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From left are Omid Gooranorimi, Carlos Morales, and Guillermo Claure.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (August, 27, 2015)—Students from the College of Engineering and School of Architecture got some real-world experience recently when they spent time at the construction site of the Lake Osceola bridge that will span the lake and give pedestrians an easier route across campus.
Wearing hard hats and sweating under the sweltering sun, the students, under the direction of Antonio Nanni, professor and chair of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, and staff from Moss Construction, helped install reinforcement bars made of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), instead of standard steel. The FRP bars do not corrode easily and stand the test of time.
They also installed 16 sensors that will lie underneath the concrete to monitor the stability of the structure.
“This is part of the research and work that we do in civil engineering,” said Guillermo Claure, a Ph.D. student in engineering. “We get our hands dirty and have the opportunity to carry out real work. It is a great opportunity for us students.”
Slated to open in early October, the 210-foot-long bridge will stretch from the Lakeside Patio to the Billings Walkway that borders the Eaton Residential College parking lot.
For now, it has become a living laboratory for the students who are learning the ins and outs of bridge construction.
“It is great for UM to invest in us this way,” said Omid Goornarorimi, a second-year Ph.D. student in engineering. “These sensors that we are installing will help us monitor the stability of the bridge over time.”
For Italian-born Marco Rossini, a civil engineering student from Politecnico di Milan, who is working on his master’s degree and spending the academic year at UM, the bridge project provides a unique opportunity.
“I would never have this chance back at home,” he said. “I am so grateful to the University of Miami for the chance to get real experience.”
