Back to School Again, YEA!!!!!

Many of you may not know that “in my spare time” (LOL), I serve as an Adjunct Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology in the Civil Engineering Technology Department.

I have been teaching the Design of Water Treatment Plants since 2003, the Design of Wastewater Treatment Plants in 2005, and the Principles of Water and Wastewater Transport Class since 2007.

This Fall 2011 my Principles of Water and Wastewater Transport class has been split into two Sections due to the overwhelming number of students signed up for the class.  This class teaches them about the basics of water distribution systems and sanitary sewer layout and design, storm water management and characteristics of pumps and pump selection.  They also attend a "mandatory" field trip to Blair Supply Corporation, a local supplier of pipes and valves, where they get a "hands on" look at the water and sewer materials that one day they will use and specify.  The final project consists of having them prepare a “Submittal Package” for a water system. 

On the first day of class each year I share with them my “Elevator Story” and had each of them prepare their own one page elevator story.  The “Elevator Story” is the story you would tell someone if you had 60 seconds with them “one on one” perhaps in an elevator.  The stories were very interesting to say the least.  I learned an awful lot about each student in a very short period of time.

On the first day of class I invited them to take off their hats, turn off their cell phones and not text in class.  I created a rule that if they were not going to make it to class, they were to either call me, text me or email me.  These rules helped them build accountability for themselves and somewhat prepare them for the working world to come.

Each class I share with them a “ TIP of the Day”.  Most days it was about life experiences and rarely directly related to engineering.  However, they learned these TIPS of the day do relate to engineering, since as CIVIL ENGINEERS, we are dealing with people all the time.  As the quarter wore on I invited various students to share their TIPS of the Day.  That created some interesting TIPS with lots of laughs.

Although teaching takes a lot of my time and energy, I really enjoy the student interaction, and believe that I bring a perspective to the students that would be missing otherwise.  Assisting these students prepare for their future careers is rewarding and I look forward to following them as they advance in their careers.

So if you are looking for me on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 4 pm to 8 pm that is where I will be, in the classroom.