- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students design hospital, school, and office building for senior class project

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 08 May 2019 13:43:26 +0000

A group of 13 graduating students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock faced a unique problem for their senior design project. Split into three teams, each was given the same set of architectural plans for an identical, two-story building. Yet, each building will serve a different purpose in a different city across the U.S. Tasked with completing a structural systems design, construction cost estimate, and construction schedule for a one-year timeline, each group faced vastly different challenges in the design of their building. “Each team had to design their gravity load and lateral load resisting systems for different occupancies, different geotechnical conditions, and for different design loads for wind, seismic events, and snow,” said Dr. Nick Jovanovic, coordinator of the architectural, civil, and construction engineering programs. “In addition, each team had to consider local climate weather, and cost conditions to create appropriate cost estimate and construction schedules.” Team Eads was tasked with designing an office building in St. Louis. Members include Covy Brown, Tommy Fenton, Samuel Kincannon, Palmer Lane, and Jorge Vasquez. Morgan Bruce, Jared Eakin, Jacob Head, and Blake Johnston made up Team Robertson, which designed a K-12 school in Pensacola, Florida. Team Shreeve consisted of Cody Davis, Cody Stringer, Christian Turner, and Ben Wells. The students designed a hospital in North Dakota. Industry sponsors from Cromwell Architects Engineers and CDI Contractors created the design challenge for the seniors. Participating Cromwell members included Joe Hilliard, director of engineering; Mike Callahan, director of structures; Paul Timko, structural engineer; and Larry Newkirk, structural designer. Estimator Daniel Bowen and Senior Project Manager David Cooan joined the team from CDI Contractors. During the school year, the industry sponsors meet with the students every two weeks to meet project deadlines. They also serve as project supervisors and mentors to the students. Cromwell and CDI have been industry sponsors for the senior design project for the past seven years with the goal of serving the community. Team Shreeve came in with the highest construction cost estimate of $14.4 million to build the North Dakota hospital while Team Robertson turned in an estimate of $14.2 million for the school in Florida. The office building in St. Louis came in the least expensive at $13.3 million. In the upper right photo, the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering senior design class includes (L to R): Back Row: Ben Wells, Covy Brown, Jared Eakin, Cody Stringer, Cody Davis, Christian Turner, and Palmer Lane. Front Row: Blake Johnston, Jacob Head, Jorge Vasquez, Samuel Kincannon, Morgan Bruce, and Tommy Fenton.

Study abroad in Iceland fuels passion for green energy

Janea Snyder — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 16:00:29 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock senior Meredith Williams started 2018 with a whirlwind trip that took her 3,500 miles and six time zones away to Iceland for an intensive study of renewable energy. Williams, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Architectural and Construction Engineering, is interested in renewable energy and sustainability. Over the winter break, Williams spent nine days in Iceland, one of the greenest countries on the planet. She returned Jan. 10. Her trip was arranged through , an intensive program that immerses students in sustainability efforts around the world. Williams and others students from around the world heard presentations by industry experts on sustainability, hydropower, geology, biofuels and geothermal energy. She earned two college credits as part of the experience.

Reykjavik University

“As a child I was always curious about what makes something work, and how it is put together,” Williams said. “Growing up I would always use up my mom’s tape and copy paper to construct models of buildings. She always joked about me becoming an architect. As I got older, construction caught my eye because it is always a growing industry. Constructing facilities in the area was something I wanted to be a part of. Also my grandfather was a superintendent for 30 years in Texas, so I guess I have it in my blood to build.” Last semester, Williams applied to and was accepted to Reykjavik University Iceland School of Energy Program. Going in, Williams hoped to learn about the “green aspects” of Iceland such as how the country harnesses energy from dormant volcanoes into geothermal technology to power cities. “To say the least, my expectations were met above and beyond what I initially thought,” Williams said. “I not only learned about and visited their hydropower and geothermal plants, but I learned about the culture – the way they eat, live, and prosper in such a harsh climate.” “This program is exactly what I needed for my career goals,” Williams said, “but more importantly, this program and this trip helped fulfill me as a person. Going to Iceland has opened my eyes to technologies that are needed for green energy here in the U.S. I want to help fight for a cleaner earth and help invent and grow the use of green technology.” The trip was Williams’s first international travel experience. As part of the program, Williams and other students explored the city of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital and largest city with a population of about 123,000 people. She explored caves and lava tubes and snorkeled between Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The most memorable highlight, though, was a six-hour hike to a natural hot springs in the Sveitarfelgio mountains. The return hike was in darkness, about 60 miles from the nearest city.

Mydalshreppur Glacier, Iceland

“As we got half way back, we were standing on a high point, and our guide told us to turn off our headlamps and look up,” Williams recalled. “The sight was unbelievable. We gazed upon what looked like thousands of stars and the aurora borealis. We all stopped talking and we seemed mesmerized by what we were looking at.” “In that moment, I realized how small the human race really was, and how we take things for granted. I thought about everything I have done up until this point, and a fire was relit in me to do more.”

Meredith Williams

Williams has been working in the construction industry for the past four years at CDI Contractors in Little Rock, where she is the marketing coordinator, a project administrator intern, and administers a hands-on program in partnership with local subcontractors that teaches participants multiple construction trades. After she graduates later this year, Williams will return to working on job sites. “Supporting myself through college as a nontraditional student has given me the opportunity to develop my professional skills in construction – from estimating, to working on a job site to business representative and marketing,” Williams said. “In all these varied roles, I am not only learning communication skills but most importantly, leadership skills.” Williams mentors youth through several programs. She has worked with City of Little Rock’s Summer Youth Employment Programs, encouraging recent high school graduates to consider STEM-related fields. She also has worked with the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas Girls of Promise program, mentoring a group of junior high girls exploring STEM fields.

Farewell to Iceland

“I want other women to know that this is not just a man’s field. For a long time it has mainly been dominated by men, but times are changing, and women are becoming a crucial part of the building process,” Williams said. “I want women who have an interest in this industry to take a chance and try it. I want them to speak up and use their voice to break through stereotypes in construction. This experience has taught me to never give up, and never let anyone take away my dreams.” Student interested in study abroad opportunities can contact the Office of Study Abroad at 501-569-3376 or online. In the photo above right, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock senior Meredith Williams spent her winter break studying in Iceland.

On the road to success: Joseph Eggburn

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 22:42:41 +0000

At just 22, Joseph Eggburn, of Sheridan, has already worked on important construction projects familiar to residents of central Arkansas – the Outlets of Little Rock off I-30 and the recently completed on-ramp from Cantrell Road to I-430 in west Little Rock. Eggburn will graduate Saturday, Dec. 16, with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Fall Class of 2017 in Jack Stephens Center, earning a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management as well as a new job. In January, Eggburn heads to Memphis, Tennessee, to work as a field engineer with Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., after having interned with the company over the summer in Nashville, Tennessee. Eggburn continued to work with Kiewit this fall on the Cantrell Road on-ramp project, which. The new on-ramp allows motorists on Cantrell Road, also called Arkansas 10, to go north on I-430 without having to make a left turn through traffic. “I came in when they were about 60 percent through on the project,” he said. “We had to cut out the side of a hill at the intersection of I-430 and Cantrell Road. The biggest part of the job was two large retaining walls ranging anywhere from 15 to 40 feet tall.” Before working at Kiewit, Eggburn had earned plenty of construction management experience through the 2 ½ years he spent interning at in Little Rock after meeting company representatives at the College of Engineering and Information Technology Career Fair. Through CDI, he gained valuable work experience as a closeout specialist and estimator. He also worked as a project administrator on the Outlets of Little Rock and Malvern National Bank off south I-30. In 2014, Eggburn came to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock on the advice of a friend. “I heard some very good things about the Construction Management program, and I had a family friend who came to the program,” he said. “Unfortunately, he had an accident and passed away in college. But all he could talk about was the college and how great the program was.” On campus, Eggburn has been an active member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and served as president of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) student chapter. In November, Eggburn received the inaugural AGC Student Chapter Member of the Year award and won a trip to the AGC of America Construction Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. He has participated in the university’s Heavy Civil Competition Team, where teams of six are given a construction project and 16 hours to complete a bid and schedule the project. The team went to Dallas and presented to the competition judges. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Heavy Civil Competition team placed second in 2016 and third in 2017. Looking back on his ��Vlog��ý Little Rock career, Eggburn advised fellow students that getting involved in student organizations, competition, and networking will put them on the path to success. “I would tell them to get involved in student organizations and any programs that become available that have networking opportunities,” he said. “The more people you know and hands you shake, the better chance you have of getting an internship and landing a full-time job before you are out of college. I would also advise to become a part of a competition team because it is as close to a real-life situation as you will come in college.”

EIT students design tornado shelters for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 08 May 2017 14:20:18 +0000

Arkansas lies in a region susceptible to the country’s highest tornado wind speeds — up to 250 miles per hour,. Twelve students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering faced a unique problem for their senior design project. “We were presented with the challenge of designing a tornado shelter that would be between the Engineering and Information Technology building and the Business building,” Dan Blair, a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock senior, said. “The goal is to design a building that could resist tornado wind speeds and projectiles.” Senior class members include Abdulaziz Alanazi, Daniel Blair, Julian Castillo, Jeff Choate, Marie Kabera, Matt Mitchell, Drew Potter, Ross Phillips, Norbert Rungano, Dylan Singleton, David Stinnett, and Jessica Vinson. Professors Dr. Nick Jovanovic and Dr. Hank Bray teach the professional engineering seminar and engineering design project courses and serve as faculty advisers for the project. Industry sponsors from Cromwell Architects Engineers and CDI Contractors created the design challenge for the seniors. Participating Cromwell members include Joe Hilliard, director of engineering; Mike Callahan, lead structural engineer; Paul Timko, structural engineer; and Larry Newkirk, structural designer. Estimator Daniel Bowen and Senior Project Manager David Cooan joined the team from CDI Contractors. During the school year, the industry sponsors meet with the students every two weeks to meet project deadlines. They also serve as project supervisors and mentors to the students. “We build on the skills they learn all year at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock,” said Mike Callahan, lead structural engineer at Cromwell Architects Engineers. “We give the design team a project, and then we guide them from the beginning to the end of the project. We love helping the students see how all the pieces of a puzzle come together in the end.” Cromwell and CDI have been industry sponsors for the senior design project for the past five years with the goal of serving the community. “It’s a good way to give back to the community,” Callahan said. “It also helps us to develop a strong workforce. We have a vested interest in making sure students come out of school well trained.” Split into three teams, the seniors took up the challenge of designing shelters to withstand wind speeds of 160, 200, and 250 miles per hour. Over the course of a year, the teams completed everything from comparing structural framing and foundation systems to developing a construction cost estimate and schedule. The final designs contained buildings that could accommodate up to 894 people during a tornado with bathrooms, a kitchen, a training room, and a computer server room. The cost of the buildings rose with wind speed protection. The building that protected against wind speeds up to 160 miles per hour would cost approximately $2.7 million and take 165 working days to build. The building that protects against 200 mile-per-hour wind speeds costs around $2.76 million and takes 261 days to build. Finally, the building that protects against 250 mile-per-hour wind speeds costs around $3.2 million and takes 267 days to complete. The project won first place in the engineering/technology division of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Research and Creative Works Expo and is being submitted for other contests.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock students design hospital, school, and office building for senior class project

Study abroad in Iceland fuels passion for green energy

On the road to success: Joseph Eggburn

EIT students design tornado shelters for ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students design hospital, school, and office building for senior class project

EIT students design tornado shelters for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock