UMass Amherst: Building and Construction Technology » News

Clouston appointed to Editorial Board of ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering

Peggi Clouston — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:49:33 +0000

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has added Peggi Clouston as Associate Editor of their prestigious peer-reviewed Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering.

BCT Student Awards Recipients 2012-2013

Alexander Schreyer — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:33:28 +0000

This year BCT honored the following students at our annual picnic on 5/2.

Congratulations!!!

BCT Outstanding Senior Award:
> Kevin Bernardo

Donald Hyde Memorial Scholarship Fund Hoo-Hoo Award:
> Timothy J. Bemis
> Matt DiBara
> Rori O’Connor
> Clayton Sibley
> Michael R. Varney

Henry E. Zottoli Memorial Scholarship:
> Clayton Sibley

You can find all of the past years’ winners here:

http://bct.eco.umass.edu/academics/student-awards/

Former BCT students featured in Fine Homebuilding video

Alexander Schreyer — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:34:42 +0000

Former BCT students Eric Wilder and Will D’Arrigo explain how to seal leaks in duct seams and how to conduct a duct leakage test in this video from the NESEA 2013 conference, which was featured on the Fine Homebuilding blog.

Support BCT today during #umassgives!

Alexander Schreyer — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:20:01 +0000

It’s on! Until midnight (EDT) tonight (4/30/2013), you’re invited to join UMass Amherst alumni and friends from around the world in our first-ever, exclusive online giving campaign, #umassgives.

Give to UMass Amherst because…

UMassGives Access to scholarships for talented and in-need students
UMassGives Excellence with groundbreaking research and enriched programs
UMassGives Opportunities for study abroad, internships, career development and more

To support BCT:

Visit this page and donate today:

http://bct.eco.umass.edu/about-us/give-to-bct/

Thank You!

Upcoming BCT Seminar: Passive Solar Design in Developing Nations

Alexander Schreyer — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:38:43 +0000

Passive Solar Seminar

1:30-2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Holdsworth Rm. 211,

UMASS Amherst

A conversation on Passive Solar in developing nations with Dr. Komp.

Dr. Komp will discuss the development of low-cost solar technologies throughout third world countries, as well as the use of passive solar to maximize energy efficiency in developed countries.

Dr. Richard Komp, PhD has 50 years of personal and professional experience with solar and other renewable energy technologies. Dr. Komp is the Director and Co-Founder of Skyheat Associates, a nonprofit organization which promotes public awareness and use of solar energy and conservation. His off-grid house, which he built on the coast of Maine, is being established as the Downeast Alternative Design Solar Center, a public charity. He is the author of Practical Photovoltaics: Electricity from Solar Cells, Revised 3^rd Edition, which has been called “the easiest and most complete education on photovoltaics.”

In recent decades, Dr. Komp has dedicated himself to working with low income communities around the world to help them to achieve economic and energy self-sufficiency. He has pioneered PV module production as a cottage industry in many countries, including Nicaragua, Mexico, South Africa, Costa Rica, Honduras, Chile, Greece, Columbia, Brazil, Cuba, San Andres, India, Ghana, Niger, France, Haiti, Peru, Mali, Rwanda, Pakistan and the USA.

German companies present energy-efficient building technologies at BCT

Alexander Schreyer — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:54:29 +0000

As part of the Innovation Seminars series organized by the German-American chamber of commerce, BCT was visited today by Andreas Wagner (a Professor from Karlsruhe, Germany), Pete Warren (representing Wagner Solar) and Matt Capone (representing Schöck USA). The speakers presented various energy efficient building technologies as well as gave an overview of the German EnOB program.

BCT “Mixer” and Energy-Efficient Building Technology Lecture on 3/1

Alexander Schreyer — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:55:21 +0000

This Friday, BCT will be hosting two interesting events: A “mixer” at 9:30 am for BCT friends, alumni, current students and faculty to socialize over a cup of coffee. This will be followed by a talk on energy-efficient building technologies at 11:15 am.

The talk, organized by the German-American chamber of commerce, features a speaker from the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology and company representatives from Wagner Solar and Schoeck USA.

If you are interested in attending either one of these interesting events, please follow the RSVP link in the following PDF:

March 1 event information

Clouston working with Lamboo Inc. to advance structural use of laminated bamboo

Peggi Clouston — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:32:07 +0000

Peggi Clouston is working together with Lamboo Inc. to determine key information to advance the design of laminated bamboo connections. Read more…

Schreyer Receives 2012 CNS College Outstanding Service/Outreach Award

Alexander Schreyer — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:12:12 +0000

Alexander C. Schreyer, Lecturer and Assistant Program Director in BCT, received the UMass College of Natural Sciences (CNS) 2012 Outstanding Service/Outreach Award. This award honors his work spearheading various projects that provided exceptional service to UMass in the fields of promotion, campus planning, alumni relations, public outreach and administration.

New Book by UMass Amherst’s Schreyer Expands Understanding of Architectural Computer-Aided Design Software

Alexander Schreyer — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:08:33 +0000

AMHERST, Mass. – Alexander C. Schreyer, assistant director and lecturer of the building and construction technology (BCT) program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and faculty member in the architecture + design program, has released a book on SketchUp, a popular three dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software, titled “Architectural Design with SketchUp.”

Published and released as paperback and e-book editions, the book is now available through online and local bookstores. SketchUp is a popular three dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software owned by Trimble Navigation Ltd of Sunnyvale, Calif.

Schreyer has taught courses focusing on SketchUp and other 3D CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to students in the BCT and other programs since 2003. His courses include construction materials and methods, wood properties, advanced topics in “CAD and Tectonics 3,” the capstone structural course for the master’s of architecture program at UMass Amherst. He also has authored various plugins for SketchUp and is a regular beta-tester for this software.

“I realized that while many students and professionals were very comfortable learning SketchUp’s basics, more advanced topics such as rendering, plugins or geometry scripting were unknown to many of them,” said Schreyer.

This book, he adds, remedies this shortcoming by providing instruction and tutorials for such varied topics as:

Component-based modeling for assembly, scheduling and collaborative design
Modeling with a BIM approach
Using plugins for 3D modeling, fabrication, data integration and analysis (e.g. for building energy efficiency analysis)
Photorealistic rendering in SketchUp using a variety of currently available software
Enhancing renderings with Photoshop, and combining with hand-drawn content
Creating complex geometry using Ruby coding

Schreyer describes that these are complemented by an introductory chapter, which serves as a SketchUp refresher. Features of the book, he adds, include:

Easy-to-follow tutorials that describe common or advanced processes and can either be used as presented or adapted easily to match the reader’s needs
Basic concepts and background information located in sidebars for easy reference
End-of-chapter exercises for self-led practice work or class assignments
Full-color illustrations throughout, demonstrating photo-realistic renderings and tutorials
A robust companion website that includes helpful videos, sample files and plug-ins

Originally created by @Last, a Boulder, Colo. company owned for several years by Google, SketchUp recently has been acquired by Trimble Navigation Ltd., a company known for Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) hardware and software, according to Schreyer.

“SketchUp’s popularity has been fuelled by its availability as a free version in addition to a more complete, commercial Pro version,” said Schreyer. “It is used in small and large AEC firms during many different stages of building planning and also by hobbyists for anything from renovation planning and woodworking to robot building.

Read more about Schreyer on the UMass Amherst Environmental Conservation website at http://eco.umass.edu/people/faculty/schreyer-alexander-c/. More about his book, “Architectural Design with SketchUp,” is available at the John Wiley & Sons website at http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118123093,descCd-buy.html. Schreyer also blogs at http://www.alexschreyer.net, a popular resource for information on AEC/CAD and wood design topics.