Ben Schafer, Ph.D., PE and Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at John Hopkins University, who presented Birth of the Steel Skyscraper.  Dr. Schafer shared his presentation with an audience of Civil Engineering students and professors as well as practicing structural engineers.  Preceding Ben's lecture, Michael Fillion, PE, SECB made a short presentation on snow loads and their effects on buildings in the winter of 2015. This gave students an idea of what some practicing structural engineers have been up to this winter.

A reception was held prior to the presentation, enabling students to mingle with practicing engineers in celebration of Engineers Week-New England.

On March 26, Mike Mota, Ph.D, PE, F.ASCE, F.ACI, Vice President of Engineering at the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) presented Vibrations of Reinforced Concrete Floor Systems to more than 30 attendees at the Kostas Institute.

Mr. Mota's presentation focused on helping design professionals to  choose an appropriate reinforced concrete floor system for situations where the effects from vibration must be considered.  He provided simplified methods to determine key vibration characteristics of reinforced concrete floor systems that can be used to evaluate whether anticipated vibrations will be acceptable.  He covered flat plate, wide-module joist, two-way joist and voided slab systems subjected to walking and rhythmic excitations, as well as guidelines for sensitive equipment.

Students work with volunteer mentor Mike Fillion, PE, SECB

Students work with volunteer mentor Charles Pustizzi, PE, SECB

The Design Studio met on Tuesday afternoon for 3.5 hours, and volunteer mentors consulted with students on up to seven different projects, for 20-25 minutes each. Students complete all projects this semester in student teams of two, so the mentors served as informal "desk critics" as they sat and chatted with the students, who were prepared with drawings and models and questions. To add a layer of complexity, students were asked to sit in and observe/join a consultation of another team's project, as a way to broaden the conversation and their learning.

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