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Bridge (Spring 2001) - SUNY Institute of Technology

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Digging Up the Past<br />

by Ellie Fidler<br />

Faculty member’s research unearths original Erie Canal<br />

When he was growing up,<br />

Andy Wolfe sometimes went to<br />

work with his mother, an archaeologist.<br />

Going on digs with<br />

her was his first experience<br />

with what he calls “continuous<br />

discovery and learning.”<br />

This semester, Dr. Andrew<br />

Wolfe brought his lifelong love<br />

<strong>of</strong> history and engineering to<br />

<strong>SUNY</strong>IT. As an assistant pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />

<strong>of</strong> civil engineering technology<br />

in the School <strong>of</strong> Information<br />

Systems & Engineering<br />

<strong>Technology</strong> (ISET), he will continue<br />

the work he began at his<br />

previous institution, Union<br />

College. “I especially look forward<br />

to teaching here at<br />

<strong>SUNY</strong>IT because it is near my<br />

most recent research interest,<br />

the Erie Canal,” Dr. Wolfe said.<br />

His most recent research experience<br />

helped a community<br />

preserve its history: his team<br />

uncovered Lock 1 <strong>of</strong> the original<br />

Erie Canal in Albany. The<br />

find prevented a marina from<br />

being built on the site, which<br />

would have destroyed the artifact<br />

and the rich history surrounding<br />

it.The discovery<br />

received widespread media attention,<br />

including an Associated<br />

Press feature article which<br />

appeared in newspapers across<br />

the state, on msnbc.com, and<br />

in the New York Times.<br />

Dr. Wolfe began his work on<br />

the Erie Canal when Union<br />

College celebrated the 175th<br />

anniversary <strong>of</strong> the historic engineering<br />

marvel. He directed<br />

four groups <strong>of</strong> students that<br />

created models <strong>of</strong> the lock systems;<br />

he and his students researched<br />

archives and original<br />

maps <strong>of</strong> the first locks in the<br />

canal. While there are many<br />

locks still in use on the canal,<br />

Dr. Wolfe’s research focuses on<br />

the earlier locks that have been<br />

covered up in the many years<br />

since their use.<br />

His goals as a teacher focus<br />

on encouraging students to<br />

think about design and use history<br />

to determine the best engineering<br />

designs for the future.<br />

Examples <strong>of</strong> this include his<br />

volunteer work in the Juvenile<br />

Diabetes Foundation Walkathon<br />

in Albany. He and his students<br />

spent time directing traffic<br />

at the event. Afterward, he<br />

assigned his students to create<br />

traffic designs that would improve<br />

the flow <strong>of</strong> traffic and<br />

pedestrians. The plans were<br />

implemented the following<br />

year.<br />

He regards “building camaraderie<br />

with his students” and<br />

“helping them develop and<br />

progress as individuals, as well<br />

as engineers” as important aspects<br />

<strong>of</strong> his teaching. Dr. Wolfe<br />

is a motivated and energetic<br />

man who loves to explore many<br />

avenues <strong>of</strong> his field and become<br />

involved in multiple projects.<br />

He says it all stems from a “need<br />

to do things...to explore the<br />

links between history and engineering.”<br />

4 The <strong>Bridge</strong>

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