Geo-technical engineering has definitely been the most unique course I have yet to take at Florida Gulf Coast University. It has with out a doubt made this semester, a very challenging one. This course pushes one to become and think like a real engineer. Dr. Kunberger has a natural act for teaching and is always is upbeat and happy to teach about soil. She requires professional work on every assignment given out but is helpful and available every step of the way. While this class does not assign homework, it is imperative to do most of the learning outside of class, typical of any engineering class at FGCU. Labs and in-class problems do prepare you, however they do not prepare you enough for the quizzes, or quest, as Dr. Kunberger likes to call them. Additional readings must be done in order to fully grasp the teaching objectives. I feel that questions from the "quest" are problems from real life scenarios that one might encounter out in the work field.
Soil is a very fundamental part of any civil engineering project. Any soil that comes from building bridges to designing towers, must be carefully analyzed and examined to make sure the structure is sound. For our discussion lab, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was studied. This really opened my eyes to how much of an impact soil has on everyday objects. It really made me think of how much of an impact Geo-technical engineers have on everyday life without ever really thinking about them. One little miscalculation and you could have a major catastrophe on your hands. Another portion of class that I really enjoyed was the extra credit opportunity given to us. It was extremely educative to see where the core ideas from Geo-Technical come from. Another interesting thing I learned from the extra credit opportunity was how many of these core ideas are not that old and are quite new in terms of other fields in science.
This course was also an adventure, especially when it came to getting down and dirty for various of the labs performed throughout the semester. During the second week of the spring semester, as groups, we were assigned to collect a dirt sample in a Ziploc bag. This dirt would be used throughout the semester for our various portfolio labs. To my surprise it wasn't the only lab that required to get a little dirty. For example, the compaction lab required a lot of elbow grease and was quite labor extensive (for a lab anyways). This lab was lots of fun since it pertains in some ways to my job as a general contractor. Before a house can be built, the foundation must be laid out. This takes a lot of sand and time. However, if the right material is chosen, it cuts back in cost tremendously. It also helps in selecting the right sand for a particular retaining wall, which are a big part of homes even here in South West Florida.
I can say with all certainty that this class has prepared for real life engineering more than any other class. I don't know if that's because of my particular field of work or it is the same opinion for everyone. Its been quite the privilege to have participated in this course. With all honesty I did not think I could like soil this much by the end of the course but Dr. Kunberger has made me have a deep understanding of how it works, performs, and behaves. I can not wait for Geo-Technical Engineering in the Fall semester of 2018.
Soil is a very fundamental part of any civil engineering project. Any soil that comes from building bridges to designing towers, must be carefully analyzed and examined to make sure the structure is sound. For our discussion lab, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was studied. This really opened my eyes to how much of an impact soil has on everyday objects. It really made me think of how much of an impact Geo-technical engineers have on everyday life without ever really thinking about them. One little miscalculation and you could have a major catastrophe on your hands. Another portion of class that I really enjoyed was the extra credit opportunity given to us. It was extremely educative to see where the core ideas from Geo-Technical come from. Another interesting thing I learned from the extra credit opportunity was how many of these core ideas are not that old and are quite new in terms of other fields in science.
This course was also an adventure, especially when it came to getting down and dirty for various of the labs performed throughout the semester. During the second week of the spring semester, as groups, we were assigned to collect a dirt sample in a Ziploc bag. This dirt would be used throughout the semester for our various portfolio labs. To my surprise it wasn't the only lab that required to get a little dirty. For example, the compaction lab required a lot of elbow grease and was quite labor extensive (for a lab anyways). This lab was lots of fun since it pertains in some ways to my job as a general contractor. Before a house can be built, the foundation must be laid out. This takes a lot of sand and time. However, if the right material is chosen, it cuts back in cost tremendously. It also helps in selecting the right sand for a particular retaining wall, which are a big part of homes even here in South West Florida.
I can say with all certainty that this class has prepared for real life engineering more than any other class. I don't know if that's because of my particular field of work or it is the same opinion for everyone. Its been quite the privilege to have participated in this course. With all honesty I did not think I could like soil this much by the end of the course but Dr. Kunberger has made me have a deep understanding of how it works, performs, and behaves. I can not wait for Geo-Technical Engineering in the Fall semester of 2018.