Glunt Fellows

Brennan Glantz (1995-1997)

Brennan Glantz was the first Glunt Fellow and held Glunt Fellowship for two years. Brennan graduated in August 1997, having completed his M.Sc. thesis titled Design and Construction of a Performance Test Facility for Building Enclosures. Brennan Glantz currently resides in State College, PA, with his wife Jennifer and 3 year old son Van. He is a licensed engineer (PE) and operates two small businesses, Engineering Projects Incorporated, and Bosak Construction. Engineering Projects Incorporated was founded by Brennan in 2001 and employs a staff of two additional engineers (both PSU graduates of the PHRC program) who design high performance residential and light commercial structures, ultra-efficient geothermal HVAC systems, innovative storm water collection systems, and cost-effective land plans. Bosak Construction, founded by Philip J. Bosak in 1970, has been the definitive symbol of first class construction in the Centre Region for nearly four decades. Brennan assumed control of the company as President in 2006, and works daily to maintain uncompromising quality standards while implementing the latest innovations in geothermal residential energy, green materials, and building science.

Brennan serves on the Board of Directors for the Builders Association of Central PA, and is the Chairman of the Green Building Committee. In 2009 his companies designed and built the first 2 homes to be certified Green in Centre County. One project won the "Best Overall" award at the annual Parade of Homes, while the other received the Builders Association's coveted award for "Project of the Year."

Article about Brennan Glantz

Edward Bosack (1997-1999)

Edward Bosack III started his M. Sc. degree program in September 1997. Ed worked on a PHRC-funded project that addressed the implications of using housewrap (instead of building paper) in residential buildings. Edward is a Project Manager with Alfred Benesch & Company working primarily on large scale roadway projects throughout Pennsylvania for PENNDOT and the PA Turnpike. Primary responsibilities include structural design and management of bridge/structure replacement projects. Benesch represents numerous small Townships and Municipalities in the Schuylkill, Berks and Luzerne County region of Pennsylvania. As part of our representation we assist small municipalities with their subdivision reviews, zoning issues, and items associated with the Uniform Construction Code. Founded in 1946, Alfred Benesch & Company is a full service engineering firm providing civil, structural, environmental, and municipal engineering services as well as planning and surveying to all levels of government and the private sector. Benesch currently operates in six locations located throughout the United States: Chicago, IL; Lansing, MI; Kenosha, WI; Pottsville, PA; Hazleton, PA; and Allentown, PA.

Benjamin Wisniewski (1999-2000)

Benjamin Wisniewski was graduate student in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He worked on composite-wood-based floor systems under the supervision of Harvey Manbeck. Mr. Wisniewski is employed by Parsons Corporation, a multidiscipline engineering and construction company with offices throughout the world. He has been working on the Santiago Calatrava design of the new World Trade Center (WTC) Transportation Hub in New York City (NYC) for the past two years as a Senior Structural Engineer responsible for design, coordination, preparation of contract documents, and cost estimation. The project consists of a complex steel and concrete design integrating structural systems from various buildings (including the Freedom Tower and WTC Memorial), NYC subway lines, and state and city streets. Mr. Wisniewski has been actively involved in the professional engineering community as evident by his recent election to the Board of Directors of the Structural Engineers Association of New York.

Julie Masser Ballay (2001-2002)

Julie Masser was a graduate student in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. She worked on truss-plate connections under the supervision of Harvey Manbeck. With support from the Glunt Endowment administered by the National Housing Endowment, Julie was funded to attend two professional meetings. Julie is a Structural Frame Engineer for iLevel by Weyerhaeuser, an all-in-one residential wood products business. iLevel sells an array of wood products, consisting mainly of structural composite lumber, dimension lumber and engineered wood panels. Her main responsibility is the verification of product placement and design of our value-added products within sealed structural framing plans for residential and small commercial construction. She is also involved in the development of design aids to assist in the specification of new products and new product applications, such as TJ Tall Wall Systems, TJ Roof Systems, and TJ Shear Panels. Most recently, Julie has been a part of a team of engineers and designers that are testing a new whole-house modeling and design software application known as Javelin. This testing involves verifying the structural analysis and design of members, as well as load development through the structure conforms to engineering practice and code applications..

Joseph Pinon (2002-2003)

Joseph Piñon was a graduate student in Architectural Engineering. Joseph worked with Eric Burnett on the potential for ventilation drying of exterior wall systems. I have been working for SGH for the past 2-1/2 years in their Building Technology department. It is a great job with a great company. We work for developers, builders, contractors, architects, building management owners, universities, etc. We are hired to do anything from historic preservation, to reviewing and providing details for the various building envelope systems such as roofing, wall systems, plaza systems, and below-grade waterproofing. About half my day is in the office reviewing construction documents and sketching details; the other half is out on construction sites reviewing installation of waterproofing, claddings, windows, roofing, etc. Most of our work is commercial, institutional, or multi-family condominiums but we do get hired for high-end residential projects. One of the great things about my job is that I get to see so many buildings from design, to breaking ground, to completion. At any time I am working on 10 to 15 projects. I am very thankful for the education and skills I learned at Penn State and through the PHRC. I had a head start on many of the engineers because I knew what flashing was and had learned how the structure interacts with all the other systems such as HVAC, waterproofing, insulation, etc.

Xing Shi (2003-2004)

Xing Shi, a Ph.D. student in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Xing worked with Eric Burnett on an ASHRAE and NSF funded project on the drying of wall systems. Xing is currently working as a graduate engineer with Structural Diagnostics Division in Walter P. Moore & Associates, Inc. Walter P. Moore is a national structural engineering and consulting firm with the headquarters in Houston. His work includes:

o Investigating problems related to structures, building enclosures, and other built facilities for both residential and commercial construction.
o Designing various types of structures.
o Developing repair plan.
o Providing construction administration and quality control services.
Providing litigation support needed in construction disputes and insurance claims.

Jesse Burow (2004-2005)

Jesse Burow, a graduate student in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Jesse worked with Harvey Manbeck on Lateral Buckling of Composite Wood I-Joists. Jesse currently works in the Oakland, MD office of Rigidply Rafters, Inc. They are a manufacturer of metal-plate-connected wood roof and floor trusses as well as AITC certified glulam. This year is the 38th year for their Oakland, MD plant and 51st year for their Richland, PA plant. He is primarily involved with the design and layout of metal-plate-connected wood roof and floor trusses in residential applications. They provided products for projects ranging from simple additions to 10,000+ square foot homes as well as agricultural and commercial projects. He is also able to work on the full frame analysis and drafting of post-frame buildings through their Blue Chip Structures design service. He has been with Rigidply Rafters since leaving Penn State in March of 2005. He has since built a home in Friendsville, MD, where he resides with his wife whom he met at Penn State while working on his master's thesis.

Katie Blansett (2006-2007)

After finishing her Master's degree, Katie Blansett worked with a water resources consulting firm for a year before deciding that she wanted toreturn to graduate school. Ms. Blansett is currently in her second year of a PhD program in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Her research involves collecting and analyzing water quantity and quality data from five urban watersheds in a karst region. She is also using EPA SWMM to model and predict both the flow and quality of stormwater runoff from the five watersheds with different land uses/levels of urbanization. She hopes that her research will provide a better understanding of the hydrologic processes in a karst region and will influence policy by helping to establish realistic expectations for water quality control.

Article about Katie Blansett

Maral Amini (2007 - 2009)

Maral is currently working on her Doctorate degree in Civil Engineering, and her thesis 'Predicting pressure distribution for roof of low-rise structures, and developing a methodology for reliability assessment of typical North American roofs.' Prior to moving to State College , she worked for the 'Massachusetts Highway Department' as a structural engineering in the bridge section. Her daily tasks included reviewing construction drawings, writing special provisions for consultants, performing design checks of calculations, and inspection of I-90 and I-93 tunnels after the ceiling collapse at the Central Artery.

Tanya Myers (2007 - 2009)

Tanya is currently residing in Northern New Jersey with her husband. She graduated with her Master's in Structural Engineering in May 2009 and then married in June 2009. Her thesis project was on the code aspects of wind loads on low-rise buildings. She is working as a Structural Engineer at The Louis Berger Group in Morristown, NJ gaining experience towards her Professional Engineering License. Currently she is working on the widening projects of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, as well as designing culverts and single span bridges in South Eastern Pennsylvania.

Brian Wolfgang (2008 - 2009)

Brian is currently in the M.S. program at Penn State in Architectural Engineering. He received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Penn State in the Spring of 2008. Brian also received the housing certificate from Penn State as an undergraduate. He is currently working in the Residential Construction Research Group on a project involving imperfectly protected below-grade walls with interior insulation. As a Glunt Fellow, Brian has been able to attend the 2009 International Builders Show and become more involved with the residential industry. Brian was also awarded the PHRC Fellowship for 2009-10, which will allow him to work with the PHRC and industry directly.

For information, contact:
Dr. Bohumil Kasal
Bernard and Henrietta Hankin Chair of Residential Building Construction

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