Winter/Spring 2020
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING | COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING | WINTER/SPRING 2020 benchmark & beaker Getting Into Focus FARO Technologies donates laser scanner to prepare students for careers in construction engineering.
- Page 2 and 3: INSIDE 03 FROM THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR
- Page 4 and 5: 2019-2020 Scholarship Recipients Th
- Page 6 and 7: JANUARY 17 - The department collabo
- Page 8 and 9: Meet the Faculty: Sam Vigil In 1965
- Page 10 and 11: Rebekah Oulton Rebekah Oulton gradu
- Page 12 and 13: SENVE calpolysenve Check out our CL
- Page 14 and 15: Thank You Partners On behalf of our
- Page 16 and 17: Getting into Focus ► Construction
- Page 18 and 19: Partnering For Success ▲ Milton C
- Page 20 and 21: Spring Senior Projects Zoom Forward
- Page 22 and 23: ▼Cal Poly ITE at 2020 Student Lea
- Page 24 and 25: This is Concrete Canoe The Cal Poly
- Page 26 and 27: ◄ Team members, captains, family,
- Page 28: California Polytechnic State Univer
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING | COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING | WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong><br />
benchmark<br />
& beaker<br />
Getting<br />
Into Focus<br />
FARO Technologies donates laser scanner<br />
to prepare students for careers in<br />
construction engineering.
INSIDE<br />
03 FROM THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR<br />
04 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS<br />
06 ALUMNI NIGHT<br />
07 PARTNERS DINNER<br />
08 MEET THE FACULTY<br />
11 CELEBRATING SUCCESS<br />
12 CLUB FEED<br />
14 THANK YOU PARTNERS<br />
16 GETTING INTO FOCUS<br />
18 PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS<br />
20 SENIOR PROJECT ZOOMS FORWARD<br />
ON THE COVER<br />
Hani Alzraiee and civil engineering<br />
senior Raphael Maciel use laser scanner<br />
donated by FARO Technologies.<br />
THIS PAGE<br />
Concrete Canoe worked hard all year to<br />
prepare this year’s design.<br />
ABOUT BENCHMARK & BEAKER<br />
Benchmark symbolizes civil engineering<br />
and Beaker symbolizes environmental<br />
engineering. This publication is<br />
produced twice a year by the Civil and<br />
Environmental Engineering Department.<br />
To view the online version of this edition<br />
or past editions, visit ceenve.calpoly.<br />
edu/newsletters.<br />
22 FAMILY FIRST<br />
24 CONCRETE CANOE<br />
27 KEEPING UP WITH ALUMNI<br />
2 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
From<br />
Department<br />
The<br />
chair<br />
Greetings alumni, Partners, parents, students, and<br />
supporters,<br />
These are unprecedented times with a lot of uncertainty.<br />
But one thing is for sure — the Cal Poly community is<br />
more united than ever before. These times have shown<br />
us what we can accomplish when we work together. In<br />
just two weeks, we worked together to bring our <strong>Spring</strong><br />
classes online and found creative solutions to deliver<br />
the same quality of instruction virtually. I am proud of<br />
our faculty and staff for adapting so quickly and proud<br />
of our students for their resilience and willingness to<br />
adapt to our new reality.<br />
celebrate the many achievements of our students and<br />
faculty. As you will read in this issue of Benchmark<br />
and Beaker, The Society of Civil Engineers, Concrete<br />
Canoe, WERC competition team, the Institute of<br />
Transportation Engineers, and GeoWall celebrated<br />
special accomplishments.<br />
Our donors and industry Partners were especially<br />
instrumental this year in helping us upgrade technology,<br />
our lab spaces, and gave students more opportunities<br />
for hands-on learning. Our Industrial Partnership<br />
Program completed another year of successful<br />
recruiting for our corporate partners and we held our<br />
first construction engineering career fair.<br />
On behalf of the entire department, I want to thank you<br />
for your support over the past year and as we continue<br />
this new journey navigating COVID-19 .<br />
Thanks to our donors, we launched our virtual lab<br />
desktops which allows students to access lab programs<br />
and software from their homes. This was especially<br />
crucial during this virtual quarter so that classes could<br />
continue and students have the tools they need.<br />
Although many of our larger competitions were<br />
postponed or canceled this year, we continue to<br />
Stay safe and well. We will see you on campus very<br />
soon.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Charles Chadwell, Ph.D., P.E.<br />
Department Chair<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 3
2019-<strong>2020</strong><br />
Scholarship<br />
Recipients<br />
These scholarship recipients<br />
were selected for their respective<br />
scholarships after careful<br />
consideration of their academic<br />
achievements, extracurricular<br />
activities and strides they’ve made<br />
towards their career goals.<br />
We want to extend a special thank<br />
you to all our scholarship donors.<br />
Alex Murray<br />
John Stephen<br />
Larson Memorial<br />
Scholarship<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering,<br />
Graduate<br />
Anna Johnson<br />
Constant J. and<br />
Dorothy F. Chrones<br />
Scholarship -- Civil<br />
Engineering<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Senior<br />
Allyson Swain<br />
Constant J. and Dorothy<br />
F. Chrones Scholarship<br />
-- Environmental<br />
Engineering<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering, Senior<br />
Ashley Green<br />
Chevron Scholarship<br />
for Environmental<br />
Engineering<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering, Senior<br />
Calvin Wang<br />
Clark Construction<br />
Construction<br />
Engineering Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Senior<br />
Casey Boyle<br />
Chris Rockway<br />
Scholarship<br />
Endowment<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Christina Hinson<br />
Constant J. and<br />
Dorothy F. Chrones<br />
Scholarship -- Civil<br />
Engineering<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Sophomore<br />
Christopher Aslo<br />
Harold Frank<br />
Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Sophomore<br />
Claire Anovick<br />
Rollo & Ridley Inc.<br />
Geotechnical<br />
Engineering<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Davis Ross<br />
Don Chapin<br />
Company<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Dustin Lee<br />
APWA Herbert E. Gerfen<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil & Environmental<br />
Engineering, Graduate<br />
Ella Herrmann<br />
Chevron Environmental<br />
Education Scholarship<br />
Endowment<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Senior<br />
4 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Eric Golant<br />
Cord Meier Memorial<br />
Civil Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Fabian Leon<br />
Clark Construction<br />
Construction<br />
Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Grace Bowman<br />
Don Chapin Company<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Grant Smith<br />
John Tracy Jr<br />
Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Jordan Wong<br />
Boeing Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Joshua Schipper<br />
Harold Frank<br />
Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering,<br />
Sophomore<br />
Karin Finney<br />
Constant J. and<br />
Dorothy F. Chrones<br />
Scholarship<br />
-- Environmental<br />
Engineering<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering, Senior<br />
Madeline David<br />
Wood Rodgers Civil<br />
Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
Marissa Kephart<br />
Dragoslav M. Misic<br />
Scholarship<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering, Senior<br />
Maxwell Batanian<br />
Lars Larsen<br />
Engineering<br />
Scholarship<br />
Environmental<br />
Engineering, Senior<br />
Nicholas Vincent<br />
Don Chapin Company<br />
Scholarship<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Senior<br />
Robert Sprotte<br />
Adele and Aldo<br />
Alessio Scholarship<br />
Endowment Fund<br />
Civil Engineering,<br />
Junior<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 5
JANUARY 17 –<br />
The department<br />
collaborated<br />
with Industrial<br />
Advisory Board<br />
and the student<br />
chapter of the<br />
Institute of<br />
Transportation<br />
Engineers (ITE)<br />
for the first CE/<br />
ENVE Alumni<br />
Night. The post-<br />
Career Fair<br />
event brought<br />
together alumni<br />
friends, faculty<br />
and current CE/<br />
ENVE students<br />
to celebrate Cal<br />
Poly and served<br />
as a fundraiser<br />
for Cal Poly ITE.<br />
▲Faculty, alumni and current students<br />
enjoy the first ever CE/ENVE Alumni<br />
Night.<br />
<strong>2020</strong><br />
Alumni Night<br />
6 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
2nd Annual<br />
Partners Dinner<br />
DECEMBER 6 – At our second<br />
annual Partners Dinner,<br />
students got to network<br />
with 14 companies and learn<br />
about the numerous career<br />
opportunities available with<br />
our Partners.<br />
▼ Students enjoy a three-course meal with our<br />
Partners at our CE/ENVE Partners Dinner.<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 7
Meet the Faculty:<br />
Sam Vigil<br />
In 1965, Sam Vigil was a student at CSU<br />
Hayward (now called Cal State East Bay)<br />
studying physics. Vigil’s life took a turn<br />
that year when he received a letter from<br />
his local draft board on Christmas Eve.<br />
“So I’m going along, taking 13 to 14 units,<br />
and then in 1965, on Christmas Eve believe<br />
it or not, I get a letter telling me that my<br />
deferment’s gone and I’m now what’s classified<br />
as 1A (available for military<br />
service),” Vigil said.<br />
Despite being a full-time student and<br />
originally having a valid student deferment,<br />
Vigil had been listed as eligible for the draft.<br />
From the experience of his friends, he said<br />
there was only about one month to take<br />
action in response to the letter before being<br />
drafted.<br />
Vigil initially decided to join the Navy the<br />
Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate (AVROC)<br />
program but ended up failing the depth<br />
perception test in the eyesight<br />
portion of the physical. The Navy then<br />
called him and asked that he try out for the<br />
larger branch called the Reserve Officer<br />
Candidate (ROC) program. After trying out<br />
for the ROC program – which this time<br />
didn’t require a test of strong depth<br />
perception – he passed the physical and<br />
waited for six months to hear back.<br />
Vigil officially joined the Navy in May 1966.<br />
When he started in his reserve unit, he took<br />
a test to become an electronic technician,<br />
since that was his “hobby at the time.”<br />
Vigil transferred to UC Berkeley in winter<br />
quarter of 1967, graduating in 1969 with a<br />
bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. In<br />
October 1969, he entered active duty as an<br />
ensign. From communication technician to<br />
8 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
commander, Vigil served in the<br />
Navy Reserve and on active<br />
duty from 1966 to 1995.<br />
The military provided him<br />
with a range of opportunities,<br />
including the chance to live<br />
in Puerto Rico for three years<br />
as part of the Naval Security<br />
Group – the branch of the<br />
Navy responsible for signals<br />
intelligence gathering and<br />
cryptology.<br />
After earning his master’s<br />
degree in civil engineering,<br />
Vigil transferred to the Navy Civil Engineer<br />
Corps. He served another 20 years in the<br />
Navy Reserve with assignments in Navy<br />
Construction Battalion Two (also known<br />
as the Navy Seabees) and engineering<br />
projects in the U.S., Europe and the Philippines.<br />
He<br />
retired from the Navy Reserve in 1995 with<br />
the rank of commander.<br />
Education still played a crucial role in<br />
Vigil’s life alongside his involvement in the<br />
Navy and the Navy Reserve. After his release<br />
from active duty in 1973, he earned a<br />
master’s degree in civil<br />
engineering from Texas A&M in 1974 and a<br />
doctorate in engineering from UC Davis in<br />
1981. Vigil’s graduate education was funded<br />
by the G.I. Bill, RA and TA appointments<br />
and Navy Reserve pay.<br />
In 1980, he joined Brown and<br />
Caldwell, a major environmental engineering<br />
firm in the Bay Area, where he<br />
worked on energy conservation, recycling<br />
and waste-to-energy projects. In 1982, he<br />
joined the faculty of the Cal Poly Civil and<br />
Environmental Engineering Department<br />
where he taught courses in water and<br />
▲ At the time of his retirement in 1995, Vigil was a commissioned<br />
ofÞcer for the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps on<br />
reserve duty.<br />
waste-water treatment, waste management<br />
and sustainable<br />
environment engineering. He is now a<br />
retired environmental engineering professor<br />
at Cal Poly.<br />
Vigil credits his Navy experience in the<br />
Civil Engineer Corps and his<br />
consulting experience at Brown and Caldwell<br />
with helping provide his<br />
students with “real world” problems.<br />
In addition to teaching, Dr. Vigil has been<br />
involved in various research projects in<br />
waste management and sustainability.<br />
He is also a co-author of the widely used<br />
textbook “Solid Waste Management:<br />
Engineering Principles and Management<br />
Issues” published by McGraw-Hill in 1963.<br />
He is a professional engineer, a board-certified<br />
environmental engineer, a Leadership in<br />
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)<br />
accredited professional and a fellow of<br />
the Air and Management<br />
Association.
Meet the Faculty:<br />
STEFAN TALKE<br />
Stefan Talke graduated from<br />
UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s<br />
degree in mechanical<br />
engineering before working<br />
for a couple years in the software<br />
industry. Talke decided to<br />
return to his alma mater, wanting a<br />
better fit for his desire to get outside<br />
and do more field work.<br />
“It’s different in the field. You know,<br />
these days we tend to see things behind<br />
a computer, and you miss some<br />
stuff when you’re doing that,” Talke<br />
said. “Literally you might miss it, but<br />
figuratively or conceptually we<br />
simplify things too much sometimes<br />
and we don’t see the details that are<br />
important.”<br />
He earned master’s and doctorate<br />
degrees in civil and environmental<br />
engineering, with a focus in physical<br />
oceanography. The faculty member<br />
said he now jokes that his plan<br />
worked, because as a coastal engineer<br />
he “only spends 99 percent” of<br />
his time behind a computer.<br />
In 2005, Talke moved to the<br />
Netherlands to work as a post-doc at<br />
the University of Utrecht, researching<br />
the hydrodynamics and effects<br />
of changing conditions in the Ems<br />
estuary. While he originally took the<br />
job because he thought it would be<br />
an interesting place to live, he ended<br />
up loving the research as well as the<br />
people he interacted with.<br />
From 2007 to 2010, he worked as a<br />
research associate at the University<br />
of Washington, focusing on<br />
variation in highly turbid estuaries<br />
and surface boils in a tidal river. He<br />
went on to do research and work<br />
as an assistant and eventually as<br />
an associate professor at the University<br />
of Portland from 2010 until<br />
his recent move to Cal Poly.<br />
Between an opportunity to be closer<br />
to friends and family and a job description<br />
that seemed like a perfect<br />
fit, Talke said he couldn’t pass up the<br />
offer to come to San Luis Obispo.<br />
“I really enjoy being close to the<br />
ocean again. I’ve been an<br />
oceanographer and a coastal engineer<br />
that hasn’t seen the coast in a<br />
while,” Talke said. “I like the hiking<br />
and the wide-openness, people are<br />
friendly – it reminds me a little bit<br />
more of what California used to be<br />
like before it got really stressed out<br />
and full of traffic.”<br />
Talke’s current projects include<br />
collaborative research on the relation<br />
between sea-level trends and tidal<br />
variability to disaster risk on the east<br />
coast. The new faculty member is analyzing<br />
historical records of tidal data<br />
and their significance in understanding<br />
cities’ differing vulnerabilities to<br />
flooding and hurricanes.<br />
“When you overlay all of this – all of<br />
the human-induced changes in our<br />
coastal regions – with sea level rise<br />
and changing floods due to more<br />
▲ Stefan Talke is a new faculty member for the Civil<br />
and Environmental Engineering Department at Cal<br />
Poly SLO.<br />
intense storms, let’s say, then you<br />
have a real infrastructure problem<br />
that you have to figure out [to<br />
protect the coastline],” Talke said.<br />
“And what do you do about that?”<br />
It’s questions like these that drive<br />
Talke’s research. Upon his arrival<br />
to the central coast, Talke said<br />
he looks forward to starting work<br />
with the Center for Coastal Marine<br />
Sciences at the Cal Poly Pier and in<br />
Morro Bay.<br />
As for wisdom to impart on his<br />
students that he wishes he knew<br />
as a young engineer, Talke said<br />
he wants them to simply take<br />
advantage of office hours.<br />
“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.<br />
None of us are perfect. None of us<br />
are just supernaturally intelligent,”<br />
Talke said. “Part of the learning<br />
process is getting to that point<br />
where you’re like, ‘Hey, I don’t<br />
know this.’ And it’s okay to ask for<br />
help and you don’t have to just try<br />
to figure it out yourself all the time.”<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 9
Rebekah Oulton<br />
Rebekah Oulton graduated from<br />
Harvey Mudd College with a<br />
bachelor’s degree in both general<br />
engineering and environmental<br />
policy. Oulton’s first job was a<br />
marketing position at Southern<br />
California Gas Company (SoCalGas)<br />
in San Luis Obispo (SLO).<br />
While at SoCalGas, Oulton earned<br />
her mechanical professional<br />
engineer license. After five years<br />
with SoCalGas, the professor<br />
returned to SLO to work for Cannon<br />
as a professional engineer.<br />
Having been involved with Harvey<br />
Mudd’s Society of Women Engineers<br />
(SWE) chapter, Oulton wanted to<br />
charter a chapter in SLO. Here, she<br />
met faculty advisor Helene Finger.<br />
Finger invited Oulton to be a parttime<br />
lecturer for civil engineering at<br />
Cal Poly one day over lunch.<br />
“She caught me on a good day. I had<br />
always said I would never want to be<br />
a teacher, because my parents were<br />
both teachers — my mom taught<br />
high school and my dad taught<br />
college,” Oulton said.<br />
Realizing she wanted to teach<br />
full-time and consult on the side,<br />
Oulton went back to school and<br />
earned her doctorate in environmental<br />
engineering. She then returned to<br />
Cal Poly, this time as an assistant<br />
professor.<br />
In June 2019, Oulton moved from<br />
assistant professor to associate<br />
professor for the university. Oulton<br />
said she still feels as at home as she<br />
did when she first showed up.<br />
“It’s like I figured out when I was<br />
lecturing; this is what I should be<br />
doing,” Oulton said. “I just feel like<br />
I’ve kind of found my right work, and<br />
that’s what I really hope for all of my<br />
students; that they find the right work.<br />
Because when you do that, then every<br />
day is just a joy.”<br />
Anurag Pande<br />
Anurag Pande earned his Bachelor<br />
of Technology degree in civil<br />
engineering from the Indian<br />
Institute of Technology, Bombay in<br />
2002. In 2008, Pande came to teach<br />
in the civil and environmental<br />
engineering department at Cal<br />
Poly.<br />
“You know, that’s the great thing<br />
about a faculty position, because<br />
you pretty much never have to<br />
do work that you don’t like to do,<br />
right?” Pande said. “You always get<br />
to teach your classes that you love<br />
to teach, and in terms of research,<br />
it’s always the work that [you] want<br />
to do.”<br />
10 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
For Pande, producing “good work with<br />
good students” has been a highlight of<br />
his time at the university.<br />
“What I’ve found is [my students] have<br />
really valuable feedback and I’ve been<br />
able to work on my teaching,” Pande<br />
said.<br />
Two projects that he is most excited<br />
about concern the “big picture idea” of<br />
looking at before-and-after situations<br />
in a different light. Pande said a naïve<br />
approach focuses strictly on outcomes<br />
before and after a change and simply<br />
compared the two.<br />
One thing that Pande missed as<br />
a young engineering student was<br />
“learning the ability to focus” and<br />
learning how to learn.<br />
“I think the secret is that pretty much<br />
everything that you will do in your careers<br />
is going to depend on your skills to be<br />
able to learn new ideas and approaches,<br />
because things change, from what we<br />
learned in school,” Pande said. “So you<br />
should absolutely try to learn what is<br />
being taught in the classroom, but not<br />
necessarily only for that content, but to<br />
gain an ability to learn new things.”
▲ SCE Members at the 2019 Pacific Southwest Conference, results of which went<br />
towards the decisions for chapter awards.<br />
CelebraTing Success<br />
Cal Poly’s Society of Civil<br />
Engineers (SCE) student<br />
chapter recently received the<br />
Distinguished Chapter award<br />
for 2019. This honor is awarded<br />
by the American Society of Civil<br />
Engineers (ASCE) to outstanding<br />
student chapters within each<br />
region.<br />
Structural engineering professor<br />
Daniel Jansen served as faculty<br />
advisor to the club this past year.<br />
“SCE is a great group of students<br />
and they really don’t need much<br />
advising,” Jansen said. “They<br />
have good internal leadership and<br />
a dedicated core of officers.”<br />
Civil engineering senior Rebecca<br />
Maloney is the president of this<br />
core of officers. Maloney got<br />
involved with the chapter as<br />
a freshman. She started in the<br />
mentorship program, moved on<br />
to join the events committee the<br />
next year and became the Vice<br />
President of Events in her third<br />
year.<br />
“SCE has become my community<br />
on campus, it’s where I have<br />
found people that I know will be<br />
in my life long past when we all<br />
graduate,” Maloney said. “Being<br />
a part of the club has given me<br />
many opportunities to pursue<br />
leadership roles and, in turn, I<br />
attribute a lot of my personal,<br />
academic, and professional<br />
growth to these opportunities<br />
(such as starting to overcome<br />
my never ending fear of public<br />
speaking).”<br />
Over the years, Cal Poly SCE has<br />
become known for planning<br />
and executing the Civil and<br />
Environmental Engineering<br />
Career Fair alongside the student<br />
Society of Environmental<br />
Engineers (SENVE) chapter.<br />
▲ SCE President Rebecca Maloney says that the<br />
club will be what she misses most about Cal Poly.<br />
“To me, this award is far more<br />
meaningful than any single<br />
event, because it recognizes<br />
the collective excellence of<br />
the student chapter and the<br />
contributions of so many,” said<br />
Daniel Jansen, SCE Club Advisor<br />
and Civil Engineering Professor.<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 11
SENVE<br />
calpolysenve<br />
Check<br />
out<br />
our CLUB FEED<br />
...<br />
SCE<br />
sce_calpoly<br />
...<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
calpolysenve Thank you to everyone that made Snow Trip <strong>2020</strong> a blast!<br />
CG<br />
calpolycalgeo ...<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
sce_calpoly On the weekend of January 24th, a group of SCE officers and our<br />
faculty advisor, Dr. Jansen, went to the annual WSCL (Workshop for Student<br />
Chapter Leaders) Conference in San Francisco. Throughout the weekend our<br />
representatives learned about current topics in the industry, met students<br />
from other schools, and discovered ways to improve our club. Thanks to ASCE<br />
for putting on an amazing event! #thisisasce #ascelocalnews @asce_hq<br />
SB<br />
calpolysteelbridge ...<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
calpolycalgeo This year’s GeoWall team took home 10th place at Nationals. We<br />
had a great time competing against 19 other schools and are looking forward<br />
to PSWC in 5 weeks! #geocongress<strong>2020</strong> #geowall #calpoly #fullsand<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
calpolysteelbridge Thank you to our members who have continued to help us<br />
through this journey. We’re grateful to have such an amazing team!<br />
12 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
RW<br />
cprainworks ...<br />
SWE<br />
cpswe ...<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
cpswe On Jan 23rd we had our 44th Annual Evening With Industry! This year’s<br />
theme was “The Future is <strong>2020</strong>” and in honor of this we celebrated some<br />
wonderful female engineers and future leaders. 28 Cal Poly students received<br />
scholarships and 10 Outstanding Women Engineers were acknowledged for<br />
their achievements. We were lucky to hear from some amazing speakers such<br />
as Malia Farkas, Dean Fleischer, and President Armstrong. This event wouldn’t<br />
have been possible without our company sponsors and swe members. Thank<br />
you to everyone who attended and hope to SWE you all again next year!<br />
cprainworks Happy Thanksgiving! Late post from the Earth Shrine River Walk<br />
Clean-Up event earlier this month - thanks to those who came, and thank<br />
you to our members and supporters for making this club what it is! Happy<br />
holidays!<br />
ESW<br />
eswcalpoly ...<br />
CE<br />
xecpweb ...<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
eswcalpoly Camping trip social was a success! We had a great time around<br />
the campfire, setting up tents, eating s’mores, exploring the beach, and more!!<br />
(Make sure to keep a look out for new socials coming up next quarter!)<br />
Liked by ceenvecalpoly and others<br />
xecpweb Welcome to our new members!<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 13
Thank<br />
You Partners<br />
On behalf of our entire department — students,<br />
faculty, and staff — we want to say thank you to<br />
all our Partners. Because of your support, we<br />
were able to complete many impactful projects<br />
to benefit our students, faculty and staff.<br />
Key Accomplishments<br />
• Complete upgrade of our main classroom space<br />
with new tables, chairs and audio/visual system.<br />
• Integrated a virtual lab program which gives<br />
students access to important software and<br />
programs from anywhere in the world.<br />
• Created the first construction engineering career<br />
fair to connect students with career opportunities.<br />
• Completed the third successful year of our<br />
Industrial Partnership Program.<br />
• Support faculty development through conferences<br />
and research travel.<br />
• Purchased a department vehicle for student,<br />
faculty and staff use.<br />
14 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
“Our Partners are part of the CE/ENVE family. You are<br />
what keep us going and allows us to continuously<br />
rank as one of the top civil and environmental<br />
engineering programs in the country— thank you,”<br />
said Charles Chadwell, department chair.<br />
Our Industrial Partnership Program has<br />
opportunities to create a presence on campus<br />
and build relationships with our students, clubs,<br />
and faculty. Our program connects you to top-tier<br />
students through unique recruitment and branding<br />
opportunities. This program helps fund student<br />
competitions and projects, research, instructional<br />
materials, lab renovations and department<br />
improvement projects.<br />
For more information about becoming part of our<br />
Industrial Partnership Program visit<br />
ceenve.calpoly.edu/ipp.
Lab Sponsors<br />
Platinum Donors<br />
Gold Silver Bronze<br />
Blois Construction<br />
Wallace Group<br />
DeSilva Gates<br />
Construction<br />
Gregory P. Luth &<br />
Associates, Inc.<br />
Mott McDonald<br />
GS Bridge<br />
Truebeck Construction<br />
Murphy Structural<br />
Engineers<br />
Huitt-Zolars<br />
Stratus Environmental<br />
Inc.<br />
Diablo Engineering Group<br />
Kittleson & Associates<br />
Fehr and Peers<br />
BNBuilders<br />
Provost & Pritchard<br />
Consulting Group<br />
Rick Engineering<br />
Company<br />
GeoSyntec<br />
Van Sande<br />
Engineering<br />
Pet Doors<br />
W.E. O’Neil<br />
FTF Engineering<br />
Condor Earth<br />
EL Montgomery<br />
RJA-GPS<br />
Diversified<br />
Project Services<br />
International<br />
Churchill Cost<br />
Parisi<br />
Transportation<br />
Consulting<br />
Arcadis<br />
DKS Associates<br />
MSD<br />
Professional<br />
Engineering Inc.<br />
Carollo<br />
Engeo<br />
W-Trans<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 15
Getting into<br />
Focus<br />
► Construction<br />
engineering professor<br />
Hani Alzraiee assists<br />
civil engineering<br />
senior Raphael Maciel<br />
with the laser scanner.<br />
16 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
FARO®’s donated laser scanner gives<br />
students hands-on experience with<br />
the latest construction<br />
engineering technology.<br />
With just a few clicks, students can accurately measure<br />
complex objects and buildings. Thanks to FARO’s donation<br />
of their latest FocusS series laser scanner, students will be<br />
trained and ready to use these tools when they graduate.<br />
Our department has prioritized advancing construction engineering<br />
curriculum as civil engineering students have shown increased interest in<br />
entering the construction field. Construction engineering professor Hani<br />
Alzraiee created the Advanced Building Information Modeling for Civil<br />
Engineering (CE 415) course to prepare students interested in the field.<br />
With the donation of the FARO® Focus Laser Scanner, Alzraiee aims to<br />
train CE 415 students to use the scanner and analyze the data it collects<br />
in the design and construction process. The classes focuses on managing<br />
vertical structures, BIM based quantity take-off, clash detection, and 4D<br />
modeling.<br />
Senior Raphael Maciel was one of the first students to use the laser<br />
scanner, “Hani got us really excited about the class. When we went<br />
outside actually started using the scanner, it was really interesting and<br />
that got me more excited about it.”<br />
FARO’s FocusS series laser scanner has a built-in 8 mega-pixel, HDRcamera<br />
that captures detailed imagery easily while providing a natural<br />
color overlay to the scan data in extreme lighting conditions. The scanner<br />
is light weight, small and has a 4.5-hour battery runtime per charge<br />
making the FocusS Laser Scanner truly mobile for fast, secure and reliable<br />
scanning. The point cloud data captured by the scanner can be used with<br />
FARO programs or third-party programs like Autodesk.<br />
FARO’s gift has transformed and enhanced our construction engineering<br />
curriculum. With industry support, our students will receive the training<br />
they need to be successful in their careers.<br />
“I want to thank FARO® for this gift,” Alzraiee said. “I also want to<br />
thank them for the training they have provided for me in order to<br />
get up to speed with using their tool and their software. As well as<br />
the continuous support we are having and their contribution to the<br />
classroom.”<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 17
Partnering<br />
For Success<br />
▲ Milton Carrasco,<br />
CEO, Transoft<br />
Solutions, spoke to<br />
Cal Poly students<br />
about his inspirational<br />
journey at the oncampus<br />
training on<br />
February 7, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
18 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Transoft Solutions<br />
Partners with Cal Poly<br />
to Prepare Students for<br />
Careers in Transportation<br />
Transoft Solutions Inc., a global leader<br />
in transportation engineering design,<br />
analysis and operational software, has<br />
partnered with California Polytechnic<br />
State University, San Luis Obispo to provide the Civil<br />
and Environmental Engineering department with<br />
its key flagship products AutoTURN® and TORUS® .<br />
These products are intended to help civil engineering<br />
students gain the necessary skills on industry-leading<br />
software and prepare them to take on challenges in the<br />
urban transportation design profession. On February 7,<br />
Transoft Solutions President and CEO, Milton Carrasco,<br />
spoke to over 30 Cal PoSly students interested in<br />
transportation engineering careers. Carrasco discussed<br />
the Transoft Foundation and the company’s reach<br />
across the globe and amongst universities.<br />
solve real-world problems from the day they<br />
graduate,” said Charles Chadwell, Civil and<br />
Environmental Engineering department chair.<br />
The Transoft Education Program (TEP) was launched<br />
with a mission to help future civil engineers develop<br />
critical knowledge and build the technical skills they<br />
need to succeed in this dynamic field. The program has<br />
provided over 700 software licenses to classes in higher<br />
education institutions and to individual students<br />
conducting degree-related research across the US and<br />
Canada.<br />
With rapid urbanization, various types of traffic such<br />
as commuter cars, commercial vehicles, autonomous<br />
vehicles and bicycles need to co-exist. Transportation<br />
professionals are now faced with designing safe,<br />
reliable and integrated infrastructure. Cal Poly<br />
provides practice-oriented education, emphasizing<br />
design project experiences. With “hands-on”<br />
laboratory activities and teamwork, the program<br />
helps prepare students for successful careers in civil<br />
engineering.<br />
“Investing in education is our way of giving<br />
back to the profession, and it is imperative that<br />
technology companies and educators work<br />
together to ensure a highly skilled workforce,”<br />
said Milton Carrasco, Transoft Solutions, CEO.<br />
Cal Poly’s program has quickly grown into one of<br />
the top undergraduate civil engineering programs in<br />
the nation according to U.S. News & World Reports.<br />
We consistently attract top student candidates with<br />
modern, well-equipped laboratories, close interaction<br />
between undergraduates and full-time faculty and<br />
strong reputation among employers in the civil<br />
engineering and construction industries.<br />
“Our partnerships with industry leaders like<br />
Transoft Solutions strengthen our program<br />
and ensure we are preparing students with<br />
the latest technology so that they are ready to<br />
Transoft Solutions’ AutoTURN® Pro will help students<br />
model design vehicle turning maneuvers in 3D, and<br />
check space allocations as they maneuver through<br />
intersections and other traffic facilities. TORUS®,<br />
the industry leading roundabout software of its kind<br />
and used by Departments of Transportation (DOTs)<br />
including Caltrans, will give students a chance to learn<br />
how to produce roundabout geometry considering<br />
speed profile, design vehicle swept path, and sight<br />
distance checks.<br />
“With the incorporation of Transoft Solutions’,<br />
AutoTURN® and TORUS® software – both of<br />
which are widely used by State DOTs and Architecture,<br />
Engineering, and Construction (AEC)<br />
companies - into Cal Poly’s instruction, our students<br />
will be further prepared entering into the<br />
Transportation Engineering industry,” said Paul<br />
Valadao, Civil Engineering lecturer and senior<br />
design coordinator.<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 19
<strong>Spring</strong><br />
Senior<br />
Projects<br />
Zoom<br />
Forward<br />
Cal Poly has adapted to the<br />
new normal and found ways<br />
to continue delivering the<br />
same quality of education<br />
virtually. Senior design is the capstone<br />
class of the ciivl engineering curriculum<br />
and is the culmination of all four years of<br />
undergraduate program. Faculty and staff<br />
have worked together to deliver the same<br />
senior design experience virtually.<br />
Civil engineering lecturer and senior design<br />
project coordinator Paul Valadao notes that,<br />
in light of recent events, guiding student<br />
online has its positive qualities. It makes the<br />
faculty more accessible to the students.<br />
“It is important to note from the onset the<br />
‘Learn by Doing’ experience is at its core,<br />
best harnessed in-person,” Valadao said.<br />
“There is no denying this. Although it is also<br />
worth recognizing that transferring the spring<br />
quarter and latter portion of civil engineering<br />
Senior Design to an online distance-learning<br />
format has made the faculty more easily<br />
accessible to our students.”<br />
Similar to most departments at Cal Poly, civil<br />
and environmental engineering faculty are<br />
utilizing the conference platform Zoom Video<br />
20 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Communications. Through Zoom, more of the focus lies<br />
in team-based project submittals, rather than individual<br />
exams. Students are encouraged to take the opportunity<br />
to further develop project communication.<br />
“Civil engineering Senior Design students are most<br />
successful if they willingly and effectively work together,”<br />
Valadao said. “The refined skills derived from this<br />
student-team collaboration will be directly applied to our<br />
graduate’s first job in industry, allowing them to be ready<br />
day one.”<br />
For civil engineering senior Jose Chalapa Diaz, the news<br />
of moving to online for Senior Design was particularly
▲ CE Senior Design students meet over Zoom during spring quarter <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
crushing. Chalapa Diaz is the project manager for<br />
Cal Poly’s Steel Bridge competition team, which<br />
serves as fulfillment of his required capstone<br />
project. With school shops closed, completing his<br />
project became virtually impossible. However,<br />
Chalapa Diaz and his team are making the best of<br />
the situation with meetings that correspond to the<br />
usual phases of steel bridge.<br />
“The presentations are filled with pictures, videos,<br />
tips and experiences from our current experience,”<br />
he said. “We hope that the new team can utilize all<br />
the knowledge to create a better team, compete at<br />
competition and get high rankings.”<br />
For Valadao, working with the seniors on their final<br />
projects is “one of the coveted highlights” of his<br />
job. He’s been involved with CE Senior Design for<br />
over a decade, and he still looks forward to it every<br />
year.<br />
“I truly cherish the opportunity each academic year<br />
and find it tremendously rewarding to take this<br />
journey with our graduating seniors in this valuable<br />
course,” Valadao said.<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 21
▼Cal Poly ITE at <strong>2020</strong> Student Leadership Summit.<br />
Family first<br />
As a freshman in high school, Kezia<br />
Suwandhaputra’s father took her to an<br />
event for women in engineering. There,<br />
she met a woman who studied at Harvard<br />
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),<br />
and who encouraged Suwandhaputra to pursue<br />
civil engineering.<br />
It hasn’t always been easy pursuing civil<br />
engineering for Suwandhaputra. Being less inclined<br />
toward math and science, she struggled in the<br />
first couple of years in the major. She considered<br />
switching to city and regional planning (CRP),<br />
instead, but got through with hard work and the<br />
constant reminder that there was an end goal to<br />
reach.<br />
“It’s been a blast,” she says. “My major classes have<br />
been a really big help because now I’m actually<br />
applying the things I learned first and second year<br />
to real life applications.”<br />
22 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING<br />
Today, she is<br />
president of Cal<br />
Poly’s Institute of<br />
Transportation<br />
Engineers<br />
(ITE) chapter.<br />
Suwandhaputra<br />
recalls going<br />
to the club fair<br />
as a freshman,<br />
trying to choose<br />
from the various<br />
engineering<br />
organizations.<br />
Ultimately, ITE<br />
was the one that<br />
stuck out to her the<br />
most.<br />
▲Suwandhaputra is a third year civil<br />
engineering student at Cal Poly.<br />
ITE is an organization that aims to connect and<br />
educate transportation students and professionals.<br />
The Cal Poly chapter provides peers with the<br />
opportunity to learn from professionals, learn<br />
more about the field and make lasting change<br />
within the SLO community.
Club member Emily Linn was instantly intrigued by<br />
the club her freshman year. Although it was nerveracking<br />
at first to dive into something new, she felt<br />
at home after the first meeting she attended. Later,<br />
she attended the Student Leadership Summit<br />
(SLS) with ITE.<br />
“Going with ITE to SLS 2019 only cemented the<br />
“family” motto the club nurtures,” Linn says.<br />
“The club slowly became a place where I truly felt<br />
accepted, surrounded by people who would cheer<br />
me up when I felt down.”<br />
Suwandhaputra reiterates the “family” dynamic<br />
of the club. She says that while a significant<br />
part of ITE is networking with professionals and<br />
professors, it’s the students in the club that make<br />
ITE so special.<br />
“A lot of my close friends are in ITE,” she says. “And<br />
we all bond over the nerdiest things; like taking<br />
public transit or biking to school or ‘Oh, there’s a<br />
new bike lane here.’”<br />
▲One of the events that ITE puts on is a Mario Kart race using kids’ size<br />
bicycles. ▼ITE Transportation Mixer in fall 2019.<br />
Additional to SLS, ITE hosts firm tours, has events<br />
such as Mario Kart and the SLO Transpo Mixer,<br />
and competes in competitions like the James H.<br />
Kell Student Design Competition and the Student<br />
Traffic Bowl.<br />
2019-<strong>2020</strong> ITE Officers<br />
Vice President Zachary Caipang, Treasurer Kiera<br />
Bryant, Secretary Katherine Lee, Professional<br />
Coordinator Ashley Yao, Social Coordinator<br />
Cody Lim, Outreach Coordinator Zachary Fucini,<br />
Marketing Coordinator Bryant Lee, and Historian<br />
Megan Mannion.<br />
SUPPORT<br />
Support the mission of ITE. Your support provides<br />
educational and training opportunities for students. Visit<br />
ceenve.calpoly.edu/giving to support now.<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 23
This is<br />
Concrete<br />
Canoe<br />
The Cal Poly Concrete Canoe Team designs,<br />
produces and races a canoe made<br />
out of concrete every school year. The<br />
concrete is designed<br />
According to rules and regulations that<br />
change from year to year.<br />
Students work as a team<br />
throughout the year and compete at the<br />
regional Pacific Southwest Conference in<br />
the <strong>Spring</strong>. Due to COVID-19, this year’s<br />
competition is postponed.<br />
In June 2019, the Cal Poly team traveled<br />
to Florida for The American Society of<br />
Civil Engineers (ASCE)<br />
National Concrete Canoe<br />
Competition. The team earned 1st place<br />
in the Final Product of their canoe,<br />
Yggdrasil. Cal Poly’s current 5 National<br />
Championships ties the all time record<br />
for most championships by a single university.<br />
Staying<br />
Afloat<br />
THE <strong>2020</strong> TEAM<br />
Project Manager Yin Ding, Senior Construction<br />
Captains Lauren Tigue and Max<br />
Morgan; Senior Mix Design Captains Isela<br />
Dy and Nicko Ma; Junior Construction<br />
Captains Michael Daly, Jaxon Silva and<br />
Nick Baker; Junior Mix Design Captains<br />
Carson Bak and Michael Wang<br />
24 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
National<br />
Champion<br />
Titles<br />
5<br />
National<br />
Rankings<br />
12<br />
Tradition<br />
Since<br />
‘80s<br />
◄ The 2018-2019 Cal Poly Concrete<br />
Canoe team at ASCE Nationals in<br />
Melbourne, FL. Their canoe<br />
“Yggdrasil” won second place in<br />
the nation.<br />
▼ Project Manager Yin Ding casting the team’s final competition canoe on January 18.<br />
Concrete canoe<br />
has taught me<br />
valuable skills<br />
that put me<br />
ahead both<br />
academically and<br />
in a project<br />
environment.<br />
“<br />
Carson Bak, Junior Mix<br />
Design Captain<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 25
◄ Team members, captains, family,<br />
friends and alumni came together<br />
on November 9 to make the<br />
team’s practice canoe. From this<br />
stage, the team tests the practice<br />
cast to make sure the final casting<br />
goes smoothly.<br />
Canoe has by far been<br />
the most impactful of<br />
my college<br />
experiences because<br />
of both the<br />
friendships it’s brought<br />
me and all that it’s<br />
taught me about<br />
engineering and<br />
myself.<br />
Lauren Tigue, Senior<br />
Construction Captain<br />
▲Senior Mix Design Captain Isela Dy works on a refined concrete mix on final casting day.<br />
SUPPORT<br />
We started an endowment to support the concrete canoe<br />
team for years to come and continue this tradition. Support<br />
the mission of Concrete Canoe.<br />
Visit ceenve.calpoly.edu/giving to support now.<br />
26 | CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Keeping up with<br />
Alumni<br />
Marianne Ghobreal<br />
Graduated: 2018<br />
Major: Civil Engineering<br />
Timothy O’Connor<br />
Graduated: 1973<br />
Major: Environmental Engineering<br />
▲ Marianne Ghobreal on her travels<br />
around the world.<br />
After graduation, Ghobreal<br />
traveled around the<br />
Mediterranean Sea to five<br />
countries. She now works as<br />
a Project Engineer at Kier &<br />
Wright.<br />
Evan Perez<br />
Graduated: 2013<br />
Major: Civil and<br />
Environmental Engineering,<br />
MS; Civil Engineering, BS<br />
▲ O’Connor as a student in 1973<br />
at an engineering conference in<br />
Monterey, CA.<br />
▼ O’Connor’s current<br />
LinkedIn profile photo.<br />
Accomplishments:<br />
Cal Poly CE/ENVE Industrial Advisory Board<br />
member<br />
President/CEO of Robson Woese, Inc (regional<br />
east coast MEP firm)<br />
Merged Robson Woese with GHD, 2011<br />
Advisor to the President of State University<br />
of New York -Environmental Sciences &<br />
Forestry<br />
Facilitator of civil engineering student and<br />
faculty exchange program between SUNY –<br />
ESF and the Polytechnic University of Timisoara,<br />
Romania<br />
Licensed Professional Engineer in 13 states<br />
Cal Poly has given<br />
me the foundation<br />
for my career and<br />
the developmental<br />
ability to contribute<br />
to the engineering<br />
profession.<br />
“<br />
In 2014, Perez became a licensed professional engineer. Working for<br />
Stantec as part of the Sacramento water group gave him the opportunity<br />
to work with several of California’s foremost experts in water resources<br />
management, including those who influence water policy state-wide.<br />
◄ Perez graduated from Cal Poly in 2013 after completing both his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s<br />
degree.<br />
WINTER/SPRING <strong>2020</strong> | 27
California Polytechnic State University<br />
1 Grand Ave.<br />
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407<br />
LEARN BY DOING<br />
WERC<br />
Competition<br />
Every year, students compete in the WERC Environmental Design<br />
Contest for over $30k in cash prizes. Students are awarded for their<br />
solutions to engineering tasks proposed by industry partners and<br />
government agencies. Their research papers, designs, presentations<br />
and models are judged by engineering professionals.