techcentury V.20 •I N.1 N.2 SUMMER 2015
A PUBLICATION OF THE ENGINEERING SOCIETY OF DETROIT
ENGINEERING FOR THE EXTREMES 41st Annual ESD Construction & Design Award Winners
They’ve Seen Research The Future Under And the IceIt’s One Big Wow
24 14
Unprecedented Managing Back-to-Back Healthcare Costs National Future In Retirement City Victories 13 14
Engineering SMArT Michigan™ Winners
07 32
Possible is everything.
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The Denby H.S. team at the Engineering SMArT Detroit competition. Read more on page 32
techcentury A PUBLICATION OF THE ENGINEERING SOCIETY OF DETROIT
SUMMER 2015
13 Managing Healthcare Costs In Retirement BY ANTHONY R. LOTT
14 Research Under the Ice BY JENNIFER DONOVAN
16 Engineering for the Extremes: Climate Change and the Built Environment BY MATT ROUSH
DEPARTMENTS
3 4 6 8 10
PUBLICATION NOTES PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE MEMBERS IN THE NEWS MEMBER BENEFITS UPCOMING EVENTS
21 41st Annual ESD Construction & Design Award Winners 32 Hamtramck Teams Sweep Top Spots In ESD’s ‘Engineering SMArT Michigan’ Home Design Event BY MATT ROUSH
Cover: Oakland University’s new building for its School of Engineering and Computer Science provides advanced technologies for academic engineering studies.
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techcentury V.20 I N.2 SUMMER 2015
20700 Civic Center Drive, Suite 450 • Southfield, MI 48076 248–353–0735 • 248–353–0736 fax • esd@esd.org • www.esd.org
Technology Century Editorial Board
CHAIR: Thomas M. Doran, PE, FESD, Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. (Retired) Nuha Alfahham Sandra Diorka, Delhi Charter Township Utpal Dutta, PhD, University of Detroit Mercy William A. Moylan, PhD, PMP, FESD, Eastern Michigan University Mark A. Nasr, Esq., Plunkett Cooney John G. Petty, FESD, General Dynamics (Retired) Filza H. Walters, FESD, Lawrence Technological University Lynley M. Weston, PE, LEED AP BD+C, Turner Construction Co. Yang Zhao, PhD, Wayne State University STAFF LIAISON: Matt Roush, The Engineering Society of Detroit
ESD Board of Directors
PRESIDENT: Kouhaila G. Hammer, CPA, Ghafari Associates, LLC
VICE PRESIDENT: Douglas E. Patton, FESD, DENSO International America, Inc.
TREASURER: Steven E. Kurmas, PE, FESD, DTE Energy
SECRETARY: Robert Magee, The Engineering Society of Detroit
IMM. PAST PRESIDENT: Terry J. Woychowski, FESD, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. MEMBERS AT LARGE: Larry Alexander, Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau Katherine M. Banicki, FESD, Testing Engineers and Consultants Michael D. Bolon, FESD, General Dynamics Land Systems (Retired) Patrick J. Devlin, Michigan Building Trades Council Robert A. Ficano, JD Farshad Fotouhi, PhD, Wayne State University Malik Goodwin, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation Susan S. Hawkins, FESD, Detroit Medical Center Alex F. Ivanikiw, AIA, LEED AP, Barton Malow Company David C. Munson, Jr., PhD, FESD, University of Michigan Daniel E. Nicholson, General Motors Company Scott Penrod, Walbridge Yogendra N. Rahangdale, Whitehall Industries Charles T. Robinson, PE, LEED AP, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. Kirk T. Steudle, PE, FESD, Michigan Department of Transportation Satish S. Udpa, PhD, FESD, Michigan State University William J. Vander Roest, PE, TRW Automotive Lewis N. Walker, PhD, PE, FESD, Lawrence Technological University Rich Wells, The Dow Chemical Company
Tech Century Staff
PUBLISHER: Robert Magee, Executive Director
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nick Mason, Director of Operations
MANAGING EDITOR: Matt Roush, Director of Communications and Public Relations
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Keith Cabrera-Nguyen
Technology Century (ISSN 1091-4153 USPS 155-460), also known as TechCentury, is published four times per year by The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD), 20700 Civic Center Drive, Suite 450, Southfield, MI 48076. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, MI, and at additional mailing offices. The authors, editors, and publisher will not accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made in this publication. The publisher makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Advertisements in Technology Century for products, services, courses, and symposia are published with a caveat emptor (buyer beware) understanding. The authors, editors, and publisher do not imply endorsement of products, nor quality, validity or approval of the educational material offered by such advertisements.
Publication
NOTES Thomas M. Doran, PE, FESD Editorial Board Chair Retired, Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. “Engineering for the Extremes” is the theme of this issue of TechCentury, along with our annual Design & Construction Award winners. Congratulations to the award winners and all the contenders. Many of us are familiar with the bell-shaped normal distribution curve that applies to many natural phenomena, including weather. So to what extent do we design for the two ends of the curve, the extremes? The answer to this question involves many factors, including cost, innovative materials and techniques, and intelligent systems that enhance the performance of infrastructure, and often reduce the cost. Such an intelligent system might have prevented the terrible train wreck in Philadelphia. Also, in last issue’s article, “Technology and a 100-Year Old Michigan Company”, I stated that HRC was the only design company in Michigan to have reached the century milestone. Actually, George Jerome & Co. is closing in on 200 years in Michigan. My apologies. Finally, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support ESD programs and outreach to schools, communities, and institutions. Contact Nick Mason at nmason@esd.org or Elana Shelef at eshelef@esd.org for more information. Feel free to share your thoughts, including interest in serving on ESD’s TechCentury Editorial Board, with Matt Roush at mroush@esd.org , or with me at tdoran@hrc-engr.com
EARN CEHs BY WRITING AN ARTICLE Do you need CEHs for your PE renewal? Consider writing an article for TechCentury.
Subscriptions to TechCentury are available to nonmembers for $25 per year. ©2015 The Engineering Society of Detroit
www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 3
ESD President Message
Infrastructure Needs I
t is not a secret that Michigan has many infrastructure needs. Our roads, bridges, water lines, sewer systems and more are aging. And now, it’s not only age we have to think about. Whatever your thoughts on the causes of climate change, humanity is now seeing extreme weather events—rain, snow, floods, droughts—more frequently than any time since accurate recordkeeping began in the 19th century. The effect of these events on the built environment can be catastrophic. How can we cope? In this issue, TechCentury magazine explores this with experts from several of Michigan’s excellent engineering and research universities. In these pages you’ll also find some great examples of the built environment—winners of The Engineering Society of Detroit’s annual Construction & Design Awards. From a huge freeway reconstruction project completed ahead
4 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
of time to a hospital addition with the highest medical technology imaginable, from a beautiful showplace for engineering education to a manufacturing plant designed with plenty of human and natural touches, from a project that turned a former grocery store into a beautiful technology education center to a state-ofthe-art transportation center—the projects you’ll see here are on par with the very best in the world. We are truly blessed in Michigan to have designers, architects and constructors that can contribute such lovely, practical, efficient and user-friendly structures to our region. And you’ll also meet some of those designers and architects of the future— winners of ESD’s fourth annual Engineering SMArT Michigan competition, held in May at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. These impressive young people designed beautiful energy-efficient homes under the careful guidance of ESD volunteers. Thanks to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Denso, FirstMerit
Bank, Lawrence Technological University, Mr. Rooter and Parsons Brinckerhoff for supporting this event. And as always, we hope you will consider ongoing support for The Engineering Society of Detroit, whether it’s mentoring students and showing them how fun and rewarding STEM careers can be, serving on one of our many event committees, and/or supporting ESD financially through sustaining corporate membership or your individual estate planning. What ESD does will pay off for decades to come—it’s a great way to leave a lasting legacy to the Michigan economy and help make the world a better place. Sincerely,
Kouhaila G. Hammer, CPA ESD President President & CEO Ghafari Associates, LLC
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Members in the News
Ashley Prescott Lesser
Michael F. Cooper, PE
Daniel H. Lafferty, AIA
Sue Rogers
Ashley Prescott Lesser, an environmental engineer in the Environmental Assessment Services Division at Testing Engineers & Consultants Inc., recently passed the Michigan exam to become a licensed Professional Engineer. Lesser, a LEED Accredited Professional and Environmental Professional, joined TEC in 2011 and is experienced as a civil and environmental engineer. She holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Wayne State and and a BS in Engineering from Princeton University. Lesser, an ESD member since 2009, is chair of the ESD Affiliate Council, a position that fosters cross-disciplinary cooperation and communication among the 109 professional societies that are members of ESD. She was also the recent recipient of a Community Service Award for her work in securing opportunities for the Society of Women Engineers – Detroit. TEC, a woman-owned firm, provides professional engineering consulting services in the environmental, geotechnical, facilities engineering, and construction materials testing and inspection disciplines.
bar-code reader, to develop the first automated airline baggage handling system employing laser scanners, to direct the development of the first radiobased vehicle door-locking system, and to co-invent the first GPS-based wireless navigation and telematics system. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from LTU in 1966and went on to found JPRA Architects. Schonsheck earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1979 and six years later formed the firm Schonsheck Inc.
Lawrence Technological University has inducted four alumni from the metro Detroit area into its College of Engineering Hall of Fame. Included was George J. Fadool, an ESD member since 2006, along with Ronald P. Knockeart, James P. Ryan, and Ian W. Schonsheck. Fadool earned his degree in civil engineering at LTU in 1981. He went on to serve as the chief ethics and compliance officer for Skanska USA Inc., leading a team that developed an industry-leading Ethics Roadmap to practically assess a company’s ethical position through the lenses of culture and behavior. Knockeart received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from LTU in 1963. He went on to invent the first laser-scanning
Barton Malow announced that Sue Rogers, vice president, is retiring after 29 years. She is a recipient of the company’s Ben Maibach Jr. Leadership Award. Don Davis will assume Roger’s responsibilities and will transition to the role of Vice President of Business Development for Barton Malow’s Central Region. Teresa Miller has been promoted to Vice President, Central Region and with a primary focus on healthcare project delivery.
6 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
Harley Ellis Devereaux, the full-service architecture and engineering firm, announced the appointment of Michael F. Cooper, PE, FESD, as Corporate President and Daniel H. Lafferty, AIA, as Corporate Operations Leader. Cooper and Lafferty will retain their Detroit office responsibilities as Managing Principal and Project Management Leader, respectively. Cooper has been with Harley Ellis Devereaux for 22 years and is a member of the ESD College of Fellows, while Lafferty is beginning his 36th year with the firm.
Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc., a 100-year old Michigan-based professional engineering services firm, is pleased to announce that Jennifer Chehab, PE, has joined HRC as Senior Project Engineer.
Don Davis
Teresa Miller
Chehab has 20 years of professional experience in providing design and project management for municipal infrastructure improvement projects. Chehab earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Detroit. HRC is a full service, multi-disciplined firm comprised of 173 professional engineers, surveyors, architects, and technical support staff. Golder Associates, the global consulting and engineering firm, announced that it has appointed Hisham Mahmoud, PhD, PE, as its President and CEO. Dr. Mahmoud has been appointed to this role after an extensive global search over recent months. He will be based in Atlanta, Ga. Dr. Mahmoud’s career spans some 27 years, the majority of which has been in diversified global engineering and construction companies. He joins from SNC-Lavalin, where he served in the role of President of the company’s Infrastructure Group. Dr. Mahmoud holds a master’s and a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering from Arizona State University and a BSc in civil engineering from Qatar University.
NEWS
Have news to share about your career or company? Please let us know by emailing Matt Roush at mroush@esd.org.
Congratulations I96fix Team! completed in
167 days
MDOT & Dan’s led this project at a pace never before attempted & finished ahead of schedule. G2 provided critical geotechnical & construction engineering to keep it moving.
Subcontractors: C. A. Hull Company > Bridges Ajax Paving Industries > Concrete Paving Nicholson Construction Company > Grouting
Troy, MI 248.680.0400 Ann Arbor, MI 734.390.9330 Chicagoland, IL 847.353.8740
LEARN MORE about this and other projects @ www.g2consultinggroup.com/our-impact/
Smart.Results.Fast.
We know DETROIT.
And we know engineering. AAM has been proudly headquartered in Detroit since we were founded in 1994. Our company is built on a foundation of quality, operational excellence, and technology leadership—with the world’s best and brightest engineers leading the way. We’re proud to partner with ESD to educate and inspire leadership and achievement in the engineering, scientific and allied professions. We congratulate our own Terry J. Woychowski, Senior Vice President - Advanced Engineering and Quality, a 2015 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award and an ESD College of Fellows Inductee.
www.aam.com AMAM4510v3_TechCentury.indd 1
6/11/15 9:43 AM
www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 7
Member Benefits Pet Insurance
ESD Job Bank
The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) has partnered with VPI to provide our members insurance for their beloved pets. VPI® Pet Insurance is the nation’s oldest, largest and number one veterinarian-recommended pet health insurance provider. With comprehensive plans designed to protect you financially when the unexpected occurs, affordable cover-agefrom VPI® Pet Insurance allows you to focus on providing optimal healthcare for your pet rather than worrying about the cost of treatment. You can be reimbursed for veterinary expenses such as surgeries, diagnostic tests, hospitalization, prescriptions, vaccinations and more. Also, with a 5% group discount, you can save hundreds of dollars in VPI® Pet Insurance premiums over the life of your pet.* For a no-obligation quote or to learn more, call 1-877-PETS-VPI or visit www.petsvpi.com. *5% yearly discount on base medical plans only, with continuous coverage.
Meeting Rooms Available
Have you visited the ESD Job Bank lately? The ESD Job Bank is part of the Engineering & Science Career Network (ESCN), which reaches more than 750,000 users. ESCN is an alliance of niche-association job boards built exclusively for professionals working within engineering and science industries. For job seekers and employers alike, the ESD Job Bank provides an effective online recruitment method to access the best quality jobs and candidates in one place, on a single network. Advertise on the ESD Job Bank and your advertisement will automatically be listed on all relevant ESCN Partner Career Centers sites’.
ESD has several rooms at its facility that can accommodate your next meeting. ESD corporate members receive reduced meeting room rates. Please contact Mary Sheridan for information regarding ESD meeting room rental at 248-353-0735, ext. 222, or msheridan@esd.org
BUILT FOR GOOD
SM
SINCE 1916 General Contractors Construction Managers Design-Builders www.walbridge.com
8 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
THANK YOU TO ESD’S SUSTAINING AND CORPORATE MEMBER COMPANIES
Ford Motor Company
ARCHITECTURE | ENGINEERING | CONSULTING
American Center for Educational & Professional Services AKT Peerless Environmental Services Albert Kahn Family of Companies Altair Engineering American Axle Manufacturing American Center for Educational & Professional Services American Society of Employers Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum Aristeo Construction Arrow Uniform The Bartech Group Barton Malow Company Beaumont Hospitals Brightwing Building Envelope Solutions, LLC Building Industry Assoc. of S.E. Michigan CB Richard Ellis | Brokerage Services Central Michigan University Chrysan Industries Citizens Bank Citizens Insurance Clark Hill, PLC CMS Enterprises Comfort Engineering Solutions, LLC Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Construction Association of Michigan Cornerstone Environmental Group, LLC CPCII Credit Union ONE Crime Stoppers of Southeast Michigan DENSO International America, Inc. Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau Dow Chemical Company DTE Energy DTE Energy Gas Operations Dürr Systems, Inc. Eastern Michigan University Education Planning Resources, Inc.
Electrical Resources Company Electro-Matic Products, Inc. Elevator, Inc. EMC2 Energy Sciences Experis Farbman Group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Financial One, Inc. Ford Motor Company Fusion Welding Solutions Gala & Associates, Inc. Gates Corporation General Dynamics General Motors Company Gensler George W. Auch Company Ghafari Associates, LLC Giffels, LLC/IBI Group Giffels-Webster Engineers, Inc. Glenn E. Wash & Associates, Inc. Golder Associates Inc. Gonzalez Contingent Workforce Services GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Harley Ellis Devereaux Hartland Insurance Group, Inc. Henry Ford Community College Henry Ford Health System Hindsight Consulting, Inc. Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. The Hunter Group LLC Hyundai Kia America Technical Center, Inc. Ian Martin Group Integrity Staffing Group, Inc. ITT Technical Institute Canton ITT Technical Institute Dearborn IBEW Local 58 & NECA LMCC Jervis B. Webb Company JNA Partners, Inc. Jozwiak Consulting, Inc.
Kettering University Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbrook, PC Knovalent, Inc. Kolene Corporation Kostal North America Law & ADR Offices of Christopher J. Webb, JD, PLC, FESD Lawrence Technological University LHP Software Limbach Company, Inc. Link Engineering Co. Local Business Network LTI Information Technology Macomb Community College Maner, Costerisan & Ellis, PC= Makino MCA Inc. MCM Staffing McNaughton-McKay Electric Company MICCO Construction Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters Michigan State University Michigan Technological University Midwest Steel Inc. Monroe Environmental Corporation Myron Zucker, Inc. National Center for Manufacturing Sciences Neumann/Smith Architecture Newman Consulting Group, LLC NextEnergy NORR Architects Engineers Planners Northern Industrial Manufacturing Corp. NTH Consultants, Ltd. Oakland University O’Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc. Optech LLC Original Equipment Suppliers Association Parsons Brinckerhoff
Phillips Service Industries, Inc. Process Development Corporation Professional Concepts Insurance Agency Pure Eco Environmental Solutions PureServe System R.L. Coolsaet Construction Co. Rader, Fishman & Grauer, PLC ROWE Professional Services Company Rumford Industrial Group Ruby+Associates, Inc. Skanska USA Building Inc. Special Multi Services Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, Inc. Talascend, LLC Testing Engineers & Consultants Thermal-Netics Transformational Leaders International, LLC TRANE Commercial Systems TranSystems Corporation Trialon Corporation Troy Chamber of Commerce TRW Automotive Turner Construction Co. UBS Financial Services - Lott Sheth Farber Group Universal Weatherstrip & Bldg. Supply University of Detroit Mercy University of Michigan University of Michigan-Dearborn Venture Management Services, LLC W.K. Krill & Associates, Inc. Wade-Trim Walbridge Walker-Miller Energy Services, LLC Wayne State University Western Michigan University Whitehall Industries Wipro Technologies
www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 9
ESD Upcoming Events
PERSONAL ENRICHMENT &
Social Security Benefits: Understanding and Making the Most of Your Options
CLASSES
ESD’s Professional Engineer Licensing Review Courses This fall, make a commitment to re-energize and grow your career by enrolling in ESD’s proven Professional Engineer Licensing Review Courses. Let our 70-plus years of experience help prepare you to pass the exam on your first try. Since 1941, ESD has successfully prepared thousands of candidates prepare for the State licensing exam in a variety of disciplines ranging from civil and environmental to mechanical and electrical engineering. You’ll learn in a small classroom-like setting from instructors who have first-hand knowledge of the course material. 10 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
August 18, 2015
PE (Part II) Review Courses
August 29 – October 17, 2015 The Principles & Practice of Engineering (PE) Part II Review Courses consists of 28 hours of instruction, on seven half-day Saturday sessions, focusing on problem solving techniques needed for the Professional Engineers (Part II) exam. All classes are held on Saturdays at ESD headquarters in Southfield. The civil engineering course meets 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Mechanical, environmental and electrical courses are 1–5 p.m. There is no class on September 5, 2015 (Labor Day weekend) for all discplines. The state exam will be held on October 30, 2015. For more information on the review courses or to register, visit www.esd.org or contact Fran Mahoney at 248-353-0735, ext. 116, or fmahoney@esd.org.
Presented by Education Planning Resources, Inc. Social Security is one of the most valuable and least understood benefits available to retirees today. Advance planning is essential, and the decisions you make now can have a tremendous impact on the total amount of benefits you stand to receive over your lifetime. Whether you’re single, married, divorced or widowed, there may be ways to maximize the lifetime Social Security benefits you receive. This program will provide you with information to help you understand the system, coordinate spousal and survivor benefits, minimize taxes and help you get your share of personal benefits. The program will be held from 7–8:30 p.m. at ESD headquarters in Southfield. There is no charge to attend, but preregistration is required. Visit www.esd.org to register online or call 248-353-0735 to register by phone.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Get Savvy About College Financing: Start Planning Early September 15, 2015
Presented by Education Planning Resources, Inc. College planning is important, especially since costs for attending are ever-increasing. Parents and their children should start planning for college as early as middle school. And knowing how to navigate the financial aid system and play the scholarship game can help families tackle the high cost of today’s college education. ESD has partnered with Education Planning Resources, Inc. (EPR) to provide parents and their children with knowledgebased solutions for the college experience. EPR specialists educate families t o help them cope with the rising financial burden of college tuition. The program will be held from 7–8:30 p.m. at ESD headquTs in Southfield. There is no charge to attend, but preregistration is required. Visit www.esd.org to register online or call 248-353-0735 to register by phone.
The Realities of Identify Theft
Engineering & Technology Job Fair
September 22, 2015
Presented by Jill Feeney, LegalShield Independent Associate The recent onslaught of data breaches has increased the public’s awareness of the alarming realities of identity theft and its potentially devastating impact on individuals, families and businesses. Did you know: ■ There is a new identity theft victim
every two seconds?
■ Michigan is in the top 10 states for
incidences of tax identity theft?
■ Data breaches hit a record high
in 2014 with an increase of 27% over 2013?
This seminar will educate participants on the types of identity theft (it’s not just about credit cards and bank accounts), ways our information is taken and used, the various kinds of identity theft services available, and tips on safeguarding your personal information. The program will be held from 6:30–8:00 p.m. at ESD headquarters in Southfield. There is no charge to attend, but preregistration is required. Visit www.esd.org to register online or call 248-353-0735.
November 16, 2015
Employers – If you have job openings and looking to hire the best engineering and technical professionals, then we invite you to exhibit at Michigan’s premier and largest engineering and technology job fair of its kind. The ESD job fair will provide you with a tailored event where you can find your next generation of employees. Job Seekers – Whether you’re a seasoned professional, a recent graduate or an in-between careers job seeker, you’ll find your next position at ESD’s Engineering and Technology Job Fair. The ESD job fair is your best opportunity to meet one-onone with representatives from leading engineering and technology companies. The Job Fair will be held from 2–7 p.m. at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. For more information on exhibiting or attending, visit www.esd.org or contact Leslie Smith, CMP, at 248-353-0735, ext.152, or lsmith@esd.org.
www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 11
ESD Upcoming Events
VOLUNTEERS WANTED MEMBERS-ONLY TOUR
Oakland University’s New Engineering Building Tour August 20, 2015
Members of The Engineering Society of Detroit can get an exclusive first-hand look at the region’s newest engineering education showplace—the spectacular new 128,000-square-foot Oakland University Engineering Center. As the new home for the School of Engineering and Computer Science, the building features state-of-the-art classrooms and research space. The five-story structure includes sparkling new laboratories and windows everywhere, including from classrooms and laboratories to interior hallways, offices and labs. Walbridge was the construction manager on the $74.5 million building, which was designed by SmithGroup. Registration starts at 2:00 p.m. and the tour will run from 2:30–3:30 p.m. The cost to attend is $25 for ESD members; Non-members can join ESD for $75 (a 25% discount) and attend the tour for free. This offer is for new, first-time members only. Register online at www.esd.org or call 248-353-0735 to register by phone. 12 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
ESD Michigan Regional Future City Competition: Mentors Needed
Competition Day: January 25, 2016 Inspire the future by taking part in the Michigan Regional Future City Competition. Designed to engage middle school students’ interest in math, science, and engineering through real-life, practical and hands-on activities, this event is one of the most respected and anticipated of the year. Future City is a cross-curricular educational program where students work as a team with an educator and volunteer mentor to design a city of the future. Mentors spend an hour or two a week between September and January working with their team. Serving as the team advisor and advocate for all phases of the program, the mentor makes connections to real life engineering experiences, serves as a coach, and helps students translate the academic to the real world of engineering. People who work in the engineering community are preferred to serve as mentors. This includes engineers, technical professionals, architects, and city or urban planners. For more information on mentoring, contact Allison Marrs at amarrs@esd.org or 248-353-0735, ext. 121, or Brenda a ton at bgrafton@esd.org or 248-353-0735, ext. 154.
CONFERENCES
North American International Cyber Summit 2015 October 26, 2015
Hosted by Governor Rick Snyder The North American International Cyber Summit 2015 will bring together experts from across the globe to address a variety of cyber security issues impacting the world of business, education, government, information technology, economic development, law enforcement and personal use. The agenda for the event will feature internationally recognized keynote speakers as well as experts from around the country. The State of Michigan has long been considered a national leader when it comes to cyber security, leading the discussion on emerging trends and best practices in policy, law and all manner of public and private interests. The agenda for the event will feature internationally recognized keynote speakers as well as experts from around the country to lead breakout sessions. The conference will take place at the Cobo Center in Detroit. Cost to attend is $79. For more information or to register, visit www.michigan.gov/cybersecurity.
Managing Healthcare Costs In Retirement By Anthony R. Lott
W
ith healthcare costs skyrocketing, all retirees need to consider how their finances will be affected. Time and inflation, plus the effects of aging, will make healthcare a growing part of your budget in later years. In fact, medical inflation is a key factor to consider. Through April 2014 alone, CPI medical care costs rose 2.4 percent, whereas other CPI categories rose an average of 0.3 percent. Also, according to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, 70 percent of Americans need some form of long term care during their lifetimes. The cost of all kinds of long term care varies depending upon where in the country you live. An assisted living facility, for example, can cost up to $72,000 annually. Medicare does not cover long term care services, making them yet another retirement expense to consider.
If you plan to retire before age 65 In the past, employers provided postretirement health benefits for early retirees beginning at age 55. As the result of escalating healthcare costs, few companies continue to offer this retiree healthcare. Retiring early might have forced you to look for health insurance in the open market. Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act has created new options for healthcare for early retirees. One the most important provisions of the ACA for you as an early retiree is the establishment of state health insurance exchanges. You can no longer
be declined coverage for age or a pre-existing condition. These exchanges offer at least two health insurance carriers and varying levels of coverage you can purchase. You may also meet the requirements for health insurance premium subsidies available through the public exchanges. In order to qualify, your income cannot be more than 400 percent above the Federal Poverty Level – which works out to $62,000 for a couple. Your UBS financial advisor and tax professional can help you manage your retirement income and investment income to meet your healthcare needs.
Age 65: Medicare at a glance Beginning at age 65, Medicare will continue to be the foundation of your healthcare coverage. As a retiree, while there is no need to enroll in a health insurance exchange. Medicare shouldn’t be your only coverage. Medicare does provide protection against many healthcare services; it does have relatively high deductibles, cost sharing requirements and gaps. Here’s a brief overview: Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, and hospice care. It is free to individuals and their spouses who have paid into Medicare for 10 years, or 40 quarters. Part A benefits are subject to a deductible ($1,216 per benefit period in 2014) and coinsurance. Part B pays physician visits, outpatient services, preventative services added by the ACA, and home health visits. Premiums vary based on income ranging from $104.90 to $335.70 per month.
Part C refers to the Medicare Advantage program through which individuals can enroll in a private health plan such as HMOs, PPOs, and fee for service plans and receive all Medicare Parts A and B benefits. It is also possible to include a Part D plan to Medicare Advantage as well for an additional fee. Coverage, premiums and out-of-pocket costs vary because Medicare Advantage is a offered by private companies. Part D is a voluntary, subsidized drug benefit. These plans are offered through private insurers who have been approved by Medicare. Part D is also offered on a sliding scale depending upon income. Medigap is a supplement to Medicare A and B and is sold by private insurance companies. It is coverage that can help pay some of the healthcare costs that Parts A and B don’t cover, such as copayments, coinsurance and deductibles. Unlike Medicare Advantage, Medigap policies don’t include original Medicare cover age—they supplement it. Also, Medigap policies don’t cover Part D, so an additional prescription plan must be purchased to get Part D coverage. Be sure that you make note of the deadlines for applying for Medicare for the first time, renewing or changing carriers. Missing deadlines can result in penalties that will impact your Medicare going forward. Anthony R. Lott, CFP, CIMA, CRPC, is Vice President-Investments at UBS Financial Services Inc.
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Research Under the Ice By Jennifer Donovan
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s the climate changes, arctic conditions are becoming more of a concern south of the 49th parallel. The Arctic is quite a bit north of Houghton. But, because of its legendary snow and ice, its location on Lake Superior, and the know-how of its Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), Michigan Technological University has become the Alliance for Coastal Technologies’ winter testing site. “Our arctic-like environment makes us the perfect place for this kind of work,” says GLRC Director Guy Meadows. “Another strength is having the water right outside our door.” Mario Tamburri, director of the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), agrees. “The Great Lakes Research Center dock in Houghton, Michigan, is a great place to carry out this specific under-ice technology evaluation,” he said. Last winter the GLRC tested eight dissolved oxygen sensors for ACT, a partnership of research institutions and private sector companies working together 14 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
to develop effective and reliable sensors and other technologies for use in coastal, fresh water, and ocean environments. Dissolved oxygen sensors were selected for ACT evaluation, Tamburri explained, “because technology in this area has evolved dramatically over the past 10 years, and oxygen is clearly a fundamental water quality parameter that provides critical information on status, trends and health of aquatic environments.” When the alluring ACT research opportunity arose, the GLRC was ready. During the winter of 2014, GLRC scientists and engineers built and deployed a cabled observatory under the ice off the center’s dock on the Portage Waterway, which connects two sections of Lake Superior. The cabled observatory contains a collection of instruments including an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler—a multi-probe that measures nine water quality parameters such as temperature, amount of dissolved oxygen, pH, and water turbidity or cloudiness. The data collected is
transmitted back to GLRC researchers via an armored underwater cable. The cabled observatory was mounted on the bottom of the waterway. 17 feet below the surface. The cabled observatory under the ice apparently impressed the Alliance for Coastal Technology, and ACT asked Michigan Tech to become its winter testing site. For its first year of ACT research, the GLRC plunged a rack containing eight different underwater dissolved oxygen sensors into the water off its dock. After ice formed, holes were drilled so that researchers could bring up two samples a day from each sensor. Sarah Green, professor of chemistry and a GLRC faculty member, is conducting a chemical analysis of the samples, to determine the accuracy and efficiency of each sensor. After the winter tests were finished, the sensors were moved to another ACT test site for testing under different weather and water conditions. Next winter, the GLRC will test other instruments for ACT. As exciting as it is to be ACT’s official winter test site, Meadows has his eye on an even bigger prize. He is working with Tech’s Sustainable Futures Institute on a bi-national grant with Canada, to build cabled observatories in all five Great Lakes. Michigan Tech is seeking $13 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), while the Canadians are applying for $18 million through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. The NSF grant is expected to be awarded in 2016. “We want to be the center for Arctic-type water research,” Meadows explains.
Meanwhile, the GLRC has its fingers in other winter-water pies. During winter 2014, researchers used data from another under-ice observatory at the nearby South Entry to the Portage Waterway to measure currents, ice thickness, ice movement, and the impact of ice on the historic South Entry Lighthouse. The work was done in collaboration with University of Michigan researcher Tony England and funded by the US Department of Energy, as part of a feasibility study for off-shore wind power installations. “They needed to know what the iceloading would be on a wind tower,” says Meadows.
“We want to be the center for Arctic-type water research,” Meadows explains.
Last winter, the cabled observatory transmitted data to the Internet, using a high definition underwater video camera with underwater lighting for nighttime viewing. Researchers—and anyone else— were also able to listen to the lake, thanks to sensitive underwater hydrophones installed by Andrew Barnard, assistant professor of mechanical engineeringengineering mechanics. The GLRC also gathered data from its winter meteorological station on the roof of the GLRC, measuring solar radiation, wind speed and direction. And once the ice finally melted, Zhaohui Wang, assistant professor of electrical engineering, and graduate student Wensheng Sun headed out to study underwater communications using acoustical modems in Keweenaw Bay. They were replicating an experiment conducted in March, when they successfully communicated between modems placed four kilometers apart under the ice. They were trying to determine if the ice cover enhances or diminishes their ability to communicate underwater via acoustical modem.
Jennifer Donovan is Director of News and Media Relations at Michigan Technological University.
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uperstorm Sandy. Milewide EF5 tornadoes raking the Great Plains. Historic droughts in critical agricultural areas. Record snowfall. Brutally cold Polar Vortex winters. And here in Michigan, two 100-year rainfall events within a few weeks (one of them a 350-year storm). Extreme weather events have occurred with increasing frequency in recent years, bringing home the challenge to how society stands up to storms. What’s the effect on the built environment and our infrastructure? TechCentury sought the answers from the experts in levees, ports, roads and more.
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Engineering Fo Climate C The Built E By Matt Roush
100-Year Storm Isn’t, Any More
Dr. Donald Carpenter says a lot of people look at the flooding that followed the Detroit area’s historic rainfall in August 2014 and conclude that the systems failed. “In reality, the system didn’t fail,” said Carpenter, a professor of engineering at Lawrence Technological University. “The system just wasn’t designed for that. It wasn’t designed for six inches of rain in just two hours.” Many stormwater runoff systems, Carpenter said, are designed to carry the water of 10-year storms. These figures are calculated with a book called the “Rainfall Frequency Atlas of the Midwest,” that uses rainfall data from 50 years ending in 1992 to set benchmarks like 10- and 100-year storms. Carpenter said the book is used almost universally by county drain commissioners and the Michigan Department of Transportation to design stormwater systems. In Michigan, it defines a 10-year storm as 2.4 inches of rain within 24 hours. (A 100-year storm, meanwhile, is 4.4 inches of rain in 24 hours.) The problem is, Carpenter said, more recent measurements shows that today’s rainfall events are 20 to 25 percent more severe than in the 50 years ending in 1992. 16 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
“We’ve had four 10-year storms in the last 10 years,” Carpenter said. “That could be just an anomaly, but the chances of that statistically are small. We need to change our definition of a 10-year storm.” Carpenter said the construction industry needs to change its response to handling stormwater runoff. “I’m advocating for more green infrastructure to augment our gray infrastructure, which is what I call our pipes, the concrete, the curb and gutter,” Carpenter said. That includes changing codes to mandate—or at least encourage—things like green roofs, bioswales, rain gardens, rain collection cisterns, and permeable pavements. Carpenter said adopting those practices can absorb that extra 20 to 25 percent before it ever gets to the gray infrastructure. However, Carpenter said that “Municipalities have been very slow to put green infrastructure into building codes. Any time you are talking about changing
codes and putitng additional regulations in place, it’s slow.” Among Michigan jurisdictions, Carpenter praised Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor and Southfield for encouraging green infrastructure, adding that Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash “is moving in a positive direction.” Most of the resistance to these code changes boils down to cost, Carpenter said. But he said “there is a growing body of evidence that green infrastructure has lower costs long-term in terms of operation and maintenance, as well as in mitigation of repairs in floods. Long term it’s cheaper, and it can even be cheaper in the short term if you’re comparing the right things.” One good example is permeable asphalt or porous concrete in parking lots. Yes, it’s more expensive—about 25 percent. But it also allows builders to make less use of curb and gutter and install smaller, less expensive sewer pipe.
or The Extremes: Change And Environment
Carpenter also said builders should make more use of deep-rooted native prairie plants to better disperse water before it gets to storm sewers. “Turf grass is horrible for moving water through the clay soils here,” he said. “Native prairie plants are much more deep-rooted and do a much better job of breaking up that clay.” He said Lawrence Tech has replced turf
grass with native plants in parts of campus— and that those sections now accept five times as much water without ponding. Carpenter has also been working with municipalities with harbors on dealing with fluctuating Great Lakes levels. The Lakes were at record highs in the mid-1980s, then fell by several feet by the 2000s. The early prediction under climate change and
LTU graduate student Tarik Binoy sets up a strength test on a compressed soil sample for a research study being conducted by Assistant Professor Nishantha Bandara (center). At right is undergraduate civil engineering student Ibrahim Huthman, who also works in the soils lab.
warmer mean temperatures was more evaporation—and lower Great Lakes. But it turns out it’s more complicated—the past two winters the Great Lakes have had significant ice cover, which cuts evaporation, allowing levels to rise. “Long term the prognosis may be different than short term, but in the short term what we’re seeing is quicker variability,” Carpenter said. “The biggest change is to take this variability into consideration in your designs, with things like floating dock systems.” In fact, Carpenter said that’s a good way to approach the overall effects of climate change—extreme heat, rain, extreme cold, drought.
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Engineering For The Extremes: Climate Change And The Built Environment
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atrina: When The Levee Breaks
Adda AthanasopoulosZekkos was a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley when Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Her advisor immediately advised her to ditch her original Ph.D. research idea and concentrate on finding out what went wrong with the city’s levee system and allowed whole neighborhoods to be covered with 10 to 20 feet of water. Athanasopoulos-Zekkos said her adviser called it “a once in a lifetime opportunity for a grad student” in civil engineering. So the university applied for federal grant funding to be part of the investigation. She became the lead graduate student on the project. “As soon as it was safe to go, we started with the investigation,” said Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, now an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Michigan. Her visits started over the winter of 2006 and continued through the spring. “We investigated nine separate areas with a full range of geotechnical investigations—boreholes, penetration tests, trying to understand what the subsurface conditions were” she said. “We conducted modeling trying to re-create the levees on our computers, and input the information we got from the field, and tried to understand what happened, why we had failures at certain locations and not at others.” Athanasopoulos-Zekkos said there were four major levee failures along the 17th Street Canal, the London Avenue Canal, and the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, all of which take water through the heart of New Orleans. Much of the city is below sea level, and the levees protect those areas. The failure of the IHNC, which flooded the city’s Ninth Ward, was basically due to storm surge overtopping and underseepage, she said—Katrina’s storm surge was a massive 12.5 to 14 feet above sea level, simply higher than the levee. But in the other locations, she said, “it was more of a foundation failure.”
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In the canals, levees are basically earthen structures reinforced with steel sheet piles and a wall at the top shaped like a capital I or an upside-down capital T. In those failures, she said, the sheet piles didn’t extend deep enough into the foundation soils to provide protection against the water pressures involved—and the walls themselves were installed into “very soft material, silty clay.” Much of the problem, AthanasopoulosZekkos said, is that engineers can’t choose the soils on the banks of a river—the river does that itself by deposition. And, she said, “you can never get a 100 percent view of what is underneath. We have boreholes that tell us what’s underneath, if we’re lucky, every 500 feet, and that’s not enough in this environment.” The reality of climate change and rising sea levels, has engineers calling for some coastal areas to be abandoned, at least for permanent human settlements. That leads to major conflicts, Athanasopoulos-Zekkos said. In the aftermath of Katrina, she said, “you could sense that everyone wanted to say, you know, we’re all engineers, we agree that it’s not worth it to fight certain fights, we have to let go
of certain areas... But then you face the reality of people telling you, ‘We have been living here for generations. How dare you tell me it no longer makes sense for us to live here? What gives you the right?’ We can discuss likelihood and probability, which I think is the right way to discuss things rather than just putting our heads in the sand, but you have to have political will. We waste dollars on some areas when we desperately need resources to make other areas work that we know we can actually do something about. But you’re going to have huge disagreements.” All that is complicated by frequently short-term thinking on the part of business interests and politicians. The fight over levees and rising sea levels will continue in coastal cities around the world. It will affect the world’s fresh water supply, its energy infrastructure, and threatened species. And, Athanasopoulos-Zekkos said, it will occur in areas many of us don’t often think about as being coastal—cities we consider inland in places like California, she said, “have miles and miles and miles of levees.” And Sacramento is merely 30 feet above sea level.
Engineering For The Extremes: Climate Change And The Built Environment
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oads: New Design Standards For The Extremes
Roads don’t stay put. And in a future with more climate variability, they’ll have to be designed to move more without breaking. That’s the word from Nishantha Bandara, Ph.D., PE, assistant professor of civil engineering at Lawrence Tech. When it comes to bad roads and the effort needed to fix them, Bandara is an expert—he was an engineer manager at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for more than six years before joining the Lawrence Tech faculty in 2012. One of his major projects at MDOT was the Gateway Project – the reconstruction of I-75 and I-96 and several surface streets around the Ambassador Bridge. The size of pavement joints is based on anticipated expansion and contraction—and he said those joints will have to be made wider in a warmer future, or else the joints will squash together and fail. Road builders are also making more use of drainable bases to suck the water out of roads before it can freeze and expand, which is what creates potholes. More extreme winters, meanwhile, will also require new technologies. Bandara has been involved on an MDOT research project on the use of a “tow plow” that can clear snow from two freeway lanes at once. The test has been successful—the MDOT tested two of the units, and now owns seven of them. The road building industry is also taking steps to reduce its own carbon footprint, Bandara said. Included is more use of crushed, recycled concrete in road repaving. “We used to bsaically throw old roads away,” he said. “Now you crush them and put them in the base. So you don’t have to excavate more aggregate or make more asphalt, which reduces greenhouse emissions.” The industry is also using recyclable materials like fly ash, lime kiln dust and cement kiln dust to stabilize weak soils in road projects—including the recent Gateway project at the intersection of I-96 and I-75 in Detroit, which Bandara worked on. www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 19
Engineering For The Extremes: Climate Change And The Built Environment
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ater: The Oil Of The 22nd Century—And Maybe The 21st
Yadu Pokhrel has spent his career studying rainfall patterns and how humans are affecting the global water cycle. The message: With seven billion plus of us on the planet, we’ve got to start rethinking how we use fresh water. “Extremes are getting worse,” Pokhrel says of global climate. “Rainfall patterns are changing. We are getting historical droughts. We are also getting historical floods. These are affecting water supply systems, not only surface water, but people are getting water from increasingly deep water systems, and those are depleting at a very rapid rate. Water levels in California are going down so fast that if we keep using water at this rate, it won’t last long.” Pokhrel is a native of Kathmandu, Nepal, where he studied civil engineering. He got a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo. He spent several years as a post-doctoral researcher and research faculty member at Rutgers before becoming an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan State University. Pokhrel called the use of groundwater “the drought we can’t see. People don’t realize how fast the groundwater is depleting. Solving these problems requires hard measures. Constructing more dams and storing more water is not feasible in all areas due to environmental impact. But there are softer measures. Better ways of irrigating crops, asking citizens to save water however they can.” Pokhrel said water shortages may even force changes in diet. He said raising beef cattle requires much more water than growing vegetables. Chicken also requires far less water per pound of meat, he said. Pokhrel, who recently published a research paper on the depletion of the Oglalla aquifer under the great plains, and the aquifer under California’s Central Valley, said the clock is ticking on the world’s freshwater supply: “We are using up our aquifers at 22 times the replenishment rate.” 20 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
Pumping that much water from that deep under the ground means it never returns to the aquifer. His research shows that humans are now pumping enough water out of deep layers that it’s contributing to sea level rise. As for the Great Lakes, he said climate change may balance itself out—warmer winters mean more evaporation from the lakes, but a warmer, more moist atmosphere also means more heavy precipitation events.
41 Annual ESD Construction ST
& Design
Award Winners A high-tech showplace for engineering education. A hospital addition that uses design and architecture to help heal people. A project that transformed an empty supermarket into a technology education center. A project that shows the green, human-scale future of automotive assembly plants. A municipal transit center that overcame numerous changes and political shifts. And finally, in this era of dreadful roads, a major freeway reconstruction project accomplished on budget and ahead of schedule. These were the winners and honorablemention projects being recognized in the 2015 Engineering Society of Detroit Construction & Design Awards.
Now in their 41st year, the awards recognize the best of the best in architecture, construction skill, and workplace safety. Particular attention is paid to the close relationship between designer, constructor and owner, and emphasis is also placed on sustainability and energy efficiency. Enjoy these brief summations of some of the most beautiful and efficient additions to the built environment Michigan has ever seen. Better yet, visit these projects and see for yourself just how much talent Michigan’s architecture, engineering and construction industries enjoy.
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Construction & Design Award Winners Project: St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital South Tower Project, Pontiac Owner: Trinity Health Systems/St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital Designer: HKS Architects Contractor:: Barton Malow Co. The St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital South Tower program began in 2011. It had its origins in the hospital’s goal of improving patient care by combining cutting edge technology with the comfort of a hotel style environment. The South Tower includes 204 spacious, private rooms, three nursing stations on every patient floor, and a workstation between every two rooms. The Intelligent Care System implemented in the new tower equips the SJMO Hospital staff with innovative processes and features that maximize clinical quality, promote patient safety and increase efficiency. Prior to completion of the eight-story, 330,000-square-foot tower, the development required a significant amount of “make-ready” infrastructure and site improvements. This included a new electrical substation, reconfiguring of campus parking, and a new pedestrian bridge spanning a six-lane road. The multiphased program posed many challenges with strict requirements, including the demolition of several existing buildings, just-in-time delivery of materials, traffic lane closures, and a firm schedule. Through extremely detailed phasing and logistics plans, constant communication and a clear commitment to safety, all phases were successfully accomplished without impact to hospital patients, staff or operations.
The extensive collaboration between SJMO, HKS Architects, Barton Malow Co., the Michigan Department of Transportation, DTE Energy, the city of Pontiac, and numerous Michigan subcontractors was the key element in planning and developing a comfortable healing center for patients and families that also functions as a collaborative working environment for hospital staff. The project was delivered for $101.2 million, under the budget of $101.6 million. Constant feedback ensured adherence to the budget as the project gathered momentum. The project kicked off in March 2011, and the first patient moved into the building on the scheduled completion date of May 6, 2014. As for safety, the 562,360 man-hour project had a recordable incident rate of 3.9 and a DART rate of 2.5. The design mirrored the look and feel of a hotel, shaped for optimal levels of natural light and noise reduction, using soothing colors and warm natural materials. There’s also a “sanctuary” break area for physicians and a staff “respite center” on each floor. The placement of nurse stations, handwashing stations and computer workstations was designed for efficient workflow and immediate patient response. Spacious patient rooms feature the latest in technology.
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Construction & Design Award Winners Project: Oakland University, Engineering Center, Rochester Owner: Oakland University Designer: SmithGroupJJR Contractor: Walbridge Oakland University’s new building for its School of Engineering and Computer Science provides advanced technologies for academic engineering studies, while sustainable mechanical and electrical systems serve as hands-on learning tools for students. Previously the SECS was dispersed in four buildings on campus. These functions are now consolidated into a more collaborative environment. The building houses much-needed instructional and research space for the mechanical engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and industrial and systems engineering departments, plus two new focus areas for biomedical engineering and power and energy systems. The building was specifically designed with hands-on, team-based learning spaces to support a variety of interdisciplinary projects and an assortment of collaborative spaces that students can easily reconfigure to support group projects. Students, faculty and staff have noted how the building feels like a home, with a great deal of activity, ideal places to study, and vitality at all hours of the day. The building also boasts a high-bay capstone lab, clean room, full service machine shop, and rooftop energy lab where students conduct experiments on solar and wind generation. The lobby acts as student
demonstration space, and corridor windows offer clear views into the project labs, putting engineering on display. The design and planning of the building and high-bay labs allows for flexibility and expansion to support future engineering research. The project was completed on time, starting in January 2013 and opening in fall 2014, and on budget of $57 million. As for safety, the 240,000-hour project had one lost time incident, for a lost time rate of 0.84, a DART incident rate of 1.68 and a recordable incident rate of 9.22. The design combines refined, concealed, advanced engineering with the open, tinkering and adaptable side of the discipline. Labs and informal gathering spaces expose and highlight building systems. The building was designed with a high degree of transparency to provide views into the building and maximize natural lighting. The building also features a unique trigeneration system that uses natural gas to generate a portion of the building’s electric power. The recovered heat from this generation provides heating and cooling, as well as hot water and emergency power. This system is uniquely combined with a chilled beam system and a heat pump. There are also 21.6 kilowatts of photovoltaics on the roof. Stormwater runoff is also stored and released at a controlled rate into wetland areas. The building is targeting LEED Gold certification.
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Construction & Design Award Winners Project: Wayne State University—Advanced Technology Education Center Owner: Wayne State University Designer: NORR, LLC Contractor:: The Christman Company Wayne State University has been offering courses and programs in Macomb County for more than 30 years from its extension centers in the Macomb University Center and Macomb Education Center. Recently the university purchased property in Warren and the Advanced Technology Education Center plans began to take shape. With a curriculum focused on computer sciences, business and advanced manufacturing, WSU’s new A-TEC would serve a rapidly expanding industry segment, and would leverage opportunities with the business community. Students can obtain a four-year degree entirely from the new A-TEC. Furthermore, WSU saw the project as an opportunity to partner again with Macomb Community College, the South Campus of which is directly across the street. NORR’s proposal featured the adaptive reuse and renovation of an existing 40,000-square-foot vacant Farmer Jack grocery store. NORR’s design called for partial demolition of the building and a new raised-entry canopy and curtain wall. Christman joined the team as construction manager in August 2013. Together, NORR and Christman developed a plan to convert this functionally obsolete and nondescript building, constructed in 1974, into one reflecting a higher education environment inside and out, while meeting Wayne State’s $12 million budget and sustainability goals.
Today, green and bronze metal panels highlight a transformation from bland to beautiful, and complementing the advanced research taking place inside the building. Construction began in August 2013 and the building was delivered on schedule for fall semester 2014, and was within budget. In 59,632 hours worked, there were zero lost work incidents. The building features a vibrant atrium bathed in natural light, and uses flexible contemporary furniture ideal for impromptu meetings. A new mezzanine level creates private space removed from student circulation but not totally disconnected. Flexible classrooms are built on raised floors, allowing for power and data distribution throughout the space. In terms of sustainability, the majority of exterior brick and structural steel was reused, natural light is delivered into corridors and interior spaces with solar tubes, the landscaping is designed not to need irrigation, advanced plumbing fixtures were used, and advanced HVAC and lighting systems were used. The building is targeted for a minimum of LEED Silver certification.
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Construction & Design Award Winners Project: I-96 Reconstruction Project Owner: Michigan Department of Transportation Designer: Michigan Department of Transportation/G2 Consulting Group Contractor: Dan’s Excavating Inc. The Michigan Department of Transportation reopened the 7-mile stretch of I-96 between US-24 and Newburgh Road in Livonia more than two weeks early. This highly visible project was the largest awarded in MDOT history. Known as “The 96fix,” work included rebuilding 56 lane miles of highway, repairing 37 bridges, reconstructing 22 ramps, and installing new lighting and utilities. The project featured the placement of 350,000 cubic yards of concrete and 850,000 tons of stone, installation of 16,000 feet of special barrier walls, the installation of 500 new LED lights, repair and installation of 1,200 draining structures, the reuse of 410,000 tons of crushed concrete, the recycling of 200 tons of steel, and the installation of 78,000 feet of new storm sewers. No steel, concrete or soil were landfilled in the project.
More than 50 MDOT staff was assigned to coordinate the project, using an innovative e-construction system to coordinate documents. Dan’s Excavating was responsible for managing 3,000 line items on the project schedule that totaled over $170 million. Even facing challenges such as a 350-year storm that flooded many areas of the project and nighttime restrictions on demolition, the team beat the schedule. A critical construction challenge was a “zero movement” requirement on a critical 48-inch supply line that provides fresh water to a major portion of western Wayne County.
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Construction & Design Honorable Mention Project: FCA Sterling Heights Assembly Plant 2015 UF Program Body Shop Owner: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC Designer: NSA Architects, Engineers, Planners Contractor:: Walbridge The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant dates back to 1953. It was in danger of closing during the Great Recession. But in 2011, FCA instead announced an $850 million investment in the plant to create a new paint shop, including new machinery, tooling and material handling. Shortly thereafter, another investment of $165 million was announced in a new body shop. FCA, Walbridge and NSA Architects, Engineers Planners worked together to create two million square feet of advanced manufacturing space. One million square feet would house the new body shop for the manufacture of the new Chrysler 200 and spaces like offices, locker rooms, cafeterias, shipping and receiving docks, meeting and teleconference rooms, and a new Metrology Center. The project also included a new Certified Testing Vehicle Verification and Material Lab. There was also a commitment by the design team to implement sustainable design concepts and practices. This effort was rewarded with LEED Gold certification by the USGBC. Advances include efficient heating and cooling systems, advanced controls and occupancy sensors for high-efficiency lighting. Recycled steel and concrete were used. Landscaping with native plants minimizes irrigation, and what irrigation is required uses non-potable water.
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The final project cost of $100 million was 15 percent below the owners’ project budget. The design team kicked off in August 2011 with a deadline for completion by Nov. 1, 2013. The main challenge: Constructing the building in less than 10 months to facilitate installation of new process equipment starting in February 2013. Helping achieve this was weekly construction manager meetings with contractors with a four-week look-ahead schedule. As for safety, in more than 380,000 man-hours on the project, there were four recordable incidents with zero lost time. The design features curved entry canopies at different heights with a roof of translucent acrylic panels that let daylight through. Also unusual for an auto plant— a variety of distinct use and landscaped areas, including a plaza and a sheltered patio. The engineering offices have two walls with daylighting, one overlooking the body assembly plant, and one overlooking a “town center” cafeteria area. Glass interior walls are used in offices and conference rooms to allow daylight to reach the open office areas and to foster the open and transparent team environment that the owner desired. The body shop’s polished concrete floors minimize dust and increase reflectivity, lowering lighting requirements.
Construction & Design Honorable Mention Project: John D. Dingell Transit Center, Dearborn Owner: City of Dearborn Designer: Neumann/Smith Architecture + SmithGroupJJR Contractor:: Tooles/Clark Joint Venture The development of Dearborn’s new John D. Dingell Transit Center was not an overnight process. The intermodal hub for rail, bus and taxi services, plus a link to a 20-mile-long non-motorized greenway, was 14 years in the making. Owned by the city of Dearborn, the project took the efforts of its namesake, U.S. Rep. John Dingell, and his U.S. Senate colleague from Michigan, Debbie Stabenow, to make it to completion. Key to the success of the project was also a design team able to revise the original design in only a month, and a contractor able to tackle a challenging Michigan Avenue site. The $28.2 million project worked around freight trains without an established schedule. Neumann/Smith Architecture, Southfield, and the joint venture of Tooles Contracting Group LLC Detroit/Clark Construction Co. Lansing, battled a host of concerns to bring this 16,000-square-foot building out to completion. The project team had to work with a flood of different organizations and governmental agencies, including the city of Dearborn, Wayne County, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. Department of the Interior, The Henry Ford, Amtrak, assorted freight carriers, and Ford Land.
The project concept dates back to 2003. Construction on the final iteration started Sept. 1, 2012 and wrapped up Dec. 10, 2014. The design had to be changed to meet the “shovel-ready” requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided the funding, and to meet the city’s LEED requirements. But the fast track came to an abrupt halt because of a legal dispute between the FRA and the U.S. Justice Department over ADA accessibility – a requirement for higher boarding platforms that conflicted with the legal rights of freight carriers to ship wide, low loads. Rep. Dingell convened a meeting to bring the two sides to an agreement. The result was moveableedge, plastic resin platforms that flip up when a freight carrier brings a wide, low load through the station. In terms of safety, the 52,824-tradehour project had zero lost time incidents, impressive given the site’s location on a busy freight and passenger rail corridor. And in terms of environmental consciousness, the project features 60 geothermal wells for heating and cooling, spray foam insulation, LED lighting and ambient light sensors, along with bio-swales for runoff treatment.
www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 31
Hamtramck Teams Sweep Top Spots at ESD’s Engineering SMArT Michigan™ Competition By Matt Roush
T
hree teams from Hamtramck High School swept the top three spots in The Engineering Society of Detroit’s fourth annual Engineering SMArT Michigan competition, held May 21 at Lawrence Technological University. A total of 20 members of the top four finalist teams received $30,000 scholarship offers from Lawrence Technological University at the event. The winning team, “Energy Is Everything,” designed an efficient home that featured a wide variety of energysaving features, from advanced lighting and energy controls to renewable materials and exterior plantings. In second place was Hamtramck High’s “That One Green Team,” which designed a home that featured solar photovoltaics for power, permeable pavement to minimize stormwater runoff, renewable materials, skylights that let natural light into the house, and a vegetable garden. Finishing third was Hamtramck’s “Team Lightnetics,” whose home featured LED lighting, occupancy— sensing light switches, and heavy use of renewable materials. Oak Park High School’s “Team College Bound” took fourth place. In all, 17 teams from eight high schools participated. Other participating high schools included Central Collegiate Academy of Detroit, Cody High School’s Detroit Institute of Technology, Denby High School in Detroit, Melvindale High School, Osborn Collegiate Academy of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Detroit, and the Southfield Regional Academic Campus. Launched in 2012 in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Engineering SMArT Michigan gives high school students the opportunity to apply science, engineering and technology in real life situations—and find out first-hand 32 | TechCentury | Summer 2015
how those core subjects can have a direct impact on people’s lives. The event’s name is an acronym for Science, Mathematics, Architecture and Technology. The student teams research and design an energy efficient home by drawing architectural designs and writing an essay on their engineering design experiences throughout the semester. The teams then give an oral presentation on their design to judges who are professionals in architecture and engineering. Students learn about energy efficiency, home construction and architecture. And in preparing for the competition, students gain valuable skills in time management, public speaking and presentation. Dozens of volunteer engineer mentors worked with the 17 participating teams to help them understand energy concepts like environmental challenges, the electrical grid, alternative energies and energy efficient building materials, as well as how to do architectural drawings to scale. Students also got to take field trips, including one to the Smart House at DTE Energy Headquarters. Dozens more volunteer engineer judges with expertise in energy and building systems spent the morning of May 21 winnowing the entries down to the four finalists, using a scoring rubric developed by ESD volunteers. The competition, the first of its kind in Michigan, expands on ESD’s successful tradition of supporting youth education in engineering. The ultimate goal is to expand the competition throughout Michigan. Engineering SMArT Michigan seeks to help solve a serious problem in Michigan and across the country—a critical shortage of engineers and related technical professionals. Experts predict that 80 percent of the jobs that will be created over the next 10 years will require some form of post-secondary STEM education. And urban areas supply far fewer students to engineering schools than other geographic
The winning team, “Energy Is Everything,” designed an efficient home that featured a wide variety of energy-saving features, from advanced lighting and energy controls to renewable materials and exterior plantings.
In second place was Hamtramck High’s “That One Green Team,” which designed a home that featured solar photovoltaics for power, permeable pavement to minimize stormwater runoff, renewable materials, skylights that let natural light into the house, and a vegetable garden.
Finishing third was Hamtramck’s “Team Lightnetics,” whose home featured LED lighting, occupancy-sensing light switches, and heavy use of renewable materials.
areas, mostly due to lack of exposure to career opportunities. The event is funded by the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Sponsors this year were the automotive supplier Denso, FirstMerit Bank, Lawrence Technological University, Mr. Rooter Plumbing, and the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff.
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www.esd.org | The Engineering Society of Detroit | 33
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