competition

  Monday, March 11, 2013 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

A team of Pittsburg State University students earned first-place in a recent construction-related competition.

Jacob Carlson, Fletcher Harder, Mitchell Hucke and Antonio Mesa competed in the Mo-Kan American Concrete Institute student competition on March 2. The PSU team won first place in the challenge of creating the best self-consolidating concrete, besting teams from the University of Missouri - Kansas City and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The PSU team will compete at the national competition in Minneapolis, Minn.

“This was a great experience for our students, and it gave them a nice feel for what they can expect at the national contest,” assistant professor of construction Seth O’Brien said.

The competition challenged students to work with self-consolidating concrete, commonly known as mortar. Their task was to create a flowing concrete to fill physical forms.

“The challenge is to create a concrete that’s flowable but that still has the strength to do its job,” professor Randall Timi said. “This was a nice trial run for our students as they prepare for nationals.”

For more information on ACI, visit www.concrete.org.