2006 Summer Interns

OMP Summer Industry Interns

Jordan Card (Kiewit Western) | Paula Estock (SEC) | Jonathan Loo (Kudrna & Assoc.)

FAA Summer Research Interns

Jordan Card
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Civil Engineering

Jordan completed his B.S. in May of 2006 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign obtaining his degree in Civil Engineering. He will start the M.S. program within the same department this fall. Jordan was amongst a list of qualified engineering students generated by CEAT for OMP affiliated companies to hire interns for the summer.

Kiewit Western at O'Hare hired Jordan for the summer in their quality control department. Jordan explains, “My duties with Kiewit are very diverse. The most interesting job I have worked on is the testing of and inspection of the new 90 inch PCCP (pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe) JAWA (Joint action water agency) water main that will be relocated to make way for the new 9L-27R runway on the north side of O'Hare. This water main feeds the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. I have been traveling to Price Brothers' plant in South Beloit to witness the testing of randomly selected sections of our 90 inch water main. The testing includes a 3 edge load test that simulates the soil and live loading that the pipe will be exposed to and a hydrostatic pressure test that simulates the working and surge pressures that the pipe will experience from the drinking water flowing through it.”

Many of Jordan’s duties have included site laboratory testing. He has also been interacting with the OMP by overhauling the RFIM (request for inspection of materials) process. He states, “As materials are delivered on site the OMP must inspect these materials and to do so the party who has ordered the materials must submit a RFIM. Before I started, many of these RFIM's had mistakes or were incomplete. I was given the duty to improve this issue. I started tracking the whole entire RFIM process to determine where the mistakes were being made and in the short time I have been working for Kiewit the mistakes have been almost eliminated.”

Paula Estock
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Civil Engineering

Paula will be a senior this fall and will complete her B.S. in May of 2007 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign obtaining her degree in Civil Engineering. She has had two other internships to gain experience in the work place in the Chicago area. Paula was amongst a list of qualified engineering students generated by CEAT for OMP affiliated companies to hire interns for the summer.

Smith Engineering Consultants, Inc. (SEC) hired Paula to work for the summer as a civil engineering intern. Paula states, “At SEC I have learned a great deal more as to what a transportation engineer will do after college is over. This summer I have felt as though I was given real world work that a full-time engineer would be working on. I calculated intersection elevations, designed perimeter erosion barriers along with other erosion components, ran traffic light analysis program (HCS2000) in order to determine the length of the traffic lights in an intersection, labeled pavement markings, calculated quantities, and edited cross sections among other things.”

Halfway through the summer, Paula began working with the Site Development Department at SEC. She liked the change since it will widen her experience about the various types of civil engineering work. She comments on the change, “I have applied much of the drainage information that I learned at school here as I calculated elevations and slopes of drainage structures. I have also written request for proposals, drafted drainage structures on the computer, calculated quantities and cost estimates, and inputted grades for a good part of a site among other things.” Paula was also given the experience of going out on the field with one of the in-house construction managers. She states, “This was very rewarding, as I was able to see how everything on the computer screen in the office really works out in the field. I was able to observe a bridge construction, a water tower construction, a series of roads being constructed, and a site development where a Wal-Mart, Kohl’s and several other stores were being constructed.”

As Paula is about to start her last year of school before entering the work force, she states, “Overall, my experience at SEC has been nothing but rewarding and has really allowed me to make a better decision as to what I am looking for in a full-time position.”

Jonathan Loo
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Civil Engineering

Jonathan completed his B.S. in May of 2006 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign obtaining his degree in Civil Engineering. He focused on Structural Engineering and Construction Materials obtaining his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Jon was amongst a list of qualified engineering students generated by CEAT for OMP affiliated companies to hire interns for the summer.

Kudrna and Associates hired Jonathan as a summer intern. Kudrna and Assoc. is a small consulting firm, specializing in general civil engineering, planning, construction management and surveying based in Westmont, IL. Jonathan describes his internship experience, “My duties generally include doing CAD markups in AutoCAD and MicroStation. Currently, Kudrna has a project for the City of Chicago which entails finding the minimum clearance for viaducts in the city. Each bridge is photographed and measured. Bridges that have less than a 14’-6” clearance must be posted for the safety and well being of trucks and their cargo. Each bridge has a CAD markup associated with it. Currently this project takes up the most of my time.”

Jonathan was also working on a highway project in central Illinois with Kudrna over the summer. He assisted with the storm sewer design on this project. He explains, “IL Route 116 is being repaved in Saunemin, IL. In addition, curb and gutter will be added to the two lane highway, making it necessary to redesign the drainage in the area. After using a rough, preliminary design, we calculated inlet spacing for the roadway and structure spacing in the right of way.”

Many of his other duties included assisting the CAD technicians and creating sheets for construction plans. Jon states, “I measure and calculate quantities as well as generate alignment and tie sheets using survey notes. I also do the typical intern things like getting plans copied and printing out plans.”

Jamila Beale
The Pennsylvania State University
Aerospace Engineering

Jamila is a junior at Penn State University majoring in Aerospace Engineering. She participated in the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) organized by the UIUC Graduate College for undergraduate students from underrepresented groups who are interested in graduate school. CEAT sponsored her research work for the summer through its FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor Leslie Struble was her advisor for the summer working on CEAT projects at the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab. Graduate Student Francis Nelson also worked with Jamila to make her experience a success.

Jamila’s main research project for the summer was researching the effects of Potassium Acetate on the Alkali-Silica Reactivity of Chert. She explains her research as, “Basically I was studying the effects of potassium acetate (runway deicer) on a reactive aggregate, chert, which can cause the alkali-silica reaction and deteriorate the concrete. The research was very hands-on. I was in the lab everyday making samples or taking measurements.”

The project that Jamila was working on with Prof. Struble and Francis Nelson is important to the research that CEAT is doing for the O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP) this year. Jamila learned about the OMP by working with CEAT this summer. She states, “I also got the opportunity to travel into Chicago for one of the OMP meeting where we basically talked about the schools progress and findings. This was a wonderful opportunity because I now know I enjoy doing research and would like to do it at my home university.”

Victor Cervantes
California State University Northridge
Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Victor completed his B.S. in May of 2006 at California State University Northridge (CSUN) obtaining his degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering. He participated for the second time in the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) organized by the UIUC Graduate College. CEAT sponsored his research work with its FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor Jeff Roesler was his advisor for the summer working on CEAT projects at the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab and ATREL. Graduate Student Cristian Gaedicke also worked with Victor to make his experience a success.

Victor’s summer research work was built upon the research from last summer with the added element of recycled concrete. Victor describes his research work, “Eight tons worth of concrete slabs, which where at ATREL, where crushed by a local company. The gradation curve of the recycled concrete coarse aggregate (RCCA) was created. The RCCA was then sieved to ensure that the gradation that was used in the study satisfied the coarse gradation requirements for a Portland Cement Concrete Pavement. Six different concrete mixtures were made for this study. Three point bending, compression and tensile splitting cylinders, and shrinkage test samples were made. At this point all of the destructive tests have been conducted and the shrinkage test is ongoing.”

As Victor completes his research for the summer, there is still data being analyzed and the study will continue this fall. Victor will return to UIUC this fall as an academic hourly under the supervision of Professor Roesler. He will apply for graduate school in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UIUC for the spring of 2007.

Francisco Cordova
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Civil Engineering

Francisco is a senior at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez majoring in Civil Engineering. He participated in the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) organized by the UIUC Graduate College. CEAT sponsored his research work with its FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor John Popovics was his advisor for the summer working on CEAT projects at the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab.

This summer, Francisco’s research work specifically involved working with variations of the modulus of elasticity (E) in the nondestructive ASTM Standard test method. He describes his research work, “A total of 12 concrete specimens were analyzed throughout the research, consisting of six concrete cylinders and six beams. The Standard Test method was used for calculating the modulus of elasticity on all specimens. These measurements, in turn, were compared with an accurate value for E measured using the Vibrational Resonant Frequencies Test method. This last method was selected for its high accuracy in determining E for concrete cylinders.”

Francisco wrapped up the research work and tells of his findings, “After collecting and analyzing five days of data, the transverse mode proved to be the most inaccurate, resulting with a greater percentage of error than the longitudinal mode for all specimens. In terms of shape and size, the small beams and the large cylinders provided the most inaccurate results while the small cylinder and big beam provided the most accurate results with lower percentages of error.”

“This was an incredible summer experience. I learned about research and graduate work, helping me develop both academic and professional skills,” stated Francisco.

Sandra Correa
Universidad del Valle, Colombia
Materials Engineering

Sandra is a senior from the Universidad del Valle in Colombia majoring in Materials Engineering. She participated in the CEAT FAA Minority Internship Program for about one month this summer. Professor David Lange was her advisor for the summer working on CEAT projects in the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab. Graduate Student Ben Birch also worked with Sandra to make her experience a success.

Sandra’s research work was focused on the study of pressure exerted by SCC on formwork. She describes her research topic, “Pressure exerted by SCC against formwork is a very important topic not only due to the cost of formwork but also in terms of the workers safety. “ She also states, “In this particular case, different superplaticizer dosages have been used. Although there are many variables that affect formwork pressure, it was decided to use concrete consistency as the variable of interest, while assuming method of pouring, pouring rate and concrete temperature as constants.”

Sandra talks about the things she has learned through the research experience with her summer internship. She states, “It is nice to know how to handle different instruments, like a drill. It lets me go beyond theory because it is not easy to connect theoretical principles with reality. So research is a bridge between them. It is essential to use any source you have by hand and limits only exist in the mind. People who work in Laboratory had been very helpful. Language has been a big challenge for me but it has not been an impediment to communicate with people and doing things. Team work is important to get results.”

Norberto Lopez
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Civil Engineering

Norberto is a senior at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez majoring in Civil Engineering. He participated in the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) organized by the UIUC Graduate College. CEAT sponsored his research work with its FAA Minority Internship Project. Professor Erol Tutumluer was his advisor for the summer. Graduate Student Joseph Anochie-Boateng also worked with Norberto to make his experience a success.

Norberto’s summer research experience was conducted at the University of Illinois Advanced Transportation and Research Laboratory (ATREL) at Rantoul, Illinois. His research topic was Laboratory Compaction of Oil Sand Samples. Caterpillar, Inc. is sponsoring research for mobility problems and sinkage of their mining and construction equipment due to natural oil sand deposits around the world and specifically in Saskatchewan region of Canada for this research.

Norberto describes his research work, “In spring and especially in summer, soil gets soft and makes driving conditions treacherous. The research required the analysis of different oil sand type specimens: Aurora high grade (AU-14), Suncor Energy high grade (SE-14) and Suncor Energy low grade (SE-09) at 14 and 9 % bitumen contents. Using a gyratory compactor, specimens were compacted to determine the compaction properties and then, a triaxial test setup was used to conduct monotonic loading strength tests with small cylindrical specimens applying different confined pressures. As results, we obtained that the greater amount of bitumen in the sample gives lower number of gyrations and therefore smaller time is needed to compact specimens. Also, the sample with the highest strength and the smaller displacement was the AU-14.”

Jan Moritz
Glaus University in Germany
Chemistry

Jan is a junior at Glaus University in Germany majoring in Chemistry. He participated in the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) program. CEAT sponsored his research work through its Summer Research Internship Program. Professor Leslie Struble was his advisor for the summer working on CEAT projects at the Newmark Civil Engineering Lab. Graduate Student Francis Nelson also worked with Jan.

With chemistry as his background, Jan’s summer research work was done entirely in a test lab in Newmark working on the subject matter of pH value rising during the modified ASTM C 1260 test method, cased by alkali silica reactions. This test method is used to test the potential alkali-silica reactivity of aggregates. Jan describes his research tests, “In these test method three mortar bars with a size of 1”x1”x11.3” inches were made up of 990g aggregate, 440g cement and 211g water. The mortar bars are soaked in 2.7 – 3L of a potassium acetate deicer solution of a defined concentration by a temperature of 80° C for 14 days. After the 14 days length-change measurements are taken and percent expansion is calculated. During the 14 days reaction in the oven a pH – value rising from 10.9 to 13.6 is detected.”

In the lab work, Jan explains that five different pH – value measurements were made. He states, “These measurements confirmed that the Ca(OH)2 causes the pH – value rising. For making sure which reaction is involved, it is necessary to make more experiments.” Jan worked on other solutions with the Deicer and Ca(OH)2 using smaller amounts.