Student Biography

Benjamin Barben is currently a fifth year student in the Architectural Engineering Program at The Pennsylvania State University.  He will graduate in May 2010 with a Bachelor and Master of Architectural Engineering, specifically focused on structural engineering, as well as a minor in Architecture Studies.  He is an Architectural Engineering Envoy, a member of Phi Alpha Epsilon, and a Teaching Assistant for various architectural engineering structure related courses.  Benjamin will be E.I.T certified upon graduation and hopes to obtain a full-time position where he can develop professional structural design and analysis skills on a variety of innovative projects.

Over the past four summers, Benjamin was employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, The Office of the Physical Plant at Penn State, and Gannett Fleming.  While employed with Gannett Fleming, he has designed a variety of steel connections for an automated train system in Phoenix, Arizona.  He also designed concrete, steel connections, and wood structures for the Hershey Cancer Institute in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  In addition to designing with Gannett Fleming, he has performed peer reviews of structural calculations, specifications, and shop drawings.

In his free time, Benjamin can be found furthering his knowledge and training of Tae Kwon Do.  He obtained his first degree in 2002 and continued on to receive his second degree in 2007.  In addition to his training, he enjoys teaching Tae Kwon Do to others.  Over the summer, Benjamin was present at the Chin Mu Tae Kwon Federation National Test where he competed with five others from Young’s Tae Kwon Do.