blue sdsmt logo

Civil and Environmental Engineering e-News

  

                                                                  April 26, 2012

In This Issue
Message from the CEE Departmet Head
Celebrate
Curriculum notes
Department news

Find us on Facebook:

Find us on Facebook

 

 

 

 

Message from the CEE Department Head

Dr. Molly Gribb

 

This newsletter is full of announcements about our talented students - you have been so successful in and out of the classroom, and we are tremendously proud of you and your accomplish-ments. For those graduating - please sign up for the alumni newsletter at the link above, so you can keep in touch. For continuing students, best wishes for a great summer and we look forward to seeing you again in the fall! 

 

  

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

  

 
cee banner 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graduating students, you have put in the time and hard work, so now it's time to celebrate. You are invited to a party for graduating CEE seniors and masters students on Tuesday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m., Fairway Hills Party House. All CEE students are invited and free to bring a guest. A very casual dinner will be served, and of course we'll have cake.

  

When: May 1 at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Fairway Hills Party House

Address: 949 Fairway Hills Dr.
(Balloons will mark the way from Sheridan Lake Road.)

Curriculum notes

FE Exam Information...

Take to first step toward professional licensure - apply for the October 26, 2012 Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Examination by July 1, 2012. Seniors who are within two semesters of graduating may apply for the FE exam, which is the national examination from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Registration for October 2012 will begin on June 15th. You must register by July 1st with South Dakota Board of Technical Professions online at: https://apps.sd.gov/applications/ld17btp/Applications/secure/forms/BTPFEApplication.asp.  

 

The CEE department strongly encourages you take this exam this fall, as it is the first step toward professional licensure. Passing the FE exam is an important milestone that will increase your career opportunities. There will be general and civil engineering specific review sessions offered in this fall. To purchase a general review or civil engineering topics review manual, contact the ASCE student chapter: [email protected].  

 

For more information about licensure in South Dakota, see http://dlr.sd.gov/bdcomm/btp/engineers.aspx.

 

For more information about the FE exam, see http://www.ncees.org/Exams/FE_exam.php.

 

Please note that the CEE department no longer requires students to take the FE exam to graduate, but don't limit your opportunities by neglecting to take this exam! It becomes significantly more difficult to pass this exam after you graduate.

 

Reminder about the 130-credit curricula for 2012...  

Key changes in BSCE degree requirements between 130 and 136 credit curricula are: 1) PE is no longer required, 2) an additional science or math elective is required, and 3) one less department approved elective is required. Note that you must meet the degree requirements (i.e., the specified course work), not just the minimum number of credits, to graduate.

 

Key changes in BS EnvE degree requirements between 130 and 136 credit curricula are: 1) PE is no longer required, 2) CEE 425 is no longer required, 3) one technical elective is no longer required, and 3) EnvE 317 and EnvE 318 are now 3 credits (instead of 2).

 

Notes about the changes: If you took CEE 358, you may use CEE 357 as a department approved elective in either curriculum. Similarly, if you have taken both ME 221 and ME 211, you may count one of these as a department approved elective in the 130-credit curriculum. Finally, if you took CEE 368, you may use that in lieu of CEE 325 (which is now required) or as a department approved elective. Finally, if you took IE 301 instead of IE 302, you will still meet the graduation requirements as long as you have enough total credits.

 

Notes for BSCE students with an environmental engineering emphasis: The degree requirements for the new environmental emphasis in the 130-credit BSCE curriculum are available on the website below. Questions? Contact Dr. Gribb, [email protected], 394-1697.

 

Degree flowcharts available here: http://cee.sdsmt.edu/103529

Questions? See your advisor.
Department news 

Awarded...

The SDSM&T Graduate Education office announced the following fellowship recipients for the 2012-2013 school year: CE senior Stephen Kilber was awarded the Kate Simmons Teskey Fellowship ($7,200) and EnvE senior Maria Squillace will receive the Ivanhoe Excellence Award ($1,000). Both students are starting their master's studies with us this fall. Congratulations Stephen and Maria!

 

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognized the SDSM&T student chapter as the "2012 Most Improved Student Chapter" for significant improvement in student chapter activities. Karen Schaefers (BSCE 2011) led the chapter as president in 2011; senior Tony Kulesa is the current president.

 

The SDSM&T Student Activities and Leadership Center recently also recognized the SDSM&T ASCE student chapter with the Board of Regent Student Organization Award for Academic Excellence. CE senior Tony Kulesa was also inducted in the 2012 Leadership Hall of Fame, and CE student Spencer Ferguson earned accolades as an Outstanding Student Organization Member of Circle K, a group dedicated to campus and community service. The 2012 leadership awards recognize outstanding groups and individuals serving SDSM&T students, organizations, community, and the Rapid City community.

  

Senior CE student Tony Kulesa recently earned three research grants and scholarships. The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded three years of funding worth $90,000 to Kulesa through its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The program provides support for graduate study leading to a research-based master's or doctoral degree; only 2,000 of these prestigious awards are granted annually. With plans to pursue a master of science degree in civil engineering at SDSM&T next fall, his undergraduate research focused on the development of advanced composite materials for use in extreme environments, under the direction of Dr. Marc Robinson. Kulesa, also received a $3,000 scholarship from the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Foundation, founded in 1904 to advance concrete knowledge by conducting seminars, managing certification programs, and publishing technical documents. ASCE also recognized Kulesa awarding him the $2,000 2012 Arthur S. Tuttle Memorial Scholarship.

 

Attended...

Professor MR Hansen and student Tony Kulesa attended the ASCE Legislative Fly-In in Washington D.C., March 20-21. With briefings on the latest civil engineering issues pending in Congress, the ASCE's Legislative Fly-In Program offers participants an inside look at the political process including an opportunity to visit with legislators on Capitol Hill. Hansen and Kulesa met with South Dakota Senators Thune and Johnson and Representative Noem to discuss the importance of transportation and infrastructure bills currently being addressed by Congress, as well as inviting them to visit SDSM&T. They also met ASCE President Andrew Hermann and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

    

Published...

Josh Anderson (MSCE 2010), materials and engineering science doctoral candidate, Dr. Sookie S. Bang, Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, and Dr. Sangchul Bang published, "Application of Microbial Calcite to Fiber Reinforced Soils to Reduce Wind Erosion Potential," in the Korean Geotechnical Society Spring National Conference proceedings. Co-authors of the paper include S. J. Lee, N. Y. Dho, S. R. Choi, and S. H. Ko of Lotte E&C, the company financially supporting the three-year SDSM&T research contract studying how to minimize desertification around the world.

 

That's a lot of attention! Dr. Andrea Surovek, along with her co-author Dr. Maria Garlock, Princeton University, had one of the most downloaded publications of the Journal of Structural Engineering (JSE) in 2011. The article, "Special Issue: Commemorating 10 Years of Research Since 9/11" was downloaded 850 times making it the fourth most downloaded article from the journal last year. In addition, Surovek and Garlock guest edited the special JSE issue, which accounted for 60 percent of the top 10 downloaded papers last year. JSE publishes over 150 papers a year and is one of the top five cited journals in civil engineering.

  

Invited...

Recently CEE professor Dr. Sangchul Bang was invited to serve on the National Science Foundations 2012 Individual Investigator Awards Review Panel in Washington, D.C., May 1-2.

  

Presented...

Dr. James Stone was an invited speaker at the South Dakota Academy of Sciences meeting in Vermillion April 13. His talk was "Life cycle assessment modeling as a sustainability metric:  a case study investigating antimicrobial use within South Dakota swine production.

 

Engineers and Scientists Abroad (ESA) and the ASCE student chapter welcomed alumnus Robert Paulsen (CE94) to campus to present "Realities of Modern Building in the Third World," April 4.

 

Maria and Tyler

EnvE students Maria Squillace and Tyler Hengen (pictured above) presented "Life Cycle Assessment Analysis for Active and Passive Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Options for the Stockton Coal Mine, New Zealand" at the Environmental Protection Agency's Hardrock Mining conference: Advancing Solutions for a New Legacy, in Denver, April 4-5.  

  

Dr. James Stone presented a poster titled "Arsenic Distribution in Sediment and Pore Waters of the Historical Mining-Impacted Belle Fourche and Cheyenne River Floodplains, South Dakota." 

 

Undergraduate Research Symposium

SDSM&T hosted an Undergraduate Research Symposium on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, at the Surbeck Center. Sponsored by the Office of Research Affairs, the symposium consisted of oral and poster presentations. CEE's Dr. Marc Robinson served as a session chair and Dr. James Stone served as a symposium judge.

 

Oral Presentations:

Maria Squillace (EnvE), "Historical Trends of Mercury Deposition Found within South Dakota Lake Sediment," and "Life Cycle Assessment Analysis of Various Active and Passive Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Options for the Stockton Coal Mine, New Zealand"

 

Tyler J. Hengen (EnvE), "Life Cycle Analysis of Engineered Storm Water Control Methods Common to Urban South Dakota Watersheds"

 

Poster Presentations:

Rika J. Beck (EnvE), "Antiviral Activity of Granular Filtration Media Amended with Iron Oxyhydroxide and Silver"

  

Shane R. Herrod (CE), "The Flexural Response of an 80 foot Wind Turbine Subjected to Wind Loads"

 

Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference

Civil and environmental students and faculty participated in the Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference in Rapid City, SD, April 19. Providing an opportunity for hydrologists, geologists, engineers, geographers, students, and other interested individuals to meet and exchange ideas, the conference brings together researchers and practitioners from universities, private businesses, and government agencies to discuss topics dealing with hydrology in western South Dakota. The conference is sponsored by the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, U.S. Geological Survey, and West Dakota Water Development District.

 

Oral Presentations:

Tyler Hengen (EnvE) and Dr. James Stone, "Life cycle analysis of engineered storm water control methods common to urban South Dakota watersheds"

  

Emily Fisher (MSCE 11), Galen Hoogestraat, U.S. Geological Survey, and Dr. Scott Kenner, "Monitoring storm water quality in two storage ponds in Rapid City, South Dakota, 2010-11"

  

MSCE student Pete Rausch and Dr. Scott Kenner, "BMP optimization for storm water runoff and quantity and quality control in Hill City, South Dakota"

  

MSCE student Nicholas Marnach, and Dr. Jennifer Benning, Dr. Scott Kenner, Dr. Foster Sawyer, Delinda Simmons, and Kat Converse, Oglala Sioux Tribe, "Education for the protection of water resources on the Pine Ridge Reservation"

  

MSCE student Christopher Lupo, Dr. James Stone, and Kenneth Olson and Dr. David Clay, South Dakota State University, "Estimating potential environmental impacts associated with beef cattle production in the Northern Great Plains, using life cycle assessment"

  

EnvE student Maria Squillace, Dr. James Stone, and Steven Chipps, U.S. Geological Survey, "Historical trends associated with sediment-bound mercury for select South Dakota Lakes"

 

Katie Aurand (BS EnvE 2011), Andrew Long and Larry Putnam, U.S. Geological Survey, "Groundwater recharge estimates using soil-water-balance model for the Powder River and Williston structural basins"

  

Katie Aurand (BS EnvE 2011), Dr. Alvis Lisenbee, Dr. Arden Davis, and Dr. Maribeth Price, "Black Hills aquifer atlas"

  

EnvE students Tyler Hengen and Maria Squillace, Dr. James Stone and Aisling O'Sullivan, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, and F.A. Crombie, Solid Energy New Zealand, "Life cycle assessment analysis of various active and passive acid mine drainage treatment options for the Stockton Coal Mine, New Zealand"


MSCE student Chelsea Wattier and Ryan Thompson, U.S. Geological Survey, "An overview of South Dakota StreamStats-A U.S. Geological Survey Web application for stream information"