INNOVATIONSf o r f r i e n d s a n d a l u m n i o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f n e b r a s k a P e t e r k i e w i t i n s t i t u t e

saiC PartnershiP a virtual suCCesss tudent s coll abor ate on v irtual modeling projec t

Be careful what you say to Wyatt Suddarth, John Oerter and Matt Morhardt.

They might turn you into an avatar.

Oh, don’t laugh—they can.

then again, avatars and virtual worlds might be just what you want, especially if you’re an employee of the science applications international Corporation (saiC), a fortune 500 company headquartered in mclean, virginia, that in the spring of 2011 gave the now-juniors a chance to work with a virtual world called olive (on-line interactive virtual environment).

the goal of this ongoing research (they’ve now passed the torch on to other members of the olive team) was, according to their precisely worded 4,000-word research paper, “to create a virtual modeling environment where architects and architectural engineers can present building concepts and design options to customers in a way that is

see SAIC pg 3

pK i s tudent s john oer ter and Wyat t suddar th , le f t , accompanied dr. mike mcginnis , far r ight , to the 2012 sc s autumn s imulat ion conference in

san diego, cal i f . , to present the i r paper on model ing in v i r tual wor lds .

t he Pe t er k ie wi t ins t i t u t e | uni v er s i t y of nebr a sk a

dr. mike mcginnis

from the eXeCutive direCtor

although you wouldn’t know it from the recent weather in omaha, spring has definitely “sprung” here at Pki. along with the usual chirping birds, green grass and budding flowers, Pki is experiencing its own renewal, thanks to the renovation project that has been underway since last summer. thanks to the hard work and team effort from kiewit and sons, alley Poyner and uno, (and thanks for the patience and understanding from Pki students, faculty and staff) the final phase of the renovation is at hand. this project helps the institute by expanding research space, enhancing student meeting and collaborative areas and giving a much-needed upgrade to the atrium area.

throughout the sometimes loud and messy renovation process, the institute has shown a “can-do” attitude by continuing its mission. in april, Pki hosted the national association of Counties (naCo) for the first-ever national Cyber symposium. this event brought a nation-wide audience of cyber security professionals and government leaders at all levels to discuss cyber policies and mitigation strategies to keep cyber threats at bay. april also brought our annual student Capstone and research Conference to the institute. this event showcased the best student-led research efforts at Pki from both the College of information science and technology and the College of engineering.

finally, we’ve been doing a lot to get out the word about the opportunities at Pki. we’ve published significant news events on our website and linked-in page, and this re-energized newsletter is just another avenue to spread the word in another sign of the upward momentum of the institute. things are looking up at Pki (and so are enrollments - - up over 3 percent from last year!). if you haven’t had the chance to see the new look, i encourage you to stop by and get a first-hand glimpse of our progress. i hope to see you around the institute someday soon.

sincerely,

dr. mike mcGinnisexecutive director

Calendar of events

april 30, 2013

• Grand reopening event at Pki to celebrate of yearlong building renovations.

june 9 -12, 2013

• 15th annual holland academy of excellence

julY 15 -18, 2013

• Pki academy of Cyber and information assurance

t he Pe t er k ie wi t ins t i t u t e

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the mission of the Peter kiewit institute is to

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of nebraska. the institute does this in two

ways: (1) by educating and developing a high-

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and government needs; and (2) by creating

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research in the institute’s laboratories.

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more easily envisioned by the client.”

in other words, tell me less, show me more. a lot more.

the benefits of such a research partnership were mutual and provided these Pki students internship opportunities, access to real-world problems and the chance to experience the many phases of projects that hinge on cost awareness and on-time deliverables. they were even paid for their work.

as an industry partner, saiC gained access to up-and-coming talent and faculty expertise without having to invest extensively in in-house research.

“working with a business partner like saiC benefitted us because we got real-world experience working on this project, networking and communicating,” said oerter, a Computer science major from hastings, neb.

that experience, all three agreed, will prove

invaluable as they progress in their careers. the opportunity was also noteworthy because most internships, especially those focused on specific academic majors, are usually snatched up by third and fourth-year students, not underclassmen.

suddarth, oerter and morhardt, all three nebraska natives, have become close friends through working together. they even became founding members of Pki’s student chapter of the society of Computer simulation and modeling (sCs) in 2011.

allison baysa, a development/integration engineer with saiC, served as a liaison between saiC and the Pki students and helped oversee their work. baysa recognized early on in the process of working with Pki’s best and brightest that she had a group of shining stars in her employ. shining stars, she added, with gaming experience.

“the neat thing about these kids, because they’re so familiar with gaming, is that there is no such thing as, ‘you can’t do it.’

they’re already familiar with everything that you can do in a virtual world.

“they knew no boundaries.”

the virtual olive world serves a variety of functions. it can be used for different military training objectives, virtual meetings, firefighter training in virtual buildings and other disaster scenarios.

“basically any collaborative situation where people from multiple locations wish to work together in an environment,” said suddarth, an architectural engineering major from york, neb.

suddarth and his colleagues, thanks to their studies in architectural and civil engineering, envisioned a distinct purpose for olive, the development of a building information modeling (bim) application, bim explorer.

“the goal of the bim explorer was to be able to take building plans from software such as autodesk® revit and import them into olive where we could then walk

wyatt suddarth ( junior)

major: architectural engineering

hometown: york, neb.

John oerter ( junior)

major: Computer science

hometown: hastings, neb.

matt morthardt ( junior)

major: Civil engineering

hometown: omaha, neb.

SAIC from cover

see SAIC pg 4

e xecut i ve direc tor mike mcginnis , r ight , meet s w i th ole tha dar rensburg at an icebreaker event a t the 2012 sc s autumn s imulat ion conference in san diego, cal i f .

PKI STUDENT PARTICIPANTS

t he Pe t er k ie wi t ins t i t u t e | uni v er s i t y of nebr a sk a

through our buildings in a 3-d setting with an avatar,” said suddarth. “we also wanted to create the ability to edit our building while in the virtual environment. our mindset was that it is much easier for a typical client to visualize what their building would potentially look like in a virtual setting as opposed to a two-dimensional floor plan drawing.”

the new virtual design environment that this research proposes will ultimately save architects and engineers—and most importantly their clients—time and money.

the group’s research took place in the summer of 2012. they were given their own office space at Pki where they regularly logged 35-40 hour workweeks. their research paper, A System Architecture and Simulation Environment for Building Information Modeling in Virtual Worlds, was submitted to the society of Computer simulation (sCs) and modeling autumn simulation Conference in san diego, Calif. suddarth and oerter attended the conference to represent Pki.

the ongoing partnership, baysa believes, is only starting to bear its fruit. “at a fortune 500 company, we are very interested in how we keep the bright engineering kids here in nebraska and how we hire them when they come out of school,” she said. “this partnership is able to show them what sort of real work they can do and how they can actually use their degrees.

“they’ve been a fabulous team to work with. with all the kids that we’ve had with this partnership, i’d take any of them and hire them in a heartbeat.”

SAIC from pg 3

Pki renovations nearly ComPlete ple a se pardon our dus t—We’re almos t FinisHed.

the Peter kiewit institute’s yearlong renovation project is nearly complete, and faculty, staff, students and visitors are starting to notice.

better yet, the renovation was funded entirely with private money; meaning university coffers were left untouched for this calculated makeover that brings the facility to the cutting edge of changing times and changing technologies.

the renovation process began in January 2010 with 300 people participating in more than 70 stakeholder meetings that helped identify 12 major renovation projects. these projects were formalized in writing, and in January 2011 the board of regents approved the program statement. ultimately, the goal of the renovation is to

make room for additional research space that makes Pki a more attractive institution to garner cutting-edge research projects.

“there were several spaces here in the building that were underutilized, so the board of policy advisors decided that we should start with a renovation and reallocation of space,” said executive assistant amy freking. “and it has grown from there.”

the renovation team—composed of architects, engineers and contractors—was assembled, and construction officially began in July 2012. the team consists of omaha-based alley Poyner macchietto architecture, whose past work includes omaha’s kutak rock building, unmC eye institute and the Criss library and the kiewit building Group, whose past work includes mammel hall and the

PUBLIC AREA before

5 | www.pki.nebraska.edu

holland Performing arts Center.

among the highlights, the renovation includes a Pki social zone with café seating for students, faculty and staff to eat and socialize, the creation of new classrooms and six student breakout rooms for collaborative space and an atrium facelift. a new public computer lab on the first floor was completed in november 2012, and similar lab spaces on the second and third floors were completed this spring.

kiewit building Group has performed most of its work—at least the “noisy” work—during school breaks. on the rare occasion when disruptive work had to be performed during school hours, a process was set up to mitigate the disturbance. “if it was loud and a test was going on, i would get a call, then call somebody else and the noise would stop,” said freking.

“everybody has been very understanding while dealing with the disruptions.”

while final touches on the building won’t be completed until early July, an april 30 grand reopening ceremony will celebrate completion of most of the work. the event will provide a chance to showcase the building to industry partners, Pki supporters and businesspeople looking for interns or first-time hires. highlights of the event include student-led tours and 20” x 30” before-and-after photos that will be on display around the building so visitors can see firsthand the many changes.

PUBLIC AREA after

PKI LOUNGE after

COMPUTER LAB before

t he Pe t er k ie wi t ins t i t u t e | uni v er s i t y of nebr a sk a

smP ComPetition, awards a Great suCCess

two hundred fifty-seven omaha-area middle school and high school students, thursday, april 11, made their way to omaha’s scott Conference Center for the 2013 society of american military engineers (same) student mentoring Program (smP) Competition and awards.

twenty-seven student teams competed in the critical thinking and problem-solving program that challenges students to solve real-world problems of their choice under the direction of a professional employed in the fields of engineering, architecture and related sciences.

since its inception in 1994, the program has helped introduce secondary school students to the many phases of engineering and architectural work such as submitting

written proposals, working as a team, giving oral presentations with the help of visual aids and engaging their problem-solving skills. working with an smP mentor—a professional who works for an engineering firm, architecture firm, government agency, school or university—students are able to understand the job opportunities and complex problems that await them in the professional world after school.

“this gives these kids a real-life run through in the life of an engineer,” said same smP administrator Gail frame. “we even have professional mentors this year who were students in this program at one time.”

those mentors are rebecca Cherney of farris engineering, stephanie Peterson of encompass architecture, aaron van osdel

of the lozier Corporation, duane hodgens of hdr, kyle vohl of e&a Consulting Group and tyler foster from westside high school.

“they’re now coming back and paying it forward, and that is really special,” frame said.

mentors meet weekly with their students to identify problem statements that interest the team and then lead their students through the process of finding a solution. they help students locate research resources and even arrange for meetings with other industry specialists if needed. sometimes they invite their student teams to their offices for some real on-the-job training. it’s all designed to stimulate the students’ minds and open them up to possibilities of engineering and architecture.

this year’s keynote speaker, tom sanders of hdr, challenged the students to explore engineering as a way to solve what is perceived as unsolvable; to seek opportunities and participate in activities in an area of passion.

“to have a speaker who can engage such a varied audience when the kids just want to learn the results of the competition is quite a feat, but tom did it,” said frame.

as for those results, this year’s winnings teams from bryan middle school and skutt Catholic high school took home $1,000, with an additional $1,000 in scholarships going to skutt’s graduating seniors who plan to pursue architecture or engineering.

7 | www.pki.nebraska.edu

navy seal rutherford motivates, insPires

extolling the virtues of a positive attitude, healthy living and self-confidence, navy seal, author, behavioral coach and motivational speaker david rutherford, wednesday, January 16, spoke to Pki scholarship students, faculty and community leaders at the scott Conference Center on the subject of “froglogic.”

the speech was part of the Peter kiewit institute’s ongoing distinguished lecture series. the event was co-sponsored by Pki sponsor Johnson Controls and its vice President Guenther dziuvenis.

an eight-year veteran of the navy special warfare Community, rutherford served honorably as a combat paramedic, operator and instructor.

employing “froglogic,” a mindset that aims to activate an individual’s desire for heightened self-confidence in order to

commit to living a team-oriented lifestyle, rutherford takes lessons he learned from navy seal operations and applies them to guide success in everyday life. his high-energy presentation kept the audience engaged and inspired as he explained his eight “missions” that lead to enhanced self-confidence and personal accountability.

during his days on active navy seal teams, rutherford helped conduct clandestine operations in the middle east, south east asia and afghanistan. today he serves as an international training expert and security specialist for one of the largest private security companies in the world.

since 2006 he has helped motivate thousands of students, civic and business leaders. he has also written two books, Self Confidence: Froglogic Field Manuals for Adults and Self Confidence for Kids.

the distinguished lecture series, first introduced during the 2009-2010 academic year, is a component of the Pki leadership development Program with a mission to develop students of character with the leadership, communication and teamwork skills needed for successful careers in business, industry and government. the lecture series consists of two lectures per year, and past speakers include nebraska Governor dave heineman and former university of nebraska football Coach tom osborne.

the Peter kiewit institute | university of nebraska

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in this issue

Fe ature | saiC PartnershiP a v irtual suCCess be careful what you say to wyatt suddarth, John oerter and matt morhardt. they might turn you into an avatar.

4 | Pk i renovat ions ne arly ComPle te the Peter kiewit institute’s yearlong renovation project is nearly complete, and faculty, staff, students and visitors are starting to notice.

6 | smP ComPe t it ion, awards a Gre at suCCess two hundred fifty-seven omaha-area middle school and high school students made their way to omaha’s scott Conference Center for the 2013 society of american military engineers (same) student mentoring Program (smP) Competition and awards.

7 | nav y se al rutherford motivates , insPires extolling the virtues of a positive attitude, healthy living and self-confidence, navy seal, author, behavioral coach and motivational speaker david rutherford, spoke to Pki scholarship students, faculty and community leaders at the scott Conference Center on the subject of “froglogic.”

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WINTER 2012HappeningsINNOVATIONS