Welcome back - I hope everyone had a good spring break. It will be pretty busy now until the end of the semester. Look for  important dates in this and the next newsletter!
 

Visit us on the web: http://cee.sdsmt.edu
 

MSCE student Michelle Redmond will present her MS thesis defense on "Direct Tension Testing of Concrete Specimens" on Wednesday, March 23, at 4:00 PM in CB 328.

Dr. Marc Robinson's NASA South Dakota Space Grant Consortium proposal entitled "VARTM PROCESS SIMULATION FOR COMPRESSIBLE PREFORM MATERIALS" has been funded. The vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process is an injection molding method for producing light-weight composite structures for aerospace, marine, military and civil engineering applications. The VARTM process uses single sided tooling (a mold) which allows for the manufacturing of large scale structures at low cost. This project will involve developing a test fixture to measure permeability and compaction properties of fibrous preforms used in structural composites and then simulate the VARTM process. The simulations will focus on predicting total processing time as well as predicting/controlling the final laminate thickness. The ability to predict/control the dimensions of high performance structures will significantly reduce the fabrication cost in comparison to high-end high-cost processes currently being utilized.

Dr. Molly Gribb participated in the fourth annual Women in Science conference on March 8 on the SDSMT campus. The event was sponsored by Youth in Science Rapid City, Inc. Approximately 400 girls, from 6-12th grade attended and participated in a variety of activities led by prominent women scientists, doctors and engineers in the community. Dr. Gribb led sessions in which the girls built physical models of aquifers out of ice cream, soda and candy. Dr. Gribb was assisted by CEE students Karen Schaefers, Jennifer Walz, Michelle Redmond and Cassandra Groen.

The 47^th Annual Concrete Conference was held on March 4, 2011 in the Surbeck Center. The focus of the conference was pervious concrete, a timely topic about a construction material that has the potential to reduce the amount of storm water runoff generated from parking lots and other paved surfaces. The conference was attended by over 125 concrete professionals from around South Dakota and beyond, including over 50 alumni from SDSMT.  

The SDSM&T annual concrete conference was started in 1964 by Professor William Coyle. We were very pleased to have alumnus Warren Fisk, (CE65), as participant this year, who also attended the very first concrete conference. Speakers included Dr. John Kevern from the Univ. of Mo-KC, Mary Vancura from Cemstone Corp., Todd Laker from Holcim Corp., and Jody Titze (CE94) from the SD Ready Mix Concrete Association. Mark your calendars for the next concrete conference - March 2, 2012!

Dr. Stone has summer 2011 undergraduate or graduate student research assistantship for a new NASA ESPCoR-funded life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling project. The project will track LCA inputs/outputs including water use, biomass production, harvestable product carbon sequestration and energy input/output within South Dakota agricultural production systems using remote sensing and field-level data in collaboration with researchers from SDSU and NASA. These data will be used in LCA modeling to understand which management strategies best promote sustainable agriculture in our region. Please contact Dr. Stone via email (james.stone@sdsmt.edu) for further information regarding this research opportunity.    

Scholarship Opportunity for Civil/Structural Engineering Students. The Wire Reinforcement Institute (WRI) has a scholarship opportunity-awards range from $1,500 up to $4,000-for civil and structural engineering students. The application deadline for the 2011/12 academic year scholarships is April 15, 2011.

The WRI Education Foundation, a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt charitable organization, was formed for the specific purpose of funding and awarding these scholarships to qualified high school seniors, as well as current undergraduate/graduate students pursuing degrees in structural and/or civil engineering at accredited four-year universities or colleges in the United States and Canada. The Foundation's principal mission is to encourage and advance the study of civil and structural engineering through the award of these scholarships. As an ancillary benefit, the Foundation seeks to expand the knowledge and understanding of structural Welded Wire Reinforcement (WWR) and its applications into future generations of structural and civil engineers.

Scholarships will not exceed one year and will be awarded for a specified academic year only. Awarded scholarship funds, ranging from $1,500 up to $4,000, will be paid by the WRI directly to the university or college designated by the recipient. Scholarship applications and the required supporting documentation for the 2010/11 academic year must be completed in full and submitted via email to the WRI Foundation with by April 15, 2011.

Interested candidates should obtain an application form from our website at: http://www.wirereinforcementinstitute.org/. If you or any of your students have further questions, please email us at admin@wirereinforcementinstitute.org, or call us at (800) 552-4WRI [4974].