First Active Learning Award Recipient To Design New Lighting System for Oakland Bay Bridge

Scott Engberg, a mechanical engineering student who graduated in December 2004, received the college’s first Active Learning Award. Since graduation, he has been the engineering manager at CHM Industries, which has been selected to develop a new lighting solution for the historic Bay Bridge in Oakland, California.

Scott’s active learning experiences at CU-Boulder included research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center. There he focused on a wind turbine fatigue test, for which he helped develop 3D finite element analysis code to predict test parameters. He co-authored a technical conference paper, "Evaluation of the New B-REX Fatigue Testing System for Multi-Megawatt Wind Turbine Blades," which introduced a new hybrid fatigue testing system for wind turbines known as the Blade Resonance Excitation (B-REX) test system.

For the service learning requirement of the Active Learning Award, Scott served as the lead teaching assistant for the mechanical engineering CAD Fabrication class taught by Professor Larry Carlson. This opportunity resulted from his involvement with CU’s Formula SAE racing program, where he indulged his passion for race cars and led the team to a 23rd place finish at the Formula SAE 2004 competition in Detroit.

“Some people spend their senior year designing something that they can never use, [whereas] I could drive my project!” he says. “It was just downright cool — an extremely hands-on application of engineering that I feel was the greatest learning experience I had during my entire college career at CU.”

Scott also took advantage of an opportunity to work on cars while fulfilling the Active Learning Award’s professional requirement and working as an intern at Southwestern Performance Technologies in Newport Beach, California. There he used SolidWorks (three-dimensional CAD software) to update and modify composite parts for the Saleen S7, among other projects for the automotive and aerospace industries.

After graduation, Scott joined CHM Industries near Dallas, Texas. As the company’s engineering manager, he is in charge of a six-person team responsible for the engineering department’s drawings, calculations, and technical customer support. He also manages a team of sales personnel.

One of Scott’s newest projects will be to design a lighting system for Oakland’s Bay Bridge east span replacement, to be constructed by the California Department of Transportation.  The project requires a lowering device for the lighting system so that maintenance can be done at the ground level. The device also has to last in a tough environment—withstanding sea spray, high humidity, and debris. CHM's High Mast, with its all stainless steel cast latching system, met those requirements, Scott says. Because this is a landmark bridge and the bridge's lighting will be one of its most unique design aspects, he has been especially excited about the project. He says, "Every time you drive over the Bay Bridge, you'll know a 'Buff' designed the lighting system!"

Scott's future plans include pursuing a professional engineer (PE) license and earning a mechanical engineering master's degree from the University of Texas-Arlington with an emphasis on automotive engineering.