I like to make presentations to high school and college students that think they want to study civil engineering. Many of them do not fully (or even partially!) understand what we do in the field. So, I used my final employment to photograph what I and my team(s) did for bridge construction and roadway widening. Both of these projects are simple, everyday projects for those of us who have been around for a number of years but they are very important to the American population.
One project consisted of constructing new bridges over an interstate highway with concrete or steel beams. I was assistant resident engineer, in charge of documentation and taking pictures. I took several hundred detailed pictures for the client, put them together with brief descriptions about how we, as civil engineers, material inspectors, or surveyors were involved, and assembled them into
"Russell Builds a Bridge". I summarized it into a 45 minute powerpoint presentation for both college and high school students over the past several years.
A second project consisted of a simple intersection widening required to install a new driveway, improve the intersection and roadway capacity, and increased vehicular safety associated with a commercial development. I was the resident engineer of this simple, one-man project but coordinated with a material inspection firm and surveyor for the contractor. Again, I photographed the work with detailed pictures and then brief descriptions. This led to a book titled
"Russell Widens a Road".
Most high school students and many college students that are considering civil engineering have little experience with construction and do not know what happens in the field. These two books and the powerpoint presentation give them a small introduction.
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Russsell King
Retired
Lakewood, Illinois
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