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CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL<br />

ENGINEERING<br />

CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT | COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING | SPRING <strong>2018</strong><br />

Concrete<br />

Canoe Team<br />

Back-to-Back Champions


INSIDE<br />

4 5<br />

5 6 10 11 12 13<br />

On the cover: Members of the Concrete Canoe Team<br />

compete at the national championship in San Diego<br />

4<br />

Dr. Moss Selected for<br />

Fullbright Specialist Program<br />

Moss will develop engineering curriculum and<br />

faculty education at Chilean universities.<br />

11<br />

Steel Bridge Team<br />

Second in the Nation<br />

Students competed against 41 other schools<br />

from around the world to earn honors.<br />

5<br />

Student Project Will Improve<br />

Water Flow to Village in Nicaragua<br />

Engineers Without Borders are working on a<br />

project to bring clean water to 300 residents.<br />

12<br />

Faculty Spotlights:<br />

Voulgaris, Derbidge, King<br />

How faculty are working beyond the classroom to<br />

improve student learning and our community.<br />

5<br />

Students Win at <strong>2018</strong><br />

WERC Competition<br />

Environmental Engineering students tackle<br />

solutions to environmental challenges.<br />

13<br />

ENVE Celebrates Golden Anniversary<br />

+ Dr. Hal Cota<br />

Brief history of the Environmental Engineering<br />

program and honors founder Dr. Hal Cota.<br />

6<br />

Concrete Canoe Team Wins at<br />

Nationals Second Year in a Row<br />

Dive into the winning design and what makes<br />

the Cal Poly team unstoppable.<br />

14<br />

Transforming the<br />

Future of Industry<br />

CE/ENVE and CAED develop partnership to<br />

better prepare students for the workforce.<br />

8<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> Class of <strong>2018</strong><br />

At a Glance<br />

Farewell and breakdown of the<br />

accomplishments of the class of <strong>2018</strong>.<br />

15<br />

CE/ENVE Student Fund<br />

Where Does the Money Go?<br />

Explore the student opportunities created by<br />

the department fund.<br />

10<br />

Alumni Spotlights:<br />

Katrina Watkins + Thomas Wukadinovich<br />

Look into two of our alumni and how they’ve<br />

used their Cal Poly degrees.<br />

16<br />

Industrial Partnership<br />

Program<br />

Thank you to our Partners!<br />

2 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>CEENVE</strong>.CALPOLY.EDU


FROM THE<br />

DEPARTMENT CHAIR<br />

Charles Chadwell<br />

Alumni, sponsors, industry partners, students, parents and supporters of our department,<br />

What a banner year! This year, we welcomed assistant professor Dr. Carole Voulgaris in transportation<br />

engineering, visiting scholars Gizem Can and Xin Li, and hired 10 new adjunct faculty members. Two<br />

new assistant professors will be starting in the fall quarter: Dr. Hani Alzraiee in the area of construction<br />

engineering and Dr. Amro El Badawy in environmental engineering.<br />

The students this year did what they always do – shined. The student chapter of ITE (Institute of<br />

Transportation Engineers) was named the International Chapter of the Year; SCE (the student chapter of<br />

the American Society of Civil Engineering) was awarded the Robert Ridgway Award for most outstanding<br />

chapter of the year; the student chapter of the Society of Environmental Engineering won awards at the<br />

national WERC completion; our Steel Bridge Team took second place at nationals, breaking the department<br />

record in the process; and Concrete Canoe Team was named national champion for the second consecutive<br />

year.<br />

This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Environmental Engineering and paid homage to Dr. Hal<br />

Cota and his tremendous impact on Cal Poly and the environmental engineering profession. In addition,<br />

Civil Engineering received its first endowment in collaboration with Construction Management to create<br />

the Granite Heavy Civil Engineering and Construction Program. The endowment covers, in perpetuity,<br />

the costs of a joint CE and CM director with funding set aside to support scholarships for women and<br />

underrepresented students in construction.<br />

As part of a fundraising campaign to better support our students, labs and clubs, the department<br />

revamped the Industrial Partnership program and welcomed several new companies into our circle. In<br />

addition to Power Engineering and Cannon Corp. sponsored laboratories, next year we will celebrate three<br />

new company-sponsored labs by Chevron, ZFA Structural Engineers and Clark Pacific. On behalf of our<br />

department, faculty, adjuncts and students, I would like to give a big thank you to all our Industrial Platinum<br />

Partners for 2017-18 as well as those already signed up for <strong>2018</strong>-19: Gregg Drilling & Testing, Stantec,<br />

Traylor Bros, Langan and Webcor. As a thank you, we will host our first Partners Dinner on Friday, Dec. 7,<br />

<strong>2018</strong>. During the dinner, we will award department scholarships and give our students the opportunity to<br />

network with our Industry Partners.<br />

Civil and Environmental Engineering continues to produce the best and brightest ready to tackle<br />

tomorrow’s engineering challenges. I wish all the students in the class of <strong>2018</strong> great success in the future.<br />

I want to extend a special thank you to all our alumni for their ongoing support and to the companies that<br />

continue to hire our students.<br />

Wishing you all my very best,<br />

Charles Chadwell<br />

Civil and Environmental Engineering<br />

Department Chair<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 3


Moss Named<br />

to Fulbright<br />

Specialist Program<br />

Civil engineering Professor Robb<br />

Moss, who was selected as a Fulbright<br />

specialist, will work with universities<br />

in Chile over the next three years<br />

developing engineering curriculum<br />

and faculty education. He specializes<br />

in geotechnical, earthquake and risk<br />

engineering.<br />

The Fulbright Specialist Program sends<br />

U.S. faculty and professionals to serve<br />

as expert consultants on curriculum,<br />

faculty development, institutional<br />

planning and related subjects at<br />

academic institutions abroad. Moss’<br />

proposal identified three main areas of<br />

engineering education:<br />

• Soft skills – Ethics, technical<br />

communication, emotional<br />

intelligence, licensure, importance<br />

of continuing education.<br />

• Active learning techniques –<br />

Training for university professors<br />

to implement a Learn by Doing<br />

approach.<br />

• Senior design capstone courses<br />

– Education on structuring senior<br />

design programs to achieve<br />

desired outcomes outlined by<br />

ABET (Accreditation Board for<br />

Engineering and Technology).<br />

Moss will work with faculty and staff<br />

at Chilean universities to develop<br />

curriculum and programs that address<br />

the three areas. Over winter break,<br />

he worked with faculty at Universidad<br />

Adolfo Ibáñez in Santiago for two<br />

weeks. La Pontificia Universidad<br />

Católica de Chile will be Moss’ next<br />

stop and lessons will continue for<br />

as long as the universities need. His<br />

appointment will run through 2020.<br />

Moss will address the difficulty of<br />

teaching engineering ethics. His<br />

curriculum will use Cal Poly’s capstone<br />

classes as models for effective<br />

engineering training. These courses<br />

give young professionals an ethical<br />

basis so that when faced with dilemmas<br />

they can respond accordingly. The<br />

program also stresses the importance<br />

of understanding the social implications<br />

of engineering.<br />

“My goal for this program is to bring<br />

lessons learned from the Cal Poly<br />

capstone classes to other universities<br />

so students are able to Learn by<br />

Doing,” said Moss.<br />

As part of the Fulbright award, Moss is<br />

required to bring learned experiences<br />

in Chile back to Cal Poly. He is hoping<br />

to establish faculty and student<br />

exchanges in the next few years.<br />

“As a college, we want to prepare<br />

engineers for a global workforce.<br />

Knowing how engineering works in<br />

other countries is good because a<br />

lot of our students will go to work for<br />

different organizations,” said Moss.<br />

Professor Robb Moss conducts field investigations<br />

into earthquake-induced flow liquefaction of gold<br />

mine tailings in central Chile.<br />

4 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>CEENVE</strong>.CALPOLY.EDU


Student Project Aims to Improve<br />

Water Flow to Nicaraguan Village<br />

Over winter break, the Cal Poly<br />

Engineers Without Borders (EWB)<br />

team visited the small Nicaraguan<br />

village of La Rinconada to begin<br />

plans for a water purification and<br />

distribution system for the 300<br />

residents.<br />

together to design the water process<br />

system. The final design will take about<br />

six months to complete and will be<br />

approved by a professional engineer.<br />

The water distribution and purification<br />

system will provide clean water for all 87<br />

homes and will completely cut off the old<br />

water source. The students plan to drill<br />

the well in spring <strong>2018</strong> and hope to be<br />

done with the entire pipeline distribution<br />

system by summer 2019.<br />

La Rinconada residents raise their hands in<br />

support of the project during a meeting.<br />

Most of the residents rely on natural<br />

spring water that flows through<br />

a pipe that is subject to cracking<br />

because of its shallow burial. In<br />

addition, the pipeline doesn’t reach<br />

all 87 homes. Some homes have<br />

wells. The water is often polluted by<br />

livestock manure, however. Illnesses<br />

have been attributed to the lack of<br />

clean water in the community.<br />

Cal Poly EWB has been working with<br />

local community leaders and a nongovernmental<br />

organization since<br />

October 2017. More than 30 Cal<br />

Poly students have been working<br />

Students Win<br />

at <strong>2018</strong> WERC<br />

Competition<br />

A group of ENVE students received<br />

two awards at the 28th annual<br />

WERC competition at New Mexico<br />

State University from April 8-11.<br />

The WERC Environmental Design<br />

Contest brings industry, government<br />

and academia together in search for<br />

improved solutions to environmental<br />

and sustainability-related<br />

challenges.<br />

Two of the three Cal Poly<br />

student-led teams won awards<br />

in their respective categories.<br />

The International Space Station<br />

team created a system to remove<br />

methanol and ethanol from water<br />

and took second place in their<br />

combined category and first place in their<br />

specific task. The urine treatment team<br />

created a method of treating urine on<br />

military bases and won the EPA Pollution<br />

Prevention award.<br />

Students worked in teams to conduct<br />

research, test and build solutions for<br />

their tasks. Students learned to create<br />

plans for full-scale implementation that<br />

also took into consideration economic<br />

impacts.<br />

The <strong>2018</strong> WERC competition team.<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 5


Concrete Canoe<br />

Team Wins Nationals<br />

Second Year in a Row<br />

Cal Poly was named national<br />

champion at the 31st annual ASCE<br />

Concrete Canoe Competition<br />

in San Diego June 23-25. The<br />

team placed first in the overall<br />

competition, oral presentation,<br />

final product, men’s endurance<br />

race, women’s endurance race,<br />

men’s sprint race, women’s sprint<br />

race and co-ed sprint race.<br />

The 19-1/2 foot canoe named<br />

Van Gogh was inspired by the late<br />

artist and and featured a blue hull<br />

and a dozen accent colors.<br />

<strong>2018</strong> Concrete Canoe Team<br />

Project Manager: Brandon<br />

Friedman<br />

Mix Design Captains: Kyle Aube,<br />

Yingyi Xu, Mason Breipohl,<br />

Michael Romano<br />

Construction Captains: Hailey<br />

Bond, Jacky Loh, Royston Chan,<br />

Jason Johnson, Eleni Korogianos<br />

The team spent more than 4,500<br />

hours designing and building the<br />

canoe over six months. The team<br />

included nine civil engineering<br />

Nine of the 10-member 2017-18<br />

Concrete Canoe Team ready to<br />

defend their title in San DIego.<br />

students and one mechanical<br />

engineering major. In addition, more<br />

than 50 volunteers from Cal Poly’s<br />

ASCE student chapter contributed<br />

to the successful defense of the<br />

national title.<br />

The team began testing designs<br />

in September and a final design<br />

was chosen in November. The final<br />

canoe was cast in January, cured in<br />

February and demolded by March.<br />

With the help of the volunteers, the<br />

team spent March and April sanding<br />

down the canoe.<br />

“My favorite part about working<br />

on this project is the people. If<br />

you have a great team to work<br />

with, all the challenges become<br />

easier,” said Brandon Friedman,<br />

project manager.<br />

6 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>CEENVE</strong>.CALPOLY.EDU


Van Gogh was 19-1/2 feet long.<br />

The team of paddlers selected<br />

in the fall had two-hour<br />

sessions each week at Laguna<br />

Lake to prepare for the racing<br />

components of the competition.<br />

The paddlers were Mason<br />

Breipohl, Eleni Korogianos,<br />

Hailey Bond and Derek Fromm.<br />

In April, the team competed<br />

at the Pacific Southwest<br />

Conference at Northern Arizona<br />

University and won the overall<br />

competition and nearly swept all<br />

other categories to advance to the<br />

finals.<br />

At the national finals hosted by San<br />

Diego State University, Cal Poly<br />

competed against schools from<br />

around the world. The Mustangs<br />

finished with 95 points, surpassing<br />

the University of Florida, Université<br />

Laval and Shanghai’s Tongji<br />

University. Cal Poly ASCE received<br />

a $5,000 scholarship and the “Civil<br />

Engineering Cup” award.<br />

By earning its fifth national title, Cal<br />

Poly’s Concrete Canoe Team is tied<br />

with the University of Wisconsin-<br />

Madison, UC Berkeley, and the<br />

University of Alabama-Huntsville for<br />

most national titles.<br />

The concrete canoe features a<br />

design inspired by Van Gogh.<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 7


Cal Poly Civil and Environmental<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> Class At a Glance<br />

B.S. Civil Engineering 127<br />

B.S. Environmental Engineering 36<br />

M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering 37<br />

CE/ENVE Industrial Advisory Board<br />

Professional Advancement Award<br />

This award is given every year to students who are<br />

making significant strides in their career goals.<br />

This year’s award winners were:<br />

Emily Miller B.S. ENVE ‘18<br />

Delaney Nelson M.S. ‘18<br />

8 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>CEENVE</strong>.CALPOLY.EDU


Engineering <strong>Spring</strong> Class of <strong>2018</strong><br />

ALUMNI CONNECTION<br />

Stay connected with our department<br />

and learn about ways you can get<br />

involved by signing up for our mailing<br />

list. Visit ceenve.calpoly.edu/alumni<br />

to sign up!<br />

Graduates were given<br />

a sea-level bench<br />

mark of the civil<br />

and environmental<br />

engineering department.<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 9


ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS<br />

Katrina Watkins Civil Engineering ‘13<br />

Katrina Watkins, who graduated<br />

in 2013 with a degree in civil<br />

engineering, attributes her<br />

successful career to her Cal Poly<br />

education, involvement on campus<br />

and on-site construction experience.<br />

While a student, she was involved<br />

as a WOW (Week of Welcome)<br />

leader, executive board leader for<br />

the Society of Women Engineers<br />

local chapter, a member of the<br />

Concrete Canoe Team and sat on<br />

the executive board for Chi Epsilon,<br />

the Civil Engineering Honor Society.<br />

Watkins spent three years as<br />

a staff engineer at Langan, an<br />

engineering and environmental<br />

consulting firm in San Francisco,<br />

while training to become a<br />

licensed professional engineer.<br />

At Langan, she worked on construction<br />

sites to make certain contractors<br />

installed items correctly and soil was<br />

being treated properly. She took a<br />

year off to pursue a master’s degree<br />

in civil engineering at UC Berkeley<br />

and graduated in July <strong>2018</strong>. She is<br />

now a senior staff engineer and PE in<br />

Langan’s geotechnical department.<br />

“Getting to work in civil<br />

engineering is so rewarding<br />

because you get to see the fruits<br />

of your labor on the skyline in<br />

the cities that you work in. I love<br />

problem-solving, and getting to<br />

do this on a day-to-day basis is<br />

very rewarding,” said Watkins.<br />

Thomas Wukadinovich Civil Engineering ‘13<br />

Thomas Wukadinovich graduated<br />

in 2013 with a bachelor’s in civil<br />

engineering. A background<br />

in construction management<br />

has given him opportunities<br />

on a wide array of projects.<br />

He works for Long Beachbased<br />

Traylor Bros., one of<br />

the nation’s leading heavy<br />

civil engineering contractors,<br />

as a professional engineer.<br />

Wukadinovich is working on<br />

the Los Angeles MetroRail’s<br />

Purple Line Extension, a fourmile<br />

spur from Beverly Hills to<br />

Westwood. Since August of<br />

2017, he has worked in support<br />

of soil excavation, steel supports<br />

and ventilation for the project.<br />

Because of its proximity to the<br />

La Brea Tar Pits, hydrogen sulfide<br />

gas release is a concern to the<br />

project. To reduce the risk of<br />

explosion, several precautions<br />

have been implemented<br />

including prohibiting electronics<br />

in the tunnel unless protected<br />

by explosion-proof cases. The<br />

project is expected to continue<br />

through the rest of the year.<br />

“Your interest in a subject is<br />

going to make it easier to work<br />

harder. What I do is more of a<br />

lifestyle than it is a profession,<br />

and working in this industry is<br />

fulfilling,” said Wukadinovich.<br />

10 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>CEENVE</strong>.CALPOLY.EDU


Steel Bridge<br />

Team Second<br />

in the Nation<br />

The Cal Poly Steel Bridge Team<br />

finished second in the nation against<br />

41 universities at the University of<br />

Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.<br />

This year’s squad set a school record<br />

for fastest construction time at 2:41.<br />

The senior project team of six civil<br />

engineering seniors devoted more<br />

than 600 hours over seven months<br />

designing and fabricating the bridge<br />

components.<br />

<strong>2018</strong> Steel Bridge Team<br />

Project Manager: Michael Clark<br />

Design Captain: Sarah Shaffer<br />

Machining Captain: Gabriela Pascualy<br />

Welding Captain: Luke Nazaroff<br />

Construction Captain: Allen Lactaoen<br />

Analysis Captain: Michael Choi<br />

The competition rules for the<br />

steel bridge design vary every<br />

year. Time, weight, deflection and<br />

construction speed make up the<br />

final cost and the team with the<br />

lowest cost wins the competition.<br />

During fall quarter, the team<br />

designed 2-D models of potential<br />

bridge designs using SAP and<br />

AutoCAD. They created 3-D<br />

models of their designs and<br />

narrowed them down to three.<br />

After careful research and testing,<br />

the team chose an under truss<br />

bridge because of simplistic<br />

design, quick construction time<br />

and overall cost. The team used<br />

previous steel bridge designs<br />

to analyze both effective and<br />

ineffective design elements to<br />

create their final effort.<br />

During winter quarter, the team<br />

used donated steel from San<br />

Steel Bridge Team members<br />

assemble their bridge at the<br />

regional competition.<br />

Diego-based Century Tubes and<br />

fabricated the 29-piece bridge.<br />

Connections were made on CNC<br />

machines to create easy-sliding<br />

tubes to reduce construction time.<br />

The team spent countless hours<br />

practicing bridge construction to<br />

improve their speed. Only four<br />

team members can assemble<br />

the bridge during the timed<br />

competition. The team took<br />

third in structural efficiency and<br />

construction economy.<br />

The team swept all categories<br />

at the <strong>2018</strong> Pacific Southwest<br />

Competition held at Northern<br />

Arizona University in Flagstaff.<br />

Cal Poly took first against 18<br />

schools in all four categories —<br />

construction speed, lightness,<br />

stiffness and structural efficiency.<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 11


FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS<br />

Carole Voulgaris Assistant Professor<br />

Carole Voulgaris joined the department<br />

in January <strong>2018</strong> as an assistant professor<br />

in transportation engineering. She earned<br />

bachelor’s and master’s degrees in<br />

civil engineering from Brigham Young<br />

University. She worked as a transportation<br />

engineer for three years after graduating.<br />

She then received an MBA from Notre<br />

Dame in 2012. She went back to school<br />

to pursue a doctorate in urban planning<br />

at UCLA and graduated in June 2017.<br />

Voulgaris was named “Outstanding<br />

Student of the Year” at the <strong>2018</strong><br />

annual Transportation Research<br />

Board conference for her work at<br />

METRANS during her doctoral studies.<br />

As an assistant professor, Voulgaris’ focus<br />

is on public transportation, intelligent<br />

transportation systems, sustainable mobility<br />

and transportation planning. She hopes to<br />

create opportunities for interdisciplinary<br />

work with other engineering majors<br />

and hands-on experiences for students.<br />

“Engineers can’t work in a vacuum<br />

and need opportunities to work<br />

on real projects to gain experience<br />

working with external factors that<br />

happen in real life,” said Voulgaris.<br />

Faculty Volunteers Work to Improve Pismo Preserve<br />

Cal Poly faculty members Judd King<br />

and Nephi Derbidge are helping The<br />

Land Conservancy of San Luis County<br />

create a parking area and trailhead for<br />

the Pismo Preserve, a nearly 880-acre<br />

property with sweeping views of Pismo<br />

Beach and 11 miles of trails for outdoor<br />

enthusiasts to enjoy.<br />

The Land Conservancy acquired the<br />

Pismo Preserve in September 2014 with<br />

the goal of creating a space for hiking,<br />

biking and equestrian use. It envisioned<br />

a project that provides safe access to<br />

different users while being sensitive<br />

to the surrounding communities. The<br />

Pismo Preserve is the first project of<br />

this magnitude to be developed by<br />

the Land Conservancy. The site will<br />

have restrooms, picnic facilities and a<br />

wheelchair-accessible trail.<br />

While doing initial environmental<br />

studies on the site, it was discovered<br />

that the project location contained<br />

sensitive cultural resources belonging<br />

to the yak tityu tityu yak tilhini (ytt),<br />

Northern Chumash tribe. The Land<br />

Conservancy worked with ytt leaders<br />

on a plan that reduces impacts<br />

to sensitive resources. To mitigate<br />

impact on the site, the project size was<br />

reduced and minimal excavation was<br />

done. These measures ensure sensitive<br />

resources are protected while still<br />

providing safe public access.<br />

The presence of sensitive resources<br />

limits the amount of remedial grading<br />

that can be done in the area. To create<br />

a level parking area, about 12 feet<br />

of soil will be used to fill the sloped<br />

project area and will then be supported<br />

by a retaining wall.<br />

King and Derbidge are donating their<br />

geotechnical engineering and soil<br />

testing services. Derbidge and student<br />

assistant Jack Christy conducted<br />

a soil-testing program to measure<br />

the compressibility and strength<br />

characteristics of the onsite soil.<br />

King was responsible for taking data<br />

generated by Derbidge to assess soil<br />

settlement in the final retaining wall<br />

design.<br />

The Land Conservancy hopes that by<br />

providing this space the general quality<br />

of life will improve for residents and<br />

visitors alike. The Pismo Preserve is<br />

expected to open in late <strong>2018</strong>.<br />

12 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> Jack Christy (environmental and earth soil science;<br />

junior) performs lab testing.


ENVE Celebrates Golden<br />

Anniversary & Dr. Hal Cota<br />

Environmental Engineering<br />

commemorated its 50th anniversary<br />

with a May 4-6 celebration and<br />

renamed the Air Pollution Control<br />

Lab for Professor Emeritus Hal Cota,<br />

one of the founders of the program.<br />

Cota was hired in 1966 and taught<br />

advanced courses in what was<br />

then the Air Conditioning and<br />

Refrigeration Department. Cota<br />

helped spearhead the addition<br />

of the air pollution control<br />

concentration in the department,<br />

which would later become an<br />

important part of the curricula for<br />

the environmental engineering<br />

program. With his help, former<br />

AC&R Department Chair Jim<br />

McGrath and then-university<br />

President Robert Kennedy in 1968<br />

established the Environmental<br />

Engineering Department.<br />

Cota believed that a curriculum<br />

that combined chemical and<br />

environmental engineering was<br />

best for providing students the<br />

training needed to tackle the<br />

nation’s environmental issues.<br />

Fifty years ago, there were no<br />

undergraduate environmental<br />

engineering programs in the<br />

country, making Cal Poly’s one<br />

of the first of its kind. The first<br />

environmental engineering<br />

class of 14 students graduated<br />

The Environmental Engineering Department<br />

assembled for a group photo in 1981.<br />

Dr. Hal Cota is pictured in the third row, far left.<br />

in 1968. Between 1968 and 1982,<br />

environmental engineering was its own<br />

department until civil engineering was<br />

added.<br />

His contributions have made a lasting<br />

impression on generations of students<br />

over the years. In the past 50 years,<br />

more than 1,500 students have<br />

graduated thanks to Cota’s efforts.<br />

College of Engineering officials say<br />

renaming the department lab will keep<br />

his contributions alive for generations<br />

of students to come.<br />

“He had such a big impact on my<br />

life because he created this program<br />

in a way that fits me personally.<br />

He created something unique – a<br />

combination of environmental and<br />

chemical engineering,” said Yarrow<br />

Nelson, a Cal Poly environmental<br />

engineering professor.<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 13


Transforming the Future of Industry<br />

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering<br />

and College of Architecture and<br />

Environmental Design have launched<br />

a unique partnership with Granite<br />

Construction to create a more robust<br />

pipeline of diverse Cal Poly graduates<br />

skilled in both construction management<br />

and civil engineering.<br />

“This new partnership creates<br />

a path forward for talented and<br />

motivated students by helping<br />

them overcome financial barriers<br />

with the support of industry leaders<br />

and future thinkers,” said James<br />

Meagher, interim dean of the<br />

College of Engineering. “It will<br />

also bring together two of our<br />

most reputable programs in a way<br />

that will supply distinctively skilled<br />

graduates to the industry.”<br />

The Granite Heavy Civil Engineering<br />

and Construction Program is a unique<br />

cohort program, bringing together<br />

students from both colleges. Under<br />

this program, students in construction<br />

management will have the opportunity<br />

to become more proficient in heavy<br />

civil engineering fundamentals, and<br />

students in heavy civil engineering<br />

will have access to more construction<br />

management classes.<br />

The uniqueness of the program is<br />

furthered by a series of classes that<br />

students in both programs will take<br />

together. Students will complete at least<br />

two internships during the program.<br />

“With a Learn by Doing<br />

atmosphere, coupled with<br />

an excellent curriculum and<br />

high standards for student<br />

participation, Cal Poly has been<br />

able to help place highly qualified<br />

candidates throughout the Granite<br />

organization,” said James Roberts,<br />

president and CEO of Granite<br />

Construction Inc. “We enjoy seeing<br />

bright, energetic, hard-working<br />

graduates coming out of the Cal<br />

Poly programs who have the desire<br />

to build careers and help Granite<br />

succeed.”<br />

Beavers Charitable Trust, having<br />

endowed other professorships at<br />

universities nationwide, joined Granite<br />

by making a substantial gift to support<br />

the Granite program at Cal Poly. Roberts<br />

hopes others will follow Granite’s and<br />

Beavers’ lead.<br />

“This partnership between Granite,<br />

Beavers and Cal Poly can be a<br />

leading opportunity for corporations<br />

and higher education institutions<br />

across the country to partner going<br />

forward as we build America’s<br />

infrastructure,” he said.<br />

Under the program, the Granite<br />

Beavers Heavy Civil Engineering<br />

and Construction Endowed Chair<br />

will support one full-time faculty<br />

chair with academic expertise and<br />

professional background in the heavy<br />

civil construction and engineering<br />

sector. This role will provide leadership<br />

for the program through an innovative<br />

joint appointment to construction<br />

management and heavy civil<br />

engineering departments, and provide<br />

increased mentoring opportunities for<br />

students.<br />

Granite Construction has always sought<br />

to be impactful. Beginning with early<br />

founders and those who built Granite bit<br />

by bit, one theme remained: to impact<br />

the world around them and the people<br />

within it. That is where their support for<br />

student success comes in.<br />

“The idea behind the funds was<br />

based on a couple of principles,”<br />

explained Philip DeCocco, senior<br />

vice president of human resources,<br />

at Granite Construction. “Granite<br />

is an industry leader, and as such,<br />

we believe it is important to lead<br />

by example, similar to the Cal Poly<br />

Learn by Doing motto. It is also<br />

important to us to have Granite’s<br />

name and reputation tied to a topnotch<br />

program like Cal Poly.<br />

“Lastly,” DeCocco added, “Granite<br />

is passionate about creating a<br />

program where we partner with<br />

Cal Poly. We want to ensure that<br />

students who mirror the many<br />

communities we serve across the<br />

country have an opportunity to<br />

succeed in our industry.”<br />

14 <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>CEENVE</strong>.CALPOLY.EDU


CE/ENVE Student Fund<br />

The Civil and Environmental<br />

Engineering student fund<br />

comprises donations from the<br />

Industrial Partnership Program<br />

that support instructional<br />

activities for student groups such<br />

as field trips, student projects,<br />

student research, conferences<br />

and competitions.<br />

Each year, the Civil and<br />

Environmental Engineering<br />

Student Fee Initiative Committee<br />

is charged with apportioning<br />

the funds in this account.<br />

The committee includes the<br />

department chair, six CE/ENVE<br />

students, and two CE/ENVE<br />

faculty members.<br />

The CE/ENVE Industrial<br />

Partnership Program (IPP) was<br />

started in January <strong>2018</strong> to expand<br />

employment opportunities<br />

for civil and environmental<br />

engineering students and<br />

increased funding for<br />

extracurricular student activities.<br />

Since the start of the program,<br />

IPP has welcomed 11 platinum<br />

sponsors, two gold sponsors, and<br />

16 silver and bronze sponsors.<br />

DONATE<br />

2017-18 Student Fund<br />

26% 32% 35%<br />

Student Competitions<br />

WERC Environmental Design Contest<br />

Concrete Canoe Competition<br />

Environmental Challenge International<br />

PSWC Environmental Competition<br />

National GeoWall Competition<br />

Student Conferences<br />

U.S. Green Building Council National Conference<br />

Engineers Without Borders National Conference<br />

ITE Student Leadership Summit<br />

Engineers for a Sustainable World Annual Conference<br />

Perspectives on Global Development Showcase<br />

CalGeo Annual Conference<br />

U.N. Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science and Technology<br />

ITE Western District Annual Meeting<br />

Student Projects<br />

Cal Poly Engineers Without Borders<br />

participated in projects in Malawi, Nicaragua<br />

and Fiji. Students worked on a borehole<br />

project, water filtration system and a coastal<br />

erosion project.<br />

For more information about<br />

donating or becoming part of our<br />

Industrial Partnership Program<br />

visit ceenve.calpoly.edu.<br />

7%<br />

Student Research & Instructional Materials<br />

Students participated in graduate-level and<br />

GeoWall research.<br />

<strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 15


Civil and Environmental Engineering<br />

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo<br />

1 Grand Avenue<br />

San Luis Obispo, CA 93407-0353<br />

Industrial Partnership Program<br />

We would like to give special recognition to this year’s Industrial Partners. We thank you for<br />

your contribution to our department and investment in our students.<br />

Laboratory Sponsors<br />

Platinum Sponsors<br />

Gold Sponsors<br />

Silver and Bronze Sponsors<br />

Econolite<br />

Caltrans<br />

JDS Civil<br />

Rick Engineering Co.<br />

A. Teichert & Son Inc.<br />

Walsh Engineering<br />

DeSilva Gates Construction<br />

Drake Haglan & Associates Inc.<br />

Kiewit Corporation<br />

Carollo<br />

Van Sande Engineering<br />

HMH Engineering<br />

Murphy Structural Engineers<br />

FTF Engineering<br />

GS Bridge Engineers and Contractors<br />

LSC Transportation Consultants Inc.<br />

SUSTAIN THE FUTURE<br />

Make a gift to support Civil and Environmental Engineering labs, student projects and clubs. For more information<br />

about donating or becoming part of our Industrial Partnership Program visit ceenve.calpoly.edu.<br />

Cal Poly College of Engineering | Civil and Environmental Engineering Department | ceenve.calpoly.edu

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