Oregon State researchers are making sure our landscapes stay healthy for future generations. Assistant professor at Oregon State Meg Krawchuk, along with research associate Ana M.G. Barros, use OSU-developed software to ENVISION a future coexisting with fire.
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Cameron Salvitelli discovered wood science during his second year at Oregon State. He’s proud that despite the time it took for him to find his path, he will graduate in four years.
“Renewable materials sounded so different and unique to me but it also sounded very versatile. There are four unique, customizable options, and I like to have options,” Salvitelli says. “It was easy for me to connect with the teachers and the people around me because we all had a passion for the outdoors and then it stemmed a little more specifically into wood specifically.”
Salvitelli’s favorite part of the program is the hands-on learning.
“You learn a lot of different options, and then you learn about the whole industry and finally you get down to the mechanics of wood and the science behind it and how it works,” he says.
Salvitelli says his senior year is challenging.
“We think about how we feed the industry and how we manufacture, and these are the opportunities on the business side of things. I feel confident in my options for the future,” he says. “Anybody can make money their own way in business but for me it was about finding a passion that I could pursue which matched those business interests.”
Students nervously pace the second-floor knuckle of Richardson Hall on a cool, spring day. Some flit to the walls to make sure their posters are perfectly secured and their models are ready to shine. Others nervously nibble on chips and watermelon.
It’s final exam time, and for students in assistant professor Mariapaola Riggio’s class, that means making a presentation in front of their classmates, other faculty members and industry professionals.
The class, Timber Tectonics in the Digital Age, examines how the design and construction of timber structural systems benefit from digital techniques. Architecture students from the University of Oregon’s School of Design are invited to enroll alongside Oregon State students studying renewable materials, wood science, civil engineering and construction engineering management. All students work collaboratively, as part of a small team, thinking critically about how digital tools might be able to change the wood construction sector.
For their final project, the students were tasked with creating a ‘wood products pavilion’ that might represent the TallWood Design Institute at the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland in 2019. The institute is one of the nation’s top research collaboratives focusing exclusively on the advancement of advanced wood products. The students used parametric techniques to design adjustable forms, and then refined them according to structural analysis information. The final challenge has been to plan the construction process appropriate materials and detailing.
“We’ve had a great partnership,” says Nancy Yen-Wen Cheng, Architecture Department head at the University of Oregon. “And it has been a privilege to co-teach with [Riggio]. She brings knowledge of the latest advances in timber structures and has been insightful about how to employ my digital design specialization.”
Brent Stuntzner of CB Two Architects in Salem agrees. He served as one of the judges of the students’ final projects.
“I’m always really excited to go in and ask the students questions,” Stuntzner says.
Despite their nervousness, the students prevailed and presented thorough and exciting final projects.
“They are full of creative ideas,” says Stuntzner. “And after this class they are prepared to go into a variety of different environments within the construction and wood products industries.”