Louisiana Universities Take the Lead In Civil Engineering
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The University of New Orleans, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, each made announcements this past week regarding infrastructure and civil engineering.
Green Infrastructure, Stormwater Management, Coastal Erosion and Sustainability Initiatives are All on Tap.
First, Gov. John Bel Edwards joined Dr. Jay Clune, president of Nicholls State University and Chip Kline, head of the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority (CPRA) to create a new coastal studies center at Nicholls.
The center will focus on research in the Terrebonne and Atchafalaya Basins in order to aid the implementation of integrated coastal protection projects in the region.
Nicholls also announced it will partner with UNO in a joint to create a defined path for Nicholls students to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering from UNO. The agreement also lays out the courses that UNO students can take at Nicholls in order to obtain a professional land surveyor certification.
And, … the University of Louisiana at Lafayette made a splash with its storm water management plan.
Its plan — dubbed, The Ripple Effect: Community Cultivated, Regionally Replicated — won the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2018 Campus RainWorks Challenge in the Master Plan category. Forty-nine colleges and universities participated in the competition.
The plan outlines campus “green infrastructure” initiatives. The term refers to processes designed to decrease, slow and filter water that flows into drainage systems from buildings, streets and sidewalks — stormwater management, in a nutshell.
Green infrastructure, flood control, and stormwater management are pressing concerns for residents, engineers, designers and developers across south Louisisna. And now, … thanks to changing construction regulations geared toward sustainable building practices, said Gretchen LaCombe Vanicor, director of UL Lafayette’s Office of Sustainability, there seems to be an increased focus.
Methods being implemented or planned at ULL include creating bioswales, installing rainwater collection systems, and using permeable paving and building materials.
The university cited unprecedented flooding in August 2016 that swamped 56 of 64 parishes in Louisiana, killed 13 people and caused billions of dollars in damage. In south Louisiana, more than 30 inches of rain fell. The deluge, which the National Weather Service characterized as a 1,000-year flood, left the state reeling.
“The flood demonstrated that our region – like many – can’t adequately handle extreme rain events,” said Vanicor. “The Ripple Effect is designed to make our campus a ‘living lab’ for green infrastructure strategies that will benefit and influence public officials, developers, businesses and homeowners.”
Student volunteers collaborating with the Office of Sustainability and the Office of Facility Management have installed two bioswales. One sits between Burke-Hawthorne and V.L. Wharton halls. Another is between Oliver and Madison halls. Construction of detention and retention ponds also are in the plans.
Future phases of ULL’s stormwater management master plan include constructing sidewalks and parking lots with permeable pavement that absorbs rainwater instead of repelling it. Rainfall absorbed by permeable pavement eventually seeps into the ground, which lessens runoff from cascading onto rain-saturated green spaces.
A longer-range project involves installation of an aquifer storage and recovery system – a specialized well that holds excess rainwater. The stored water can be injected into the Chicot Aquifer.
Water is being pumped from the massive underground layer of water in southwest Louisiana more quickly than it can be replaced by nature. Without a steady supply of freshwater, saltwater is infiltrating the aquifer from coastal areas.
The Nicholls State Coast Studies Center
Nicholls State University in Thibodaux will operate the coastal studies center, in partnership with the state-run Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. CPRA chief Chip Kline and Nicholls State President Jay Clune made the announcement on April 22nd.
The center will be the closest facility of its kind to the Gulf of Mexico. Students will create models and focus on bringing resources from the Atchafalaya Basin to the Terrebonne Basin, where sediment loss is causing land to wither at record rates.
“This is the beginning of a partnership where we can focus our attention on the Atchafalaya River and the potential for it to be a restoration tool for the Terrebonne Basin,” said Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards. “The Terrebonne Basin has the highest rate of land loss of any basin on our coast, and it presents some of the most difficult conditions for us to implement projects.”
Nicholls State University is located in the epicenter for coastal restoration with the area losing more coastal land than anywhere else on the planet.
“Nicholls State University, more so then any other University in our state, serves the people and collegiate student population of the Atchafalaya and Terrebonne Basins, as well as the river parishes.” said Nicholls Alum and State Senator, Norby Chabert, “It is the ideal location and partnership for this important initiative.”
UNO & Nicholls Form Joint Venture
The University of New Orleans and Nicholls State University have signed an agreement to create a defined path for Nicholls students to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering from UNO. The agreement also lays out the courses that UNO students can take at Nicholls in order to obtain a professional land surveyor certification.
UNO President John Nicklow and Nicholls State President Jay Clune signed an agreement on April 23rd. The agreement creates a pathway for students from Nicholls to easily transition to UNO to complete a bachelor’s degree in the College of Engineering, and for students from UNO to complete courses at Nicholls that would help them attain a professional land surveying certification from the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Survey Board.
Together the institutions will also collaborate on research projects centering around engineering, surveying and environmental issues.
The agreement, which is effective immediately, outlines the specific courses that will transfer between the two universities.
The University of New Orleans has the only civil, electrical and mechanical engineering programs in the greater New Orleans area, as well as one of the few naval architecture and marine engineering programs in the nation. Nicholls State has the only geomatics program in Louisiana.
Says QSM’s Josh Loeske, “These three initiatives are important, vital even, to the future of Louisiana. It’s great for the Universities to take the lead in not only training students, but in moving forward with a progressive mindset as it pertains to infrastructure, costal protection, and sustainability. This gives students across south Louisiana an opportunity to earn civil engineering degrees in state, and hopefully stay in state post-graduation where they can contribute to building flood protection, roadways, and bridges, in our communities.”
QSM is committed to delivering innovative and cost-effective solutions to green infrastructure projects throughout Louisiana.