The group will exist on two virtual platforms: LinkedIn and the Lafayette College website. Our initial goals for this program include:

• Sharing CEE student, faculty, and alumni news/achievements
• Encouraging open dialog on industry topics
• Facilitating continued alumni involvement in the CEE Department

The Alumni Connections Program will update alumni on the outstanding achievements of the CEE Students and faculty as well as provide a platform for alumni to share their news, both personal and professional.  Attached, you will find a sample of our outstanding achievements for both CEE students and CEE faculty for this past academic year of 2010-2011……click here

At the heart of engineering is problem-solving, and Oswald, a civil engineering graduate, credits her professors with consistently providing realworld, multidisciplinary experiences for their students. Kristen Sanford Bernhardt, associate professor and chair of engineering studies, Mary Roth ’83, associate provost for academic operations, and Art Kney, associate professor and head of civil and environmental engineering, were key role models. Oswald now advises students interested in research that combines transportation engineering and urban planning, a connection she first made with the help of Sanford Bernhardt.

The opportunity to conduct two independent studies in transportation engineering and urban planning and complete a minor in architectural studies enabled Oswald to explore multidisciplinary connections with engineering and tie in her interests in regional planning, urban design, and sustainability. She went on to obtain a master’s in civil engineering and a master’s in urban planning and public policy at University of Delaware and then combined these fields into her Ph.D. research focused on sustainable transportation planning.

While conducting her doctoral study, Oswald returned to College Hill to co-instruct a multidisciplinary senior design capstone course with Kney and David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. She helped students connect engineering and sustainable design by redesigning Metzgar Fields. “Seeing students from multiple disciplines work together toward a common goal validated my desire to teach at an institution that enhances interdisciplinary learning.”

Although a university, Bucknell has a liberal arts, undergraduate focus, says Oswald, adding: “Undergraduate-focused institutions provide a unique learning experience that is irreplaceable. Each instructor I had at Lafayette cared about my life both in and outside the classroom. This oneon- one relationship with students is invaluable and something I knew I wanted to promote and perpetuate.”

Carey is no stranger to high-level research. That’s one of the reasons he was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, which provides a $30,000 annual stipend for a maximum of three years. Recipients are selected based on overall abilities and accomplishments, as well as potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the United States science and engineering industries. Mechanical engineering graduate Alicia Clark ’11, civil engineering graduate Matthew Verbyla ’06, and Heidi Verheggen ’12 (Zionsville, Pa.), who just graduated with a B.S. in mathematics and an A.B. with a major in economics, also received fellowships.

“I hope my research can be successfully implemented to improve the infrastructure of Trinidad and Tobago against structural failures resulting from earthquakes,” says Carey, who plans to pursue master’s degrees in structural engineering and management science & engineering at Stanford University when his Fulbright work concludes.

Carey conducted EXCEL Scholars research with Anne Raich, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, on implementing a structural crack prediction model. He also did an independent study with Stephen Kurtz, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, competing on the regional and national levels with Lafayette’s Steel Bridge Team.

Carey also was an active member of Lafayette’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), leading a team in the design of a 5,900-gallon reinforced concrete water storage tank as part of EWB’s ongoing work in the community of El Convento, Honduras. He served an externship with Turner Construction and internships with Pepco Holdings Inc., and R3M Engineering Inc.

• With a little planning and focus, you’re more likely to land that dream job or grad school with confidence and without any senior year panic.
• Maybe you have a clear idea of what you’ll be doing after college.  Maybe you don’t.  Either way, Lafayette’s Gateway program – staring in your first year – is for you.

All the experiences you need to create your edge are built into your four years – from top faculty mentors to university-sized resources to unique only-at-Lafayette advantages, including the gold standard in career development and a network of highly successful alumni passionate about Lafayette.  It’s a powerful platform from which to launch your life.

Career Services contact and Links:

Rochelle Crozier -Please contact Rochelle Crozier if you have a job posting for civil and environmental engineering at (610) 330-5531 or crozierr@lafayette.edu.

Lafayette Career Vault –  o post opportunities for our students, please create an account, or login to your existing account.

Externships & Internships - Through opportunities such as internships and externships, you can explore your interests while developing marketable skills and gain a better understanding of a particular career or industry (cited from Career Services).

Here’s What You’ll Do:

• Attend a group Gateway orientation
• Meet with and begin discussions with your Gateway Counselor
• Consider academic and extracurricular choices at Lafayette that will support your personal and professional goals.
• Learn about careers from alumni who are passionate about their Lafayette connection.
• Develop a preliminary career or graduate study plan.
• Create a preliminary resume based on the skills and experience you’ve developed to this point.

At this stage, you’ll learn how your entire experience at Lafayette can serve your long-range goals, and you’ll develop a relationship with your Gateway counselor who will support you every step of the way.

Here’s What You’ll Do:

• Participate in workshops, alumni panels, career fairs, and other programs to build your knowledge, experience, and network of contacts.
• Continue meetings with your Gateway counselor to refine your career or graduate study program.
• Research opportunities of interest to you in various careers or ares of graduate study.
• Tap into Lafayette’s network of successful alumni – AlumNet – to seek advice about industries or careers of interest to you.
• Take advantage of the Externship Program.

One of the most important experiences you’ll have at any stage of Gateway is the opportunity to “shadow” a Lafayette graduate – for several days.  This externship experience will enable you to observe the kinds of experience and skills you’ll need on the job and to make valuable connections with Lafayette alumni.

Here’s What You’ll Do

• Meet with your Gateway counselor to refine plans for career and graduate study.
• Access the Career Vault to identify internships related to your interests.
• Participate in an externship or internship – many o0f which are sponsored by alumni.
• Conduct informational interviews with Lafayette alumni to gain valuable insights about career paths.
• Investigate the specific graduate and professional schools that offer the program you are considering.
• Research specific employers with whom you would like to begin your career.

If you’ve participated in Gateway right from the start, your counselor will have a keen understanding of your career goals, interests, and skills, and will be in a much better position to help you take advantage of the best opportunities.

Here’s What You’ll Do

• Begin the search for a job after graduation with employers in your area of interest.
• Prepare for interviews by researching the organizations of greatest interest to you.
• Practice interviewing skills for jobs or graduate school with our Gateway counselor and professional recruiters.
• Participate in on-campus and off-campus interviews and career fairs hosted by the Gateway program. (There is also an ASCE Lafayette-Lehigh Engineering Career Fair)
• Target your resume and interview skills to specific employers, graduate school programs, or tern of service opportunities.
• Finalize your graduate or professional school applications.

If you’ve followed the Gateway path, you’ll be well on your way to your first job or the graduate program you want to attend.

Professor David Brandes and Interdisciplinary Team Receive Pennsylvania Conservation Award

As golden eagles travel through Pennsylvania along the Kittatinny Ridge on their migratory path between Quebec and southern Appalachia, some are wearing backpack-style tracking units that tell researchers on the ground where they have flown.

The data is giving David Brandes, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and an interdisciplinary team of scientists a detailed picture of where the migrating birds prefer to fly, information that can help determine how energy-producing wind turbines placed along those ridges affect the birds.

Brandes has been collaborating with scientists from West Virginia University, Ohio State University, Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary to better understand, quantify, and model how golden eagles react to terrain and weather conditions during migration. The project is funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant and previously received two Pennsylvania Game Commission State Wildlife grants and a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation of Natural Resources.

In recognition of their work, the researchers received the 2011 Conservation Award from the Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology.

“The award is a real honor for our team,” Brandes says. “It shows that our research is highly relevant, not just from a scientific viewpoint but also for conservation issues of current concern in Pennsylvania and throughout the Appalachians.” ……..(for more info click here)

118th American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference and Exposition

^{June 26-29, 2011 – Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, B.C., Canada}

Introducing Sustainability Into Engineering Education

Professor David Brandes presented his writing of:
‘Sustainabile Stormwater Management as an Opportunity for Campus and Community-based Engineering Education’

Sarkar, S., Greenleaf, J.E., et al.. (2010) Evolution of community-based arsenic removal systems in remote villages in West Bengal, India: Assessment of decade-long operation. Wat. Res. 44,19, 5813-5822.