Welcome to Brian M. Barna's AE Senior Thesis e-Portfolio
Student Biography
Brian grew up in West Mifflin, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Discovering his passion for architecture early in high school, he knew that the Penn State AE program would be his ideal choice for a college education. Currently enrolled in the Integrated BAE/MAE program in the structural option, he will graduate in May 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree with Honors and a Master’s degree.
Brian has done as much as possible to enrich his education beyond the standard curriculum. As a member of the Schreyer Honors College, he has taken several honors-level courses. He also had the privilege of studying architecture in Rome, Italy during a summer session. Being immersed in Italian culture for two months and walking past architectural marvels like the Pantheon on a daily basis was truly a surreal experience. Another unique opportunity was a contest he entered to design the architecture for a new State College branch of Kish Bank. He and his teammate Michael Wiegmann developed the winning design, and a new bank was constructed based primarily on their ideas. Finally he has worked as a Teaching Intern or Assistant in two different classes, a steel design course and an introductory HVAC systems course. He found that he has a passion and a talent for teaching, and this ability to explain concepts could be a very useful one in the work environment.
Brian has experience in the building industry from two internships. Last summer, he worked at Philadelphia-based AE firm Vitetta in the structural engineering department. He also has construction management experience from his time with R.E. Crawford Construction, a general contractor in Pittsburgh. Upon graduation, he will begin working as a Structural Engineer for Clark Nexsen Architecture and Engineering in Norfolk, VA.