Dr. Terry Podmore reaches out to Ugandan orphans

Dr. Terry Podmore recently joined a team from Engineering Ministries International, or EMI, working on an orphanage development project in Uganda. EMI (www.emiworld.org) is an organization of Christian engineers, architects and surveyors who, as volunteers, respond to requests for assistance from Christian organizations around the world.

The team worked with Watoto, an organization in Uganda devoted to the care of orphans in that country. Watoto was founded by Gary and Marilyn Skinner in 1994. They look after about 4,000 orphans in four settlements around Kampala, Uganda's capital and one in northern Uganda as an answer to the child soldier problem in that area.

To read Dr. Podmore's article in the Coloradoan, click here

CSU & Simpson Strong-Tie Lead World's Largest Earthquake Shake Table Test in Japan

Colorado State University along with industry leader Simpson Strong-Tie and other partners successfully led the world's largest earthquake shake table test in Japan on Tuesday, July 14, showing that midrise wood-frame buildings can be built to withstand major earthquakes.

"Thorough detailed analysis of the data won't be available for weeks, but scientists are pleased with the initial results," said John van de Lindt, principal investigator on the test and civil engineering professor at Colorado State University.

Van de Lindt has conducted tests over the past three years involving smaller structures at shake tables at CSU and in collaboration with co-investigator A. Filiatrault at the State University of New York-Buffalo in preparation for the capstone test in Japan. The Japan test will enable researchers to confirm that the new design approach meets expectations.

"Previous testing has shown us that our modeling procedures are accurate for low-rise wood-frame buildings, but the test in Japan will confirm new models for mid-rise wood-frame buildings developed at CSU and design approaches developed at Texas A&M University as part of the project," said van de Lindt.

For more information, click here.

Total Water Management" by Dr. Neil Grigg

Global water issues loom large with continued water scarcity, flood damages, pollution, and other problems. Neil Grigg, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State, addressed them with a new book entitled: Total Water Management: Leadership practices for a sustainable future. The book was published in 2008 by the American Water Works Association and introduced at their annual Conference and Exposition, held in June in Atlanta, Georgia.

Total Water Management (TWM) is a framework for principles and practices of sustainable water resources management and is similar to the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management.

The central concepts of TWM are aimed at sustaining use of water and the environment. Dr. Grigg's book includes several chapters aimed directly at this goal. They include: planning and shared governance; triple bottom line reporting; value of water; and environmental stewardship, ethics, and education.