Robert S. Whitaker

Reflection

ABET Outcome Survey, Course and CPEP Reflection

ABET Outcome Survey

AE 481W/482 Course Reflection

My senior thesis experience challenged me academically in several ways. The building that I selected was a building that Cates Engineering had worked on over my summer internship before senior year. The building was quite different than most of the other projects because while it was only 6 stories tall it had more square footage than some of the 28 story buildings used in thesis. This led to the creation of 3 different computer models: one in Risa 3D over the summer, one in Etabs in the fall semester (AE 481), and finally one in RAM in the spring semester (AE 482). In addition, the light gage shear wall lateral system was not anything that I had ever worked with before in any of my classes. This required me to teach my self this design technique and rely on the faculty to direct me in the right direction.

AE 481W:
At first the class seemed overwhelming, thinking about the 4 technical papers that were to be written within the course of a semester. As the semester progressed the challenges in the building were found and overcome with the aide of professors and all the training from the four years of education. By the end of the semester, I had more confidence of being able to redesign the structure of this building in the spring semester. By breaking the building down step by step as we did in the fall semeter, and by relying on my AE courses and faculty I was confident that the redesign of the structural system would be accomplished well.

AE 482:
Initially, I was not sure what to expect from the process of designing this building, but I was confident that I would be able to overcome any challenges. I had to learn a completely new software program to analyze the building using RAM, using only a guide sheet from 4th year. At times I felt like I would not be able redesign the entire building because it was large and complicated, but in the end I choose to design the entire building rather than just a wing. By using the structural principles I had learned over the years, I was able to verify expected sizes in the building based on results from solving smaller problems. This helped me to head off problems early on before they created a problem. As the semester progressed, I had times when I felt like I knew nothing, but then when discussing the problems I had with classmates and professors I realized that I knew the procedure to do the analysis even before they reminded me. This helped to realize the knowledge that I possessed and gave me the confidence in my analysis of the building.

The thesis experience has given me more confidence to take on challenging and difficult problems. While it was nerve racking before the thesis presentation, the knowledge that I designed the building and that I knew the building inside and out calmed these nerves. I know that in furture presentations I can rely on my diverse knowledge to be able to answer any questions presented. I know that I have the tools needed to solve real world problems: what I have learned through the AE curriculum and by consulting with my piers.

CPEP & Discussion Board Reflection

Coming into this capstone project I had limited experience with web design, and none using dreamweaver. At first I thought that my C++ knowledge from high school would completely help me with the design of the webpage, but some of the coding was quite different. I was able to use this past knowledge to get a step in the right direction and figured out many of the commands needed for the web page design, but much of it was picked up as I went along. Furthermore, as the project went on I became more familiar and comfortable with using dreamweaver and even created hidden links on some pages, some of which can still be found today.

The graphic design aspect of the electronic portfolio is what I found to be more challenging due to some of the setups of dreamweaver. I spent lots of time getting pictures to stay where I wanted them. Finally, I enjoyed being able to add the link to my wedding on my webpage to allow people to see my personal life and my educational experiences.

While I personally did not utilize the discussion board, I followed the issues being discussed and gained knowledge for the future about building types I might come in contact with. This experience with the professional board memebers and with dealing with the webpage has taught me the value of using technology to communicate issues relevant to me and the profession. Also, I learned a lot about using the web and maintaining a website in order to keep people informed about AE and my developement. These are skills I will definitely be able to use after graduation.