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CE Club January 2017 Update

Water Utilities Engineering with Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers

Rosaura Estrada, an EIT at Nathan D. Maier, introduced the Woodrow Wilson CE Club students to water distribution systems and the other types of projects that the water utilities team at Nathan D. Maier works on. She discussed with students the purpose and requirements of good water distribution systems, including many of the challenges that consulting engineers have to develop unique and economical solutions to. Things like the layouts and methods of water distribution were covered in detail as well as how engineers design the storage sytems that begin the entire process!

Rosaura also prepared a great group activity for the students where they had the opportunity to design their own distribution pipe network using foam piping and marbles. Each group was given a unique layout that included an elevated storage tank location (a bag of marbles) and two zones (cups) that they had to distibute water (marbles) to. This was a great way to practically illustrate a water distribution system to the students while encouraging them to work as a team. Additional photos can be found online here.

Structural Field Engineers from HILTI

Alexis Clark and Abraham Chapa, structural field engineers for HILTI in the DFW area, gave the CE Club students a great presentation on a career in field engineering. They both started off explaining how they got started in engineering, including their time at the University of Texas and as part of the UT ASCE Student Chapter. Alexis then gave a brief overview of the history of HILTI starting from their origins in Liechtenstein. Abraham then discussed how there is unlimited potential and unlimited career path options working as an engineer, especially at a company with the amount of services and global reach like HILTI. They both encouraged the students by explaining that their work as field engineers is often considered one of the more “outgoing” and “socially engaging” branches of engineers. Their people and communication skills are valued just as highly as their technical prowess.

Students were then shown several of the products that HILTI manufactures, includes concrete anchors, firestops, deck diaphragn screws installation tools, and many other power tools. Finally, the students were given a team challenge involving the selection and “sales pitch” for various post-installed anchor solutions. Each team was assigned an anchor type: adhesive, screw, or wedge anchor. They were then tasked with “convincing the client” as to why their anchor type was the best solution for the job based on anchor cost, geometric constraints, labor/installation cost, quantity of anchors, and the anchor mechanisms. At the end, all the teams discussed which anchor type would be the best. Additional photos can be found online here.

Transportation Engineers from AECOM

Janet Yeow of AECOM and Zai Martinez, a freshman college intern at AECOM, spoke to the CE Club students about transportation engineering. Specifically, the talked about the transit and civil engineering components of the Oklahoma City Streetcar Project. They discussed the construction documents, including the track layout, demolition plan, roadway adjustments, grading, and cost estimates. After getting a decent amount of background on the project, the students were led through an AutoCAD activity where they had to use various line types and shapes to layout sidewalks and asphalt/concrete roadways that are part of the proposed project. They also used a spreadsheet to develop an estimated cost for each project option.

Zai also took time at the end of each class period to share her experiences at AECOM, including working for the engineering firm as a high school intern and then transition to being a college intern. She shared invaluable advice about what it’s like to work at a professional engineering firm. Her advice included being accountable, setting and meeting attainable deadlines, and not being afraid to ask questions. The students certainly identified with and appreciated the advice that Zai gave them! Additional photos from their visit can be found here.