Summer 2019 Newsletter

SUMMER 2019
BENCHMARK
&BEAKER
The Future of
Construction
Engineering
Increased demand and
technology are changing the
role civil engineers
play in construction

2 | CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
SUMMER 2019
CONTENTS
3
Our Winning
Team: Cal Poly
Shines at PSWC
4
Congratulations
Class of 2019!
FROM THE
DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Greetings civil and environmental engineering students, families and friends, Industrial
Advisory Board members, alumni (both near and far), and industry partners – congratulations
on another year of awesomeness.
In this first official issue of the Benchmark and Beaker, representing both civil and
environmental engineering, we celebrate another year of great work and accomplishments.
Our department clubs rose again to national attention, we hosted and dominated the
ASCE Pacific Southwest Regional Conference and we celebrated student successes on
all fronts. Our amazing faculty received national attention for their work and the Society
of Environmental Engineers led the campaign to bring affordable HAZWOPER training to
our students to ensure they are Ready Day One. We welcomed new companies under our
partnership, we added new folks to our Industrial Advisory Board and we celebrated the
opening of the new ZFA Structural Engineering Lab.
6
8
10
The Future of
Construction
Engineering
Department
News & Awards
Industry Leaders
Supporting Learn by
Doing
I want to thank you all for the continued support of our department and look forward to our
continued success.
Sincerely,
Charles Chadwell
1 Grand Ave
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
ceenve.calpoly.edu
Professor and Chair
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

OUR WINNING TEAM
SUMMER 2019 | 3
Cal Poly team placed second in the
GeoWall competition.
Cal Poly ASCE team at the regional
competition banquet.
More than 1,300 civil and
environmental engineering students
from 19 western universities and
colleges in four states converged
at the annual American Society of
Civil Engineers’ Pacific Southwest
Conference (PSWC) on April 4-6
held at Cal Poly. The three-day
competition allowed students to
put their civil and environmental
engineering skills to the test in both
technical and non-technical events.
Cal Poly won first place in the
regional competition including the
concrete canoe races. The concrete
canoe team went on to compete at
nationals at the Florida Institute of
Technology where they won second
place. Cal Poly, the reigning national
champion of the previous two years,
took first in the final product category
while winning four of the five races
at the Melbourne, Florida, event. The
team was edged out in two other
key parts of the competition: design
paper (third) and oral presentation
(fourth), both won by this year’s
champion, the University of Florida.
PSWC planning committee.
Concrete canoe team at the regional
competition in San Luis Obispo.
4
The concrete canoe team competed
at nationals at the Florida Institute
of Technology where they won
second place.
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

4 | CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
GRADUATION
Congratulations Class of 2019! This year we graduated 150 civil engineering,
46 environmental engineering and 40 masters students. We wish all our
graduates the best of luck on their new journeys.
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

SUMMER 2019 | 5
OUTSTANDING GRADUATES
DIEGO RIVERA
College of Engineering Undergraduate Academic Excellence
Civil engineering graduate Diego Rivera graduated with a rare 4.0 GPA and
received a fellowship to continue his graduate studies at the prestigious
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rivera was also one of three students
nationwide to receive a $10,000 Thornton Tomasetti Foundation National
2019-2020 Scholarship for exceptional academic success.
MICHAEL CLARK
CAL POLY OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT
Former graduate student Michael Clark, who also earned his bachelor’s degree
in civil engineering from Cal Poly in 2018, served as a shop technician and
project manager for Cal Poly Steel Bridge, which set a record for the university’s
fastest construction time in 2018. After graduating magna cum laude as an
undergraduate, he earned a perfect 4.0 as a graduate student. Clark was hired
by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company as a virtual design and construction
engineer.
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

6 | CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
The Future of
Construction
Engineering
Granite Construction, a
leader in the construction
industry, is working to
impact the future of
construction engineering by
preparing students for the
changing landscape through
a joint heavy Civil minor.
The landscape of construction
engineering is changing every day with
the rise of technology and the need
for innovative solutions. GlobalData
tracked 11,000 large-scale construction
projects across the country and found
that 10 U.S. states accounted for nearly
60% of the total U.S. construction
project pipeline value ($3.7 trillion).
California is at the top of the list.
As construction continues to grow in the
state, the need for workers proficient in
the latest technology and skilled in both
engineering and construction follows
suit.
“The future of construction engineering
is bright. Infrastructure in California
and throughout the country needs
development and repair. Construction
engineers are needed to solve this,”
said Brent Fogg (civil engineering ‘06),
Granite vice president and regional
manager.
As one of the top construction
companies in the nation, Granite is
working to prepare the next generation
of graduates who will fill this growing
need.
To ensure Cal Poly graduates are
prepared to tackle this industry, the
College of Engineering and the College
of Architecture and Environmental
Design launched a unique partnership
with Granite Construction to create
a robust pipeline of diverse Cal Poly
graduates skilled in both construction
management and civil engineering
through a heavy civil minor.
Fogg is working with Hani Alzraiee,
civil engineering professor, and Philip
Barlow, construction management
professor, to develop the new
heavy civil engineering minor. The
Granite Heavy Civil Engineering and
Construction program is a unique
cohort program, bringing together
students from both colleges. Under
this program, students in construction
management will have the opportunity
to become more proficient in heavy
civil engineering fundamentals, and
students in heavy civil engineering
will have access to more construction
management classes. The minor will
begin accepting applications beginning
in 2020 and the first cohort of students
will start the same year.
The collaboration between the two
departments will ensure students are
receiving the training they need to
address some of the most challenging
problems in construction engineering.
Fogg believes that civil engineers
are a good fit for the construction
engineering industry because of the
skills they bring to the table, and he
understands the important role civil
engineers play on the job site.
“Civil engineers are analytical, good
at math and science, detail-oriented,
organized in thought and process and
good problem solvers. Construction
projects from design through
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SUMMER 2019 | 7
Drones take aerial pictures of construction
sites to help engineers create 3-D models to
quantify data in real time.
Brent Fogg, vice president and regional
manager of Granite Construction.
completion are full of complex problems
that require these skills,” Fogg said.
According to Fogg, projects are
becoming more challenging due to
regulations, working restrictions,
highly-congested urban areas and
complicated design parameters.
These challenges and alternative
delivery methods like designbuild
and construction manager/
general contractor processes require
collaboration between design and
construction teams to ensure project
success.
Another component of construction
engineering is automating processes
and improving accuracy through
technology. When every second counts,
being able to get things done quickly
without error is key. Fogg explains
that engineers are instrumental
in developing this technology in
construction.
“In the past ten years, technology that
was once groundbreaking has become
routine. But I think because of this,
the possibilities in tech are endless. It
just takes someone like a construction
engineer to bring value,” said Fogg.
Granite uses Building Information
Modeling tools and 3-D modeling to
expedite tedious processes. Pictured in
the image above is an example of drone
mappings used by Granite to create 3-D
models of the area, helping engineers
quantify data in real time. The
information is then directed to machine
controls on the job site. Motor graders
also use this information and operate
at greater accuracy which requires less
control by the machine operators. While
the technology may be close to perfect,
construction engineers are still needed
to ensure the data is correct.
As advances and challenges grow,
Cal Poly and Granite have a unique
opportunity to train the next generation
of engineers who will be the problemsolvers
and innovators.
“The minor brings together the best
of both programs into one. I am really
excited about the minor for those
interested in construction engineering
and I know that it will enable students
to be prepared when they graduate,”
said Fogg.
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

8 | CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
NEWS &
AWARDS
DEPARTMENTAL NEWS
Cal Poly’s Civil Engineering program was
named the No. 3 undergraduate program in
the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
FACULTY & STAFF AWARDS
• Professor Anurag Pande was presented
the Raytheon Excellence in Teaching &
Applied Research Award.
• Professor Bing Qu was presented the
Moisseiff Award from the American
Society of Civil Engineers for his paper
suggesting a cost-effective way to
prevent earthquake-induced building
collapse.
• Professor Eric Kasper was awarded
the Engineering Student Council
Outstanding Club Advisor Award.
• Administrative Analyst Amy Sinclair
was awarded the Engineering Student
Council Outstanding Staff Award.
• Associate Professor Rebekah Oulton
received honorable mention for the Cal
Poly Faculty Sustainability Champion.
Professor Ashraf Rahim
Professor Anurag Pande (right) receiving the Raytheon Excellence in Teaching & Applied
Research Award from Tryg Lundquist.
FACULTY RESEARCH
Design, along with Anthony Dente, a
• Professor Ashraf Rahim was awarded
a subcontract from the University of
California, Davis to promote the mission
and goals of the newly-established City
professional engineering with Verdant
Structural Engineers in Berkeley,
California and Sasha Rabin, the board
director for Quail Spring Permaculture.
and County Pavement Improvement
• Professor Jim Hanson and Nazli Yesiller,
Center which helps advance sustainable
director of the Global Waste Research
pavement practices in California cities
Institute, are overseeing a large-scale
and counties.
investigation to determine emissions
• Professor Robb Moss published the
second edition of his book titled,
“Applied Civil Engineering Risk
Analysis.”
of 81 gases from California landfills.
Landfills represent a large contributor
of anthropogenic gases and fieldvalidated
design strategies are needed
• Professor Daniel Jansen worked
to best contain the gases.
with graduate students Dezire
Perez-Barbante and Julia Sargent to
test full scale cob walls for seismic
performance. Cob is a natural building
material consisting of clay soil mixed
with water, sand and straw. Because
there are currently no building codes
for cob in North America, these tests
will be instrumental in developing
building codes in the future. The
project was started by Art Ludwig, an
ecological systems designer at Oasis
• Richard Martin, environmental
engineering lecturer, delivered a paper
at the 11th U.S. National Combustion
Meeting in Pasadena, in March 2019.
The paper, “Advanced Quality Methods
for Thermal Oxidizer Operation,”
describes an innovative operating
strategy for manufacturing plants that
generate exhaust gas streams laden
with volatile organic compounds that
must be destroyed. The technique
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SUMMER 2019 | 9
can help users maintain a high level
of compliance with local air quality
regulations while minimizing fuel
consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions.
FACULTY HIRES
• Stefan Talke was hired as an associate
professor in coastal hydraulics.
• Christof Hausser is a visiting scholar
from the Munich University of Applied
Sciences and will teach mechanics and
finite element analysis during the fall
and winter quarters.
• Amirarsalan Molan was hired as
a postdoctoral teaching fellow in
transportation engineering.
• Alireza Shams was hired as a
postdoctoral teaching fellow in
transportation engineering.
• Jonathan Owen
• Anika Narula
Department Certificate of Excellence in
Environmental Engineering
• Erica Wilson
Department Certificate of Excellence in Civil
Engineering
• Brian Gaul
• Diego Rivera
• Alana George
Department Certificate of Excellence Awards
Nominees
• Jonathan Owen · Julia Allen · John Ross
· Emily Imfeld · Mason Breipohl Anika
Narula · John Caleb Merriam Gavrielle
Orman · Ruby Lang Tyler Dery · Jacky
Loh · Vanessa See · Bernice Liu · Michael
Clark Alexandra Drendel Limpert
CLUB AWARDS
• The Institute of Transportation
Engineers was named the ITE national
Traffic Bowl champion at the national
conference in Austin, Texas, July 21-24,
2019.
• Mehnaz Shams was hired as a
postdoctoral teaching fellow in
environmental engineering.
STUDENT AWARDS
Cal Poly Outstanding Graduate Student
• Michael Clark
College of Engineering
Undergraduate Academic Excellence
• Diego A. Rivera
Students received awards at the 2019
Spring Gathering recognizing their
leadership and hard work.
• Alana Cole George
College of Engineering
Graduate Academic Excellence
• Faridur Rahman
• Sarah Shaffer
• Ryan Krostag
• Elizabeth Wiley
• Kelly McGartland
• Michael Clark
Department IAB Professional Advancement
Awards ($1,000 award)
Bing Qu (pictures second from left)
received the Moisseif Award by the
American Society of Civil Engineers.
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

10 | CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
INDUSTRY LEADERS
SUPPORTING LEARN BY DOING
During our annual Spring Gathering on May 17, 2019, we
celebrated th grand opening of the ZFA Structural Engineering
Lab with a ribbon cutting by ZFA Executive Principal Kevin
Zucco and Department Chair Charles Chadwell. This lab is used
by student project teams and various civil engineering classes
with focuses on timber and concrete. This partnership ensures
longterm success of our labs so that students continue to Learn
by Doing.
READY DAY ONE
Safety Unlimited donated HAZWOPER training services for our
students to prepare them for jobs in the environmental safety
field. HAZWOPER training is an in-depth education in OSHA’s
safety standards related to the cleanup and restoration of
contaminated sites. This certification sets students apart in the
workplace as they are ready to begin their internships or fulltime
jobs from day one.
NEW PERSPECTIVES
This fall we welcomed three new members to our Industrial Advisory Board. Our Industrial Advisory Board is an integral part of our
program and helps us continue to be at the forefront of the latest trends in industry.
ERIN STEINER
Principal Geotechnical Engineer
Cornerstone Earth Group
Civil Engineering ‘02
KEVIN ZUCCO
Executive Principal
ZFA Structural Engineers
Civil Engineering ‘92
GREG SCOTT
Project Director
WEBCOR
Construction Management ‘02
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SUMMER 2019 | 11
INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
We would like to give special recognition to our Partners. We thank you for your contribution to our department and investment in our
students. For more information about becoming part of our Industrial Partnership Program visit ceenve.calpoly.edu/ipp.
LAB SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSORS
GOLD
Blois Construction
Wallace Group
Gregory P. Luth & Associates
DeSilva Gates Construction
Mott MacDonald
SILVER AND BRONZE
Diablo Engineering Group
Kittelson & Associates
Huitt-Zollars
Murphy Structural Engineers
Stratus Environmental Inc.
Provost & Pritchard
Van Sande Engineering
CEENVE.CALPOLY.EDU

1 Grand Ave
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
LEARN BY DOING
ITE
The Society of
Environmental Engineers
won first place at the Air &
Waste Management Association
Environmental Challenge International in
Quebec, Canada, June 25-28, 2019.