ARCE a R C h I T E C T U R a l E N g I N E E R I N g D E P a R T m E N T | C O l l E g E O f a R C h I T E C T U R E a N D E N v I R O N m E N Ta l D E S I g N | S P R I N g 2 013 STUDENT PROJECTS IN PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE Department head’s Message Inside 3 8 10 15 20 21 22 Special Events Student Achievement Student Activities Faculty News ARCE Advisory Board Alumni Events Industry Partner Profile On The Cover Ev an G er b o w as o n a team of AR CE and civil engin e ering students that designed an i co n i c comm e rcial of f ice b u il ding f o r th e 2013 E ar th quake En gineering Res earch Ins titute’s Un dergr aduate S e ismic D esign Comp etition . Read about students’ other achievements on page 9. Al Estes aRCE DaZZlES, ThaNKS TO YOU As this busy year comes to an end, I am pleased to share our activities and accomplishments in our annual magazine. From the curricular standpoint, we are challenged with reducing the number of units in the program, welcoming our largest freshman class to date, and offering a non-thesis option for the master’s program. Our accomplishments include winning two national competitions, continuing to upgrade our facilities, and conducting some very interesting and innovative faculty research. In addition to the faculty, staff and students, I have many to thank for our continued success. My thanks to Nucor Corp. for sponsoring this magazine. The Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada (CMACN) is sponsoring our Masonry Design course. K’NEX Corp. donated more than 44,000 rods and connectors for classroom use. RISA Technologies and Computers and Structures Inc. donated the software we use. We appreciate Jack Berridge, who traveled here with his family to dedicate the Berridge Lab and be our college’s honored alumnus. We continue to grow the Learn by Doing Parents Fund sponsored and matched by Florian and Lori Barth. Thanks to our lab sponsors (CSI, Hilti, Simpson Strong-Tie, Verco, Degenkolb, and Mark Haselton), to Fluor for supporting the Student Leadership Fund, and to Jerry Lohr for his annual contribution of wine. I appreciate all of you who have contributed to scholarships, attended Structural Forum, and served on the Advisory Board. We have continued to stay in touch with you all through field trips, ARCE receptions at the SEAOC convention and Parents Weekend, Open House, alumni get-togethers, and personal visits. We are happy to welcome Christine Theodoropoulos as our new dean. She provides a great complement to our new provost, president and chancellor. Allen C. estes, DepArtment HeAD Dean’s Message EXCEllENT, aND gETTINg BETTER As my first academic year at Cal Poly winds down, I pause to reflect on how proud I am to be the dean of this prestigious college. My first months have been a whirlwind of meeting people, managing budgets, preparing for a capital campaign, understanding curricula, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. We have such a diverse array of disciplines in this college that our opportunities are endless. ARCE is one of the few ABET- (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited engineering programs in the nation housed outside a college of engineering. The practitioners on the faculty and the depth of curricular coverage in structural engineering set the program apart. I praise their accomplishments and look forward to the continued update of facilities and laboratory equipment. My thanks to those parents, alumni, industry partners and friends who have already contributed so generously to this program’s success. CHristine tHeoDoropoulos, AiA, pe, DeAn Special Events Cal Poly President Jef frey D. Armstrong A VERy SPECIAl hOmECOmINg JACK BERRIDGE RETURNS To HoNoRED AlUM TITlE, NEw lAB AND FooTBAll Alumnus Jack Berridge (ARCE ’59) had quite the homecoming in October 2012. Selected as the College of Architecture and Environmental Design’s 2012 Honored Alumnus, Jack, together with family members and friends, traveled to San Luis Obispo from San Antonio, Texas, to celebrate with all of the 2012 Cal Poly Honored Alumni and distinguished guests at an awards and dinner reception held during Homecoming. Festivities included an invitation from Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong to be his guest in the President’s Box to watch the Mustang football game on Oct. 20. Jack was recognized for his accomplishments during halftime. Jack, founder and owner of Houstonbased Berridge Manufacturing Co., is well known as an innovator of architectural metal roofing products and is considered a pioneer of the architectural metal panel industry. Jack was the first person to sponsor an ARCE experimental labora­ tory. The Berridge Lab is the seventh lab to undergo renovations as part of a program that provides opportunities for companies and individuals to make a $10,000-a­ year commitment for five years to pay for upgrades and renovation. Thanks to Jack’s generosity, the ARCE Department celebrated the opening of the Berridge Manufacturing Co. Materials Testing Laboratory. Jack gathered with family, faculty members, students and friends at the dedication ceremony, also held during Homecoming weekend. The ceremony featured a ribbon cutting, plaque unveiling and cake cutting, followed by a lunch for students and guests, including President Armstrong and College of Architecture and Environmental Design Dean Christine Theodoropoulos. The lab, previously the Materials Testing Laboratory, gives architecture, Jack Berridge and Nancy Hagman joined ARCE students, facult y and staf f for the dedication of the Berridge Manufacturing lab during Homecoming weekend last fall. architectural engineering, and construction management students their first real exposure to structural courses. Jack donated the labor as well as his company’s siding products to cover the bare concrete walls. The remodel will also include new furniture, carpet, a projector system, white boards and supplies. www.ARCE.CAlPoly.EDU ? 3 Special Events mIXINg IT UP 2012 SEAoC CoNVENTIoN AND ARCE RECEPTIoN EDUCATE AND ENTERTAIN FACUlTy, STUDENTS AND AlUMNI The ARCE Department had quite a presence at the 2012 Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC) C onv en ti on i n Sa nt a F e, N .M ., in September. Three faculty members pre­ sented papers and four students attended the annual event. Jim Guthrie presented a paper co­ authored by Jill Nelson on the CALVIVA project, which assesses California state buildings for their seismic vulnerability, James Mwangi presented a paper on the Haiti rebuilding effort, and John Lawson presented a paper on roof drainage issues affecting engineers. Students Alex Daddow, Andrew Jimenez, Beth Schlacks and Lauren Litwiler were able to attend the conference, thanks to donations from Bill Warren (ARCE ’78) and Larry Kaprielan (ARCE ’79). Funds from the ARCE Parents Learn by Doing Fund and the university’s Instructionally Related Activities program also helped fund the students’ trip to Santa Fe. The students, all officers in Cal Poly’s SEAOC student chapter, attended technical sessions and social events and went on a field trip with John Lawson to Santa Fe’s Loretto Chapel, where they saw firsthand the unique 22-foot-tall wood helical stair­ case that makes two complete rotations with no central support. In what has become a much-antici­ pated tradition during the annual fourday SEAOC Convention, the ARCE Department hosted another successful alumni/friends reception. Held at the Cowgirl BBQ, the event attracted about 55 alumni and friends. “It’s great having seasoned professionals meet and interact with our students,” John said. The department also thanks Ashraf 4 ? ARCE SPRING 2013 Attending the CSI Reception at the Santa Fe SEAoC Convention (from lef t): lauren litwiler, James Mwangi, Ashraf Habibullah, a guest (name unknown) , Beth Schlack s and John lawson Habibullah, CEO of Computers and Structures Inc., for inviting the students to his gala reception held at the worldrenowned Gerald Peters Gallery that he rented for the evening. Guests were treated to dinner and flamenco music and dancing. “People were dancing to flamenco music next to artwork worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,” John said. “The students were blown away.” This year’s Alumni and Friends Reception will be held at the SEAOC Convention in San Diego. Come visit with friends on Thursday, Sept. 19! Look for details to come at www.arce.calpoly.edu. mOmENTUm SUPPoRT GRowS FoR ARCE PARENTS FUND when Florian and lori Bar th established the ARCE Parents learn by Doing Fund in 2012, they envisioned it as a “challenge” grant that would encourage other parents to invest in enhancing the educational experience of students. The Bar ths will match, dollar for dollar, each gift made to the fund, up to $50,000. The fund will bring physical dem­ onstrations into the classroom, provide more hands-on learning experiences, send students to competitions and conferences, and foster activities that connect their education to the design industry and the real world. It has already helped send four students to the 2012 SEAoC Convention in Santa Fe ( se e s t o r y o n opposite page), up grade th e n ew s eismic lab, suppor t guest speakers, welcome freshmen, and buy testing equipment. Please consider making a contribu­ ti on to th e f un d ’s ultimate goal of $100,000 using the enclosed envelope. T h e s t ude n t s wi ll long benef it from your generosity. $19,035 wElCoMING ARCE’S PaRENTS For the third annual Parents Weekend, the ARCE Department added a second event: a wine (donated by J. Lohr Vineyards) and cheese reception that attracted more than 80 people on Friday, Oct. 12. Faculty member Ed Saliklis and his band, Professor S and The Stress, thrilled the crowd with their No.1 hit song, “I’ve Got the ARCE Blues.” (Visit Youtube at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7wcIN8mXAc &feature=related.) Ed also gave a presenta­ tion on Myron Goldsmith and the develop­ ment of braced tubular frames. On Saturday the department hosted a lunch reception for about 120 parents. College of Architecture and Environmental Design Dean Christine Theodoropoulos provided welcoming remarks, while the SEAOC student chapter prepared tri-tip sandwiches, complete with salad and chips. The students gave presentations on SEAOC student chapter activities and on their recent trip to Haiti. Guests were also introduced to the ARCE Parents Learn by Doing Fund through a video created by Florian and Lori Barth, who established the gift but Professor S and The Stress enter tain guests (top), and student Daniel Burkhartsmeyer welcomes his parents (above). were unable to attend in person. (See story at left.) ARCE parents Ken (B.Arch ’80) and Jeanne Stone graciously volunteered to explain the importance of contributing to this matching program. Department Head Al Estes gave an update on department activities and took questions. (To see a brief recap of the events, watch our video: www.youtube.com/watch?v =JX8Mq7CrGO8&feature=plcp.) Watch for information on the next ARCE Parents Weekend festivities, planned for Oct. 25-26, 2013, to coincide with the university’s Parent and Family Weekend. The department will welcome new students and families on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, as students move on to campus. Look for more information on our Facebook page and at http://www.arce.calpoly.edu/. www.ARCE.CAlPoly.EDU ? 5 Special Events Gathering for the forum ( from lef t) : Neville Mathias, Bruce Danzinger, Ed Saliklis, John l awson, C J Horn, Al Estes, Rick y Stewar t, l auren lit wiler, Andrew Jimenez, Ethan Meier, Mar tin Bechtold and Nanc y Hamilton STRUCTURAl FoRUM 2013 ‘STRUCTURal EXPRESSIONS’ Four dynamic speakers – all highly regarded leaders in their fields – helped make the 23rd annual Structural Forum a success, drawing an even bigger student audience than last year. This year about 130 students, including several civil engineering students, came to campus Saturday, Feb. 2, to hear presentations by Nancy Hamilton, director of Engineering Services at HOK; Martin Bechthold, professor of architectural technology at Harvard Graduate School of Design; and Neville Mathias, associate director and senior structural engineer at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) in San Francisco. Capitalizing on the forum’s theme, “Structural Expr essions,” Nancy’s presentation was titled “Integration of Structure and Architecture: Case Studies.” Martin spoke on “Fabricating Structures.” He founded the Design Robotics Group at Harvard, which focuses on integrating robotic technology into fabrication and construction processes. Neville presented “Sculpting Structure: The Al Hamra Tower,” the tallest skyscraper 6 ? ARCE SPRING 2013 in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Designed by SOM, the 1,354-foot tower was completed in 2011 and is the tallest sculpted tower in the world. In the evening, the students gathered at the Embassy Suites hotel in San Luis Obispo to meet with representatives from 29 prominent industry firms at a career fair and an evening banquet. Participating companies fund this annual event by sponsoring tables. The funds support Cal Poly’s student chapter of SEAOC. Banquet keynote speaker Bruce Danziger spoke on “Aspirations to Design.” Bruce, an associate principal with ARUP in Los Angeles, has been the lead structural engineer for several performing arts centers and other cultural venues. ARCE senior and Structural Forum Chair Lauren Litwiler organized the event – from conceptualizing the etched glass centerpieces to approving contracts with Embassy Suites and narrowing down the list of speakers. “It was a lot of work,” she said, “but I’d do it again. It was fun to communicate with people outside the department.” ThaNK YOU, PaRTNERS The ARCE Department thanks the following companies for their attendance and support of this year’s forum: ARUP Barrish Pelham & Associates Inc. Brooks Ransom Associates Buehler & Buehler Structural Engineers Inc. Crosby Group DCI Engineers Degenkolb Engineers DES Architects + Engineers Englekirk Structural Engineers Ficcadenti waggoner & Castle Structural Engineers Forell / Elsesser Engineers Inc. Hilti Corporation Holmes Culley Hope - Amundson Structural Engineers John A. Martin & Associates KNA Consulting Engineers Inc. KPFFConsulting Engineers lionakis MHP Structural Engineers Miyamoto International Nishkian Menninger Rutherford + Chekene SidePlate Systems Inc. Simpson Strong-Tie Co. Inc. Summit Engineering Taylor & Syfan Consulting Engineers Inc. wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. ZFA Structural Engineers ARCE SENIoRS CElEBRaTE The annual Senior Banquet is an important event, says Department Head Al Estes. “ARCE students have worked incredibly hard, developed friendships, and grown personally during their years at Cal Poly. The Senior Banquet is a final opportunity to pause, reflect and celebrate those milestones.” Organized by students CJ Horn and Garrett McElveny, this year’s banquet was held at Guisseppe’s in Pismo Beach. The evening featured some awards, presentation of senior gifts, and a student parody of the faculty. Celebrating seniors (from left): Beth Schlacks, Heather Isobe, Butian (Tom) liu, Meghan Navarro, Shawna Peterson and Sonia Huynh www.ARCE.CAlPoly.EDU ? 7 Student Achievement KUDOS! hONORINg aRCE’S 2012-13 SChOlaRShIP RECIPIENTS Every June those scholarships established by our generous donors are awarded to a group of talented and deserving ARCE students. The department hosts a luncheon during the final week of school to formally present these scholarships. The luncheon precedes the annual Projects Day presentations. Congratulations to these worthy recipients, and thank you to our donors! Below : C AED Dean Christine Theodoropoulos, scholarship recipient Nicole o’Hearne, and Associate Dean Dick Zweifel 2012 COllEgE Of aRChITECTURE aND ENvIRONmENTal DESIgN aWaRDS aND SChOlaRShIPS Ethan meier | Douglas James Martin Scholarship Sunny Bruns & Sinhui Chang | Herbert E. Collins Scholarships (Undergrad) Chase Kossack & Shahab Shaolian | Herbert E. Collins Scholarships (Master’s) matthew Kidd | Robin l. Rossi Award Nicole O’hearne | CAED Jamba Juice Scholarship Shawna Peterson | Carson Starkey Memorial Scholarship for Merit Sinhui Chang | Cal Poly Certificate of Excellence for Community Service lisa henry | Cal Poly Certificate of Excellence for Advancing the Image of the CAED 2012 aRChITECTURal ENgINEERINg DEPaRTmENT aWaRDS aND SChOlaRShIPS Chandler morehardt | Emanuele Barelli Structural Engineer Scholarship EERI Seismic Design Competition: Brian Biehl, Stephen Coan & Jennifer Roth | KNA Senior Project Grant Sinhui Chang | Englekirk & Sabol Consulting Structural Engineers Scholarship Jesse hoye | Forell Elsesser Engineers Scholarship Sunny Bruns & Sinhui Chang | Hans Mager Scholarship Nicole O’hearne | Fluor lower Division Scholarship lauren litwiler | Fluor Upper Division Scholarship Telescope group: mounir El-Koussa, laura Rice & michael vickery | CyS Eugene Cole Senior Project Award Shawna Peterson | John A. Martin and Associates Scholarship Kevin miller | KPFF Consulting Engineers Scholarship Christopher (CJ) horn | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. Scholarship Christopher (CJ) horn | Degenkolb Engineers Scholarship & Internship Zhilong liu | SEAoSC Scholarship 2013 COllEgE Of aRChITECTURE aND ENvIRONmENTal DESIgN aWaRDS aND SChOlaRShIPS Jorge gonzalez and martin Chavez | Herbert E. Collins Scholarships (Undergrad) Khloe Campos and Sinhui Chang | Herbert E. Collins Scholarships (Master’s) Daniel morosan | Robin l. Rossi Award Joaquin Bermudez | CAED Jamba Juice Scholarship Nicole O’hearne | Carson Starkey Memorial Scholarship for Merit 2013 aRChITECTURal ENgINEERINg DEPaRTmENT aWaRDS aND SChOlaRShIPS andrew Stephens | Emanuele Barelli Structural Engineer Scholarship Same Polytechnic College in Tanzania: Daniel Stone, lauren litwiler, meghan Navarro, Sonia huynh and Katie Schwall | KNA Senior Project Grant Kendall Johnson | Englekirk & Sabol Consulting Structural Engineers Scholarship Kevin Choy | Forell Elsesser Engineers Scholarship Nicole O’hearne and Simon Jardel-menno | Hans Mager Scholarship Noradelli villanueva | Fluor lower Division Scholarship matthew Kidd | Fluor Upper Division Scholarship SESh (haiti): alex Daddow and andrew Jimenez | CyS Eugene Cole Senior Project Award Shawna Peterson and Jesse hoye | John A. Martin and Associates Scholarship Joaquin Bermudez | KPFF Consulting Engineers Scholarship Nicole O’hearne | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. Scholarship Yoshitaka Tamiya | Degenkolb Engineers Scholarship & Internship Beth Schlacks | Concrete Masonry Assoc. of CA/NV Nicole O’hearne | Simpson Strong-Tie Scholarship andrew Jimenez | SEAoNC Scholarship 8 ? ARCE SPRING 2013 CoMPETITIoNS HoNE REal-WORlD SKIllS Architectural engineering students c on t i nu e t o c om p e t e in co m pe t i ­ tions designed to showcase the stu­ dents’ r eal-world pr oblem-solving skills. “This was an interesting year for competitions,” says Al Estes. “We did not do as well as we had hoped at EERI or AEI, but we had surprise victories in two compe­ titions that we had never before entered.” BROCaDE COmPETITION ARCE students made quite a mark their first time participating in the third annual Brocade Competition. Brocade, based out of San Jose, Calif., has more than 100 locations across the globe. The project was to design an efficient, scalable and cost-effective data center for Brocade’s Broomfield, Colo., campus. Teams were asked to build and design a building to support Brocade research and development and product-testing rack labs. The space required innovative ideas to lower construction and operations costs while being highly efficient in power us­ age effectiveness (PUE), which measures the efficiency of a computer data center (specifically how much power is used by the computing equipment in contrast to cooling and other overhead). The project needed expertise from students in business, construction management, architecture and mechanical, electrical, civil, architectural and environmental engineering. All teams made presentations to a Brocade panel, and the three best teams were selected to travel to San Jose for a presentation in front of a larger group. ARCE students were on all three finalist teams. ARCE senior Kevin Miller was on the interdisciplinary team that placed first; seniors Chandler Morehardt and Andy Vallejo were on teams that took second and third, respectively. Brocade allocated $12,000 in prize money among the three winning teams. SEI/aSCE STUDENT STRUCTURal DESIgN COmPETITION Cal Poly’s interdisciplinary team of architecture, construction management, landscape architecture and ARCE students took first place and won $1,000 in the Chandler Morehardt leads one Cal Poly Brocade team to a second place victor y (top) . Cal Poly’s interdisciplinary team placed first at SEI /ASCE with its Engineering Hangar Project (above). Structural Engineering Institute’s Student Structural Design Competition. ARCE student Victor Ramos, architec­ ture student Helene Deprez – an exchange student from Paris – and construction management major Tyler Edwards travelled to Pittsburgh in May with ARCE faculty advisor Brent Nuttall for the finals. The three finalist teams gave presentations at the SEI Structures Congress. The Cal Poly team submitted the Engineering Hangar Project, a 52,000-square-foot, state-of-the­ art mechanical fabrication shop. www.ARCE.CAlPoly.EDU ? 9 Student Activities SKy’S THE lIMIT RICH EXPERIENCES ABoUND FoR MEMBERS oF SEAoC/AEI’S STUDENT CHAPTER Cal Poly SEAoC /AEI chapter members lauren lit wiler, advisor John lawson, Ethan Meier, Daniel Burkhar tsmeyer, Caleb Dunne, Robyn Schmidt, and Andrew Jimenez visit the Space Needle in Seattle. Holiday customs, field trips, barbecues, golf tournaments, and weekly meetings keep members of the student chapter of the Structural Engineers Association of California/Architectural Engineering Institute (SEAOC/AEI) on a tight schedule. The group celebrated Halloween with a pumpkin-car ving contest and Thanksgiving with a feast of seven tur­ keys and all the typical side dishes. This year they visited San Francisco, Seattle and San Diego. In San Francisco, faculty member Graham Archer accompanied the students on tours of award-winning Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), experts in high-rise towers and the firm that designed Burj Khalifa, the tallest build­ ing in the world in downtown Dubai. In Oakland, the students visited the Cathedral of Christ the Light, also designed by SOM. “It’s an amazing structure with a wooden/glass skin that creates an interior full of light,” said Alex Daddow, SEAOC/ AEI past-president. “One of my favorite buildings of the year.” During spring break, faculty advisor John Lawson and 15 students visited Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Bainbridge Island, and the offices of Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), DCI Engineers and KPFF, as well as PCS Structural Solutions in Tacoma. “These firms provided access to some of Seattle’s most exciting buildings and construction sites,” John said. MKA’s Emily Carlip (ARCE ’11) gave a tour of the 76-story Columbia Center and the new Seattle Public Library. A highlight of the Seattle trip was to the Nucor Steel Mill (see story, page 22), where students saw the production of reinforcing steel bars, from recycled scrap through the electric arc furnace to the finished product. In San Diego, faculty member Peter Laursen joined the students as they visited Lovelace Engineering, Hope Engineering, a nd Mo f f at t & N ic ho l, p lus s ev e ra l construction sites. Speakers who gave presentations dur­ ing the chapter’s weekly meetings included: From the ARCE Department, Al Estes, department head, gave quarterly presenta­ tions on the state of the department, and Professor John Lawson presented “The Structures Specialist’s Role in Urban Search and Rescue,” relating to his role as a mem­ ber of a Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue task force. Carole Moore, Cal Poly Career Services, spoke on professionalism. Lorena Arce from Hilti; Adam Azofeifa, Degenkolb; Deidra Bernal and Sandra Jung, Cushing Associates; Amber Freund, RISA Technologies; Bethany Hennings, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute; Damon Ho, Simpson Strong-Tie; and Doug Thompson, STB Structural Engineers, talked about their companies, career paths, projects, and personal and professional experiences. Also, Owen Rosenbloom of Wiss, Janney, Elstner (WJE) Associates, spoke about the retrofit of the Hibernia Bank Building in San Francisco; George Grygar, TXI, talked about the applications of spe­ cialized concrete mix design and light­ weight concrete; and Paul Kovach, WJE, spoke about the response to Hurricane Sandy and work done on Alcatraz. ARCE student Alex Mueller watches as CJ Horn attempts to sink a putt in the SEAoC/ AEI golf tournament (top) . SEAoC chapter members visit the of fices of Holmes-Culley on their field trip to San Francisco (above). www.ARCE.CAlPoly.EDU ? 11 Students Activities A BEll BRINGS HoPE To HAITI STUDENTS REBUIlD CHURCH BEll DAMAGED IN 2010 EARTHQUAKE A job well done by the students – a newly built concrete and wood struc ture for the bell at St. Rose de lima ( below) . Students prepare the site and mix mor tar for the concrete and rebar base ( bot tom ) . 12 ? ARCE SPRING 2013 The weather in Haiti in August is brutal. But the scorching heat and intense humidity didn’t dampen the spirits of the ARCE students who traveled to the seaside village of Leogane to repair a memorial bell and tower that had been damaged in the 2010 earthquake. Students Alex Daddow, Caleb Dunne, Andrew Jimenez, Yong (Paul) Kim, Robert Norton, Jarred Parker, Robyn Schmidt and Andrew Stephens, as well as alumnae Stephanie (Rae) Arazibal (ARCE ’11) and architecture student Hannah Pauling spent a week there in 2012. To help with engineering-related prob­ lems, Ken O’Dell, an ARCE advisory board member and vice president and partner at MHP Structural Engineers, traveled with them. Alex was inspired by the SESH (Structural Engineering Students for Haiti) group that had gone the year before. “They came back com­ pletely changed,” Alex said. “The trip seemed to have shown them the real meaning of structural engineering and why we do what we do.” More than 30,000 residents of Leogane died in the 7.0 earthquake, and the entire church for the parish of St. Rose de Lima was destroyed. “We wanted to give them a way to ring the bells again and remember their loved ones,” Alex explained. The church is being rebuilt by Haiti Engineering Inc., the nongovernmental orga­ nization that sponsored the students. Once in Leogane, the students got right to work. “The site was unprepared when we arrived, and the project was completed on time before we left,” Andrew said. “It was amazing.” The students were up by 5 a.m., ready for the long day ahead. Taking just a few short meal breaks, they worked until darkness fell. Every night the students would gather on the patio and recap their day. Alex would ask three questions: What was the favorite part of their day? The worst part? The most challeng­ ing part? “We would be out there up to two hours,” Alex said. “It was funny, emotional, and we learned a lot.” The last day of construction they spent get­ ting the screws in place, the actual cross braces connected, and the site cleared. They finished five minutes ahead of their deadline. The next morning, Father Marat thanked the students during mass at St. Rose de Lima. After the service, a dedication ceremony was held and the bell was officially rung for 35 seconds – the duration of the earthquake. Each student also got to ring the bell once. Community members showed their appreciation in different ways. Andrew was approached by a local man who had watched The Cal Poly team rebuilds the wood housing for the bell (above) . From lef t : Ken o’Dell ( MHP), Robyn Schmidt, Paul Kim and Caleb Dunne. Rae Arazibal (ARCE ‘11) works on the concrete and rebar base (right). them work all week. Andrew had on sandals with a broken strap. “The man asked for my sandal, and I gave it to him, thinking I’d never see him or my sandal again,” Andrew said. “Lo and behold, he came back a few minutes later with my sandal fixed.” “The best part of the the trip was leading a group of 10 students through some really tough odds to build this beautiful structure for the community of Leogane,” Alex said. “The climax was the opening ceremony for the memorial, in which the entire parish participated.” www.ARCE.CAlPoly.EDU ? 13 Students Activities K’NEX ThEY’RE NOT JUST fOR KIDS aNYmORE K’NEX Brands, L.P., recently donated $10,000 worth of rods and connectors – 44,000 pieces of toy building materials – to support the ARCE’s Learn by Doing activities in the classroom. During spring quarter, students in Craig Baltimore’s Large Scale Structures class used 16,000 K’NEX pieces to construct a suspen­ sion bridge that held up a 100-pound block of concrete on Dexter Lawn. In addition, ARCE students Jesse Hoye and Shawna Peterson are using the K’NEX pieces in support of a faculty seismic research grant awarded to Professors Cole McDaniel and Graham Archer. Georgine Mooney and Elena Good develop their architectural engineering skills using K’NEX pieces. A student-built K’NEX suspension bridge spans Cal Poly’s Dex ter lawn (above) . 14 ? ARCE SPRING 2013 This might just be the beginning of a new relationship between the toy manufacturer and the ARCE Department. Al Estes, department head, recently met with company president and CEO Michael Araten in Hatfield, Penn., to further explore the connection between K’NEX products and engineering education. K’NEX pieces are ideal for making structural models, illustrating the design-construction process and for K-12 outreach, says Al. According to the company’s website, “K’NEX is the next generation of construction sets. It inspires creativity, builds self-confidence, and encourages interaction among children and parents.” And now it seems, between college students and their professors, too. As t h e K’ N E X w eb s i t e p ro c l ai m s, “ Th e possibilities are endless!” faculty News EXCEED EXCElS IN TEACHING THE TEACHER By all indications, the Architectural Engineering Department faculty members do exemplary work as teachers, mentors, researchers, advisors, coaches – even confidantes. So why have so many of them given up a week of their summer vacation to improve their teaching skills? Because they care. In all, nine of 15 full-time Cal Poly ARCE faculty members have attended the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Workshop. This intensive six-day boot camp provides engineering educators with an opportunity to improve their teaching abilities. Each year 24 participants are selected from around the country to attend. The workshops consist of 13 group seminars, three demonstration classes by master instructors, and three practice classes by each participant that are videotaped and assessed in detail. Cal Poly has more grad ua tes of this program than any other school in the nation. ARCE workshop graduates include Pamalee Brady, Jim Guthrie, Peter Laursen, Al Estes, Abe Lynn, Cole McDaniel, John Lawson, Jill Nelson and Ed Saliklis. James Mwangi is attending this summer. Ed, Abe and John performed so well that they returned to serve as faculty for successive workshops. Professor Ed Saliklis, noted, “It opened my eyes to see my lessons as a ‘product’ that must be continually improved to keep the ‘customer’ – the student – happy. Each lesson aspires to be a finely tuned and well-orchestrated event. After all, the price the customer pays per lesson is roughly equivalent to a Metropolitan Opera ticket.” Department Head Al Estes has served as program director, senior mentor and content provider for 24 ExCEED workshops over the past 14 years. Al salutes ASCE for funding and supporting this workshop that “has 670 graduates from 228 institutions and has single­ handedly impr oved the quality of engineering education in the U.S.” Cole participated at the end of his first year teaching as a professor. “The most beneficial part was the focus on interacting with the students during the lecture through thoughtprovoking questions and the application of theory to real-world problem solving,” he said. “Enthusiasm for teaching was also clearly demonstrated and set as a high standard to model.” Assistant Professor John lawson takes par t in an ExCEEd model exercise (left) . ARCE facult y member Ed Saliklis provides passionate direction to his ExCEE