Contact: Bob Ratliff
A group of Mississippi State University civil engineering majors is applying what they've learned in the classroom to a real-world situation.
The five students are the winners of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 2002 Southeast Region Value Engineering College Initiative. Each is receiving $1,000 plus a trip to Savannah, Ga., to present their report on applying value engineering principles to the Corps' $8.7 million project to make the dams protecting the Savannah area more earthquake resistant.
Team members include William N. Bradley, Stephen L. Corley and Stacy D. Humes, all of Vicksburg, Julia F. Haydel of Nesbit and Lloyd E. Seymour of Biloxi. All are seniors except Humes, who is pursuing a master's degree.
Their first-place achievement is based on individual academic performances, a written report on their civil engineering activities outside the classroom and other extracurricular activities.
Personnel at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, a U.S. Department of Energy facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., made the selection from entries received from schools in the Southeast with civil engineering programs.
Team adviser Ralph Sinno, a professor of civil engineering, will accompany the group.
"Value engineering is the study of ways to improve performance and reduce costs through the use of alternative methods and materials," Sinno said. "This is an opportunity for the students to sharpen their skills and learn more about the operations of the Corps of Engineers."
A corps officer recently visited the Starkville campus to give team members 12 hours of value engineering instruction. The students also have reviewed plans, specifications and reports for the Savannah project.