We are thrilled to announce that Jillian Dlouhy, recipient of the 2023 ACEC Scholarship, is set to graduate this year with her Masters in Engineering from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Last week, Jillian enjoyed a lunch meeting with Jill Aldredge (pictured with Jillian), a member of our a/e ProNet association and producer at Hub Insurance in Omaha, Nebraska.

During her studies, Jillian interned at Olsson, Inc., a valued client of Jill Aldredge’s at Hub Insurance and the placing broker for our UK member, New Dawn Risk. In a fantastic turn of events, Jillian has recently accepted a position at Olsson, Inc. following her graduation.

This is exactly the outcome we always hope for with our scholarship recipients. How amazing is that? One of our talented scholars joins the workforce of a client belonging to our esteemed association members!

In a previous blog post, we introduced you to our 2023 ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) Scholarship Recipient, Jillian Dlouhy.  Now we get to share an update on one of her graduate projects.  Stay tuned as we follow the progress of this project over the school year.

 

  Jillian Dlouhy Shares:

I am currently working with a multi-disciplinary team of nine students to design the complete mechanical, electrical, and structural systems for a VA Ambulatory Care Center. This is part of the master’s curriculum of the architectural engineering program through the University of Nebraska. The goal with this is to allow students to collaborate and engineer a complete design for a challenging facility.

For this, I am leading the mechanical discipline which encompasses HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, and acoustic design. Since this is a healthcare facility designed for the VA, this presents challenges in infection control, client satisfaction, and overall integration of systems. Working through this project has taught me the value and challenges of collaborating on a large team as well as helped me develop more technical expertise for my career.

 

The Future of Construction with Computer Vision AI

AI is a huge topic currently because it applies to everyone and all business models. No matter what industry you are in, there is an opportunity to use AI to improve your business. AI has the potential to transform businesses and improve the way we live and work. AI can help businesses to automate tasks, improve decision-making, and personalize customer experiences.

 

There are several branches of AI including:

 

  • Natural Language Processing: This is a type of AI that allows computers to understand and process human language. Natural language processing is used in applications such as voice recognition, machine translation, and chatbots. This can help in searching for information within documents.

 

  • Machine Learning: This is a type of AI that allows computers to learn from data and improve their performance over time. Machine learning is used in a wide variety of applications, including spam filtering, fraud detection, and product recommendations.

 

  • Computer Vision: Computer vision AI is a cutting-edge technology that allows machines to interpret visual information. It has already significantly contributed to many fields, such as healthcare, manufacturing, autonomous driving, security, and the construction sector.

 

Computer vision AI can include things such as:

 

  • Image Classification: Using computer vision to classify and recognize images, enabling users to search their photos based on content. This technology can identify faces, landmarks, objects, and more. This can assist in finding images rapidly in a server or help with image organization.

 

  • Digital Marketing: AI-driven image recognition can analyze consumer behavior and preferences based on images shared on social media. This data can be used to craft personalized marketing strategies and enhance customer engagement. It can also be used to automatically produce hashtags based on what the image includes.

 

Some of the ways that computer vision AI is being used in construction today include:

 

  • Safety Monitoring and Security: Computer vision AI can be used to monitor construction sites for safety hazards. This can help to prevent accidents and injuries.

 

  • Progress Tracking: Computer vision AI can be used to track the progress of construction projects. This helps ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. This can be used with 4D construction (sequencing).

 

  • Quality Control: Computer vision AI can be used to inspect the quality of construction work and materials. This can help to ensure that projects meet quality standards.

 

Manufacturing and construction are closely related industries. In both industries, many of the same concepts and technologies can be applied. For example, the concepts of quality control, supply chain management, and lean manufacturing (which goes along with things like the 5S pillars and 6 Sigma) can be applied to construction just as easily as they can be applied in manufacturing. These concepts can also be applied to any industry, business, production, or management setting. I believe manufacturing and construction are going to use similar AI technologies.

 

 

In the future, computer vision AI is likely to be used in even more ways in the construction industry. Some of the potential future applications of this technology include:

 

  • Automating Tasks: Computer vision AI could be used to automate tasks such as surveying, quality control, and safety inspection. This could free up workers to focus on more complex tasks, and it could also help to improve safety and efficiency.

 

  • Creating Virtual Models: Computer vision AI could be used to create virtual models of construction sites. These models could be used to assist in planning projects, simulate construction processes, and identify potential problems. This can be used with Lidar or photogrammetry scans.

 

  • Optimizing Supply Chains: Computer vision AI could be used to optimize supply chains in the construction industry. This could help to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

 

 

This is an exciting time for development and experimentation, these are only a few points AI will assist within the construction industry. The future of construction is bright with the use of AI, it has the potential to make construction projects safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.

We should also keep in mind that AI can be used to mitigate risks, but also has risks of its own – something that is going to be hard to replicate is human interaction, relationships, and transparent communication. As we have seen in recent years, face-to-face relationships are vital to life and are a part of what truly takes care of clients. Human interaction and relationships are essential, they provide us with a sense of connection, belonging, and support. Relationships also help us to learn and grow and understand each other’s needs so we can better provide for each other.

Meet Jillian Dlouhy our 2023 ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) Scholarship Recipient.  Jillian is seeking her Masters of Architectural Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at Omaha.  In an interview with a/e ProNet’s Executive Director, Lynda Colucci, Jillian calls herself a born problem solver.  She started down the path of engineering in the second grade with a set of Legos and in high school got into modeling software. “Ironically, my parents, my grandparents – no one in my family was in Engineering”.

In college, Jillian was able to take part in the STEM program and STEM got her involved in Community Outreach Projects – especially facilitating mentorships STEM series for young women. Her degree path has been in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and her goal is to be a Consulting Engineer. Consulting Engineers provide crucial expertise in the planning, analysis, design and construction of our built environment.

Said Jillian, “My dream job is to fix the energy problem.  Work hands on and work with renewable resources.  How do we store it? Our current energy grid can’t handle it.”

We wish her the best of luck and we’ll be following her projects in the coming year.  We think she has a pretty bright future.

Rebecca Rasmussen

My research involves working to utilize the finite element method to create computational representations of geometry useful in design, analysis, and manufacturing applications through C++ and CAE applications. Current methods for transferring a geometry made in CAD software to an analysis software involve meshing, which has proven to be time-intensive and problematic for certain geometries (like those with overlapping faces, small protrusions, etc.).

 

Rather than continuing to approximate the intended geometry, like these current methods do, I am working with a few other research assistants to create a more robust method for representing geometries for analysis purposes. Recently, I have been working with the Rhino CAD interface and updating code to accommodate geometries with trimmed portions (holes or patches) so they work properly when run through an analysis software like LS-DYNA.

The results of an analysis can be seen in the video, which shows a modal analysis run on a trimmed bracket. Continued updates will eventually make it possible to convert the original CAD geometry into a new, single-surface geometry suitable for analysis.

 

Sabrina Lem is from Canada and received her undergraduate degree there at York University in Toronto.  She’s currently in her second year of a 3 year Architectural Graduate program at University of Illinois in Chicago.   She didn’t grow up wanting to be an architect, but her passion for travel and observing sustainable designs drove her toward architecture and urban planning. She’s also working on obtaining her Leed’s Certification.

The architecture program at Illinois is the oldest program in the country at a public university, and is consistently ranked among the top 20 programs nationally. It is recognized as one of two programs in the nation best at preparing students for the architecture profession.

Congratulations to Sabrina and as we invest in her future and the future of all of our scholarship winners, we look forward to watching her grow.

Bellevoir is a historic home in Lyndon, Kentucky. The house was built ca. 1867 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Italianate-style home was built by Hamilton Ormsby, a member of a prominent family in Jefferson County. When it moved to the old Ormsby family farm, the home became Ormsby Village, serving dependent and delinquent children. The site originally had a separate home and school, Ridgewood, for African-American children.

Segregation ended in the early 1960s, and both homes were merged into the Ormsby Village Treatment Center in 1968, serving only delinquent children. It closed in 1979.

The buildings were used by Jefferson County government for offices during the 1980s, until the property was developed as an office park. The institutional buildings were razed and the Ormsby family home, Bellevoir, was preserved.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Source: https://historiclouisville.com

 

Jennifer Stieben  is a recipient of the 2022-2023 David. W. Lakamp Scholarship. She worked this past summer on an independent study project for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

 

This is an independent study project I completed over the summer of 2022 under the direction of two professors. I created several drawings that were based on existing conditions for the Historic American Buildings Survey, so this is different from the more conceptual work from my undergraduate degree.

Aspects in risk management in this project would be making sure construction details and dimensions are correct on the building as well as the site. If there is any new construction here, there is going to be reference to existing drawings and any unexpected details could hold the project up in terms of time, cost, and even safety. Conveying information accurately and clearly to the viewer is important.

The 840-foot long, 64-foot wide vehicle bridge spans an area where, in 2017, a Fort Hood Soldier was swept away in flood waters after driving around temporary barriers at the low-water crossing here. The Soldier’s body was never recovered, and a rescue/recover diver also lost her life  In 2022, the $18 million construction project of a bridge over Clear Creek on Turkey Run Road is nearing completion.  The Turkey Runs Road Bridge is just part of Fort Hood’s ongoing efforts to eventually eliminate all low-water crossing areas on paved roads throughout the installation.

Deanna Ho is a recipient of the 2022-2023 David. W. Lakamp Scholarship. She is working this summar as an intern with the US Army Corp of Engineers on the Ft. Hood Bridge project.

I am the Project Engineer, COR (Contracting Officer’s Representative) managing active components of the construction during all phases. Providing direction and assisting in developing and executing the construction of the bridge, collaborating with all levels of the project team (Client, contractor, subcontractor, and project/program manager). As a Project Engineer, I have been incorporating risk management principles to analyze safety concerns that may have a critical impact to the constructability of the project. Implementation and enforcing those risk management plans are strategic to effectively increase risk mitigation throughout the project.

The flooding at the low-water crossing had caused a Fort Hood Soldier to be swept away along with a rescuer lost her life during recovery operations.  The bridge was engineered and designed to effectively reduce risk from flooding on the low-water crossing, constantly used by tactical vehicles.

 

For more information about the project, please click to read the full article here

Meet Rebecca Rasmussen our a/e ProNet 2022 ACEC Scholarship Recipient. In an interview with Executive Director Lynda Colucci of a/e ProNet, Rebecca tells us she is following in the footsteps of her Civil Engineer Dad. She had an ‘ah ha’ moment when she saw not only could he build and design the deck on the back of their house he could also build and design commercial buildings of grand scale.

Rebecca will be entering her senior year at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She loves calculus and is applying all those theories toward her Civil Engineering degree with a lot of focus on Structural. With her degree in hand, she’s hoping to work on those grand scale commercial structures, maybe bridge or roadway, but a residential home too.

Rebecca was born and raised in Utah and she and her Medical School student husband are juggling classes and internships. Congratulations Rebecca. We are proud to invest in your education and future. And, we look forward to following your projects this Fall once school is back underway.