WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fourteen Trine University civil engineering students and three
faculty recently participated in the annual Civil Engineering Professional Development
Seminar (CEPDS).
The event was held Nov. 20 on the Purdue University campus and included civil engineering
students and professionals from across Indiana and surrounding states.
‘Phenomenal’
Levi Webb, a student from Auburn, Indiana, said the event began with a “phenomenal”
presentation about the near failure of the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona and how engineers
solved the problem before it became catastrophic.
“This was by far my favorite presentation of the day,” he said.
Gary Greene, Ph.D., chair of the Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
agreed, noting that he had visited the dam last summer on a family trip.
After the opening, participants could choose sessions on transportation, bridges,
construction, geotechnical, water resources, multi-discipline, professionalism, vertical
structures and management. There also were sessions designed specifically for students.
Lunch featured an address from Carol Ellinger Haddock, PF, F.ASCE, 2026 president-elect
of ASCE, about her vision for the future of the society and the condition of infrastructure
in the United States.
Curbless design, night construction
Justin Beck, a student from Charlotte, Michigan, attended a session co-presented by
Alex Duran, a 2020 Trine University civil engineering graduate now working as a transportation
engineer at DGL Consulting Engineers, based in Indianapolis.
The session covered a revitalization project DGL completed in downtown Sylvania, Ohio.
“The curbless downtown renovation was very interesting to me,” Beck said. “I had seen
versions of this in the world before but the opportunity to be walked through the
design process and how it was constructed was a very cool experience.”
Shyanne Gibboney, a student from Greenville, Ohio, said she particularly enjoyed a
session titled Headlights and Headaches.
“They talked about all the work that goes into having a construction team work through
the night: what could go wrong that is less of a risk during the day,” she said. “I
found this very interesting.”
Webb attended sessions that covered topics including 3D water flow software, downtown
road expansion and road quality surveying.
“I enjoyed all of the sessions despite lacking the knowledge to apply what I learned
yet,” he said.
The last student session was a Jeopardy-style game featuring ASCE trivia. Winners
received their choice of ASCE-branded items, with Trine students taking home items
like coffee mugs, frisbees and engineering graph paper.
“CEPDS is a great event,” said Beck. “It provides the opportunity to get out of the
classroom for a day and learn about the real world of civil engineering. It’s also
a great networking opportunity and a great chance to hang out with fellow civil engineering
students.”
Photo: Fourteen Trine University civil engineering students and three faculty recently participated
in the annual Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar (CEPDS). Front, from
left, Hemin Mohammed, Ph.D., William Barry, Ph.D., Blake Dulle, Angel Cabrera, Gary
Greene, Ph.D.; second row, Levi Webb; third row, Easton Qualls, Brady Parker, Shyanne
Gibboney, Jillian Taylor, Ian Sullivan; fourth row, Elliott Carr; back row, Evan Seacatt,
Justin Beck, Jacob Ferguson, Dillan Cooper and Luke Weintz.
