Uncategorized

• New Engineer
• AISC
• ASCE

Kenny Riggs – getting a degree in civil engineering after 35 years

From:                                                      Lowery Jr, Lee L

Sent:                                                        Wednesday, September 04, 2019 8:36 AM

To:                                                            Kenny Riggs

Subject:                                                  RE: Forensic engineering

Categories:                                           Annual Faculty Progress Report !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Howdy Kenny.  My goodness, what a success story.

And what a pleasure to be reminded of what hard work and dedication can accomplish.  Not at all unusual for Aggie grads, but getting second degrees in Civil Engineering is close to the top.  I will indeed post our thread for others who wonder if Life II is really still an option for us old timers.

Congratulations, and drop by any time.  I would thoroughly enjoy chatting up old times and our future goals with you.

:  )

Lee

Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.            <><

Zachry Department of Civil Engineering – Dwight Look Engineering Building – Room 705e

Texas A&M University – College Station, TX 77843-3136 – Mail Stop 3136

Phone: 979-845-4395 – email: Lowery@tamu.edu – URL: http://lowery.tamu.edu

You will find, when you die, that that part of yourself which you gave to others does not die with you.

From: Kenny Riggs [mailto:kcriggs62@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2019 7:18 AM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Forensic engineering

Dr Lowery,

This is a follow-up to a 5 year old e-mail chain, but I wanted to leave something with you.

After our exchange, I was encouraged by your assertion that, at 51, I was not too old to pursue a line of work I enjoyed.  Shortly thereafter, rather than try to insert myself into a field through the side door, I altered my work schedule to report reviewing only (as opposed to field inspection), transferred my Texas A&M hours to the University of New Orleans and enrolled in their Civil Engineering program.

The Office of Academic Affairs gave me a hard time about taking my 30 year old hours and expressed doubt that I had retained enough of the coursework to continue in a difficult field.  After many semi-heated exchanges about wanting me to repeat the Fine Arts and Literature classes (which I eventually did not) I continued anyway and, 3 years later,  graduated with a degree in Civil/Structural Engineering with a 3.85 GPA and at the top of my class.  The US Army Corps of Engineers recruited me through their internship program and, after 2 years of mostly computational assistance, I now work as a structural analysis member of the Lock and Dam Safety Team in Mobile, AL and absolutely love the job.

Please pass this on to anyone else in my position that wants to change their career path at a later age and is apprehensive about it.  It WAS difficult, but it can be done.

There are some specific pitfalls for older folks going back for another degree (that probably cost me a year of time) that I would be happy to share with anyone contemplating this path.

Thank you again for your initial encouragement and foresight.  I still hope to get by College Station someday to say hello in person.

Best Regards (and Gig ’em),

Kenny Riggs ’84

 

On Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 2:40 PM Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu> wrote:

Kenny:

Old textbooks have almost the same materials as the new ones, except in courses where codes are updated over the years.  Statics hasn’t changed in 200 years.

All of my classes are taped and on line at http://lowery.tamu.edu  Go to the bottom of the page and click on anything I teach, statics, strength of materials, structures, steel design, systems.  Also on line is http://engineeringregistration.tamu.edu.

Good luck,

Lee

From: Kenny Riggs [mailto:kcriggs62@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, July 14, 2014 1:41 PM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L
Subject: Re: Forensic engineering

Dr Lowery,

Thank you for the reply. I will continue my quest.

In addition to offering expert testimony, I would also like to perform the inspections myself and may need some of the old knowledge I haven’t used since I worked for Link-Belt (1988). If I reviewed the old CE 204 textbook and notes, would that be a good source? Are there any Continuing Ed courses that refresh the formulas and equations used to investigate failure or movement of a structure?

On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 11:15 AM, Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu> wrote:

 

Kenny:

Thanks for the kind words, and it is nice to hear from you again after these 30 years.

I have been an expert witness on numerous cases, and even after 30 years testifying and other bells and whistles, I often get hassled about my ability to testify in cases.  In my experience, we often use various non-degreed experts in fields who by experience alone have far more knowledge about the case than I could ever gather without spending a 10 year apprenticeship walking in their shoes.  They are not usually called on to testify in court, but without their feeding me the facts, showing me the relevant codes, leading me to the other 20 times it happened, which agency it was reported to, etc., I would have to reinvent every wheel around.

Those guys are invaluable.  Attorneys and forensic engineering firms probably have 10 on those on staff for every PhD.

So if you want to testify, in today’s environment, you might indeed need to upgrade your degree unless ETID covers theoretical aspects of whatever you are working on, complemented with your 30 years of experience.

If you instead like to solve a problem, find out what went wrong, and then explain it to some PhD until he halfway understands what is going on, and then he explains it to a jury until they halfway understand it, you are probably more than ready to go as is.

I personally wouldn’t let being 51 slow me down at all.  You still easily have another 30 years of work in you, especially if you are having fun at it.  I also wouldn’t worry about wasting anyone’s time.  They are always interested in such capabilities.  You could at a minimum tell an attorney what really happened, so they know early on whether to pursue a case or not.  A tremendous advantage.

A couple of attorneys have recently contacted me to see if I knew where they could find an expert with a PhD, all kinds of publications, etc., for what I assume was to be court work.  They said they already knew the truth, and needed an established expert to help in convincing others.  Every time I hear that, I know they had someone like you getting all their ducks in a row.

Go for it.

Lee

Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.            <><

 

From: Kenny Riggs [mailto:kcriggs62@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 9:17 AM
To: lowery@tamu.edu
Subject: Forensic engineering

Dr Lowery,

Good morning. I hope all is well.

I am a 1984 grad of A&M with a degree in E.T.I.D. I was in one of your CE 204 classes back in the day and took interest in CVEN, but had a different interest in mind at that time and actually worked in that area until shortly after 9/11, when a lot of things changed.

At that time, I made an involuntary move to the insurance industry and ended up in claims handling. I have since migrated to flood claim handling and, in recent years, I have been contracted by the government to perform random re-inspections of flood claims reports (for quality) and to handle appeals of settlements.

We frequently employ the services of engineers to perform forensic inspections of structures to determine cause and origin of damage. Working with these engineers as resurrected my interest in this area.

When I began thinking about possibly trying to enter the arena of forensic engineering and wondering

1) Am I qualified for that line of work?, and 2) What would I need to do to be qualified to perform that type of work?, I could only think of one person to ask.

At 51 years old and with the experience I have in structural inspections for specific damage, is there a path to being certified/qualified for this type of work that does not require long term work toward another degree?

I realize this is a broad question about someone you do not know personally, but I trust your knowledge of the field. I also realize that this has everything to do with finding the right opportunity somewhere, but I do not want to waste time (mine or anyone else’s) in an endeavor that has very little or no chance of happening in my limited time frame.

Thank you in advance for any advice or knowledge you can offer. I just did not want to pass up a possible opportunity to do something I really enjoy by thinking it was too late to try and not wanting to embarrass myself by contacting an employer prior to knowing what I needed to have behind me.

It was a pleasure to have learned from you.

Best Regards,

Kenny Riggs
General Adjuster – File Examiner
NFIP FCN 04070414 – AL Lic 0460510
Associate in National Flood Insurance

1. Getting your textbooks at a good price (Sure beats the bookstore)
2. Would it be OK if I listed you as a reference?
3. Would you please write a letter of recommendation for me?
4. Maple and Excel Tutorials by Dr. Richard M. Felder at North Carolina State University
5. EES Information and Tutorial
6. Information on how to make a home page on the web
7. Technical Report Writing Resources
8. Pile Driving Analysis by the Wave Equation. (CVEN 686)
9. Graduate Teaching Associate Instructions.
10. Correct Time (Don’t be late to class, ever again.)
11. I just finished your final exam and need to speak with you about how to pass the class
12. I see that you just posted our final grades

 

From: Jose
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2017 12:51 PM
To: lowery@tamu.edu
Subject: Final Grades

Howdy Prof Lowery,

My name is Jose and I’m in your CVEN      class.  I see you just posted the grades and realize that I got a 79.25 in your class.  I was just wondering is there any chance I could do some extra credit or something to bring my grade up to a B?  In such a difficult class like this I have spent countless hours watching your videos, doing homework problems and cramming for the exams.  Surely you can’t really grade that closely to separate a C (pretty bad) from a B?

Thank you for considering this request.  It would mean the world to me.
Jose

On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 2:00 PM, Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu> wrote:
Jose:
I’m really sorry, but lines have to be drawn somewhere and once stated in the syllabus, we pretty much have to stick with them.
L^3

From: John
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2017 2:22 PM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Final class grades
Dr. Lowrey:
I was talking with Jose and he said he was pretty sure you were going to give him just a little bit on his grade to get a C.  Is that right?  If so, I would certainly like for you to know that my average is a 89.13, so I need less than he does, and if I could get an A it would let me keep the 4.0 GPA that I have going into this semester.  If you raise his will you be changing mine too since I am closer to a letter change?
Thank you greatly,
John

On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 7:10 PM, Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu> wrote:
John:
Jose should keep his requests to himself.  Now his request will have to be denied.  Although it had to be anyway.  I’ll let him know why.  Actually, once we decide on a point break, it’s really hard to justify changing it.
L^3

On Mon, Dec 18, at 2:11 someone wrote:
Howdy Dr. Lowery,
I just saw the grades you posted on eCampus. After calculating my exact grade in the class I ended this semester with a 87.59 and a B. My final exam grade was a 95 and I believe that this grade demonstrates my understanding of the material taught in this class. Is there a possibility that my letter grade could be improved to reflect my final exam grade? Thank you for your time and consideration.

On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 2:15 PM, Jack wrote:
Dear Dr. Lowery:
I read on Facebook that you were considering changing the grade needed to get a C in @@@.  Can you tell me what it will be?  I am on probation and that really might make it possible for me to stay in school.  Right now I have a 66 in your class and they say I have to get all C’s or better.
Thank you
Jack

From: Joe
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:51 PM
To: lowery@tamu.edu
Subject: Final Grades
Howdy Dr Lowery,
I am in your course and after the final exam, I am very worried about my chances on passing the course. Will you be having office hours this Wednesday or tomorrow so I can discuss how my grade may end up in the course?
Thanks
Joe

On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 6:56 PM, Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu> wrote:
Joe:
I’m really sorry, but until I finish making out final exams, give them, get them all graded including yours, and submitted to the university, I will be consumed by just that. Grades go in Monday lunch and I can meet with you after that.
L^3

From: Joe
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 7:01 PM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Final Grades
Sadly I will be back home for the holidays during that time, would you happen to know then my quiz grades for the course? This will at least give me an indication of where I am and whether or not I will pass the course as I feel I failed miserably on the final.
Joe

On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 7:10 PM, Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu> wrote:
You should be able to just average the grades returned to you, but I went and looked them up and your other grades aren’t that bad at all. Your average before the final is a 75.  Sorry, but I am going to have to stop answering the hundreds of emails I am now getting until I make out my other finals and grade and submit them.
L^3

On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 8:32 PM, Joe wrote:
Thank you, and yes but I needed to make a 56 I believe on my final to get a C and I genuinely think I did not reach that. Thank you again.
Joe

From: Joe [mailto:Joe@1.ag] Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 10:21 PM
To: Lowery Jr, Lee L <lowery@civil.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Final Grades
Howdy Dr. Lowery,
I have just been calculating my expected grade in the course just based on the score I will most likely make on your final exam and am expected to get a D. Is there anything I can do to make up my poor final grade to get myself back in the passing range? I do not want a failure in this course to hold me back as I continue towards my degree.
Thanks and Gig Em
Joe

From: Lowery Jr, Lee L
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2017 8:49 AM
To: Joe@1.ag
Subject: RE: Final Grades
Joe:
As always, students constantly come crying about how they are sure they failed the exam miserably and can they please do extra work or retake their lowest exam even though that would obviously require that I call the other 89 students in the class back in on Christmas to give everyone the same opportunity to raise their grade, and on and on, in utter despair.
And then they make a 70 on their final.
That’s why I simply cannot meet with all 60 of you before the exams are graded. Even reading and answering the dozen emails you generated (times 59 other students) while trying to get the exams graded and get your grades into the University, slows getting them in on time horribly. Yet I understand the angst you experience during exams, so about all I can do is try and balance the need to get them graded and to keep you mentally stable until the process grinds to an end.
You made a 70 on your final.
L^3

Pile Driving Analysis by the Wave Equation

Click here for answers to common questions asked on the class assignments

Class assignments:

1) Watch an introductory video regarding Wave Equation Analysis for driven offshore piles by clicking here.  You will probably want to download the corresponding class notes to follow the video discussion.  Click here for the class notes.  Also, please read through the classic paper on Pile Driving Analysis by the Wave Equation by E.A.L. Smith.  Click here for Smith’s paper.

Notes for class 1:

The appropriate time interval for use in different materials, with a pile segment length around 8 to 10 feet, is given in Smith’s paper.  See page 1165.

Total number of time intervals to run ~ length of pile * 4 (up and down twice) / (speed of wave * time interval used).  So for a 500 foot long steel pile:
                     = 500 feet*4/(16,700 ft/sec * (1 sec/4000 iterations))
                     ~ 500 iterations

You will note me messing around looking for information in a couple of tables in the video.  These tables are listed in the Data and Help files below.

Class 2 – Watch a video regarding setting up cases to run using the Wave Equation by clicking here.  Click here for the corresponding class notes.  

Notes for class 2:

Click here for homework assignments: Note, this is a .doc file so look for Word to try and open it.  Due dates are listed below:

1. Part 1 is due on 3/1/19 – Please email your solution in a SINGLE DOCUMENT to Lowery@tamu.edu using “CVEN 686 Pile Driving Homework Part I” as the subject line.  Multiple file reports will be discarded.  If you haven’t been able to get with me to answer questions, I will take them a few days late without penalty until we can set up an appointment.  L^3.

2. Part 2 is due on 3/22/18 – Again, please email your solution in a single document to me using CVEN 686 Pile Driving Homework Part II as the subject line.

3. Just added for Problem 2:  Maximum number of pages of computer output is 10.  If you send those, a few from the beginning and a few from the end, I will be able to see what you ran and what you got as results, which is all I need.

4. How to make everything into a single document – in the worst case, simply print out a hard copy of your problem input and computer output in text format, hard copy.  Then print out your .doc files describing your report as a .doc file, hard copy.  Then make .pdf files out of any sketches and drawings you made.  Finally, put all that paper in order and run it through the printer, resulting in a .pdf single document and turn that in.

Questions?  Email me at Lowery@tamu.edu or see my office hours at https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/office-hours/

Ready to try the program?  See “The Microwave Programs” below, under Student Resources

MICROWAVE – A computer program to study the behavior of piles during driving
Written by: Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.
Department of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843-3136
Phone 979-845-4395
e-mail: Lowery@tamu.edu
URL: https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/

Student Resources

The Microwave Program: MW88_64bit.exe

The original Fortran file: MW87.for

The original Fortran file with .txt extension to try

                      and get it to transfer over internet: MW87.for.txt

ADDITIONAL STUDENT RESOURCES:

Data and help files

1.   Hammer data  Notes on hammers
2.   Helmet data     An overview of pile driving equipment
3.   Cushion properties
4.   Blank input calculation forms (PDF)
5.   Typical pile model
6.   Input Forms (XLS) for printing only – these will neither run nor form data sets.
7.   Example input data set for printing only – will not run or form data sets
8.   Example output set for something (ASCII text file)
9.   Problem to work in class
10.   Appendix A – Parameter Definitions

Computer programs for running the wave equation:

10. Get from professor in class on a thumb drive.

    The Microwave programs zip file and other supporting programs including Editpad and DOSBox.  Note:  Do not left-click on this link.  Right click on it and then click on “Save Target As”.  Then save it in a folder on your hard drive, or on a thumb drive.  It will save 686wave.zip in your folder or thumb drive.  Then go to that folder and double-click on 686Wave.zip.  It will make a “686Wave – Copy” folder with the files in it.  Double click on that folder to access the files.  Then copy those files and folders to a working folder of your choice, I suggest C:\686Wave.  Microwave (MW88.exe or MW87.exe – both the same) and other useful programs are in there, including Editpad (an ASCII editor for generating datasets) and DOSBox (a 32 bit program emulator.  You should also put your data in that folder and run everything from there.  

11. MWMANWRD.doc – This is a Microsoft Word version of the user’s manual, including all figures.  Simply right-click on this file, click on “Save Target As”, and put it in a folder on your computer.
12. MWMANUAL.htm – HTML version of the user’s manual.
13. MWMANUAL.pdf – The user’s manual in pdf format, courtesy of Don C. Warrington who maintains an excellent site regarding pile driving analysis by the wave equation – a must read for serious practitioners. Don also has written an excellent paper regarding a closed form solution to limited cases for the wave equation.
14. How to DOSBox – How to run Microwave (MW87.exe) using DOSBox, and a video on its use.  No longer needed.  Run 64 bit program.
15. DOSBox – They also have Mac OS X, and other versions.  Take your pick.  The only one I have above is for Windows.  DOSBox is necessary to run the wave equation when using 64 bit computers.  Click on “Downloads” to download the DOSBox installer you need.  Put it in a known directory on your hard drive. Then run it from there.  I would suggest that you make a directory on your hard drive called “C:\686Wave”.  Put the DOSBox installer there, and download the MW88.exe program and all of your data files there.  It makes it far easier to run everything.    No longer needed.  Run 64 bit program.
16. EditPad Lite – An excellent free ASCII text editor useful in forming wave equation input data sets, and reading resulting output. 

Hammer information sites:

17. Don C. Warrington’s excellent site  http://www.vulcanhammer.info/drivability/#wave
18. http://www.hammersteel.com/pile-driving-equipment.html
19. http://www.powerquip.co.kr/
20. http://www.conmaco.com/html/hammers.html
21. http://www.vulcanhammer.com/
22. http://www.apevibro.com/ver2/products/diesel/default.asp
23. http://www.berminghammer.com/hammers.aspx
24. http://www.iceusa.com/product-specifications.htm
25. http://www.delmag.com/diesel-pile-hammers.html

 

Reference Papers:

26. The original E.A.L. Smith paper: Pile-Driving Analysis by the Wave Equation, ASCE Paper No. 3306, Vol. 127, 1962, Part I
27. The original Samson, Hirsch and Lowery paper: Computer Study of Dynamic Behavior of Piling, ASCE Paper No. 3608, Aug. 1963
28. Lowery’s dissertation: Dynamic Behavior of Piling, Texas A&M University, May 1967
29. A Comparison of Dynamic Pile Driving Formulas with the Wave Equation – 1968
30. Driving Practices for Prestressed Concrete Piles – 1966
31. Impact Load-Deformation Properties of Pile Cushioning Materials – 1966
32. Pile Driving Analysis – State of the Art – 1969 – THE User’s Manual for running MW87, Pile Driving Analysis by the Wave Equation
33. Applications of Wave-Equation Analysis to Offshore Pile Foundations – OTC Paper 1055 – 1969
34. Increasing the Ability to Drive Long Offshore Piles – OTC Paper 1064 – 1969
35. Jonggeun Choe and Hans Juvkam-Wold Paper on Bottom-Hammering of Piles
36. Pile Drivability Analysis – Fenske, Carl S. and Hirsch, T.J.  What happens when you hit sand lenses?
37. 8th International Conference on the Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles
38. Application of Stress Wave Theory to Piles  One of a series.
39. Driving pipe piles – potential for plugging during driving, page 74
40. Prediction of soil resistance on piles during driving at Exxon’s Hondo Platform in Santa Barbara Channel

http://www.iceusa.com/diesel-hammer/

http://www.delmag.com/diesel-pile-hammers.html

http://www.hammersteel.com/pile-driving-equipment.html

 

CVEN 686 – Historical Papers – Note: These papers were collected back in the 60’s for use in research on pile driving. If you are the author of any of these papers and feel that it should not be included for student use in this historical summary, please email me at Lowery@tamu.edu and I will remove it.

What is the coefficient of restitution for the pile and cushion?

The pile would have no loss of energy so EEM(i) = 1.00 for all pile springs.

Coefficients of restitution and other properties for cushions are listed on the 686 page under “Additional Students Resources (ASR)” in the “Data and help files”, part C, Cushion properties.

What is gamma?

The meaning and appropriate values are listed in the user’s manual in the ASR section M.  See the figure on page 40, and for an explanation of limiting forces between pile segments see page 45.

Total static load resistance?

Sadly, in a wave equation problem the total static soil resistance (RUT) starts out unknown.  You just have to make a guess and see what the program spits out.  If you put RUT = 500 kips and the program tells you that you are advancing the pile at 1 blow per foot, you put way too low a RUT value for your first guess.  Increase the resistance.  If instead it says you are getting 5000 blows per foot, you put way too much resistance.  You must then adjust the value of RUT up or down so you start getting practical blow counts from around 20 to 200 blows per foot.

RUP:  Along with RUT = 500 kips, if some of that total resistance goes under the point of the pile, you will have to put how much goes under the point as RUP (resistance under point).  So if your soils consultant says that 20% of the total resistance on the pile goes under the point, and you put RUT = 500 kips, you would enter RUP = 100 kips.

What do I use for the pile weights?

Calculated in class.  Also see section the ASR section M page 52.

What is MO, the  number of elements upon which soil resistance acts?

No, MO is the weight number of the first element upon which soil resistance acts.  See ASR section M, page 51 for definition of MO.  It is the mass number that corresponds with the first soil spring resistance.  See also the figure on page 60, where MO = 6.

Dr. Lowery,

I have several questions regarding the input for homework 1.

1. For gamma 3 on Card 102, is this value -1.0 since the pile is continuous thus  tension is expected in between segments?  That is correct.
2. Provided no soil information, would it be fine if we assume the soil strength/ static load acting on soil (RUT)?

That is correct, although if you are driving in a soil subject to set-up (soils in which the resistance increases with time to a higher value), you will probably take the static resistance predicted by the soils consultant, divide it by the set-up factor, and use that for RUT and RUP, the resistance to penetration at the time of driving.

3. The 20% resistance at pile tip, is this 20% of embedment length or the 80% resistance is for the whole 200-ft embedment length?

If RUT = 500 kips as a first guess, then RUP is 20% of that number.

4. For card 200, is the second weight provided in the example due to the helmet weight? Also, in computing the third weight, it appears in class that we assigned the total weight at last pile segment. Shouldn’t this be weight of each pile segment?

Yes, the second weight in your problem will be the helmet weight.  And yes, we used to put in EVERY weight, one at a time.  How dumb.  On the new input image, if your 3rd through 440th elements all weigh 6.391 kips, you just tell the program that W(440) = 6.391 and it understands that weights 3 through 440 = 6.391 kips.  If you have another 100 feet of pile left to go, which is heavier, just tell him the last weight in that string of weights – W(450) = 7.126 kips.  Saves time and paper, and is pretty easy to input your data.  All of the other long form input cards work the same way.

5. Do we obtain the spring rate for the steel similar to obtaining spring rate for the cushion?

Yes.  K = A*E/L and watch your units.

• Lowery’s notes – for building a simple resume for the web
• W3 Schools – an excellent summary page on web work
• WWW.Builder.com – probably the best summary available
• Beginner’s Guide to HTML
• Web Designer’s Paradise
• World Wide Web Consortium
• HTML Tools
• Barebones guide to HTML
• General Information on the Web

Note:  If you have trouble getting this to work, come see me.  Bring your resume on a thumb drive with you.

Note that this assignment looks daunting, but it really is not. Get a hard copy of the following instructions, take them to the dinner table with you, and read them carefully. Many of the things you read will make no sense at all the first time. Put the sheet away, and think about it, then bring it back out tomorrow, and read it again carefully. It will make more sense the second time around. Ask me any questions you may have in class, THEN go try it out. The information I have listed in the sample resume are suggestions only. You may cut out anything that you do not want included – for example if your GPA is rather low, then cut it out. If you have something special you have done, add it.

What you are actually doing here is to put an HTML version of your resume on your University computer account, which only you have access to (I can’t do it for you.) Later, if you like, I willl add a “Link” from http://civilgrads.tamu.edu with your name to your resume located in your account. Thus, when an employer goes to Civilgrads and sees your name, they click on it and it will transfer them to your account, where your account serves up your resume to them. That way you have complete control over what your resume says without me having to mess with it. If you modify or add to your resume next week, the next time someone clicks on your name they get the new version. When you graduate, the University deletes your account. Shortly after graduation I go in and check all the links, and when I find yours is dead, I know you are employed, and I remove your name from Civilgrads.

The purpose of this exercise is not so much to get your resume on the web, but to make sure that when you go to work you will be able to set up a web page for your company on the web, or display their corporate brochure, or list of their current jobs, etc. It won’t necessarily be professional, but it will be a web presence and that is critical. The only difference is that rather than using your university account, you will look in the phone book and rent web space from a commercial ISP (Independent Service Provider) for about $20.00 a month, and upload it there.  Will your employer (Shell Oil) probably do this themselves?  Yep.  When you start your own company will Shell do it for you?  Nope.

Please note that many of you may already have a job waiting for you, and may not want to put your resume on the web. That is fine. Just make it up so I will know you can do it, and don’t ask me to link it to Civilgrads. Then it will not display to anyone on the web, except to me. Of utmost importance: Put your date of graduation on your resume. No one will ever call you if they don’t see this.

I) How to set up web access for your account:

1. Log into http://oalinfo.tamu.edu using your NETID and your password.
2. Click on account services.
3. Click on the SETUP MY WEBPAGE and “Enable”. This will set up a public subdirectory and set the necessary directory permissions to give everyone read-access only to the files in your “public” subdirectory only.
4. Before you log off, hit “View My Account” and make sure it says Web Space: http://people.tamu.edu/~yourID is Enabled.
5. Then go to http://oal.tamu.edu/Other_Services/Personal_Web_Page.php and click on Creating a Web Page.
6. Instructions on creating your web page are listed there.
7. For help. call 845-9300.

II) The following shows the file you will build and put on your website. Edit it to fit your situation

Today you can simply make up your resume in Word and tell it to “Save As A Web Page, or Save as HTML.” Just that simple. I would also HIGHLY recommend that you add a picture of yourself, unless you have rings in your lips and green hair.  It adds a lot to a resume if they can see you.

III) How to see your homepage:

To see your home page, enter the URL (Uniform Resource Locator):

http://people.tamu.edu/~yourNETID

IV.) How to add your resume to Civilgrads:

If you would like to have your name added to this resume list, I would be happy to add you. To see what the site looks like, go to:   http://civilgrads.tamu.edu

If you want to add your name please email me with the following information, ALL IN A SINGLE EMAIL!

1) I need your name
2) I need up to TWO areas in which you would like to put your name (General and Environmental, or General and Structural, or … )
3) I need your URL (i.e. something like http://people.tamu.edu/~tomgirl) Note that this name will ONLY BE VALID if your resume file is named index.html. Otherwise you MUST list your URL as http://people.tamu.edu/~tomgirl/nameofmyfile.extensionused, or whatever its name is.
4) I need your expected date of graduation.

I will be happy to add a link from Civilgrads to your name and information. It will remain on civilgrads until you ask that it be removed, or until you leave Texas A&M and they close your computer account.  At that time you should probably get a free web account from Google or someone and move your resume there.  See https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/2021/07/19/general-information-on-getting-a-job/ section 1.B for information on how to do this.

Good luck,

L^3