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BY JOSH KJENNER
University of Alberta
Student Contributor
(Engineering)
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Editor’s Note: Josh Kjenner is this year’s University
of Alberta Faculty of Engineering student contributor to
The PEGG. He’ll graduate in May from the co-op program
with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.
Josh, who’s from Fort Saskatchewan, plays a number
of sports, including hockey, slow-pitch, golf and volleyball.
He also writes for The Gateway – and admits to “solving
second-order multi-variable differential equaitions late
into the night.”
While strolling about the University of Alberta campus,
one comes across a number of things. There are students avoiding
homework by playing Frisbee, students avoiding homework by
playing cards, students avoiding homework by doing nothing,
and, increasingly, there are cranes.
At the bottom of two of these cranes is the almost completed
Allan P. Markin/Canadian Natural Resources Natural Resources
Engineering Facility. NREF, as it’s known, will be
the new home of the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, and all of its associated divisions.
The completion of this building marks a very exciting time
for the department. First, this $65-million building contains
over 100 research and teaching laboratories in its nine storeys
and 30,000 square metres of floor space, giving students
more room than ever. Also included within this space are
laser, drilling, rock fracture mechanics and hydraulics laboratories,
among others.
One interesting feature of NREF is its “heat wheels.” There
is one of these devices in each of the four air-handling
units in the building, and they allow for some of the heat
from exhaust air to be recycled.
Also, as could be expected, this facility is highly connected:
high-speed Internet access is available throughout. In fact,
there is enough data cable contained within NREF to stretch
all the way from the beautiful U of A campus to the U of
C.
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| Mike Badry did a co-op stint working on the project
management side of the faculty’s next new complex – the
Allan P. Markin/Canadian Natural Resources Natural Resources
Engineering Facility. |
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this building, at least
from the department’s perspective, is that all of the
divisions within civil and environmental engineering will
now be under one roof. Petroleum, mining, environmental,
geotechnical, water resources, structural and construction
engineering, previously housed in 10 buildings, will all
be calling NREF home.
Myke Badry (civil co-op, ’05) spent his last co-op
term working for Stantec Consulting Ltd. on the project management
of NREF. When asked what some of the most important features
of the new building were from an undergraduate perspective,
he immediately mentioned the space allotted for students. “For
student groups and study space, it’s excellent.”
For people outside of the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, the thing that comes to mind about NREF is the
striking and visual appeal of the building. “It’s
one of the most architecturally pleasing buildings on campus,
inside and out,” says Mr. Badry.
Mr. Badry is also happy to see the many branches of the
department finally being able to call one building home. “It’s
beneficial because everyone can draw upon shared resources,” he
says.
The construction of NREF marks another major achievement
for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta.
With the recent construction of the Engineering Teaching
and Learning Centre, and the Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Facility, the construction of the National Institute
for Nanotechnology currently in progress, it is a truly exciting
time to be an engineering student at the U of A.
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