Matthew Morris News

50 students graduate from the Construction Engineering and Management program

Anonymous — Fri, 31 May 2024 15:34:07 +0000

50 students graduate from the Construction Engineering and Management program Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/31/2024 - 09:34

On April 26, 50 students from CU �鶹ӰԺ's Construction Engineering and Management program, including including one PhD, eight MS and 41 BS students, celebrated their spring 24 graduation at the CEM graduation ceremony. The ceremony took place at the Rustandy Connector, which connects the engineering center and business school. Maja Rosenquist, senior vice president of Mortenson Construction, delivered the keynote address.

The CEM program in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering focuses on preparing students for careers in the construction industry by providing them with the necessary technical and managerial skills to plan, design and oversee construction projects.

On April 26, 50 students from CU �鶹ӰԺ's Construction Engineering and Management program graduated at the Rustandy Connector.

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Engineering students help professor rebuild the home he lost in the Marshall Fire

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:48:32 +0000

Engineering students help professor rebuild the home he lost in the Marshall Fire Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/21/2023 - 04:48

Susan Glairon

From left: Matt Morris, George Kurtz and Daniel Donado Quintero stand in front of Morris's new home, which the three built together. Photo Credit: Jesse Morgan Petersen

George Kurtz witnessed the destructive flames of the Marshall Fire as they torched hundreds of houses across Louisville and Superior, Colorado, causing more $2 billion in damages.

As the son of a carpenter and a senior in architectural engineering at CU �鶹ӰԺ, Kurtz possessed the skills to aid families in rebuilding after the Dec. 30, 2021 disaster, but never imagined he would end up assisting one of his favorite professors in rebuilding his home.

Daniel Donado Quintero, a first-year civil engineering PhD student, also saw the flames, but did not know he’d also play a crucial role in the same project.

Their professor, Matt Morris, in CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, and his family lost everything in the fire. With the support of numerous volunteers, Morris and his two students constructed more than 80 percent of the new house with their own hands, completing the project in 15 months and integrating new technologies and a resilient framework to guard against future environmental threats.

“I enjoyed every aspect of what we did, how much I learned, and the experience I gained,” Kurtz said.

On Dec. 8, nearly two years after the fire reduced their home to ash, the Morris family reoccupied the same lot and their newly constructed home. For the first time in two years, they will celebrate Christmas in their own home.

”My whole family has had smiles on their faces everyday since we moved in,” Morris said.

Winds of change

When the fire came, Morris and his family were envisioning the glistening snow in the mountains, along with the promise of blue skies and brilliant sunshine — a perfect start to the upcoming new year. Their skis, poles and parkas piled high in the garage, they had no idea that this moment would be the last time that they would see those items, their Superior home, or their neighborhood.

Within moments, a faint scent of smoke combined with what initially appeared like a distant dust storm swiftly transformed to a roaring inferno. As Morris, his wife, Kate, daughters Evie, then 6, and Penelope, then 13, escaped in their car, their parting image was a fireball engulfing their home. Morris and his wife had lived there 16 years.

There had been no time to grab their ski gear, their passports or even a small memento. The only thing that survived — a collection of 1999-2008 taxes at the bottom of their safe — Morris later set on fire in frustration that something so useless was all that remained.

That night, sitting on the floor of his brother-in-law’s home, Morris began thinking of the home renovations he and his wife had dreamt about for years.

“At that moment, we knew we were going to rebuild our home ourselves,” said Morris, who had previously worked as a commercial contractor. “It was an opportunity to get what we wanted in a house and build it more resilient than before.

"And, I always wanted to build a house from scratch.”

'Can't thank you enough'

At that decisive moment, Morris had no idea that two of his students, Kurtz, from Morris’ Building Systems and Materials class, and Donado Quintero, from his Intro to Construction class, would play such an integral part in those plans.

Construction started in August 2022, with Morris alone at the helm. Kurtz heard about Morris' efforts and showed up to help pour the concrete foundation. He kept showing up, and Morris eventually hired him. Donado Quintero joined the project in November 2022.

“I believe God was asking me to continue to show up,” he said. “The experience changed my character and my understanding of commitment and discipline and accountability. It was a space where I grew a lot.”

The three now share a deep sense of gratitude for the experience and for each other.

Donado Quintero extended appreciation to Kurtz for his willingness to bring himself and other volunteers onto the project, despite being more experienced.

“He was always very welcoming, not only with me, but with all the volunteers,” Donado Quintero said.” And I want to thank Matt for his willingness to open this space for us to join.”

Kurtz, turning to his mentor, reflected on Morris's daily commitment and resilience.

“Matt’s resilience to get this done was inspiring,” Kurtz said. “Thank you for the opportunity you gave me.”

George showed up every weekend without fail, Morris said. “We experienced a brutally cold and snowy winter, but I could always count on George to be there," he said. "And Daniel was doing this out of the goodness of his heart to get us back into our house.”

Turning to his students, he expressed, “It was for my family, and I can’t thank you enough for that.

“I would never have made it without your help. Only certain things you can do by yourself. The fact that you were there, was one thing, but also that you were dedicated and consistent and just fun to be around.”

Building fortitude

The build’s central focus was on disaster resilience, with Morris choosing insulated concrete forms and steel for structure. The styrofoam forms, which remain in place after the concrete hardens, insulate the house and fortify it against various threats, such as fires, hurricanes, windstorms and tornadoes, he said.

Throughout construction, Morris juggled his role as a university professor Monday through Thursday with 14-hour construction days on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Rising at 3 a.m. each day, he meticulously managed a range of tasks from ordering materials to coordinating subcontractors to preparing drawings for upcoming build days.

On his way to campus each day, Morris would visit the construction site, tending to duties such as clearing debris after windstorms, shoveling snow, managing materials or checking in with subcontractors. Throughout the summers of 2022 and 2023, he devoted every day to the house project.

Donado Quintero said that watching his professor repeatedly push through obstacles was inspiring, including on stressful days spent pouring concrete for walls, where everything needed to be exactly right before the concrete hardened.

“It’s an example of discipline, watching him show up every day, the same hour,” he said.

They battled wind gusts and historic cold temperatures throughout much of the rebuild. Then came the time when the concrete forms unexpectedly blew out, sending concrete in all directions. On another occasion, they moved the forms to the second floor. Despite securing hundreds of pounds of rebar on top of them, the wind lifted and scattered the foam products, causing damage.

Other struggles involved figuring out how to combine technologies. The tight insulation meant a distinct ventilation system needed to be designed specifically for the house. The home’s specialized mechanical system pulls heat from the air and transfers it to water, which supplies radiant heat in the floor. The air-to-water heat pump and ventilation systems are very uncommon as far as Morris knows, and there are very few examples to follow.

“I had a few moments where I thought, why did I do this?” Morris said. “Having to learn every piece took a lot of research and trial and error. There were a few times I wanted to call in for reinforcements, and there just weren't any.

“It was very hard on my family,” Morris said. “My wife and kids held down the fort while I was building the house with these guys. But now that we’re in, they would agree it was worth it. If you asked a month ago, I’m not sure what they would have said.

“Because we did this alone and there were new technologies, it took us longer than anyone in the neighborhood. We were the first to break ground. There were homes that were started seven months after us, and the owners had already moved in.”

On his university computer, Morris flips through the photos that showed the normalcy of Dec. 30 at 12:01 p.m., followed by a 12:08 video from a neighbor’s house camera as the fireball took out his house.

“It’s good to see it again, because then you don’t forget,” Morris said.”It reminds me of why we built it in concrete and steel, even though it was hard.”

A living classroom

The construction site became a living classroom of sorts, where, for instance, they each calculated the height of a steel column, jotting down calculations on two-by-fours and comparing their answers. Both Donado Quintero and Kurtz were eager to learn, and Morris knew which classes they were taking and tried to enhance their learning.

“One of the classes I took this semester related very closely to this experience, so I was able to visualize things in a way that very few students could for reinforced concrete,” Kurtz said.

Morris said he, too, learned a lot from the experience.

“What we built was very unique,” Morris said. "Very few homes in the world have this combination of concrete, steel, and the mechanical and ventilations systems. So I learned a ton.

“I have been thinking about renovations for 16 years, so all the things I wanted, I put in the house,” Morris added. “Even the little things like where the light switch goes.

“I wouldn’t do anything differently.”

Teaching Professor Matt Morris asked his students to help pour concrete. Students came. Two came back again. And again. For more than a year.

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Matt Morris receives Innovation in Education award

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 21:22:17 +0000

Matt Morris receives Innovation in Education award Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/21/2023 - 15:22

Teaching Professor Matthew Morris of civil, environmental and architectural engineering has received the college’s John and Mercedes Peebles Innovation in Education Award for 2023. The award recognizes faculty in the college who have shown a unique commitment to students demonstrated through innovations in education.

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CVEN seniors tackle a portion of the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 21:16:25 +0000

CVEN seniors tackle a portion of the Gross Reservoir Expansion Project Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/20/2023 - 15:16

As part of their capstone project, seniors in CU �鶹ӰԺ's civil engineering program are contributing to the design of the expansion of Denver Water’s Gross Reservoir Expansion Project, which involves raising the height of Gross Dam by 131 feet. The renovated dam will nearly triple the reservoir’s water storage capacity and create a more reliable water system for 1.5 million people in the Denver metro area.

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Cresten Mansfeldt, Matthew Morris explores impacts, solutions after Marshall Fire

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 21:44:34 +0000

Cresten Mansfeldt, Matthew Morris explores impacts, solutions after Marshall Fire Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/21/2022 - 14:44

The Marshall Fire spurred CU �鶹ӰԺ researchers to apply their expertise to the aftermath. CEAE Assistant Professor Cresten Mansfeldt, along with other researchers, collected water samples from Coal Creek waterway shortly after the fire; the work has since expanded to monitor the response of bugs and algae living in these waters. CEAE Teaching Professor Matthew Morris, who lost his Superior home in the fire, helped solicit design and construction proposals from builders, providing homeowners with a “short list” of options to select a builder.

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Morris discusses Marshall Fire, rebuilding on Concrete Credentials Podcast

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 22:36:55 +0000

Morris discusses Marshall Fire, rebuilding on Concrete Credentials Podcast Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/27/2022 - 16:36

Associate Teaching Professor Matt Morris is featured in the latest episode of the Concrete Credentials Podcast.

Morris shares his personal experience of the Marshall Fire, which destroyed his family home in Superior along with the homes of thousands of Coloradans.

He discusses how the wildfire could impact construction strategies, how insulated concrete forms play a role in building non-combustible structures, and how to plan for safer homes in the future.

Listen to Concrete Credentials...

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Construction Diversity Summit coming to CU �鶹ӰԺ

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 22:31:10 +0000

Construction Diversity Summit coming to CU �鶹ӰԺ Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/11/2022 - 15:31

Jeff Zehnder

The �鶹ӰԺ is hosting a Construction Diversity Summit to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction industry.

The free event, planned for April 1, will bring together companies and students from around the state to discuss and raise awareness about diversity-related issues in construction, build empathy within the workforce, and bring forward solutions to help construction employers and employees navigate the industry.

The summit will include breakout sessions, talks on ways to enhance company culture, and programming on skills to promote meaningful dialogue and respect for all contributions, according to Amy Javernick-Will, the Nicholas R. and Nancy D. Petry Professor in Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.

“We hope attendees will recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion on jobsites and in the office, learn new communication strategies and skills, and better understand challenges facing students and graduates to cultivate an inclusive environment,” Javernick-Will said.

The keynote speaker will be Michael J. Garner, who serves as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Garner and his team have designed and implemented workforce strategies at MTA which have significantly increased minority and women hires.

Registration is still open for the summit, and the full schedule is available on the Construction Diversity Summit website.

The event was the brainchild of alumna Briana Santa Ana (CivEngr ’20), who faced discrimination during a summer internship when she was an undergraduate student. Matthew Morris, a senior instructor in CEAE, realized her experience was far too common, and when she suggested a summit to address DEI issues in the construction industry, the event was born.

“Students had reported experiencing, at times, an unwelcoming environment, and one in which they could not see themselves thriving,” Javernick-Will said. “This spurred us to want to bring industry and students together to learn and take action to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where each person could thrive.”

Santa Ana subsequently was recognized with an Outstanding Undergraduate for Service Award by the College of Engineering and Applied Science for her efforts.

The summit is being organized by Morris, together with Sage Hobbs, Amy Moreno-Sherwood, Amy Nelson, Maxine Pryor, and a panel of recent graduates, including Santa Ana.

Support is being provided by numerous industry sponsors, including The Beavers Heavy Engineering Construction Association, Flatiron Construction, Holder Construction, Kiewit Corporation, and Whiting-Turner, as well as the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Endowment for Construction Engineering and Management.

The summit was originally planned for 2020, but was delayed to 2022 by the pandemic.

The �鶹ӰԺ is hosting a Construction Diversity Summit to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction industry.

The free event is planned for April 1...

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CU �鶹ӰԺ Design-Build team wins national championship

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:05:13 +0000

CU �鶹ӰԺ Design-Build team wins national championship Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/16/2021 - 12:05

Jeff Zehnder

Above: The DBIA Buffs: (l-r) Spencer Chuck (AREN Junior), Liam Atkinson (CVEN Senior), Kai Reimers (AREN Junior), Hayley Hansen (CVEN Senior) and Evan Dicks (CVEN PhD Candidate) with faculty advisor Matt Morris.
Header photo: The team on stage at the competition receiving the award.

The “DBIA Buff Builders” have earned first place in the 2021 National Design-Build Student Competition.

The team, comprised of students Liam Atkinson, Spencer Chuck, Evan Dicks, Hayley Hansen and Kai Reimers, presented their winning proposal during the national Design-Build Conference & Expo, which was held in Denver on Nov. 1-3.

The competition challenged teams to create a proposal for an 8,800-square-foot student health facility for a liberal arts college utilizing the design-build process.

“We had to prepare a statement of qualifications, a preconstruction schedule, design renderings, talk about our management approach, how we will manage costs, and how we would get the project done on time,” said Evan Dicks, team captain and a civil engineering PhD student. “We put in a lot of time in and it feels good to come out on top.”

In addition to preparing a 38-page statement of qualifications and a subsequent 33-page proposal, the team presented their project in person before a group of industry judges.

“This was exciting for the students. There was some tough competition,” said Matt Morris, associate teaching professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and the team’s faculty advisor. “We’re very proud of them. It was hundreds of hours of work.”

Dicks said the competition offered a unique challenge to all the team members and that everyone rose to the occasion.

“We all know group projects where 1-2 people are carrying the load, or one person dragging and everyone has to carry them, but this was a team effort through and through,” Dicks said. “Midterms came up right around when deliverables were due, but everyone managed their time.”

In traditional project delivery, the designer and contractor work separately. In the design-build process, they function as a team, providing unified recommendations to fit an owner's schedule and budget.

The competition offers teams a chance to utilize the process as students, gaining valuable experience and skills, in addition to national recognition among industry professionals.

“Companies know the value of this competition,” Dicks said. “It’s definitely an asset. Many companies at the event wanted to meet the students.”

The competition began with 16 teams from 14 universities. It had three phases, with teams initially asked to complete a statement of qualifications. Regional winners were selected in late September and asked to prepare formal proposals. Three finalists — CU �鶹ӰԺ, the University of Arizona, and the University of Florida — were then named to present live during the national expo.

This is not CU �鶹ӰԺ’s first time taking home top honors from the Design-Build Student Competition. Students previously earned first place in 2016.

The “DBIA Buff Builders” have earned first place in the 2021 National Design-Build Student Competition. The team presented their winning proposal during the national Design-Build Conference & Expo, which was held in Denver on Nov. 1-3.

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