A Message From ...Dr. Christopher Silver, DeanIt is hard to believe the new academicyear is nearly upon us. At the sametime, I must say I am eager to continuework, with the full faculty onboard, on a variety <strong>of</strong> last year’s initiatives.For example, we are preparingto open our new teaching and researchfacility in Orlando, “Citi-LabOrlando,” in collaboration with theUniversity <strong>of</strong> Central Florida. Thiswill give DCP programs a long-overduepresence in this important Floridametropolis, and it will give our studentsa chance to engage with issues in Florida’s developmentbeyond our Gainesville laboratory. We also are several stepscloser to launching a new Master <strong>of</strong> Sustainable Design programbased in Singapore, along with a student exchange program inbuilding construction with the world class National University<strong>of</strong> Singapore. More on these initiatives in the months ahead.As you know, the <strong>Rinker</strong> <strong>School</strong> and the College <strong>of</strong> DCP areunique in the disciplines <strong>of</strong>fered within our college and a newlycreated academic organization will maximize this strength.The Architecture + <strong>Construction</strong> Alliance (or A+CA) includesthe 13 universities across the nation that have both architectureand building construction programs within the same college ontheir campuses. In these colleges where architects and constructorsco-exist, the efforts <strong>of</strong> A+CA would serve as a catalyst toencourage faculty members in departments <strong>of</strong> architecture andconstruction to work more closely together, a model definitelybeneficial to the pr<strong>of</strong>essions. The former dean <strong>of</strong> our counterpartcollege at Texas A&M, Tom Reagan, has spearheaded theformation <strong>of</strong> the group over the past three years. This year’smeeting <strong>of</strong> Deans and Directors was hosted here at DCP backin April, and it was during this meeting that we finalized plansto establish a permanent organization. In a moment <strong>of</strong> weakness,I agreed to serve as Secretary/Treasurer <strong>of</strong> the group.One potentially valuable initiative <strong>of</strong> the A+CA is to establish“faculty research groups” that focus on topics <strong>of</strong> interest to facultymembers from both disciplines. Various research topics that mayfind common ground with both architecture and construction facultyhave been suggested, such as B.I.M./integrated design research,housing/home building research and health care. During this comingyear, it is my intention to engage DCP faculty in a full discussion<strong>of</strong> how they might find value through participation in A+CA.Modeling greater collaboration between architects and constructorswill help to keep the University <strong>of</strong> Florida at the forefront <strong>of</strong>pr<strong>of</strong>essional practice and will, I hope, also influence the way weprepare our future pr<strong>of</strong>essionals. We definitely want to engage ouralumni and friends from industry in this worthwhile initiative. Sostay tuned for further developments and if you want to help usidentify ways to accomplish this objective, please let us know.Dr. Abdol Chini, DirectorThe <strong>Rinker</strong> <strong>School</strong> had a successful2008-<strong>2009</strong> academic year. We graduated122 students with Bachelor’s, 41with Master’s, and 5 with Doctoratedegrees. The 54 students who wereadmitted to the undergraduate programfor the fall <strong>2009</strong> semester havean average Pre-BCN GPA <strong>of</strong> 3.29 andaverage SAT score <strong>of</strong> 1200. As youmay expect, the economic situationhas impacted both the number <strong>of</strong> applicationsand the job placement rateat BCN. The job placement rate hasdecreased significantly and we hadonly 70 companies with 165 recruiters at the Spring <strong>2009</strong> BCNCareer Fair.The BCN faculty had a very productive year. They generated13,270 Student Credit Hours, published more than 60 articles,made 30 national and international presentations, wrote 55 researchproposals, and received $2 million in research funding.These efforts <strong>of</strong>ten involve students who are actively engaged inour on-going research and <strong>of</strong>ten make presentations or publishwith us. I invite you to take a look at some <strong>of</strong> our faculty andstudent accomplishments in this newsletter.The <strong>Rinker</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s Management team ranked 1 st and the HeavyCivil Competition Team placed 2 nd in the ASC/AGC regionalcompetition. The <strong>Building</strong> Information Modeling (BIM) CompetitionTeam won 2 nd place nationally. Congratulations to theteam members and their faculty coaches, Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Mike Cook,Dr. Edward Minchin and Dr. Patrick Suermann.Last year, we initiated a few changes within the curriculum thatwill enhance the overall quality and success <strong>of</strong> our graduates andkeep the BCN program in the very top ranks <strong>of</strong> construction educationprograms in the nation. These included:-In Graphic Communication in <strong>Construction</strong> course, the AutoCAD s<strong>of</strong>tware wasreplaced by the Autodesk Revit Architecture. In addition, a senior-level coursein <strong>Building</strong> Information Modeling (BIM) was <strong>of</strong>fered and <strong>Construction</strong> InformationSystems graduate course covered Navisworks, Revit MEP, Structures, andArchitecture.-A High Performance <strong>Building</strong> course was <strong>of</strong>fered in <strong>Fall</strong> 2008 to increase students’knowledge <strong>of</strong> design and construction <strong>of</strong> “green” buildings and help themobtain their LEED-AP certification.-A new track has been developed for students with interest in heavy/highwayworks that includes three courses: <strong>Construction</strong> Equipment, Methods and Managementfor Heavy/Highway <strong>Construction</strong>, and Heavy/Highway <strong>Construction</strong>Capstone Project.-With financial support from Haskell Company and Clark <strong>Construction</strong> Group,a Design-Build course has been developed that will be <strong>of</strong>fered in fall <strong>2009</strong>. Thecourse is open to architecture and BCN students in an attempt to create a synergywith architecture students and faculty.Thanks to all <strong>of</strong> you for your continued support and participationto make the <strong>Rinker</strong> <strong>School</strong> the truly outstanding institution it hasbecome. I am honored to be <strong>of</strong> service to this great <strong>School</strong>.2
Orange & Blueprintsa bi-annual publicationTable <strong>of</strong> ContentsExecutive Committee.............................. 4Distinguished Alumnus........................... 5In Memoriam.......................................... 6Alumni in Higher Education .................... 7Alumni Updates...................................... 8-10Alumni <strong>Building</strong> Gator Nation................. 11Regional Clubs ...................................... 12-14Industry Focus Group ............................. 14Lessons Learned..................................... 15Endowments........................................... 16Sponsorships......................................... 17Major Donors ......................................... 18Friends and Donors................................. 19Spring <strong>2009</strong> Career Fair.......................... 19Spring <strong>2009</strong> Welcome Reception............ 20BCN Homecoming BBQ.......................... 20Spring <strong>2009</strong> Graduation ......................... 21Pr<strong>of</strong>essor for a Day................................. 22Guest Lecturers...................................... 22Field Trips............................................... 22Internship Experiences........................... 23Conferences.......................................... 24-25Solar Decathalon.................................... 26Student Exchange Program................... 26Student Competition Teams................... 27Faculty & Staff News............................... 28-29The Charles R. Perry <strong>Construction</strong> Yard. 30M.E. <strong>Rinker</strong>, <strong>Sr</strong>.<strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Building</strong> <strong>Construction</strong>304 <strong>Rinker</strong> HallPO Box 115703Gainesville, FL 32611-5703Phone: (352) 273-1150Fax: (352) 392-9606www.bcn.ufl.eduDr. Christopher SilverDean <strong>of</strong> the College <strong>of</strong> Design, <strong>Construction</strong> & PlanningDr. Abdol ChiniDirector <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Rinker</strong> <strong>School</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Building</strong> <strong>Construction</strong>Dr. Paul OppenheimDirector <strong>of</strong> Undergraduate ProgramsDr. Raymond IssaDirector <strong>of</strong> Master’s ProgramsDr. Ian FloodCoordinator <strong>of</strong> Ph.D. ProgramsDr. Charles KibertDirector <strong>of</strong> the Powell Center for<strong>Construction</strong> and EnvironmentDr. Robert StrohDirector <strong>of</strong> the Shimberg Center for Housing StudiesDr. Jimmie HinzeDirector <strong>of</strong> the Fluor Program for <strong>Construction</strong> SafetyFront cover photographs:Front center: Spring <strong>2009</strong> Graduation page 21Middle left: MEAC Workshop page 25Middle center: Executive Committee page 4Middle right: <strong>2009</strong> Distinguished Alumnus page 5Bottom left: Tampa Bay Gator BCN Alumni Club Golf Tournament page 13Bottom middle: Spring <strong>2009</strong> Graduates page 21Bottom right: Charles Perry Lab exercise page 30Editors:Kim Stanley & Ginny Hoylekimms@ufl.edu or ghoyle@ufl.eduSHOW YOUR RINKER SCHOOL PRIDETo purchase items, contact Daphne Choice by phone at (352) 273-1150 or by e-mail at dchoice@dcp.ufl.eduBCN C<strong>of</strong>fee Mug$5BCN Portfolio$20BCN Polo Shirts (S, M, X, XL, XXL)Blue and White$303
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