ISU engineering structural lab has received a $250K makeover

Full-scale testing of a reinforced concrete pipe inside the new 2.5-million-pound isolation frame | Courtesy Idaho State University
POCATELLO — Idaho State University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Structural Laboratory has undergone a $250,000 facelift.
With funding from the Higher Education Research Council’s Research Infrastructure and ISU’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies, the “SLAB” will now offer students more opportunities to transfer knowledge developed in classrooms into groundbreaking research.
The process of improving the SLAB was led by associate professor Mustafa Mashal, the director of SLAB, and lab manager Jared Cantrell.
“The day I joined ISU in 2016, I had a vision for a unique large-scale testing facility in the state of Idaho,” Mashal said in a news release. “With the help of ISU’s students, faculty and staff we have made that possible. Since the Structural Laboratory opened at ISU in late 2017, it has provided opportunities to dozens of our students and has brought in a significant amount of external research funds.”
“SLAB provides exceptional testing capabilities for construction materials,” ISU associate VP for research David Rodgers said in the release. “(It) gives our engineering students the opportunity to work with industrial partners, and uniquely incorporates the emerging tool of virtual reality.”
Among other additions, the SLAB has been outfitted with a new visualization laboratory, including two pro-grade virtual reality headsets with eye-tracking.
The SLAB was built by students and faculty of the engineering department in 2017, with Mashal as lead structural engineer. Cantrell was the student lead on that project.
“This equipment and capability allow for the experimental testing of various full-scale items that very few institutions are able to accomplish,” Cantrell said.
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Source: eastidahonews.com