NUASCE

Thursday 11/19 at 7pm in the Design Studio

9am in the ASCE office.

Review sessions for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam on 24 October are being offered by Chi-Epsilon. Your familiar professors are back reviewing all of the knowledge you need to know for the exam. Please check the NUASCE Calendar for dates, topics, and instructors.

This week, COE distinguished professor, PhD., P.E., and fellow ASCE member Mishac K. Yegian gave an enthusiastic presentation on the research he did for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston involving the preservation of precious artifacts from the damaging effects of earthquakes.  The museum gets paid to lend the age old artifacts to other museums for viewing; however there was great apprehension in lending four particular sculptures to the Nagoya Museum in Japan due to the high seismic activity in that area.

Extensive research was done through the collaboration of Northeastern and the Museum of Fine Arts to evaluate the reduction of these seismic effects on the statues when placed on mechanical isolators.  When an object is placed on a mechanical isolator, the bottom plate of the mechanical isolator moves with the ground during an earthquake while the top plate, on which the object rests, undergoes far less disturbance.  This is occurs because the plates are separated by a geo-synthetic material that permits the plates to slide independently, allowing friction to absorb the earthquake and the energy to be isolated before it reaches the sculpture.

Models of the statues were made to conduct the research needed to find out if the mechanical isolators would actually be sufficient the aide against the seismic disturbances associated with the area.  The models were tested on a shaking table that simulated the museum floor during Kobe and Taft earthquakes.  The project was ultimately successful and the statues were able to be shipped and displayed in the Nagoya Museum in Japan.

Evan Souliere
Great Coasters
1 April 2009

Number of Students: 43
Number of Advisers: 2
Number of Faculty: 2

This week senior Evan Souliere gave a presentation of his work on roller coasters from his co-op at the company Great Coasters. Great Coasters is a company of about 10 employees that does design and construction of custom wooden roller coasters and repair of existing wooden coasters. They were featured on the discovery channel show “Build it Bigger” for one of their custom coasters. At this point, they have done 11 operating roller coasters. The interesting thing about the custom roller coasters is that they are designed to use the surrounding terrain and elements of the environment with many direction changes. For example, one coaster called “Thunderhead” was built into a large hillside with several turns that reversed direction.

The trains used for the coasters differ from the conventional standard due to the fact that each car is trailered to the car in front. This design prevents wear and tear on the wheels and the track, reducing maintenance costs for the park because standard re-tracking is not needed. The anatomy of a coaster design follows an analysis of 2-D truss structures with batters off the side for loading and interior chords. The steel track rests on top of a sequence of these trusses.

The coaster design process begins with the park/client accepting the rendering of a concept. A final design includes a plan view and a 2-D profile view. An energy line is important to the design, as it is the limiting factor for the coaster train to return back to the station safely. This line varies depending on temperature conditions. Construction of a coaster involves permits, land clearing and foundation surveying. Bent drawings are done for each and every single bent before construction. Once tracking and trains are installed, testing is done as a safety precaution. Although restraints are always used, the coasters are designed so that restraints are not necessary and people will not fly out from their seats. Great coasters is in the process of constructing 3 new coasters around the world. One coaster, Toro, is undergoing bent construction, while another, Prowler, is in the land clearing/foundation construction process. The final coaster is for the Terminator movie and is still undergoing design.

Peter Quigley
25 March 2009

Number of Students: 41
Number of Advisers: 1
Number of Faculty: 0

For this week’s lecture, Peter Quigley gave a talk on the new construction going on at the Museum of Fine arts in Boston. The existing site has undergone several additions over time since 1909. With the demolition of the existing mechanical plant and restaurant, the new addition will include a courtyard, gallery, and large pavilions.

Initially, construction began with shearwall installation and demolition. Pre-excavation was needed with soil mix walls to prevent any damage to remaining wings of the museum. The new courtyard will use an interesting facade system with non-linear cables. Normal systems can use a beam, a cable and strut, or cables with a removed strut. The designers of the courtyard were looking for a system that would be most transparent to allow for a clear view to the outside gardens. A cable analysis proved that linear cables would be unstable under wind conditions. However, conditions proved to be stable with non-linear cables, so a transparent system could be utilized. An interesting column model was also used inside the courtyard, with a composite steel section infilled with concrete, over a reinforced concrete column for fire protection. This gives the building 2 hour fire protection, which is unique for this type of structure. Overall, the addition will bring 165,000 square feet of new space with an increased live load capacity. The project is expected to be complete in the coming years, with a grand opening in late 2010.

To All Civil Undergraduates,

Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honor Society, will be hosting an FE Exam Information Session Wednesday, February 18th at 6:30pm in 1 Snell Library. Come find out what the exam is all about and get some advice from three students who successfully passed the exam in October.

In short, the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) or Engineering in Training (EIT) Exam is a comprehensive exam testing a number of subjects you have taken throughout your undergraduate studies, from fundamental subjects like Calc to courses like Fluids and Materials. It is the first step to getting your Professional Engineer (PE) license, a requirement for many engineering and construction management jobs. It is a national exam, much like the SAT, so there are plenty of resources available to prepare for this exam. This includes a review course run by the College of Engineering and supplemental sessions run by Chi Epsilon, which covers the civil-specific subjects.

Most students take it before the start of their senior year, however, if you’re only a sophomore or middler it is not too early to come and learn about the exam. The pass rate is much higher for those who take this while in school rather than after graduation.

If you’re unable to attend, but would still like some information, please feel free to contact me at lee.jac@neu.edu.

Hope to see you there!

Jaclyn Lee
Chi-Epsilon Vice President

Two weeks ago at our last weekly meeting of the semester 40 students came to elect officers for next year.  These officers will serve Summer II and Fall 2009.  They are:

President: Chris Leiato
Vice Presidents: Ryan Snow and Andy Baummer
Secretary: Emily Demusz
Treasurer: Lisa Marie Babayan
Program Coordinators: Steve Taylor and Keith Hall
Publicity Coordinator: Eric Dubrule
Webmaster: Derek Yu

Congratulations to all and good luck next year.

Today, the first day of finals (booo…) NUASCE is launching our very first, very spectacular* BOOK SWAP.

The following is a very helpful write-up written by VP Matt Buttimer explaining the process:

Instead of selling your books back to the bookstore at an unfair buyback price, or buying them at an inflated price, NUASCE has developed a forum for Civils to do the buying and selling in-house.

On Blackboard, under the NUASCE Student Chapter link, an Excel file has been posted in the Documents tab. All the books listed are books that all of the Civil Engineering professors will be using for the Spring ‘09 term. Also included are the estimated bookstore prices and then the NUASCE price. The NUASCE price has been calculated to save the buyer as much money as the seller makes. That way it’s fair.

Once you see a book that you want to buy or sell, use the Discussion Board tab to post comments. When posting please specify the book you want to buy or sell, your name, and either email or phone number so people can contact you. Once you find a buyer or a seller, exchange money and the books on your own. NUASCE is just offering a way to contact other students, NUASCE is not in charge of the actual exchange.

So I think that sums it up very well. I just want to reiterate that NUASCE is not making any money off of this and is not responsible for connecting buyers and sellers. We are merely providing you with information you would not otherwise have access to. I hope you take advantage of it.

If you have any questions about this, as always, feel free to contact me and I’ll help you out the best I can.

Good luck on finals!

*Note: NUASCE makes no guarantees or implications as to the expected, implied, or delivered values of spectacularity in regard to aforementioned Book Swap. Experienced values of spectacularity may vary by user.

What: Job Search Crash Course
Where: Raytheon Amphitheater, Egan
When: Thursday, October 23 from 3-5 PM

The Career Services office is putting on a job search crash course designed to help seniors:

• Transform your résumé
• Create a cover letter
• Ace the interview
• Negotiate salary
• Network fearlessly

Topics repeat every 20 minutes so you can pick and choose which to attend.  There is a flyer for the event here.