Department of Construction Management and Wood Products Engineering

SUSAN E. ANAGNOST, Chair
153 Baker Laboratory
315-470-6880; FAX 315-470-6879

• Department of Construction Management and Wood Products Engineering website
  

Participating Faculty

ANAGNOST, Chair, (Wood Anatomy, Biodegradation of Wood, Micro-technique,), HANNA (Ultrastructure, Microscopy, Image Analysis), KIM (Cost Engineering, Construction Management, Lean Construction), KYANKA (Construction, Applied Mechanics, Engineering Design), MEYER (Wood Properties, Wood Utilization, Anatomy), MORSI-HUSSEIN (Structural Engineering, Mechanics), SMITH (Wood Preservation and Protection, Wood Moisture Relations and Drying, Manufacturing and Processing, Marketing), TISS (Construction Safety, Estimating, Planning and Scheduling, Construction Management)

The Department of Construction Management and Wood Products Engineering offers two bachelor of science degrees: construction management, and wood products engineering. Both degrees prepare students for a wide variety of professional careers, either in the construction industry or in the wood products manufacturing or marketing industries. The programs are designed to promote the utilization of sustainable construction practices and the sustainable manufacture and use of renewable wood products. Instruction is tailored to the interests of individual students through the selection of electives taken at both ESF and Syracuse University. A minor in business management is available for qualified students through Syracuse University (see page 9). Students interested in this minor should meet with their advisor as soon as possible.

Professional growth of students is stimulated by active member-ship in student chapters of professional construction and wood science organizations. Students are encouraged to join at least one organization that is of particular interest to them: the Student Construction Association (affiliated with The Associated General Contractors of America and General Building Contractors of New York State), or the Forest Products Society.

Many students who enter programs in construction management or wood products engineering are transfer students. Graduates of A.S. programs in liberal arts, math/science, and engineering/science as well as A.A.S. programs in architectural, civil, construction, mechanical, and wood technologies are encouraged to apply. Students with or without two-year degrees who meet all lower-division requirements and have 62 credits in acceptable coursework transfer as juniors for a four-semester program. Transfer students who have completed pre-calculus, but have not completed chemistry and/or physics or have not met most of their general education requirements generally finish in five or six semesters.

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Bachelor of Science in Construction Management

The commercial construction industry represents almost 8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, while the entire construction industry represents 20 percent of the nation’s GDP. Because of this economic importance the industry is very competitive. Also, there are many small firms whose presence increases competition. With more construction companies bidding on jobs, organizations with the best-prepared professionals using the latest technology are the most successful. This competition applies not only to contractors, but also many others involved in construction operations such as engineers, human resource managers, and material and equipment suppliers. People engaged in this industry must have state-of-the-art skills and knowledge to thrive.

The construction management degree program prepares students for management careers in the construction industry. The objectives of the program are twofold:  to study the various methods used to take a design into the field and construct a quality structure in the most efficient and effective manner with minimal environmental impacts, and to provide an understanding of basic engineering and environmental considerations in construction.

Students learn the behavior of a wide variety of construction materials, including wood and engineered wood products, and study the analysis of various structural components and systems. Courses include construction safety, construction equipment, construction methods, building codes and zoning, specifications, planning and scheduling, estimating, construction management, structural analysis, soil mechanics, composite materials, and computer applications.

Environmental concerns are incorporated within the program by addressing workplace safety, environmental impact evaluation, and codes concerning structural, fire, and hazardous material requirements. Emphasis on environmental and personal safety includes asbestos mitigation, noise pollution, air monitoring and sampling techniques. Additional elective course offerings support the field of sustainable construction with topics such as innovations in residential construction and green entrepreneurship. Energy efficiency in buildings is studied based upon the New York state energy conservation code and federal guidelines. Legal and social aspects are integrated into the program in the later stages.

Graduates of the construction management program are well prepared for careers in a very challenging and dynamic field. Positions held by alumni include construction project manager, safety director, project engineer, construction engineer, field engineer, and planner/scheduler.

Students may enter the bachelor of science program as first-year students or as transfer students. Students who are preparing to transfer to ESF as juniors must have earned at least 62 credits of college coursework, in courses comparable to the lower-division course requirements.

Undergraduate Program Requirements

Lower Division Required Courses 1 (42 credits)

Courses                                                                                       Credits

WPE	132	Orientation Seminar: Wood Products Engineering 2		1
APM	105	Calculus I	G 3	4
APM	106	Calculus II		4
APM	153	Computing Methods		3
CLL	190	Writing and the Environment	G	3
CLL	290	Writing, Humanities and the Environment	G	3
EFB	120	The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society		3
EFB	226	General Botany		4
ERE	221	Engineering Mechanics: Statics		3
ERE	362	Mechanics of Materials		3
FCH	150	General Chemistry I	G	3
FCH	151	General Chemistry Laboratory I		1
FOR	207	Introduction to Economics	G	3
PHY	211	General Physics I		3
PHY	221	General Physics Lab I		1

Electives 4 (33 credits)

Electives		21
General Education Course: American History	G	3
General Education Course: Other World Civilizations	G	3
General Education Course: Western Civilization	G	3
General Education Course: The Arts	G	3

Upper Division Required Courses (53 credits):

ESF	332	Seminar for New Transfer Students 5	0
APM	391	Introduction to Probability and Statistics	3
CIE	337	Soil Mechanics and Foundations I	4
CIE	338	Foundation Engineering OR Elective	3
ERE	371	Surveying for Engineers	4
FOR	360	Principles of Management	3
WPE	331	Construction Safety	3
WPE	335	Cost Engineering	3
WPE	342	Light-Frame Construction	3
WPE	343	Construction Estimating	3
WPE	387	Wood Structures and Properties	3
WPE	404	Timber Design Project	3
WPE/LSA	410	Computer-Aided Design and Drafting	3
WPE	422	Composite Materials	3
WPE	453	Construction Planning and Scheduling	3
WPE	454	Construction Project Management	3
WPE	455	Construction Contracts and Specs	3
WPE	497	Senior Seminar	3

Total minimum credits for the degree                                                                        128 credits

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Bachelor of Science in Wood Products Engineering

The bachelor of science degree in wood products engineering is accredited by the Society of Wood Science and Technology.

Wood is the premier material for manufacturing, building and construction. It is renewable, and produced from a sustainable natural resource. Wood is strong, lightweight, economical, long lasting and attractive, and is made into countless products desired by society. Our graduates contribute to and are employed by the industries that manufacture such high-value wood products as hardwood lumber and furniture, efficient and economical building materials such as soft-wood lumber, plywood and engineered composite materials, and industrial materials such as treated poles, piling and timbers. Our graduates also contribute and are employed by the related lumber and building material merchandising and distribution industries.

The competitive nature of industry today has caused wood products manufacturing companies in recent years to concentrate effort on improving manufacturing efficiency and material usage. Wood pro-ducts graduates from ESF have the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute as production managers, and engineers, and in manu-facturing to help these firms most efficiently process the best mix of lumber quality and cost into products while minimizing waste. These graduates also contribute to the design and most effective and appropriate utilization of composite and engineered wood products.

Most activities are directed toward the forest products industry of New York, but the Wood Products Engineering program has a long tradition of national and international service.

The program provides a broad education, encompassing study of the anatomical, physical, and mechanical properties of wood. Students learn to apply basic and engineering sciences to the broad spectrum of products made from wood and its derivatives. Subject areas cover the anatomical, physical and mechanical properties of wood and components utilizing wood, their industrial applications, manufacturing and marketing of wood products, and the economic aspects of this renewable resource. A materials science approach is used, similar to the specialized studies associated with metallurgy, plastics, and other engineering materials.

A core curriculum is supplemented by elective concentration areas to allow students to design their own specialized courses of study. The curriculum has been planned to produce graduates who under-stand why wood behaves as it does and who can contribute to the utilization and production of virtually any type of wood product.

Each student is required to develop an educational plan designed to meet career objectives. Elective concentration areas are marketing and production, engineered wood products, and wood science. Recom-mended courses for each concentration are developed in consultation with faculty advisors.

Essential knowledge for all wood products engineering graduates:

• Identification, properties, and uses of wood
• Classification of tree species; relations between species and general of important North American timber species, including growth ranges
• Wood-moisture relationships
• Wood biology: anatomy and decay
• Wood protection
• Production of solid wood and composite products
• Wood mechanics — design of wood structural elements
• Marketing of wood products
• Use of wood in construction and other engineered applications such as furniture

Additionally, other courses address environmental concerns and natural resource professionalism to provide the well-rounded educational experience required of a graduate from a leading wood science and technology curriculum offered at one of the foremost colleges dealing with renewable natural resources.

A total of 126 credit hours is required for graduation. Recommended electives for each concentration area are available from faculty advisors.

Elective concentration area details:

Marketing and Production: Students selecting the marketing and production concentration prepare themselves for careers in a wide variety of manufacturing operations, ranging from primary lumber, plywood panel, engineered composites, or particleboard mills to secondary production operations such as the manufacture of millwork or furniture; or they enter the wholesale or retail marketing and sales fields, dealing with forest products and/or other building materials. Others work for suppliers to the forest products industry, marketing products such as paints, coatings or adhesives, or work for machine manu-facturers. Concentration courses to provide skills listed below include business classes from the Syracuse University School of Management.

Essential knowledge for marketing and production concentration graduates:

• The importance of forest products in the national and international marketplace
• The role of marketing in the distribution of goods
• Physical, mechanical and other characteristics and properties of wood which affect design and performance of products in use
• Production scheduling and wood manufacturing operations
• Operations management
• Personnel and labor relations. 

Engineered Wood Products: Students selecting the engineered wood products concentration study the development and production of engineered and value-added wood-based composite products.

Essential knowledge for Engineered Wood Products students includes:

• Production and utilization of wood-based composite products
• Physical and mechanical properties of engineered wood products
• Trends in construction related to the use of engineered wood products

Wood Science: Students in the wood science concentration take courses dealing with the biological aspects of wood (e.g., anatomy, tree growth-wood quality relations, effects of decay) and the physical characteristics of the material (e.g., physical properties, mechanical and engineering properties, the physics of preservation or seasoning).

Some wood science students are preparing for graduate school and eventually enter a career in research, such as in a private or government research laboratory, or with a trade association or service organization. Others find rewarding and challenging careers in teaching or industrial settings.

Essential knowledge for wood science concentration graduates:

• Relations between tree growth and wood properties
• Wood-water relationships; the effects of moisture on the properties of wood
• Decay processes
• Evaluation and analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of wood

Students may enter the bachelor of science program as first-year students or as transfer students. Students who are preparing to transfer to ESF as juniors must have earned at least 62 credits of college course-work, in courses comparable to the lower-division course requirements.

Undergraduate Program Requirements

Lower Division Required Courses 6 (36 credits)

WPE	132	Orientation Seminar: Wood Products Engineering 7		1
APM	105	Calculus I	G8	4
APM	106	Calculus II		4
APM	153	Computing Methods		3
CLL	190	Writing and the Environment	G	3
CLL	290	Writing, Humanities and the Environment	G	3
EFB	120	The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society		3
EFB	226	General Botany	G	4
FCH	150	General Chemistry I		3
FCH	151	General Chemistry Laboratory I		1
FOR	207	Introduction to Economics	G	3
PHY	211	General Physics I		3
PHY	221	General Physics Laboratory I		1

Electives (18):

Electives 9		6
General Education Course: American History	G	3
General Education Course: Other World Civilizations	G	3
General Education Course: Western Civilization	G	3
General Education Course: The Arts	G	3

Upper Division Required Courses (47 credits):

ESF	332	Seminar for New Transfer Students 10	0
APM	391	Introduction to Probability and Statistics	3
EFB	336	Dendrology	3
ERE	221	Engineering Mechanics: Statics	3
ERE	362	Mechanics of Materials	3
FOR	333	Managerial Economics for Environmental Professionals	3
WPE	322	Mechanical Processing	3
WPE	326	Fluid Treatments	3
WPE	342	Light-Frame Construction	3
WPE	376	Decay of Wood Products	3
WPE	387	Wood Structures and Properties	3
WPE	388	Wood and Fiber Identification Laboratory	2
WPE	404	Timber Design Project	3
WPE	422	Composite Materials	3
WPE	444	Wood Products Marketing	3
WPE	487	Fundamental Properties of Wood	3
WPE	497	Senior Seminar	3

Elective Concentration courses 11		15
Electives		9

Total minimum credits for the degree                                                                            125 credits

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Graduate Program

The Department of Construction Management and Wood Products Engineering offers graduate education leading to the master of science, master of professional studies, and doctor of philosophy degrees through the program in environmental and resource engineering.

Areas of graduate research include construction management and engineering, wood science and technology, wood anatomy and ultra-structure, tropical timbers, wood treatments, engineered wood products, and timber structures. These areas of research are described in the section on Division of Engineering. Students with back-grounds in wood science and technology, construction, engineering, or the sciences can pursue graduate study in this field.

A major renovation to the teaching and research laboratories is nearing completion. Construction Management laboratory facilities include a computer facility with estimating, scheduling, project management, wood engineering design, computer aided design and drafting, finite element analysis and other specialized software.

Wood Products Engineering Laboratory facilities include a mechanical testing laboratory with a wide range of testing equipment, electronic data acquisition facilities, and wood processing facilities including a dry kiln, wood preservation equipment, wood machining laboratory, and sawmill.

The C.J.K. Wang Wood Biodegradation Laboratory includes mycology culturing facilities and a modern molecular analysis labor-atory; research microscopes, image analysis system and wood microtechnique equipment.

One of the largest wood collections in the world, the H. P. Brown Memorial Wood Collection, is used to support the graduate research program of the Tropical Timber Information Center. The center also maintains the Carl deZeeuw Memorial Library.

A complete microscopy and image analysis laboratory is provided by the N.C. Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studies. This equipment includes a transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscopes with energy dispersive x-ray analysis and particulate analysis accessories, and a wide variety of light microscopes equipped with image enhancement and various video image analysis capabilities. Graduate students using this equipment have the best available systems to relate the macroscopic behavior of wood to its anatomical characteristics.

The Renewable Materials Institute conducts research in the broad area of sustainable development of wood resources and the uses of wood products.

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   Students who enter as freshmen complete a one-credit course, WPE 132, and 8 credits of electives. Students who enter as transfer students complete a zero-credit course, ESF 332, and at least 9 credits of electives at the lower division.
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   Required for students who enter as freshmen.
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   Meets the requirements for general education skills and knowledge area. A complete listing of ESF or Syracuse University courses that meet general education standards established by SUNY is listed on page 8 and on the Internet at www.esf.edu/GenEd.pdf
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   Students who enter as freshmen complete a minimum of 8 credits of electives at the lower division plus the one-credit orientation seminar. Students who enter as transfer students must complete a minimum of 9 credits of electives at the lower division and the zero-credit transfer seminar.
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   Required for students who enter as transfer students.
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   Students who enter as freshmen complete a one-credit course, WPE 132 and students who enter as transfer students complete a zero-credit course, ESF 332.
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   Required for students who enter as freshmen.
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   Meets the requirements for General Education skills and knowledge area. A complete listing of ESF or Syracuse University courses that meet the General Education standards established by SUNY is listed on page 8 and on the Internet at www.esf.edu/GenEd.pdf
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   Students who enter as freshmen complete a one-credit orientation seminar. Students who enter as transfer students must complete the zero-credit transfer seminar.
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    Required for students who enter as transfer students.
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    All students must complete at least 18 credit hours of elective concentration courses selected from an advisor-approved sequence of available courses. Examples of acceptable courses are Syracuse University courses in the generalmanagement studies, entrepreneurship or marketing minors; WPE 343 Construction Estimating; PHY 212 General Physics II; FCH 221 Organic Chemistry I; APM 485 Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers.