Idaho Studio Rose to Challenge When "No Travel" Order Was Instituted
Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho
The faculty at Idaho State University needed to get creative to give students a fully realized Precast Studio experience while the school had a strict no travel order. Typically, the Studio experience includes taking students off-campus on field trips and other off-campus visits. Sometimes a great solution is right in your own back yard.
The L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center, a beautiful precast building on campus, turned out to be a great resource for the students who could see precast in person. “While we can't see the integral part of the precast and how it fits together we can nonetheless talk about and show the final product, which for engineering students, that's the part we don't do so well with, is visualizing a nice, beautiful product,” says Bruce Savage, department chair.
The team also made use of the school’s Disaster Response Complex, a school complex where the students can simulate a collapsed structure during an earthquake or human-made disaster.
The professors also brought speakers in via Zoom, and used the digital resources made available by PCI and NPCA. Students were not required to be on campus or in the laboratory, but most of them chose to be there. Instead, all of the laboratory tests were digitally recorded, which gave the students an unusual chance to go back and review the work in the lab.
Faculty
Mustafa Mashal, PhD, PE, SECB, CPEng, IntPE (NZ), MASCE
Associate Professor
Bruce Savage, PhD, PE, MASCE
Professor and Chair
Industry Partners
American Segmental Bridge Institute
Gregg Freeby
Ash Grove Cement Company
Heath Hall
CONTECH Engineered Solutions
Chad Kitchen
Ecobeton-USA
Mike Consalvi
Forterra Structural Precast
Jim McGuire
Idaho Transportation Department
Michael Johnson
J-U-B Engineers
Alan Cukurs
Knife River Prestress
Melissa Verwest
National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA)
Eric Carleton
Oldcastle Infrastructure
Troy Banks
PCI Mountain States
Jim Schneider
RJ Watson Inc.
Ron Watson
Teton Prestress Concrete
Hal Simmons
US Formliners
Ray Clark
Unique Program Aspects
First jointly funded studio by PCI Foundation and the NPCA Foundation
The only Studio that covers both structural and hydraulics design aspects
State-of-the-art large-scale laboratories for hands-on activities
Faculty with extensive industry experience and relationships with PCI and NPCA
Support from the Idaho Transportation Department and American Segmental Bridge Institute
Research opportunities in precast for the students in the Studio
Outreach to professional engineers and offering a shorter version of the Studio to professional engineers from the Idaho Transportation Department and other entities
Student Statistics
Students (6 graduate and 3 undergraduate) from the United States, Nepal and Nigeria
Graduating students took jobs at Department of Transportation, Transportation Engineering Firms, Graduate School at Idaho State University (PhD level)
Other students have internships with the Idaho Transportation Department and Idaho State University