Abstract
Technical Project
The technical portion of my capstone project supported the University of Virginia Concrete Canoe Team through the coordinated development of an improved concrete canoe mold system and a long-term project management framework. The construction component focused on replacing the team’s traditional male and female molds with a sectional two-plate injection mold. Previous mold designs often produced inconsistent wall thicknesses, rough surface finishes, and geometric inaccuracies. To address these issues, our team designed and tested multiple prototype molds with a ¾-inch cavity between the upper and lower plates to represent the canoe's wall thickness. The molds were modeled in Fusion 360, cut from Styrofoam using a waterjet, and assembled with acrylic sides to allow observation during testing.
The construction component also included the design of a gravity-driven concrete pump and the testing of several injection port configurations, liner materials, and concrete mixes. Through several iterations, one-, two-, and three-port layouts were compared along with different liner materials, such as sheet metal, aluminum, and vinyl. Testing showed that a single port did not fill the mold evenly, while three ports made demolding more difficult without improving the final result. The two-port injection system with a combined sheet-metal and vinyl-liner configuration proved to be the best option. By the end of the project, these findings were used to build a two-foot-long mold section that demonstrated the system's feasibility for constructing a future full-scale canoe.
The second component of the project focused on improving organization, continuity, and communication within the UVA Concrete Canoe Team. Past competition years relied on informal knowledge transfer, inconsistent scheduling methods, and limited onboarding resources. To address these challenges, our team developed a Project Management Framework that included a master schedule, organizational structure, task tracker, communication workflow, onboarding and training modules, and design reviews. Together, the construction and project management components established a stronger technical and organizational foundation for future competition teams.
STS Project
My STS paper examines how differences in funding, policy priorities, and material design influence where flood-resistant infrastructure is implemented and which communities benefit the most from it. As climate change increases sea level rise and the frequency of severe coastal storms, many cities face growing pressure to protect residents and infrastructure from flooding. However, the level of protection given to various communities is highly unequal. Through case studies of New Orleans, New York City, and Miami Beach, my research explores how economic resources, governance structures, institutional coordination, and planning priorities impact flood mitigation strategies and the use of resilient infrastructure.
The research focuses on several forms of flood-resistant concrete and durable infrastructure materials, including high-performance marine concrete, hydrophobic concrete additives, bacteria-based self-healing concrete, and ultra-high-performance concrete. These materials are designed to be more durable in coastal environments by reducing water penetration, corrosion, abrasion, and structural deterioration. However, implementing these technologies requires significant funding and institutional coordination due to specialized testing and maintenance. In New Orleans, post-Katrina rebuilding mainly focused on reinforcing existing levees and floodwalls after catastrophic failure, especially in vulnerable communities like the Lower Ninth Ward. In contrast, New York City pursued large-scale resilience initiatives after Hurricane Sandy, including the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, while Miami Beach invested in long-term stormwater management systems focused on pump stations, drainage infrastructure, and elevated roads.
To analyze these differences, I apply the Social Construction of Technology framework to understand how engineers, policymakers, funding structures, and institutions impact infrastructure decisions. Rather than treating flood-resistant concrete as a purely technical solution, I argue that resilience technologies are implemented based on political, economic, and social priorities that decide which neighborhoods receive stronger protection. The paper ultimately shows that resilient infrastructure is not only distributed based on engineering need, but also through systems of investment and governance that reinforce inequalities across coastal communities.
Relationship Between Technical and STS Projects
Although my technical and STS projects focus on two different engineering problems, they both revolve around concrete design and the challenges that come with long-term water exposure. My technical project focused on developing a concrete canoe mold system that improved the canoe's destructibility and strength while also accommodating concrete mixes that could flow effectively through the injected system and withstand repeated water exposure. Similarly, my STS research looked at how flood-resistant concrete technologies are designed to improve durability in coastal environments exposed to flooding, saltwater, and corrosion. Working on the technical project gave me a stronger understanding of challenges related to concrete fabrication, including mix performance, material selection, constructibility, and durability, which helped me better understand the engineering side of the flood-resistant concrete technologies examined in my STS paper. At the same time, my STS paper research expanded my perspective beyond material performance by showing how funding systems, political priorities, and institutions influence where resilient concrete infrastructure is implemented.
