Guest Lectures

GUEST LECTURE SERIES – BUILDING FAILURES
AE Newsletter - Fall/Winter 2000
Gary S. Wentzel. P.E. (AE ’95) and Matthew C. Farmer, P.E. of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.(WJE), Fairfax, Virginia, provided a lecture on “Thin Stone Cladding Failures,” on September 27, 2000, as part of the AE 537- Building Failures and Forensic Techniques Guest Lecture Series. The featured project was the stone façade replacement of a ten-story office building in Arlington, Virginia (cover photo). The scope of the project involved the removal of granite panels due to the failure of existing anchors, installation of an innovative aluminum extrusion channel support system, and re-setting of the original granite cladding panels from the building exterior (shown below). The project was completed while maintaining 100% building occupancy. The Building Failures and Forensic Techniques course was developed by Prof. Kevin Parfitt as a means of learning about building and building assembly performance by examining a variety of failure information collections. A popular feature of the course is a series of guest lectures by professionals well known for their work in building performance. In addition to the WJE lecture noted above, the following is a list of the guests that participated during the fall 2000 semester Building Failures course: Bennett Levin, P.E., Adjunct Professor of Architectural Engineering, Penn State University, “Philadelphia’s Collapsing Buildings, The Story Behind The Crisis.” J. Gilbert Kaufman, President, Structural Engineering Corporation (Division of Atlantic Engineering Services), Pittsburgh, PA; "Investigation and Repair of Stone Masonry and Historic Stone Buildings." Dr. Linda Hanagan, P.E., Assistant Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, Penn State, “Design for Serviceability,” including “Design and Active Control for Floor Vibrations,” Lecture and laboratory demonstration. James C. Myers, P.E., Associate, (AE ’83), Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Boston MA, “A Case Study of Skills Used in Forensic Engineering,” featuring a case history presentation of the Calvert Building Façade Investigation and Repair. Daniel Cuoco, P.E., President, LZA Technology, “Lessons Learned From Major Building Failures.” Eric Valentino (AE '96) and Bill Small, P.E., Facility Engineering Associates, P.C., (FEA), Fairfax, VA, “Concrete Deterioration.” Dr. John J. Janowiak, Associate Professor of Wood Products Engineering, Penn State, “Types and Causes of Deterioration of Wood Structural Elements,” and site visit to historic Millbrook Nature Center.

GUEST LECTURE SERIES – BUILDING FAILURES

AE Newsletter - Fall/Winter 2000

Gary S. Wentzel. P.E. (AE ’95) and Matthew C. Farmer, P.E. of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.(WJE), Fairfax, Virginia, provided a lecture on “Thin Stone Cladding Failures,” on September 27, 2000, as part of the AE 537- Building Failures and Forensic Techniques Guest Lecture Series. The featured project was the stone façade replacement of a ten-story office building in Arlington, Virginia (cover photo). The scope of the project involved the removal of granite panels due to the failure of existing anchors, installation of an innovative aluminum extrusion channel support system, and re-setting of the original granite cladding panels from the building exterior (shown below). The project was completed while maintaining 100% building occupancy.

The Building Failures and Forensic Techniques course was developed by Prof. Kevin Parfitt as a means of learning about building and building assembly performance by examining a variety of failure information collections. A popular feature of the course is a series of guest lectures by professionals well known for their work in building performance.

In addition to the WJE lecture noted above, the following is a list of the guests that participated during the fall 2000 semester Building Failures course:

Bennett Levin, P.E., Adjunct Professor of Architectural Engineering, Penn State University, “Philadelphia’s Collapsing Buildings, The Story Behind The Crisis.”
J. Gilbert Kaufman, President, Structural Engineering Corporation (Division of Atlantic Engineering Services), Pittsburgh, PA; "Investigation and Repair of Stone Masonry and Historic Stone Buildings."
Dr. Linda Hanagan, P.E., Assistant Professor, Department of Architectural Engineering, Penn State, “Design for Serviceability,” including “Design and Active Control for Floor Vibrations,” Lecture and laboratory demonstration.
James C. Myers, P.E., Associate, (AE ’83), Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Boston MA, “A Case Study of Skills Used in Forensic Engineering,” featuring a case history presentation of the Calvert Building Façade Investigation and Repair.
Daniel Cuoco, P.E., President, LZA Technology, “Lessons Learned From Major Building Failures.”
Eric Valentino (AE '96) and Bill Small, P.E., Facility Engineering Associates, P.C., (FEA), Fairfax, VA, “Concrete Deterioration.”
Dr. John J. Janowiak, Associate Professor of Wood Products Engineering, Penn State, “Types and Causes of Deterioration of Wood Structural Elements,” and site visit to historic Millbrook Nature Center.

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