Monday, March 28, 2016

Garver Gifts $250,000 for U of A Engineering Facility

Garver recently gifted $250,000 toward the construction of a new civil engineering facility at the University of Arkansas.


The Civil Engineering Research and Education Center, or CEREC, will be a 25,000-square-foot facility housing structural engineering research and teaching facilities located at the Engineering Research Center in the Arkansas Technology Park. The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees has approved the issuance of up to $5 million in bonds to match private donations for the project, effectively valuing Garver’s gift at $500,000. The College of Engineering has a goal of raising a total of $5 million in private funds to complete the project.

Kevin Hall, civil engineering department head, explained that the new facility will be a resource for both students and the community.

“We’ve estimated that over the next 25 years, CEREC will serve over 9,000 undergraduate students and 1,750 graduate students,” said Hall. “In addition to that, we expect this facility to generate over $18 million of infrastructure-related research over the next 25 years, providing solutions for local, state and national infrastructure problems.”

Hall describes CEREC as the ultimate “living laboratory” for civil engineering undergraduate students. This aspect of the project will begin even before the building is finished, because civil engineering students will study and participate in the CEREC design and construction process. Once the facilities are complete, CEREC will provide vital opportunities for hands-on experience through laboratory exercises and research activities.

CEREC will also provide Arkansas-based industry, agency and higher-education institutions with a structural engineering laboratory needed to provide research-based solutions for infrastructure needs, as well as the educated workforce to implement those solutions. “Arkansas currently lacks a full-scale, comprehensive structural engineering laboratory,” said Hall. “CEREC will function as a truly statewide resource.”

“We are so excited to partner with Garver in kicking off this important project,” said John English, dean of the College of Engineering. “The creation of safe and robust buildings and structures benefits everyone, and we expect CEREC to open up new opportunities in structural engineering across the state, and to raise the bar when it comes to finding infrastructure solutions. This gift is a big step toward our fundraising goals for this project.”

“For nearly a century, Garver has relied on the skills, character and drive of its staff,” said Dan Williams, president and chief executive officer of Garver. “To invest in an institution like the University of Arkansas College of Engineering is to invest in the quality of our future staff and ultimately, the quality of our nation’s infrastructure.”


“This Civil Engineering Research and Education Center will provide students with the hands-on experience they’ll need in order to better understand the fundamentals of structural engineering,” said Bert Parker, Garver chief administrative officer.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Mizzou Students Visit Garver Bridge Project

More than 50 engineering students from the University of Missouri recently visited the U.S. 69 Missouri River Bridge project to make the connection between what they’ve learned in the classroom to how that knowledge is applied in the real world.


For this project, Garver designed the roadway, the bridge superstructure including the 420-foot navigation span, river piers, and integrated subconsultants into the design team to meet the design demands on a fast-paced timeline. Because the project bridges two states, there was an unusually high number of permits and approvals to obtain—two states, two levee districts, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Students spoke to Garver engineers who worked on the design about some of the issues this project faced.

“It’s great for students to understand how engineering works from the classroom perspective, but coming out to the job site to see the various aspects of how the bridge is constructed is an invaluable experience,” said Kansas City Bridge Team Leader Blake Blakemore.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

ACEC Recognizes Clark Airport Lighting Project

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri recently awarded Garver an Engineering Excellence Award in the Small Projects category for work done on M. Graham Clark Airport’s Runway Lighting Rehabilitation project in Branson, Missouri.


The project goal was to address an ailing runway lighting system, which is a necessity during nighttime flight operations. Careful design consideration of the unique terrain along the runway as well as the rock embankments at each runway end was a must to provide both a safe construction environment as well as a safe and long-lasting finished product. By replacing aging equipment, correcting the lighting layout to the most current FAA standards, designing robust shallow conduit installations, and installing break-away threshold light structures, the safety of nighttime operations has been greatly increased. With a coordinated effort between the airport and Garver, taking innovative approaches to address the complexities of the runway environment and electrical vault building, an aging electrical system has been updated and will offer years of reliable operation. 

To find out what Garver Aviation Electrical Team can do for you, email Bart Gilbreath at WBGilbreath@GarverUSA.com.

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