Sustainable Infrastructure

Civil engineering student draws inspiration from her birthplace

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 20:03:39 +0000

Civil engineering student draws inspiration from her birthplace Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/18/2021 - 15:03

Civil engineering major Karla Pineda’s undergraduate career is about to end. Yet, as she prepares to embark on her accelerated master’s program, she reflects on what inspired her to study civil engineering.

Karla Pineda is also a member of Mason's chapter of the American Society for Civil Engineers.

Born in El Salvador, Pineda and her family moved to Northern Virginia when she was 4 years old. She always had an interest in STEM and loved working on tangible projects, so she quickly realized civil engineering was her path.

But visits back to El Salvador led her to concentrate on transportation engineering. “When I traveled home, it was hard to see the harsh difference in infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure, and that made me more interested in the transportation side of civil engineering,” she says.

Pineda is specifically interested in the intersection between transportation and sustainability. “In El Salvador, and many other places, you can clearly see how pollution has affected the lands and the communities. I know we can do better, we have one earth, and we have to make changes.”

She sees transportation as an accessible path to pursue sustainable efforts because almost everyone uses some form of transportation regularly. “There are little modifications we can make in transportation engineering that will have a huge impact,” says Pineda. Changes like recycling asphalt, using more sustainable materials, and adjusting one’s lifestyle can make a difference.

Mason’s student club, Engineers for International Development (EfID), fascinated Pineda because of their mission to tackle these grand challenges, one small change at a time. Currently, she serves as the vice president and works with the president and the executive board to coordinate events centered around sustainability.

“Typically, we take a trip down to Ecuador in the winter and summer to help a village build a sustainable water supply, but with COVID-19, we haven’t been able to do that,” she says. “We have gotten creative to help the village from a distance and creating other socially distanced events. We’ve hosted a few tree planting events throughout the community, and I worked with other members of the club to translate guides and information to send to the village in Ecuador.”

As part of her accelerated master’s program in transportation engineering, Pineda has already started taking graduate courses during her undergraduate education. She says she chose the accelerated master’s option because it made sense for her long-term career goals and allows her to learn more about transportation engineering. “Getting a master’s in one year instead of two is a great opportunity. I get to take graduate courses in my undergraduate career, and in five years, I come out with a solid foundation of knowledge in civil and transportation engineering,” she says.

“I love school, I love to learn, and the bachelor’s program gives a strong foundation in civil engineering, but I want to be prepared for a career in transportation engineering,” says Pineda.

Topics

Civil Engineering

accelerated masters

Engineers for International Development (EfID)

Sustainability

transportation engineering

Sustainable Infrastructure

Data from digital twin helps engineers track structural integrity

Nanci Hellmich — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 17:55:22 +0000

Data from digital twin helps engineers track structural integrity Nanci Hellmich Wed, 10/16/2019 - 13:55

“Whether it’s a ship, a bridge, or a building, we collect all kinds of data over its life cycle, but we don’t do a good job of tracking that data over time to find long-term trends.”

— David Lattanzi, associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

Civil engineering associate professor David Lattanzi is developing new methods to categorize and leverage data to assess structures’ condition and possibilities for future use.

When Dave Lattanzi worked as a structural inspector, he saw that the way that civil engineers monitored, inspected, and maintained buildings, tunnels, and other structures could be smarter and more efficient.

“There weren’t any quantitative techniques we could use. Everything was very subjective,” says Lattanzi, the John Toups Faculty Fellow in civil engineering and associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering.

“Whether it’s a ship, a bridge, or a building, we collect all kinds of data over its life cycle,” he says, “but we don’t do a good job of tracking that data over time to find long-term trends.”

Lattanzi figured there had to be a better way, so he and a team of five Mason students are developing new methods to categorize and leverage data to assess structures’ condition and possibilities for future use.

He has applied this method to many types of infrastructure for years and is now exploring new data-driven approaches to the life cycle monitoring and assessment of U.S Navy ships.

One approach is the creation of a “digital twin” of a ship, a complex virtual model that evolves with the physical ship, which will provide a platform for visualization and assessment. “The digital twin will be filled with the information we collect about the ship over time,” Lattanzi says.

In theory, this data would improve decision making. For instance, if the Navy wants to deploy a 15-year-old vessel, they can look to the digital twin for clues on what situations the ship can withstand, including whether it can go into rougher water, he says.

Lattanzi, who has received more than $400,000 in funding from the Office of Naval Research, is working with Navy researchers to assess the strength and capacity of ships through advanced sensing methods. Plus, he provides training and guidance to naval researchers and staff on advanced sensing and reconnaissance techniques.

His research is also supported by a faculty fellowship through a gift from the late John Toups, an entrepreneur, civil engineer, and Northern Virginia businessman. “The fellowship is helping me explore the digital twin idea and share my findings with the professional and academic community,” Lattanzi says.

“John Toups was an impressive community and professional leader, and it’s a tremendous honor to hold a fellowship in his name. I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet him.”

This story appeared in Mason's Spirit magazine.

Civil Engineering Intern Designs Structures with VDOT

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 14:33:08 +0000

Civil Engineering Intern Designs Structures with VDOT 4429684e-ae8d-… Tue, 09/27/2016 - 10:33

Since before the Romans built the first bridges in Europe, humans have needed to cross streams and rivers. Throughout history bridges have evolved from a simple log across a shallow stream to elaborate steel and concrete structures spanning increasingly larger and deeper bodies of water.

“There’s something special about a bridge,” said Patrick Varner, a senior civil engineering major concentrating on structures.

The evolution of bridges has created ever more complex structural challenges and that is why Varner said he has always wanted to learn about them. He got his opportunity to work on bridge design when he became a Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) intern the summer before his junior year at Mason.

“When I started at VDOT, I hadn’t even taken my first structures course or used Math CAD,” said Varner.

“My supervisor was great, he challenged me and encouraged me to work through the problems and find solutions on my own.”

“I worked with Patrick evaluating overpass bridges on I-66 inside the beltway to identify options for widening I-66 and needed modifications to the overpass bridges,” said Gary Runco, VDOT, District Structure and Bridge Engineer. “He collected data from several sources and compiled sufficient information for us to begin our assessment. I also worked with Patrick on an ‘out-of-the-box’ solution for a temporary bridge adjacent to the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

“We challenged Patrick with various concepts and he was able to keep pace with some abstract concepts as possible solutions,” Runco continued. “He was willing to learn new material and driven to get correct and accurate answers.”

“VDOT gives you a taste of everything and there are opportunities for all different kinds of work, tours and hands on experiences,” said Varner.

Varner had many different experiences, however, his pride and joy is a fence that he designed for a pedestrian bridge on Gloucester Parkway. The fence, which is connected to the 1,300 bridge, may soon become a VDOT design standard.

The fence has to support a screen to block the Redskins training field from pedestrian view. The specific challenge is designing the fence to withstand the additional wind pressure created by the screen.

Varner’s supervisor worked with him on the calculations through during the summer of 2015. In fall of 2015 Varner interned for 4 hours a week and submitted his calculations to VDOT in winter of 2016. After he took his first structures class, he made revisions and completed them in March. The bridge itself was finished in August2016.

“If VDOT decides to use my design as a standard, my calculations will be used throughout Virginia,” said Varner.

Runco says the best thing about working with interns like Varner is that, “They are like sponges. They absorb all the knowledge that you can share with them.”

Varner jokes that he now has the perfect senior design idea, “I’m thinking that if VDOT has approved it for state-wide use, it has to be a winner.”