Industry Leader – Guest Lecturer – UCSD

D.H. Charles Engineering, Inc. (DHC) was invited to be a guest lecturer for roughly 120 graduating seniors of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Structural Engineering department. With an established passion for educating the construction industry in engineering challenges and safety, DHC was more than happy to accept the invitation, and had the perfect candidate to send to the classroom.

Chong Kim, P.E., a senior engineer and alumni of the same program at UCSD, has worked on thousands of construction engineering designs throughout the US and Canada in his career at DHC. He took that experience on a wide variety of projects, and developed a presentation titled Temporary Structures and Construction Engineering Industry, to present to students taking the SE140 course.

SE140: Structures and Materials Laboratory, introduces students to real world challenges and applications of structure design, including: Problem formulation, concept design, configuration design, project management, team working, ethics, and human factors.  –UCSD Course Curriculum

The variety of situations and challenges faced on a construction site can be overwhelming, with many codes and design approaches never discussed at the University. Therefore, the presentation narrowed the field of construction engineering and focused in on the following key areas:

• Excavation Shoring
• Construction Slopes
• and Slope Stability Analysis
• Tunneling and Boring
• Scaffold Structures
• Bridge Jacking and Support
• Suspended Platforms
• Crane and Rigging
• False/Formwork
• Structural Shoring
• Re-shore
• Fall Protection
• Rebar Cage Stabilization

Most students do not have the real-world experiences that come with time and that are hard to find in text books, so it was important to illustrate each subject area with as much photographs, colorful anecdotes, and challenges that were faced on particular projects.

It was important to Chong that he connected with the students on a personal level, as he could clearly recall sitting in their position all those years ago. He focused on the challenges and fears all young professional faces when starting their first jobs, as well as how to evolve as the their careers take them in different directions. But most importantly, he wanted to exemplify how important it is to continue to take on challenges and overcome their professional and personal fears. Presenting in front of peers was a first for Chong, and something he was very proud of accomplishing.

There were many insightful questions from students throughout the presentation, showing that they were truly interested in and engrossed with the subject matter. The open discussions covered many aspects of construction engineering, codes, loads, workplace environment, as well as general challenges facing engineers in today’s world.

Evoking passion for what we do as engineers is the most important thing an educator can do, and based on the enthusiasm and response of the students, we are hopeful we were able to accomplish this. We want to extend a special thank you to Professor Lelli Van Den Einde, Ph.D. for bringing us into her classroom and organizing the guest lecturer opportunity, and wish the best of luck to the class of 2016!