Lee L. Lowery, Jr.

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From: Joe
To: lowery@tamu.edu
Subject: One of your students would like a letter of recommendation

Dr. Lowery
I am Joe and I am in your class. I have recent apply for a scholarship because I intend to further my studies and attempt to achieve a Master’s degree. Therefor I have applied for this program to obtain some experience in research however, I am require to provide them a letter of recommendation from a science or engineering faculty member that must be summited to the address or e-mail that I provide in the bottom by August the 3rd and I would like to know if it were possible for you to help me. If it is not I still appreciate you time and I thank you for that. Sincerely, Joe

Joe:

I would be happy to work with you on this. This is a wise decision on your part, and will pay excellent dividends later in life.

However, I will need a favor in return. Please see: http://lowery.tamu.edu/recommend

Also, please be more careful on your grammar and spelling than shown below, or they will think I don’t really care much about your success.

“I have recent apply” (I have recently applied)

“and attempt to achieve” (and am attempting to achieve)

“Therefor” (Therefore)
“experience in research however” (experience in research. However,)

“I am require to provide” (required)

“summited” (submitted)
“that I provide” (that I am providing)

“appreciate you time” (your)

Your last sentence has 65 words in it.  That’s far too many.  Cut it into smaller pieces.

Now I realize that email is a rough and dirty media, and that’s OK since I know what you mean and no one else will see it. But I won’t have time to carefully edit out misspellings and grammatical errors in your next communication with me, and such errors could seriously affect your chance of success.

Good luck on your application,

L^3

https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/2021/07/19/340/

Letters of Recommendation for Scholarships, Employment, Graduate School, or Anything Else

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Why, yes! I would be more than happy to work with you on a letter of recommendation, since you were one of the best students I’ve had. However, since hundreds of you graduate each year, and thousands of you want scholarships (jobs, internships, grad school recommendations, recommendation required to take the P.E. exam, …), it’s just physically impossible for me to craft that many letters. Furthermore, since you know what you would like the potential employer or graduate school or scholarship committee to know about you far better than I ever could, it only makes sense that you write it, not me. Were you a Boy Scout? A Girl Scout? An Eagle Scout? Did you earn 90% of your college expenses digging ditches and working two jobs? Did you co-op? Did you work your tail off for me on my research project and do fantastic work? Did you have a 4.0 GPR in your major for the last 3 semesters? Have you been in the Air Force for the past 4 years and are now realizing that a graduate degree will be of tremendous value? Wow! I didn’t know that, and would never have thought to mention it. The only thing I remember was pitching chalk at you to try and keep you awake in class. But I digress.

So here is what I need from you: email me a perfect letter of recommendation that you wish I would write for you, listing every nifty reason why they should hire you, why the graduate school should accept you, why you should get the scholarship, whatever.  I must also have your student UIN number so I can look up your records.

You are welcome to assume that you really were the best student I ever had because even if you weren’t, you must be pretty danged good to have graduated from A&M, or to expect a scholarship, or to even have been invited here.  I will remove the obvious lies, and those things that are possibly true but which I’m not sure I believe, and those things which I believe but don’t think the employer will believe, then correct the spelling and grammar (maybe – and then again perhaps I will just leave the “I thouht he was really good studnt” in there.  Then they will assume that I am a careless oaf, and that I probably  trained you to be one too.  No skin off my nose – I already have a job.) See true example here.

NOTE: I may mention this later, several times, but you MUST use the following as your Subject Line, and NOTHING ELSE:

Recommendation Request – your last name, your first name.

Just copy and paste it and substitute your name.  The reason is that I currently have 1737 unread emails and the only way I have any chance of seeing that yours to be considered is by sorting on the Subject line.  If you instead type in “As we discussed, my request to be recommended is attached” it will end up 4 feet above everyone else’s.  As soon as I get it, I will return a copy to you so you will know I got it.

Think I’m kidding?  Here’s a screen shot from today:

 

Continuing:  Note that sending me your resume and hoping that I will have the time to craft a letter of recommendation from it is not an option, unless you are happy with me copying and pasting your resume, as is, into the space that says “Please put your letter of recommendation here.”

Email this to me at Lowery@tamu.edu.  I will then remember who you are, dig out your grades and other records, reflect on how I agree that you really were a great student, put the modified version on a CE Department letterhead and submit it.  If you send me a two sentence blurb, then that’s what they’ll get – a two sentence summary of your life.  If you send me a list of ten items, then I’ll just send them that list.  If you take great care and construct a professionally written, well thought out letter, then that’s what they get.  I’ll even pay for the stamp.

I sometimes get letters saying “Chee Lowery, I can’t say all those wonderful things about myself. That would be too embarrassing.”  Well, life is tough buddy.  If you don’t think you’re wonderful, then don’t expect me to make up stuff to say about you. Perhaps you can get your mother to write it for you.

Now if you think that this is just too much trouble, and that I am a lazy bum because I won’t do all the work for you – you’re right.  I am a lazy bum.  I haven’t worked in years, and certainly don’t intend to start now.  Go get some other poor sucker to recommend you.  Or if you really are just too lazy to do your own work, I will be happy to send them my standard letter of recommendation. One size fits all.

Note that I don’t mind just “checking the boxes.”  If the form you need only asks me to rate my opinion of your abilities on a scale of 1 to 10, I am happy to do that with little assistance.  But I still need the information listed below in case they actually call me and ask about you.  Just have them send me the form.  It’s only requests to write finely crafted, life-altering letters with which I must have your input.  Even in this case it will be to your advantage to carefully read each question below and remind me what you have done to deserve high marks in that area.  Note also that they almost always ask me the following

  • what is your student ID
  • when did I first meet you
  • for how long have I known you
  • in what capacity did I know you (as your professor, were you my teaching assistant, etc.)
  • was I your advisor, either formally or informally
  • what classes I taught you
  • what grades you made in my classes
  • what extenuating circumstances caused you to make less than an A in my classes
  • what was your overall and in-major GPR
  • what extenuating circumstances caused you to make less than a 3.90 in your major classes
  • what did you do while here that made you stand out
  • what have you done since graduation, if you have graduated
  •  who have your worked for, co-op, internships, summers, unpaid research with professors, …
  •  what graduate school did you attend after graduating
  • what advanced degrees have you gathered since graduation
  • and anything else you would like me to mention.

So if you expect me to say other than “danged if I know”, I will expect you to give me that information.  Further, they usually ask what makes you stand out from other students, or what single trait do I think most qualifies you for the position.  They also ask if you are good at teaming, can you work without constant supervision, etc.  Your answers and comments on any of these things must be listed in your letter to me if you want them discussed in my letter to them.  You should probably also send me a copy of your resume.

READ THS:  For examples of the questions I am constantly asked to answer see Specific student traits and More generic questions.  If you give me nothing upon which to base responses, I simply have no choice but to leave that section blank.  Now you may indeed have done nothing to list in these areas, but I just don’t want to leave them blank and then find out you worked for Dr. Keating in the Hi-Bay lab for 2 years as a volunteer and found a way to load a specimen that was new and novel, and not list it under “examples of how the student handles challenging situations”, or that you formed study groups for your friends and taught them what lateral buckling was all about and not list it under “Potential for teaching”.

I wish you luck in getting this new job, scholarship, acceptance to graduate school, or whatever, and await your reply.  I will tell you now that you were a great student.  If you weren’t among the top students on the face of the earth you would never have been invited to Texas A&M, nor would you have survived to make it to my class, much less have graduated.  I also appreciate that you contacted me from all of your other professors to help you with this important step in your career.

L^3

P.S.  Please click here to see what you actually get from me if you don’t respond to the above.

Request To List You As A Reference

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Howdy Dr. Lowery,

I am a former (or current) Civil Engineering student (or other) and am presently looking for a job (applying for a scholarship, applying for an award, trying to get into graduate school, … ).  I am writing to ask if it would be OK to list you on my resume as a reference.

Thanks,

Joe

Joe:  I would be happy to serve as a reference for you.  However, since they may indeed call me, please email me the following information, which they invariably ask.  If something below does not apply, just leave it blank, and if they raise that question I will tell them I don’t know.

  • When did I first meet you?
  • For how many years have I known you?
  • In what capacity did I know you (as your professor, advisor, …)?
  • What was your Student ID number, so I can look you up?
  • What classes did I teach you?
  • What grades did you make in my classes?
  • Were you my TA, RA in a class?
  • What was your overall GPA?
  • What was your in-major GPA?
  • What did you do while at A&M that made you stand out, and that I should mention?
  • Why do you think you are eligible and likely to win this award, get this job, etc?
  • In what engineering societies or other groups did you participate (ASCE, Big Event, plant trees, …)?
  • Did you serve as an officer?
  • What were your strong points while here at A&M?
  • If applicable, what have you done since graduation, like who have your worked for, what did you do, what did you learn, what graduate school did you attend, what advanced degrees have you gathered, etc.?
  • Did you support yourself in school?
  • Anything else you would like me to know and mention when they call?

I would also like for you to email me a copy of your resume so I can refer to it if they call.

Now you may say that we never really worked together on classes or anything else, other than your just dropping by every now and then for questions.  Perhaps not even that.  That’s not a problem. As long as I have been here I know far more about you, and how to evaluate you than you could imagine.  If you graduated from here it my considered opinion that you can’t help but be a heck of a person.  Still, if you fill out answers to whatever of the above applies, I will look knowledgeable about your abilities and be more convincing should they call.  Also, if you will give me a couple of your professor’s names and classes, I can contact them, dig up your student file, and do a pretty good job of finding out a lot about you, which can also help. 

Finally, if you don’t think they actually intend to contact me you are always welcome to just put me down as a reference without all of the above formalities.  However, if they actually do I will have to tell them that since you graduated from here you can’t help but be a good student and worker.  Otherwise you would have never made it, but that I really don’t know much more than that about you.

Now yes, there is a charge for this service.  In return I would like an email from you when you get the chance, telling me where you finally ended up, what you are doing, and a brief update every few years.  I really hate losing contact with so many of you I have taught and worked with.  Plus, you are an excellent source of job opportunities for those coming after you.  Also, when they realize that I am getting far too old for this job, I will be calling you asking for employment with your company.  And when I say “your” company, that’s exactly what I mean.  You would be amazed at how many of you start your own companies about 5 years out, and do amazing things with them.

I wish you luck,

L^3

Joe:

I received a request for a recommendation for you, listed below.  I haven’t received anything from you about this, and for all I know it may be spam or worse.

Did you submit this?  I am happy to respond, but am I the best recommendation you have?  You got C’s in both of my classes which is certainly fine, but for a recommendation of any kind you want to pick your best chance of success.

You should also send me a list all of the other fantastic things you have accomplished, indicating why they should give you this scholarship.  Right now about all I can tell them is “nice guy, average student.”  That will hardly address their request for specific information regarding:

  • Academic record, plans, and goals

  • Personal strengths: including motivation, leadership, and commitment

  • Community service and extracurricular activities

Since I don’t really know if this came from you I’ll wait until I hear back.  It probably is, but FERPA has very strict rules on the release of any kind of student information without your direct consent.

Good luck,

L^3

General Information on Getting a Job

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General Advice

  1. Getting a job
    1. On a personal level
      1. A list of Civil Engineering job opportunities sent to the CE Department (TAMU students only)
      2. A list of companies who have hired our graduates in the past (TAMU students only)
      3. Career Center Events – Important that you make use of this
      4. Dr. Lowery, can I list you as a reference?
      5. Dr. Lowery, would you please write me a letter of recommendation?
      6. I am interested in finding a co-op position.  How do I get started?
      7. My company is interested in offering a co-op position.  (Please email me at Lowery@tamu.edu)
      8. My company is interested in getting in touch with your students regarding employment.
      9. I am interested in finding an internship with a company.  How do I get started? 
        1. Career Center Information  
        2. Civil Engineering Department Internship List 
        3. ENGR 484 International Internship information
        4. Suggestions to a recent student asking for help on finding an internship
      10.  We are a company interested in offering internships to students.
      11. I am interested in working as a teaching assistant, or tutor, or grader at TAMU.
      12. I am a student interested in working for the Civil Engineering Department
      13. I was one of your students back in 1992, and am interested in coming back to teach.
      14. I went to A&M back in 2012 and now need a reference for a security clearance.  Can I use you as a reference?
    1. What is the current job market looking like for Civil Engineering? (This is VERY out of date.  The market is currently booming,  Still, you might as well see how bad it could get if you vote for the wrong people.)  And now after the Corona virus and Trump, this is even more of of date.  I will wait until the new president is announced before re-contacting everyone I know and let you know here on Jan 1st, 2021.
    2. Personal suggestions to a student graduating now.  Posting your resume online.
    3. Personal suggestions to a student who graduated 2 years ago
    4. Personal suggestions to an international student.   And here.
    5. TAMU Career Center information on how to get a job
    6. Job-seeking tips for graduates   (Cached here)
    7. Jobweb – career and job-search advice from the National Association of Colleges and Employers
    8. Another excellent Job Search Tips tutorial
    9. Miscellaneous feedback from employers
  2. Your resume
    1. Advice on how to write and post a public resume
    2. More advice on writing your resume – from a commercial outfit.  Very good.
    3. Words not to use in your resume
    4. Advice on writing your resume and interviewing for a Job – see page 5 especially (from The Battalion – Spring 2004)
    5. How to write a professional engineering resume (Google search)
  3. Interviewing
    1. 50 job interview questions, why they are asked, and how you should answer
    2. More interview questions and suggested responses
    3. 10 biggest job interview blunders
    4. And here, and here, and here, and here, …
    5. Preparing for the interview
  4. Important miscellaneous
    1. Salaries from TAMU Career Center Web Site
    2. Should you accept the offer?
    3. An excellent summary of how to use social media to your advantage.  Written for IT people but very applicable to engineers in the new world we live in.  Cached copy if this link dies.
    4. Your online presence and how it can affect your employment potential
    5. Your Facebook profile  
    6. Survey finds soft skills more important to employers than technical knowledge
    7. Dress code (Cached)
    8. The importance of internships   (Cached)   And here
    9. How much money will you make? (Written long ago – probably out of date in these times)
    10. Career Development – an excellent series in long-term career development
    11. Critical records to develop during co-op, internships, regular employment, volunteer, charitable work.  For getting your F.E. and P.E. submissions in order.

Primary Resources

Other Resources Including Job Search Engines

A list of search engines to find information about the company who made you an offer

Advanced FE Review Materials

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Some materials here are Adobe portable document format (PDF). To view and print these materials, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Click here to download this free software.

You can view these files by left-clicking on them.  You can download them by “Right-clicking” on them and click on “Save Target As”.

**Note that as you can tell, these materials are getting really old.  Anything with ** on it, you really should check your latest concrete or steel or transportation book for up to date specifications and use these reviews only as a guideline as to what types of problems you should be studying.   Things without ** (like economics, fluids, statics, …) are good forever.  6/5/18

Advanced Video Review

**Introduction

**Concrete Design

Economics

Environmental Engineering

Fluids

Hydraulics

Hydrologics

Soils

  • Soils1.MP4
  • Soils2.MP4
  • Soils.PDF    Note that although the pages are not numbered sequentially, the pdf file has them in the order presented in the video.

Statics

**Steel Design/Timber Design

Strength of Materials – Structures

**Transportation

FE Review Materials

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Left click on the file name to view it.  Right click on it to download it to your computer.

Please note that our old web site regarding the FE/PE exam got so old and out of date that we simply had to delete it.  About all that is left of it are the free videos on different engineering subjects listed below.

Chemistry
Chemistry.PDF – Notes to go with this section
chem0-60.mp4
Chem60-94.mp4
Chem94-132.mp4

Computers
Computers.PDF   – Notes to go with this section
computers0-94.mp4

Dynamics
Dynamics.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Dynamics1.mp4
Dynamics2.mp4

Economics
Economics.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Economics1(0-10).mp4
Economics1(10-20).mp4
Economics1(20-30).mp4
Economics1(30-40).mp4
Economics1(40-50).mp4
Economics1(50-60).mp4
Economics1(60-70).mp4
Economics1(70-80).mp4
Economics1(80-90).mp4
Economics1(90-103).mp4
Economics2(0-30).mp4
Economics2(30-end).mp4

Electricity
Electricity.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Electricity0-60.mp4
Electricity60-96.mp4
Electricity96-209.mp4

Ethics
Ethics.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Ethics.mp4
Ethics0-57.mp4

Fluids
Fluids.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Fluids1.mp4
Fluids2.mp4

Introduction – REALLY OUT OF DATE!
Introduction.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Introduction.mp4

Materials
Materials.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Materials0-116.mp4
Materials116-150.mp4

Math
Math.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Math1.mp4
Math2.mp4
Math3.mp4

Statics
Statics.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
StaticsMarked.PDF
Statics1(0-30).mp4
Statics1(30-60).mp4
Statics1(60-90).mp4
Statics1(90-120).mp4
Statics2(0-30).mp4
Statics2(30-60).mp4

Strategies 
Strategies.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Strategies.mp4

Strength of materials
Strength.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
StrengthMarked.PDF
Strength0-116.mp4
Strength116-193.mp4

Thermo
Thermo.PDF  – Notes to go with this section
Thermo0-110.mp4
Thermo110-182.mp4

More on Concrete, steel design, hydraulics, hydrologics, etc.

Zachary Department of Civil Engineering Graduates

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Welcome

If you would like to contact our students there are a number of ways to do so.  After having taught most of them one or more classes and having often served as their advisor it is my personal opinion that they will make excellent employees and I highly recommend them to you.   I am always happy to serve as a reference for any of our graduates, although you may have to give me a day or two to dig out which Sally Williams is applying, and to make sure she agrees on my commenting on her skills and abilities, as per FERPA regulations.

Recruiting Options

If you are an employer and would like to recruit our students, announce your employment opportunities, or otherwise bring your company to their attention, please see the following links:

  1. You can recruit our students and list employment opportunities through the University Career Center.
  2. You can recruit students through the Student Engineer’s Council Career Fair.
  3. You can view some of our student’s resumes by clicking on one of the Specialties shown on the right of this page.
  4. If you would like to announce general corporate information or employment opportunities and be contacted directly by those students who feel they are qualified, you  can mail me a hard copy of the information, which I will post to our listserv:

    Lee Lowery, Jr.
    Zachry Department of Civil Engineering
    Texas A&M University
    College Station, TX 77843
    or call me at (979)845-4395

  5. You can also email me at lowery@tamu.edu and I will forward it to our listserv. Acrobat or Word attachments are acceptable. This is probably the most effective since the email goes directly to the student, rather than waiting for them to check a job list on a web site somewhere. In any case, please be sure to note how and to whom you want them to reply. Thus something like “No phone calls please. Email resumes to Resumes@JKE.snook.tx.gov putting EIT Position #2445 in the subject line” or “Applicants can email me directly at mymail@…” would be fine.  We will be glad to include phone numbers, but you might consider getting calls on your cell phone while driving in Houston traffic.
  6. Note that our listserv goes out to both current and former students. Students who still have a year or so to go like to know what’s going on in the job market, students graduating now are looking for jobs, and students who graduated years ago and have years of experience may be looking for other opportunities or a change in scenery.
  7. You can set up a meeting with one of the student organizations to talk with their members. Contact the groups listed below to see if they have openings.  Please note that it isn’t easy to set up such meetings, since the groups have a limited number of available meetings, and they do not meet during the summer.  A list of all our student chapters and contact information can be found on theStudent Organization page, or you can click on the following:

    ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers (J.T.L. McNew Chapter)
    American Concrete Institute – Texas A&M University
    Texas A&M University Student Chapter of the American Water Resources Association
    Association of Environmental Engineering Students
    Chi Epsilon
    Civil Materials Students Organization
    Engineers Without Borders
    Institute of Transportation Engineers
    Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists
    Texas A&M Student Section of the Structural Engineers Association of Texas

    or click here for more contacts.

  8. If you have an internship opportunity that you would like to announce, you can use the Career Center Internship Page or list it on the Civil Engineering Department’s Internship Page.
  9. If you would like to set up a co-op position, please refer to the Career Center Co-op Page or contact Brad Collet at 979-845-7725 who works with our Co-op students.
  10. Speaking to students on campus or interviewing students at any time – The university requires that this be scheduled only through the Career Center. Tell them you would like to reserve a room for your company. They will ask your company name (they distribute the load alphabeticlally) and forward you to a scheduling coordinator to discuss times and dates available. You can reserve rooms to meet in the Rudder Tower, and perhaps other buildings. They will try to assign you to the Civil Engineering building upon your request, which you may want to do, since attendance will obviously be better if the students don’t have to truck across campus. They will have to call the department to see if a room is open.
  11. Speaking with students off-campus – You can always set up your own informal get-together over lunch or just to meet off campus with interested students to discuss your company and job opportunities. We are happy to forward such proposals through the listserv. A typical request might read:

    “Johnson Engineering, a 200 person engineering company located in Snook, TX would like to have lunch and discuss employment opportunities with A&M Civil Engineering students. If you are interested in learning more about working with us, please email your name to the address below and we will contact you with more information. We are particularly interested in students graduating within the next year in either structures or construction, and who have a desire to take on large responsibilities early in their careers.
    Johnson Engineering designs, builds, and inspects … (etc.)”

    One thing about such get-togethers, students don’t always take them as seriously as they should. If they say they will be there they try, but they don’t think that not showing up is as serious as, say, missing a scheduled interview. Thus it is a good idea to keep in close contact with anyone who says they are coming, with a reminder the day of the meeting, or you may find half of them forgot. Since the University allows such meetings at University facilities only with their involvement (see step 11 above), you would have to contact someone in the local area to reserve a meeting room if very many students want to attend.

  12. One engineering company has set up a satellite office here in town and hires our students as interns to work here during the semester. They assign Professional Engineers to work with them several days a week and guide them through work normally performed at their home office. They say they have had great success with this model. It gives the students much needed funding and experience, lets the company look over the student, and familiarizes the student with their company.
  13. We are always happy to meet with companies who would like to discuss employing our students, although after every meeting we invariably both end up at the same point – you’ve got jobs and we’ve got fresh, bright, hard-working engineers in training. They are green, but in a year or two they will more than pull their weight in your company. Was the meeting a waste? Not at all, since we both met some very interesting people. But hopefully that was the purpose of the meeting because the minute you called or emailed us, and long before you took a day off and paid for the travel, you already had our undivided attention along with complete access to our students.
  14. For employers wishing to list employment opportunities at the university level, pleaseclick here.  You are also encouraged to visit hireaggies.com and post your openings through our career center’s service.  It is easy and quick to set up an account and post a job, and this will give you the greatest exposure to our current and former students as the vast majority of them use this site as part of their job hunt toolbox.
  15. For those wishing to list internships, please see ourCE Engineering Internships website.

Will we keep you in mind and make sure that the students always know you are interested and how they can contact you?  Yes.  Will we happily forward anything you send us regarding your company and potential employment to them?  Absolutely.  Several times a year?  Gladly.

That being said, every possible way of contacting them and convincing them to come work with you is pretty much spelled out above. As you see, I show up around #4, namely, call or send me whatever you would like to tell the students and I will forward it to them. Permanent employment information is sent to students close to graduation. Co-op or internship offers go to all students. Jobs requiring years of experience go to several hundred previous graduates just looking around to see what’s out there, or considering moving out of California before it burns down or slips into the sea.  Or both.

OTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION 

Federal Regulations and privacy laws prevent us from releasing almost any information regarding our students without their express consent.

Typical salary information for Civil Engineering students can be found here. Scroll down to “Engineering”, “Civil”.

Contact information for any student or professor on campus is available through the University Directory Search website.

This site is updated by Dr. Lee L. Lowery, Jr.

Scholarships and Financial Aid Department

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The start of the Fall semester is around the corner. Scholarships & Financial Aid, the Student Employment Office, the Veteran Services Office, and the Money Education Center are open and ready to assist you!

To allow for social distancing and to provide you with flexibility in how you contact us, we’ve made a few changes. Starting August 10, you can contact our office through the following methods:

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Advisors available to answer questions about grants, loans, scholarships, and processing your financial aid.

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

  • Get in line to talk to an Advisor in-person at the Pavilion

Mondays and Thursdays only, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

If you receive a scholarship check(s), please MAIL your check to Scholarships & Financial Aid, instead of delivering it in-person to our office.

Checks may be mailed to:

   Texas A&M University

   Scholarships & Financial Aid

   P.O. Box 30016

   College Station, TX 77842-3016

Please be certain to legibly write your Texas A&M UIN on the check.

 

Student Employment Office

Advisors available to answer questions about working part-time on or off campus and work study.

 

Veteran Services Office

Advisors available to answer questions about federal and state veteran education benefits for student veterans or dependents.

  • Get in line for a call back from an Advisor
    Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • Get in line to talk to an Advisor online by Zoom

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

  • Get in line to talk to an Advisor in-person at the Pavilion

Wednesdays only, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

Money Education Center

Advisors available to assist with money related topics, such as budgeting, loan repayment, building and protecting credit, and more.

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Be prepared.
If you plan to visit Scholarships & Financial Aid or the Veteran Services Office in person, please make note of the following.

  • You must wear a mask at all times- upon entering and while in the Pavilion building.
  • After getting in line for in-person advising, you will receive periodic text message updates with your estimated wait time. You will not be allowed to enter the Pavilion before it is your turn to be helped. We expect temperatures to be hot. Please plan to arrive close to the estimated time of your appointment, so that you do not have to wait outdoors for long.
  • Before contacting us, always check your Financial Aid Portal in Howdy. Information updates throughout the day.

We are excited to welcome you back to Texas A&M University for the Fall semester, whether you are attending in-person or virtually. We appreciate your cooperation as we all hope to ensure safety and comfort for all. Our offices are here and ready to help!

Scholarships & Financial Aid

http://financialaid.tamu.edu/

https://scholarships.tamu.edu/

Student Employment Office

http://jobsforaggies.tamu.edu/

Veteran Services Office

http://veterans.tamu.edu/

Money Education Center

https://money.tamu.edu/

Option Course Scheduling

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If you wish to graduate with a Structures Option, see the following presentation.  It is critical that you get certain classes out of the way early in your career or you may run out of time and have to remain with the General option.  Contact Dr. Joe Bracci for help in scheduling, Bracci@civil.tamu.edu.

Similar considerations can arise with the environmental option.  Contact Dr. Kung-Hui Chu for assistance: kchu@civil.tamu.edu.

Option Plan Coordinators and Contact Information

General Brumbelow, Kelly CE 140 845-1967 kbrumbelow@civil.tamu.edu
Construction/Engineering Management Walewski, John CE/TTI 705G 862-5673 jwalewski@civil.tamu.edu
Coastal and Ocean Socolofsky, Scott CE/TTI 801 862-3627 socolofs@tamu.edu
Environmental Chu, Kung-Hui (Bella) WERC 205-G 845-1403 kchu@civil.tamu.edu
Geotechnical Aubeny, Charles CE/TTI 808W  845-4478 c-aubeny@tamu.edu
Structural Jones, Harry L. CE/TTI 701 845-4304 h-jones@tamu.edu
Transportation Hawkins, Gene CE/TTI 301C  845-9946 gene-h@tamu.edu
Water Resources  Brumbelow, Kelly WERC, 205-L 458-2678 kbrumbelow@civil.tamu.edu

See the above people if you wish to substitute any courses for those normally required by your option plan.

CVEN 305/301 – Mechanics of Materials

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Summer 2021 – [10402]

Objectives:  To introduce students to applications of stress and deformation relationships for structural members subjected to axial, torsional, and bending loads, and thin-walled pressure vessels. Students will study stress and deformation of structural members under combined loadings, stability of columns, including indeterminate structures and members.

Prerequisites:   To take CVEN 305, you must have received a passing grade in CVEN 221 or the equivalent.  Concurrent registration is not permitted in a prerequisite statics course in any section of CVEN 305.

Lecture:  MWF 08:00 – 09:10 am on Zoom (Prof will send you the Zoom room number)

Office and hours:     https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu/office-hours/

Instructor:  Lee Lowery, Jr, PhD, P.E.

                      Office: 705-E Dwight Look Engineering Building

                      Phone:  979-845-4395  (Office is quarantined so use Home Number:  979-775-5401)

                      Email:  Lowery@tamu.edu

                      Web:  https://lowery.engr.tamu.edu.

Textbook:   You get an electronic version of the textbook when you sign up for the McGraw Hill graded homework at:

https://connect.mheducation.com/class/l-lowery-cven-305_section-301

(Electronic Version as discussed later of Beer, Ferdinand P., E. Russell Johnston, Jr., John T. DeWolf, and David F. Mazurek. 2019. Mechanics of Materials. 11th Edition. McGraw-Hill.)

You can purchase access to McGraw-Hill Connect for the homework using the link to the homework on the course website (discussed later) and this comes with an e-book. Otherwise you can purchase the following:

Combo: Loose-leaf with 1-Semester Access Card, Beer 8th ed, 2020 net price $100, ISBN 9781260901085

Grading:   Your letter grade for this course will be determined based upon grades from 10 or more weekly quizzes, a final exam, and homework assignments, as follows.

Weekly Quizzes Most Fridays beginning on 6/5/2020 with Unannounced Rogue Quizzes on other random class days. 50%
Final Exam

Tuesday, August 10th, 2021

8:00 am – 10:00 am

CHECK THIS AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS

https://registrar.tamu.edu/Registrar/media/REGI_SpecPDFDocs/Summer-2020-Finals-Exam-Schedule.pdf

 30%
Homework  On McGraw-Hill website 20%
Total 100%

Final grade based on your average grade “P”

A:  for P ≥ 90;   B:  90 > for P ≥ 80;   C:  80 >for P ≥ 70;   D:  70 > for P ≥ 60;   F:  60 > P

THERE IS NO EXTRA CREDIT AVAILABLE IN ANY FORM.  EVERYONE IS GRADED EQUALLY.  Yes, I understand that you had extenuating circumstances this semester, but so did everyone else in the class.  That’s why all of the weekly exams and rogue exams and the final exam were so easy, to take this into consideration.

Course Coverage:  The summer format for this class is grouped into fifteen 2-day groups. While these 2-day groups do not coincide with weeks, this is the most logical way to divide the material to agree with the accompanying McGraw Hill videos and homework problems. The homework and video assignments will be assigned by 2-day groups as listed below.

Click here for a list of materials you learned in the past and for which you are responsible on all exams in this class.

 

COURSE COVERAGE TABLE:

NOTE: There are normally TWO summer class lectures in each of the 15 McGraw Hill sections below.

The 1) through 15) are text SECTIONS, not WEEKS!

Dates Textbook Reading Assignments Video Viewing Reviews
1)    6/2 – 6/4

Introduction and course overview

Text Sections:   1.1, 1.2, 1.2A, 1.2B, 1.2C, 1.2D, 1.2E

 Statics Review, Axial Stress, Uniform Bearing Stress, Uniform Shearing Stress, Pinned Axial Member
2)    6/7 – 6/9

Text Sections:    1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.5A, 1.5B, 1.5C, 1.5D, 2.1, 2.1A, 2.1B, 2.1C, 2.1D

 Stresses on Oblique Planes, General State of Stress, Plane Stress, Analysis and Design, Factor of Safety, LRFD, Axial Load
3)    6/11-6/14 Text Sections:   2.1E,2.1F, 2.1G, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 Indeterminate Axial Load, Indeterminate Superposition Axial Load,  Temperature Axial Load, Poisson’s Ratio
4)    6/16-6/18

Text Sections:   2.5, 2.7, 2.10, 2.11, 3.1, 3.1A, 3.1B, 3.1C

At this point, students are strongly encouraged to study Appendix A thoroughly

Hooke’s Law, Shearing Stress, Complete Hooke’s Law, St Venant’s, Stress Concentration, Torsion
5)    6/21-6/23 Text Sections:  3.2, 3.3, 3.4 Angle of Twist, Axial Torsion Analogy, Torsion Example Problem, Gear Relationships, Composite Shaft Problem, Fixed Shaft Problem, Power
6)    6/25-6/28 Text Sections 3.5, 4.1, 4.1A, 4.1B, 4.2 Stress Concentration, Flexure Derivation
7)     6/30-7/2 Text Sections 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7 Composite Beam, Stress Concentration, Planar Eccentricity
8)    7/7-7-9 Text Sections, 4.8, 4.9, 5.1, 5.2, Unsymmetric Bending, General Unsymmetric Bending, Shear and Moment Equations, Shear and Moment Rules
9)    7/12-7-14 Text Sections 5.3, 6.1, 6.1A, 6.1B, Beam Design, Shearing Stress in Beams
10)   7/16-7/19 Text Sections  6.1C,  6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.1A, Stress Transformation I
11)   7/21-7/23 Text Sections 7.1B, 7.2, Stress Transformation II, Mohr’s circle,
12)   7/26-7/28 Text Sections 7.3, 7.4, 7.6, 9.1, 9.1A Absolute Maximum Stress, Pressure Vessels, Spherical Pressure Vessels, Introduction to Beam Deflection, Beam Deflection Problem 1
13)   7/30-8/2 Text Sections 9.2, 9.3, Beam Deflection Problem 2, Beam Deflection Problem 3, Singularity Function, Singularity Function Problem 1, Singularity Function Problem 2, Singularity Function Problem 3
14)   8/4-8/6 Text Sections 9.4, 9.4A, 9.4B, 10.1, 10.1A, 10.1B, Column Buckling
  15)   8/9 Final Exam Review

Final Exam: 08/10/2021 Tuesday 8:00am – 10:00 am

Semester Groups: Each semester contains groups of material listed above.  These are not weeks.  They span the duration of the class in order to agree with the McGraw Hill Homework materials.

Websites :     The McGrawHill Connect website will serve as one of two central resources for this class throughout the semester.  Their Connect website contains your electronic text book and provides the only interface where you can submit your homework.  You cannot email it to anyone nor put it on eCampus for grading.  It is only graded and recorded by McGraw Hill.  Membership in this website can be established by entering the code that you purchased at the bookstore or you can simply go to the McGrawHill website and join directly without interfacing with a bookstore.  It’s also less expensive.  You can access a link to register for this section (CVEN 305/301 Lowery) on the McGraw Hill Connect website by CLICKING HERE.  <—– NOTE   McGraw Hill is still setting this up for us.

Again, to register for this summer’s 305/301 class at McGraw Hill, CLICK HERE:  (NOT YET ACTIVE!!!!!)

https://connect.mheducation.com/paamweb/index.html#/registration/signup/l-lowery-summer20

Daily Videos:

We used to have a set of video lecture reviews by Dr. Lynn Beason for both CVEN 221 (statics) and CVEN 305 (Strength of Materials). They are trying to resurrect them now, but it looks like they are really gone.  I will leave the instructions necessary to get to them below, just in case they show up.

Below are instructions to get to the videos (they still work for CVEN 221 Statics):

(a) In browser, go to  vimeo.com;

(b) Sign up for a FREE account (DO NOT PAY);

(c) Login to vimeo with your sign-in account information;

(d) In top right search box, type “engineering plain and simple”; NOTE!  There are 2 little magnifying glass search boxes on this screen.  You must use the upper one about 2 inches to the right of the word UPGRADE.  NOT the one next to the right edge of the scrre lower down!  Jackasses.

(e) Under ‘show results for’ on top left, click ‘people’;

(f) Then click on icon for “engineering plain and simple”;

(g) Then under “more” on top left, click on “showcases” (these are basically the chapters);

(h) Now you can see all of the videos.  Sadly, although all the 221 Statics are there, only a few of the 305 videos made it.  The videos are loaded upside down.  There are a few 305 on the first page, then the LAST 221 page appears when you click a tab on the bottom of the page to see more.  After clicking about 20 times you get to the beginning of the 221 videos and have to work your way back up.  Jackasses,

Weekly Quizzes: Weekly quizzes will be administered on most Fridays.  Rogue quizzes will be given on any day at random, including Fridays (sometimes two quizzes on one day.).  The questions that appear will be inspired by homework problems that are due up to and including (1) material presented up to one class before the weekly quiz, (2) problems that are covered in class, and (3) materials from statics.

YOU MUST BRING 8 1/2″ x 11″ PAPER WITH YOU TO CLASS EVERY DAY ON WHICH TO WORK EXAMS FOR SUBMISSION TO eCampus.  YOU SHOULD GO AHEAD TODAY AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN PHOTOGRAPH AND EMAIL A PERFECTLY LEGIBLE PROBLEM SOLUTION TO YOURSELF FROM A PIECE OF PAPER.  YOU WILL HAVE TO USE A VERY SOFT PENCIL OR DARK PEN AND EMAIL IT TO YOURSELF.  IF YOU CAN’T READ THE EMAIL COPY YOU SEND TO YOURSELF, WE WON’T BE ABLE TO READ IT EITHER.  Usually we can’t read them because they are too dark!

We don’t want to force you to use any specific software, but some do a much better job of making a legible copy than others.  One of my students suggested Cam Scanner to me and I loved it.  Until I read that they had been hacked and someone they were selling my information to (which they ALL do – that’s how they can give it to you “free”) was playing fast and loose with the data. Like Facebook does.  Like Google does.  Like everything out there that’s “free” does.  Cam Scanner has since fixed this.

When you take a quiz you do not have to copy all of the given and required information, and figures from the quiz but you will be expected to present a neat, legible, complete solution that contains any new figures and free body diagrams, units, and appropriate sign conventions required to make sense of your solution.  Your solution MUST be presented in a logical and methodical manner.  Please note that if your solution presentation is not clear and neat, points will be deducted.

Other Comments:

I am told that when submitting a weekly exam electronically via an eCampus submission box, you should always check that the file was uploaded successfully.  You can check this by downloading the file that you just submitted.  This helps prevent errors such as when students inadvertently click <Save> rather than <Submit>.

eCampus work that was <Saved> but not <Submitted> can’t be accessed by the graders and therefore cannot be graded.

ALSO, when submitting your homework to the McGrawHill homework site, be very careful NOT to SUBMIT your work until you are completely finished with it.  If you want to come back on a later day and work on it some more, just SAVE it.  Once you SUBMIT it, they think you are finished with it and they immediately grade it, including the last 2 or 3 problems you had planned on working on tomorrow, for which they just gave you a zero, and now its too late to change your mind.  TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY – I DON’T THINK YOU CAN UNDO IT.

 

Resources available to the student – NOTE THAT MUCH OF THE LINKED INFORMATION FOLLOWING MAY HAVE TO BE MODIFIED DUE TO OUR FULL USE OF ZOOM AND DISTANCE EDUCATION TECHNIQUES THIS SEMESTER.  I AM STILL WORKING ON THOSE MODIFICATIONS:

The correct time (to the nanosecond)

Course Schedule:

Weekly minor quizzes:  Announced Weekly quizzes, when given, will be given during the last half of Friday’s class (not always, but be prepared).  You must bring a copy of the 305 equation sheet attached here to all exams including the final exam.  There will also be Rogue (unannounced) minor quizzes during the semester, of which you can count up to 5 for grades.  Bring blank 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets of paper every class day on which to take these quizzes.

NOTES ON YOUR HOMEWORK:
The homework assignments may have to be modified from that shown below, depending on our progress during the semester.  Please check the list for changes each day before you work them.  Also note that you MUST submit your answers before the deadline due date stated.

Notes on required viewing of videos:

Quite a few of the homework problems normally assigned in this class have been dropped and replaced in favor of viewing some videos before coming to class.  These video assignments can be accessed by going to http://www.michaelsbrackin.com/cven305/.  The password is “videos” and is case sensitive.  They are also listed in the Video column below.  In each case, you should print out the notes, and then view the videos that follow the notes.  Again, in my case I have to use Firefox to view them.  I am told Chrome also works.  IE may work for you if Flash works on your computer.  If you install Flash BE SURE to unclick their “Optional Offer” trash before installing it.

Homework:    All homework is accessed through the McGrawHill website identified above.  Your answers must be submitted through this website.  This is the only way that you can receive credit for the assigned homework.  The homework is to be submitted to and will be due as indicated on the McGrawHill website. I would advise you to assemble all of the numbered calculation sheets for each assignment in a homework notebook.  This notebook will be a very valuable resource as you prepare for the comprehensive final.  In addition, you MUST bring your problem solution with you should you need help with it during office hours or with the T.A.

Attendance at Minor Quizzes and Final: It is your responsibility to be aware of the dates and times of the weekly quizzes and the final exam.  Changes, if any, to the printed dates and times will be announced in class.  Information presented by the University regarding the timing of the final exam supersedes anything printed herein.

A university excused absence is required to justify an absence from a weekly quiz or the final exam at the announced time and place as defined below.  A doctor’s note must include a statement that you could/cannot appear for valid medical reasons.  The mere fact that you happened to be in a doctor’s office at the time of the examination is not sufficient.  The instructor should be notified of any impending absences well in advance of the scheduled date if possible.

Do not attempt to postpone a quiz/exam on the day that it is scheduled.  It will be extremely hard to locate the instructor on the day of the quiz/exam because they will be involved in final preparations for the quiz/exam. For authorized absences, the instructor can chose to either give a makeup or exclude the missed material from the final grade calculations at their discretion. The make-up day for all missed quizzes is scheduled for later in the semester when hopefully no one later will need it.  That date is as yet to be determined.

No credit will be given for unauthorized absences.

Excused Absences (excerpt from Student Rules:)

http://student-rules.tamu.edu/

7.1 The student is responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to the instructor to substantiate the reason for absence. Among the reasons absences are considered excused by the university are the following: (1Muster)

7.1.1 Participation in an activity appearing on the university authorized activity list. (see List of Authorized and Sponsored Activities)

7.1.2 Death or major illness in a student’s immediate family.  Immediate family may include:  mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents, spouse, child, spouse’s child, spouse’s parents, spouse’s grandparents, stepmother, step-father, step-sister, step- brother, step-grandparents, grandchild, step-grandchild, legal guardian, and others as deemed appropriate by faculty member or student’s academic Dean or designee.

7.1.3 Illness of a dependent family member.

7.1.4 Participation in legal proceedings or administrative procedures that require a student’s presence.

7.1.5 Religious holy day. (See Appendix IV.)

7.1.6 Injury or Illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class.

7.1.6.1 Injury or illness of three or more days. For injury or illness that requires a student to be absent from classes for three or more business days (to include classes on Saturday), the student should obtain a medical confirmation note from his or her medical provider. The Student Health Center or an off-campus medical professional can provide a medical confirmation note only if medical professionals are involved in the medical care of the student. The medical confirmation note must contain the date and time of the illness and medical professional’s confirmation of needed absence.

7.1.6.2 Injury or illness less than three days. Faculty members may require confirmation of student injury or illness that is serious enough for a student to be absent from class for a period less than three business days (to include classes on Saturday). At the discretion of the faculty member and/or academic department standard, as outlined in the course syllabus, illness confirmation may be obtained by one or both of the following methods:

    1.  Texas A&M University Explanatory Statement for Absence from Class form available at  http://attendance.tamu.edu.
    2.  Confirmation of visit to a health care professional affirming date and time of visit.

7.1.6.3 An absence for a non-acute medical service does not constitute an excused absence.

7.1.7 Required participation in military duties.

7.1.8 Mandatory admission interviews for professional or graduate school which cannot be rescheduled.

You will be expected to comply with both 7.1.6.2.a and 7.1.6.2.b to receive an excused absence.

 

Academic Integrity Statement:

“An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.”  Students are expected to understand and abide by the Aggie Honor Code presented on the web at: http://aggiehonor.tamu.edu  No form of scholastic misconduct will be tolerated. Academic misconduct includes cheating, fabrication, falsification, multiple submissions, plagiarism, complicity, etc.  These are more fully defined in the above web site.  Violations will be handled in accordance with the Aggie Honor System Process described on the web site.

Unless specifically allowed in advance by the instructor, all assignments and homework in this class are expected to be completed based on individual effort. Copying the work of others, including a solutions manual, is a violation of Texas A&M Aggie Honor Code, Cheating.

Upon accepting admission to Texas A&M University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor System. Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the TAMU community from the requirements of the processes of the Honor System.

 

Americans with Disabilities Act:

  • Texas A&M University is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. If you experience barriers to your education due to a disability or think you may have a disability, please contact Disability Resources in the Student Services Building or at (979) 845-1637 or visit http://disability.tamu.edu. Disabilities may include, but are not limited to attentional, learning, mental health, sensory, physical, or chronic health conditions. All students are encouraged to discuss their disability related needs with Disability Resources and their instructors as soon as possible.

ABET Outcomes Addressed – From New (1) – (7)

  1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
  2. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
  3. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.