Media Advisory: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Hosts Engineering Day for Sixth Graders

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHO:  Engineering firmSimpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH) and sixth graders from High Rock School in Needham, MA.

WHAT:  Ever wonder what the cables on Boston's Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge feels like as it supports the weight of rush-hour traffic?

For sixth graders at the High Rock School in Needham, MA, SGH will be answering this question and others when they visit for Engineering Day. Students attending the fourth annual Engineering Day will participate in seven interactive sessions that demonstrate engineering principles such as tension, compression, heat transfer, and material strength. Through a hands-on learning environment created by technical professionals, students will learn how mathematics and science is applied in the real world. Please see the schedule below for a breakdown of the seven sessions.

The day is part of SGH's participation in the Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology (LIFT²) program, which promotes careers in science, technology, engineering, and math to Massachusetts students.

WHERE:  Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., 41 Seyon St., Building 1, Suite 400, Waltham, MA             

WHEN:  Monday, March 15, 2010, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.   

The following is a breakdown of the seven sessions:

Session 1 - Beam Theory and Construction
Presenter: Jennifer Grub, Staff II - Structures

This session will assess the concepts of tension and compression as well as idealized modeling of a beam intended for flexural loading. Students will divide into two teams to construct a composite beam using the concepts.

Session 2 - Physical Testing in the Lab
Presenter: Art Davies, Laboratory Manager/Materials

This session will demonstrate the concepts of strength, compression, and stiffness for various materials commonly used in buildings:

• Test samples in tension and compression to reinforce concepts learned in the Beam Theory session.
• Test a foam beam in bending to illustrate how a beam in flexure has tension forces in the bottom and compression forces in the top.
• Test the composite beams that each team constructs in the Beam Theory session.

Session 3 - Building Science - Heat Flow
Presenter: Peter Babaian, Senior Project Manager

This session will examine the three mechanisms of heat transfer: conduction, radiation, and convection. Each of the principles of conduction and convection will be demonstrated, and the results of the heat transfer will be measured with an infrared camera.

Session 4 - Rope Access, Pulleys, and Cables
Presenter: Susan Knack-Brown, Senior Project Manager

This session will take place at SGH's rope-access training tower, where students will participate in a demonstration of how rope-access gear works and how engineers use it. Students will also experiment directly with the gear and its components.

Session 5 - A Tale of Two "Human" Bridges
Presenter: MIchael Tecci, Staff II - Structures, and David Almeida - Co-op

In this station, students will make two different bridge structures by being the structures themselves. This way, they will feel the loads and understand how the structure behaves. Both bridge structures will use tension and compression elements.

Session 6 - Understanding the Effects of Fire
Presenter: Kevin LaMalva, Staff I - Fire Safety

This session will demonstrate computer-modeling techniques that engineers use as part of estimating the effect of fire exposure on a given building environment.

Session 7 - Material Fracture
Presenter: Simon Bellemare, Senior Staff I - Materials

This session will examine material fracture. Students will observe fractured surfaces of broken structural components that SGH has obtained through project work. They will draw parallels between material fracture modes such as brittle and ductile fracture and crack formation and every day, recognizable situations.

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 Media Contact:  Franceen Shaughnessy, Corporate Marketing Specialist, fashaughnessy@sgh.com, 781-907-9114,

About Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH) is a national engineering firm that designs, investigates, and rehabilitates structures and building enclosures. Our award-winning work encompasses building, transportation, water/wastewater, and nuclear/science/defense projects throughout the United States and in more than 30 other countries. 

SGH has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.sgh.com.

About LIFT²

Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology (LIFT²) offers middle school and high school math, science, and technology teachers a research-based professional learning program that integrates graduate coursework with authentic and relevant externships in "innovative" industries in Massachusetts. LIFT² has been sponsored through three pilot cycles by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and funded through the No Child Left Behind Act. More than 40 corporate sponsors, to date, have provided equipment grants and sponsored teacher externships for more than 80 teachers. LIFT² teachers have completed externships in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, process manufacturing, environmental services, financial services, and more. For more information, visit www.lift2.org.