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Technical Seminar Series at the Department of Civil Engineering Started in the Spring Coordinated by Professor Nathan Johnson and with assistance of graduate students Brian Beck and Christopher Bruhn, a bi-weekly series of seminars on Civil Engineering topics was started this Spring semester.
“Development of Best Practices for Inspection of PT Bridges in Minnesota” by Kyle Berg.
The seminars are conceived with the intention that students present their research work and also with the intention that students learn technical topics as presented by professionals working in the different fields in civil engineering.
“Synthesis of Performance Testing of Asphalt Concrete” by Phil Koktan.
The following presentations (listed in chronological order) have been given by civil engineering students from our department:
“Engineering the Port of Duluth-Superior” by Jim Sharrow, Facilities Manager, Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Duluth, Minnesota.
“Impact Resistance of Filled Concrete Box Sections” by Chris Bruhn.
“Foamed Concrete and Other Low Strength Concrete Materials” by Jeremy Carlson, Chief of Staff at Arrowhead
“Sulfur and Carbon Controls on Mercury Methylation in St. Louis River Estuary” by Brian Beck.
The following presentations (listed in chronological order) have been given by invited professionals working in civil engineering industry:
Concrete Works, Duluth, Minnesota. “Perspectives on Civil Engineering Education” by Dr. Mark Cal, Head of Department at Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Mexico Tech. We would like to encourage all students to keep an open eye for announcements posted for coming seminars, and to try to attend these, as this is an excellent opportunity for learning more about particular aspects of civil engineering. Also, students interested in presenting their research are encouraged to talk to their faculty advisors or to Prof. Johnson to schedule a future seminar presentation.
Civil Engineering Student Presents at the NCUR The 26th Annual National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) was held March 29th-31st at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. NCUR promotes undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study. The annual conference gives undergraduate scholars in all fields and from all types of institutions of higher learning a forum to share the results of their work through posters, presentations, performances and works of art. Justin Baker, a student in the Department of Civil Engineering advised by Professor Eshan Dave, attended the conference and presented the research work “The Use of Taconite Tailings in Asphalt Mixtures to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Pavement Infra-
structure”. Justin’s research includes a laboratory investigation of moisture damage in asphalt mixtures containing taconite tailings (a mining by-product). The project is broken down into three parts including material procurement and mix design, laboratory testing, and report and result dissemination. For various materials tested in the study, a series of moisture conditioning levels will be evaluated. The effect of freezethaw cycles on asphalt concrete’s indirect tensile strength and fracture resistance will be determined. The ultimate goal of this project is to evaluate the moisture damage potential of asphalt mixtures containing taconite tailings and recycled asphalt binder compared to conventional asphalt mixtures.
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