2008 Woodie Awards
Ahead of the curve
Engineering students design ways to improve Gateway Arch grounds
Lori Schueler
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News
Five students and three professors attended a workshop in St. Louis and collaborated architects students from five other universities to discuss ideas about enhancing the Gateway Arch grounds.
Senior civil engineering major Zach Leach said the charrette, which is a time of intense design activity, helped him gain experience working in the real world.
"It was a good opportunity to work with people outside our profession and brainstorm ideas," Leach said.
Engineers, architects, landscape architects and art students from SIUE, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign, Drury University, Washington University, St. Louis University and Missouri University of Science and Technology were invited to the conference.
The other students who attended are senior engineering majors Jeff Olson, Shawn Spillman and Stephanie Seck Birhame. The two other engineering professors who attended the convention are Susan Morgan and Huaguo Zhou.
Fred Powers, president of Powers Bowersox Associates, Inc. put the project together and said the purpose was to educate students.
"The event was set up to be a learning experience for the student," Powers said.
The students attended the four-day convention beginning Nov. 6 and ending Nov. 9. They studied ways to improve the Arch grounds, connecting them with the rest of the city to encourage people to visit the area. Powers said national and local experts spoke to the students and helped them form ideas.
"(The students) worked very intensively," Powers said.
Engineering professor Ryan Fries said students were chosen on a first-come first-serve basis to attend the convention. Senior civil engineering major Tim Delaney said the convention helped him relate to people from other professions.
"An important thing I took from that is how to communicate with people from different areas of study and different ways of thinking about things," Delaney said.
Delaney said his group came up with the idea of creating a water attraction.
Senior civil engineering major Zach Leach said the charrette, which is a time of intense design activity, helped him gain experience working in the real world.
"It was a good opportunity to work with people outside our profession and brainstorm ideas," Leach said.
Engineers, architects, landscape architects and art students from SIUE, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign, Drury University, Washington University, St. Louis University and Missouri University of Science and Technology were invited to the conference.
The other students who attended are senior engineering majors Jeff Olson, Shawn Spillman and Stephanie Seck Birhame. The two other engineering professors who attended the convention are Susan Morgan and Huaguo Zhou.
Fred Powers, president of Powers Bowersox Associates, Inc. put the project together and said the purpose was to educate students.
"The event was set up to be a learning experience for the student," Powers said.
The students attended the four-day convention beginning Nov. 6 and ending Nov. 9. They studied ways to improve the Arch grounds, connecting them with the rest of the city to encourage people to visit the area. Powers said national and local experts spoke to the students and helped them form ideas.
"(The students) worked very intensively," Powers said.
Engineering professor Ryan Fries said students were chosen on a first-come first-serve basis to attend the convention. Senior civil engineering major Tim Delaney said the convention helped him relate to people from other professions.
"An important thing I took from that is how to communicate with people from different areas of study and different ways of thinking about things," Delaney said.
Delaney said his group came up with the idea of creating a water attraction.
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