CONNECTIONS
Bridges Between Past & Future
Civil Engineering
Departmental Newsletter
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Spring 2003 Connections Newsletter (#2)
Note from the Department Head
What a great time to be associated with NMSU and the Civil Engineering Department. The past six months have been very rewarding for us. Our alums have achieved new pinnacles of success in their professional practice, our faculty, staff, and students have been recognized for their outstanding performance, and various faculty have received grants for exciting, new research and education projects. Please join us in congratulating these individuals for their accomplishments and for their commitment to the profession.
In future newsletters, you will learn about the new educational opportunities the department is developing at the graduate level. Our goal is to deliver a quality education program on-campus as well as
off-campus. We invite you to contact us to tell us your specific educational needs. Finally, we want to hear from you. Included with this newsletter is a post card for your feedback. Please return the card and bring us up to date on your “latest and greatest.”
Hasta la próxima.
-
Ricardo B. Jacquez, Ph.D., PE
Interim Department Head
Elephant Butte Dam Donates Part of Its History to NMSU
The original turbine (runner) of the Elephant Butte Dam was donated to NMSU by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation due to the efforts of. Gaylon Hanson, Facility Manager and Craig Weisner, Engineer. It will be put on permanent display at the Dept. of Civil Engineering’s premises in the near future. Students in the Dept. of Engineering Technology (ET 432 class) are currently designing a base for the turbine.
This turbine was built in 1938 by Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport, Virginia and traveled by train to New Mexico. It was the first and only turbine in New Mexico for years, until the early 1990s. The dimensions are about 3.5 ft high and 5.5 ft in diameter. Made of cast iron, it weighs about 15,000 lbs. The turbine itself is a Francis-type reaction turbine. It operated at 257 rpm and used 720 cubic feet of water per second under 240 ft of head (11,500 hp). In the last 65 years, it revolved 4.5 billion times, passed 5.6 trillion gallons of water (enough for 140 days supply for the entire United States), and produced 2,304,000 megawatt hours of electricity. Statistics are courtesy of Mr. Craig Weisner.
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Hewlett Foundation Engineering Recruitment and Retention Program
The College of Engineering at New Mexico State University is among nine colleges and universities in the western states that received an “Engineering Schools of the West Initiative” grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. In memory of Mr. William Hewlett, the Foundation has provided assistance to several of
these institutions as both a measure of its appreciation for the societal contributions of their engineering alumni and as a way to help improve the quality and quantity of engineering graduates.
The $1.1 million project will engage various interventions for improving engineering education through academically grounded pre-college student experiences, university faculty development programs, and the development of supplemental writing-intensive curriculum elements focused on improving student’s learning
strategies and communications skills.
Specific components of the project include:
Pre-College Student Experiences in Science, Mathematics and Engineering: Las Cruces PREP (PRe-college Engineering Program).
Pre-College Teacher Perceptions and Student Aptitude Sampling: Survey of attitudes and perceptions toward
engineers as individuals and engineering as a profession.
Integrated Learning Community Clusters for incoming freshmen: Addressing the “gatekeeper” course Math 115
(Intermediate Algebra).
Development of writing-intensive supplemental course materials for undergraduate engineering courses.
Formative and summative evaluation and project dissemination.
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META Program
The Minority Engineering Transfer and Articulation Program (META Program) represents a joint effort of Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) the NMSU Civil Engineering Department, the State Highway and Transportation Department (NMSHTD), and the civil engineering firms of Bohannan-Huston, Brown and Caldwell, Chavez-Grieves, and Molzen-Corbin.
The META program consists of the following components: “Summer Technology Bridge” workshop to be held at NMSU for SFCC pre-engineering students between their first and second year at SFCC, summer internships offered through the civil engineering industry partners, industry-sponsored tuition and book scholarships
for META students, faculty development seminars and workshops, comprehensive student advising, and a multi-level recruitment strategy that targets high school students and first-year community college students interested in civil engineering.
The META Program will help prepare pre-engineering students at SFCC as technicians or candidates for immediate entry into the civil engineering bachelor’s degree program at NMSU. The principal investigators for this project are Ricardo B. Jacquez and J.P. King
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Academy OF Civil Engineering (ACAGE)
It’s been a busy winter for the NMSU Academy of Civil Engineering (ACAGE). The ACAGE Board has had several meetings and developed an Action Item agenda to address issues and needs of the Department for 2003. Among these are:
Improved outreach to ACAGE members--focus on getting more interest and a better record on paying of annual dues. The Northern NM ACAGE Committee, under the direction of Chris Youngblood and Barbara Crockett, have organized and started a ‘phonathon’ to contact ACAGE members, update contact information, and solicit member interest. This effort should be complete by April 2003.
More involvement with student and faculty affairs.
Presentations by ACAGE members to selected classes and the student ASCE chapter. Walter Hines gave a talk on Rio Grande water supply issues to the ASCE student chapter on March 14.
Aiding the department with ABET accreditation issues—with more emphasis being placed on the ability of Civil Engineering graduates to be ready for the work force, Dr. Jacquez has asked for help from ACAGE members in evaluating senior-level capstone and seminar courses and to participate in setting up and reviewing the results of student design projects.
Sponsoring an annual field trip for Civil Engineering students to local engineering facilities such as Elephant Butte/Caballo Reservoirs and EBID diversion dams; White Sands; El Paso Water Utilities facilities; local highway and building projects. A possible Spring 2003 or Fall 2004 trip to Elephant Butte/Caballo is in the planning stages.
Fund-Raising
An opportunity exists for using dedicated donations by Dr. John Hernandez, based on a match by ACAGE members and other NMSU alumni, to receive a second match from the New Mexico legislature. The total monies could amount to several hundred thousand dollars.
In other news, ACAGE recently gave its approval to a new inter-departmental Engineering Academy composed of representatives of each of the NMSU Engineering academies. One of the first orders of business will be
to aid in the selection of a new Engineering Dean.
Plans for the 2003 ACAGE Homecoming annual banquet (for all ACAGE members and guests) have been set for Friday, October 31 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel in Las Cruces. It will be a festive affair – come in your
Halloween costumes! A written announcement will be forthcoming.
- Walter Hines
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Meet Rhonda Faught, New Mexico's Transportation Cabinet Secretary
Rhonda Faught, a Deming, N.M. native, has become the first female Cabinet Secretary of the New
Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department in its 100-year history.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson stressed that Faught was selected for the
job because of her experience and leadership skills – a sentiment shared by
several New Mexico legislators who have known and worked very closely with
Faught for many years on transportation issues.
One of her major projects, Faught spearheaded the reconstruction of US Hwy.70 in Las Cruces – an $80 million project. For the first time in the Department’s history, the consultants for the US Hwy. 70 reconstruction project were required to live in Las Cruces so that they would get a better feel for the community needs.
“I took this job because I want to make a positive difference in the lives of department employees and the nearly two million New Mexicans who use our highways everyday,” Faught said.
Faught’s vision for the department not only includes maintaining and improving the highways, but also exploring multimodal transportation, such as light rail, aviation regional transit authorities, and rail systems throughout the state. With this commitment, Ms. Faught intends to make New Mexico very competitive in
the global economy.
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Civil Engineering Department News
New Faculty
Dr. Salim Bawazir has been appointed Assistant Professor, a tenure-track position in the Civil Engineering department. Dr. Bawazir received his Ph.D. from NMSU in water resources engineering.
In 2002 he was College Assistant Professor. He has performed academic duties in the Department including Co-PI with Dr. J. Phillip King on four research projects studying evapotranspiration funded at approximately $470,000; taught graduate courses in water resources engineering; and mentored and advised graduate and undergraduate students.
Please join the faculty and students in welcoming Dr. Bawazir to the Civil Engineering department.
Bromilow Awards - 2003
The Bromilow awards were established in 1978 to perpetuate a high level of teaching, research, and staff service in the College of Engineering. Each of these areas has separate awards.
Patty Lopez, an imaging scientist at the Colorado Digital Imaging Division of Hewlett-Packard, gave the keynote address. Mrs. Lopez received her Ph.D. degree in computer science from NMSU in 1989. She is also the HP Campus Manager for NMSU, serving as a key link between several campus departments and programs for grant opportunities offered by HP. As part of her lecture, she gave interesting statistics on graduates of the College of Engineering, number and history. Her enthusiasm for teaching and positive
learning was very evident.
Dr. Zohrab Samani is the recipient of the 2002-03 Bromilow Research Award. This award is presented to a member of the engineering faculty who has demonstrated sustained excellence in engineering research. Dr. Samani has been a member of the Civil Engineering faculty for 16 years. During this time
period he has actively engaged in scholarly research through 28 sponsored projects as PI and Co-PI. These projects have been supported by a total funding level of approximately $2.5 million.
He has published 32 refereed journal articles and 53 non-refereed papers and publications. In the process he has graduated 15 M.S. students, is currently advising two Ph.D. students, and has mentored over 25
undergraduate students in the water resources and environmental engineering programs in Civil Engineering.
The four areas of research in which he has made the most significant contributions include: relationships that estimate a crop’s water requirement with limited climatological data: development, design, and
implementation of low cost water measurement devices that the Elephant Butte Irrigation District currently uses to promote water conservation in agriculture: research and development of strategies for implementation of a wellhead protection program for the City of Las Cruces, and production of renewable energy and soil amendment by anaerobic decomposition of agricultural wastes.
Mrs. Elvia M. Cisneros is the recipient of the 2003 Bromilow Staff Service Award. This award is presented in recognition of superior service to an academic department, the College of
Engineering, and NMSU. Elvia has played an instrumental role as Department Secretary in the Civil Engineering Department for over 15 years.
Her influence on the lives of students, faculty and staff has reached far beyond the university boundary as she plays critical communication roles between faculty and graduates, the Civil Engineering Academy, the participants of the annual bridge and concrete schools, and innumerable other extramural programs.
Elvia’s poise and professionalism is always available to resolve administrative issues. She is the important link in the chain that keeps the Civil Engineering Department connected and compliant with the College and University level administrative procedures.
Elvia makes it possible for the faculty to concentrate on their principal duties: teaching, research
and service. Many of the Civil Engineering undergraduate students have adopted Elvia as a surrogate mom while away from home. Elvia has made a major contribution to the personal and professional development of the students in the Department and the College.
STAR Award
Joseph Edward (Ed) Misquez, co-PI of the Regional Alliance for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics for Students with Disabilities-Squared (RASEM2), received a STAR award for his numerous activities with university students and his volunteer work.
Ed has encouraged his students to get involved with various off-campus activities, including designing and constructing ramps for several mobility-impaired low-income residents of Las Cruces. His advocacy
activities have resulted in a number of positive changes to the campus regarding handicap accessibility. He is a member of the Governor’s Committee on the Concerns of the Handicapped and was appointed by the Governor to the New Mexico Independent Living Council as well as several other advocacy agencies.
New Mexico State University can take pride that he is a member of our community.
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BIA Training Course
Seventeen Native American students from throughout the United States will attend a Water Resources Technician Training Program in June 2003. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will sponsor the program.
Instructors from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Office of Surface Mining and the Elephant Butte Irrigation District will donate their time and expertise in water resource management.
All the students will participate in both class work and field work. Tours will be made to various locales to illustrate the basic water issues and potential problems in the field.
Civil Engineering Student Highlights
Karl F. Meier, Spring 2003 Chi Epsilon president, has received the New Mexico State University Outstanding Graduate Award from the NMSU Alumni Association, College of Engineering. He is currently working in the area of water resources, with a view to obtaining his civil engineering degree in May 2003. He has been a Crimson Scholar since 1999, with
several scholarships throughout his college career including the Sertoma International Scholarship, Regents Plus Scholarship, NMSU Civil Engineering Academy Scholarship, and NMSU Civil Engineering Dean’s Scholarship.
Kelly Silliman is the recipient of the ASCE Outstanding Senior Award for the spring semester. This award is given by the NM State Section of ASCE to a graduating senior who has participated extensively in ASCE.
Kelly is currently serving as an officer in ASCE for the second time. For the past year, she has worked with Dr. Jacquez on a project to develop instructional materials for environmental engineering.
Denise Peralta is the recipient of ASCE's Doc Harrington Award for the spring semester. This award is also given by the NM state section of ASCE to a junior active in ASCE. Denise is currently serving as an officer in the ASCE student chapter. Her curriculum is focusing on structures.
Two graduate students in the Civil Engineering Department have been awarded graduate fellowships to pursue master’s degrees in structural engineering. Jesus Sanchez (BS, 2002) was awarded the NMSU Diversity Graduate Assistantship and the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM) Fellowship.
Tara Arreola (BS, 2002) was awarded the Michael M. Emery P.E. Memorial Graduate Scholarship. The advisor to these students is Dr. David V. Jáuregui (Asst. Professor, Civil Engineering Dept., NMSU).
In other news, Dr. Kenneth Leitch (PhD, 2002) has accepted an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering position at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Dr. Jáuregui was also his advisor.
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Julie Moore, Editor
Civil Engineering Department
New Mexico State University
P.O. Box 30001, MSC 3CE
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8801
