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Novak Teaches Teachers
 As
part of PCA’s community outreach program, Lawrence Novak,
PCA’s director of engineered buildings, participated in the
first Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Leadership
forum for Illinois high school teachers on January 29, 2010.
The special full day event attracted more than 140 educators and
included panel discussions on how to enrich student education in
math, science, engineering and sustainability. The attendees were
also given a tour of the new state-of-the art, completely reconfigurable,
STEM research lab at Niles North High School in Skokie, Ill., which
allows students to be involved in independent research. Congresswoman
Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) was the opening speaker and stressed President
Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign and the
importance of reinvigorating science education.
PCA’s Novak Presents
Sustainable Design at Teacher Workshop
 Lawrence
Novak, director of engineered buildings at PCA, discussed how to
teach sustainable design at the Green Building Workshop for grade
school and high school teachers on May 19 and 20 at the Chicago
Museum of Science and Industry. Novak covered building materials,
the role of the design professional, green building aspects, LEED,
and teaching strategies. Interactive discussions and demonstrations
revolved around smart design, material efficiency, energy efficiency,
water efficiency and healthy environments.
Per Sara Tschaen, Senior Education Coordinator with the Center
for the Advancement of Science Education, PCA’s “presentation
was really engaging, and the demonstrations made some of the design
principles much more clear for me and for the teachers in attendance”.
Included in the workshop was a tour of the museum’s new green
Smart Home rated “Chicago’s Greenest Home” which
utilizes exterior cement panel siding donated by Cembonit to add
protection from the elements and thermal mass. The museum’s
written description for the siding states that “cement is
a green material, plus the color is integrated into the material,
rather than needing paint applied (long-lasting, low-maintenance)”.
The teacher workshop program is designed to assist teachers in encouraging
young minds to explore the full spectrum of sustainability for the
future.
Concrete Engineering on Full
Display During Engineering Week Expo
The
DuPage Area Engineers Week Expo, held February 21, 2009 at the Illinois
Institute of Technology Wheaton, Ill., campus, drew more than 1,200
attendees interested in learning more about the science behind building.
As part of the expo, PCA
Director of Engineered Buildings Larry Novak presented "Buildings
to shake-rattle and roll!" to four standing-room-only crowds.
The seminar allowed children to build Lego skyscrapers and test
if they could withstand a miniature earthquake. Sponsored by the
Structural Engineers Association of Illinois, the presentation highlighted
sustainable high-rise building design and illustrated the concepts
of seismic design.
PCA Recognizes Young Creative Minds
In conjunction with National Engineers Week, Chicago
engineering societies hosted on January 26, 2008
a student design competition for area schools. The contest, known
as the “Future City Competition”, required middle grade
students with the assistance of an engineer mentor, to design a
future city.
According to Bob Johnson, spokesman for the Chicago program, the
competition is in the sixteenth year and is the only one of the
40 regional programs that has completed all years. Regional chairman
Don Wittmer notes, “It is exciting to see the interaction
between the students and witness the enthusiasm that these students
have in learning about engineering and the real life problems that
are encountered every day. Our hope is that this competition helps
students consider the possibility of studying engineering when they
attend college.”
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| Team from Franklin Middle School and their
winning Project “Qubitersum” |
A city of the future – “Qubitersum”
-- designed by eighth grade students from Franklin Middle School,
Wheaton, won the Chicago Regional National Engineers Week Future
City Competition™. Qubitersum is the name for the
new city established in the desert of Australia. Qubitersum
has many great features. One of the greatest is that spray-on solar
cells are used to power all of the city buildings. Within these
spray-on solar cells are nanoscale spectrometers that are aware
of when day changes to night and there is no more sunlight. When
this happens the sensors tell the fuel cells to take over the process
of keeping power running in the city. There is also a wonderful
maglev transportation system.
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| Team from Keller Regional Gifted Center and
their winning Project “Equilibria” |
PCA provided a special award for the project which exhibited the “Best
Use of Concrete in Building Technology”. This special award
was won by the students from the Keller Regional Gifted Center for
their project “Equilibria” which featured a two tiered
city with towers above and a mass transportation center below. Each
student received an individual plaque and a $50 US Savings Bond and
the school received one large plaque for display. PCA commends all
the students who participated for their effort and creative solutions.
Student Mariel Tader (age 14) said, “It was fun experience
learning about the different branches of engineering”. “Future
City is a great learning experience”, I wish I could do it
every year," comments Karen Suarez (age 13).
Reaching for the Stars—Bringing
Structural Concepts to Life
 Structural
engineer Lawrence Novak (manager of building structures for PCA
and SEAOI board member) and his son Alex Novak, age 10, presented
structural engineering and “green” building design as
part of the PACE (Parents and Community for Excellence) 2nd annual
“Reach for the Stars!” event for Oswego, Ill., district
308 students held May 12, 2008. The program is
a celebration of academically talented grade school students and
the teachers who enable them to reach for the stars every day.
 Lawrence
encouraged students to compare building structures with those found
in nature. The presentation engaged the student audience with the
fascinating possibilities for their future. Per Pam Nagel, the organizer
of the event, “the juxtaposition of Mr. Novak’s worldwide
travel experience and totally approachable style of presentation
completely WOWed everyone in the audience. Even my "know-it-all,"
8th grade son appreciated what he had to share with everyone. From
interactive visual aids (the fossilized dinosaur egg and shark tooth
were my personal favorites), to windmill analogies, his presentation
truly brought structural concepts to life in a tangible way.”
150 students and parents attended the evening events which featured
interactive displays and presentations that are fun and educational,
designed to enhance children’s interest in math, science,
and of course engineering.
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