CETA Course featured in "Above Ground Level" Magazine

A course taught by Ladimer Nagurney, associate professor of electrical, computer, and biomedical engineering here in CETA, is featured in the most recent edition of Above Ground Level, the trade magazine of the cell-phone-tower industry. ES 342, Engineering Practice, is a study of the engineering process from concept and design to the release to manufacturing or construction. Students learn about feasibility studies, financial viability, environmental impact, societal concerns, licensing, and working with regulators. Professor Nagurney used the construction of a cell tower as the class project.

The article by Don Bishop, titled “University Course Uses Wireless Tower Example, featured an interview with Jonathan Silver, now a graduate student at Notre Dame. Majoring in mechanical engineering with an acoustics concentration, Jonathan took the course because it was an “opportunity to explore areas that normally wouldn’t be covered in my mechanical classes.”

In the article, Professor Nagurney explains that juniors from all CETA engineering majors, including electrical and computer, mechanical, civil, and biomedical, take the course, so he looks for projects that involve all the majors. And since companies want students who are technically competent but also able to work in multi-disciplinary situations, cell towers are a good project to work on. “You need a civil engineer to certify the plans and show that the tower will stand up, and an electrical engineer for the antenna, and a mechanical engineer for the brackets and pieces to hang the antennas on and the HVAC for the shelter.” Dr. Nagurney went on to say that “We want to graduate engineering students who can work on this kind of team. We want to graduate students who are sensitive to social and political implications of their designs. . . . If your engineer says the wrong thing before a zoning board, that puts an end to the project.”

For more information about ES 342, Engineering Practice, or other courses taught by Dr. Nagurney, please email him at nagurney@hartford.edu. You can also go to our website, uhaweb.hartford.edu/ceta.