The Peter Kiewit Institute

Team Leader
Justin Heckman

Mentors
Rich Lewis, US Army Corps of Engineers
Steven Rumbaugh, Retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Project: Iowa Side Pedestrian Bridge Amphitheater Development

Plan the development of the Iowa riverside pedestrian bridge with environmentally friendly general attractions. This will specifically include an amphitheater in the wetland area to the west of the Council Bluffs levee. The amphitheater will provide entertainment to the public and also a chance for sponsored events and fairs. This project will apply to the No Rise policy since it lies on the floodplain and wetland area. The plan specifics also include a general walkway and environmentally access road for trucks and other vehicles and equipment for the event coordinators. We also plan to construct a general arch entrance consisting of a musical theme. The archway would be located atop the levee closely neighbored by the pedestrian bridge landing.

   

Team Leader
Dee Hoge

Mentors
Wally Stern, Retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lucas Billesbach, JEO Consulting Firm

Project: Bennington High School Addition

The current Bennington High School will not be sufficient to meet the needs of the students in the community in the near future. The rapid growth of the population within the Bennington Public School District has alerted district officials to the need to plan for the expansion of the high school. The current high school is designed for 450 students and the student population in grades 7-12 is projected to reach 425 students in the fall of 2007 and be beyond the building’s capacity in the fall of 2008. Our project is to design the possible additions to the current building that would meet the needs of current and future students of Bennington Public Schools.

   

Team Leader
Steve Hamersky

Mentors
John Leahy, USAF 55th CE Squadron
Gary Krupa, VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS

Project: Villa De Sante Affordable Housing

Elderly affordable housing in north central Omaha shows a consistent pattern of high occupancy. In partnership with Omaha Economic Development Corporation affordable elderly housing and a community center will be built in the Villa de Sante area of 60th and Hartman. This development will provide the elderly of north central Omaha with a place to live that fits their needs and where they can feel involved in their community.

   

Team Leader
Jane Edwards
Jake Winemiller
Brad Niimi

Mentors
Karen M. Griffin, Olsson Associates Consulting Group
Carter M. Hubbard, Olsson Associates Consulting Group
Aaron M. Buettner, Olsson Associates Consulting Group

Project: Linkin' Omaha

Investigating factors involved with a mass transportation system between Lincoln and Omaha. These factors may include but are not limited to: Route (environmental and right of way), Traffic (Problems, commuters, recreation), Bridge at the Platte, Economics (who pays, who loans), Train Design, Railroad Issues (grade, curve, speed).

 

Team Leader
Kathi Smith

Mentors
Anne Peterson, HDR, Inc.
Amanda Bogner

Project: Natatorium

Our S.A.M.E. team is designing a natatorium (a swimming facility). The facility consists of a 25 meter pool to be used by swim teams such as Marian High School's eight time state champion swim team which doesn't have a permanent practice space. The natatorium will also serve as a community pool.

 

Team Leader
Mr. Rick Baker

Mentors
Mr. Dan Pridal, US Army Corps of Engineers
Mrs. Martha Boss, URS
Mr. Jim A. Kollbaum, URS

Project: Transportation system

This year in engineering club, we have decided our project will be a Street car system. This system will be located on 10th street and Bancroft Street. The reason we chose to do this project was because the amount of traffic in the area causes problems with travel and causes some safety concerns. By having a street car system, it cuts down on traffic and makes travel between the Botanical Gardens and the Henry Doorly Zoo much safer and convenient. By having this street car system, we draw more attention to the Henry Doorly Zoo and the Botanical Gardens, promoting their business. Also, during the summer and around the time of the college world series, citizens will be able to pay to park at the botanical gardens and be transported to the zoo. In doing this, we can cut down on the amount of cars on the streets and loosen up space to keep accidents from happening.

   

Team Leader
Marilynn Theis

Mentors
Mark Montz, Hewlett Packard
Fred Cady, PE, TSP

Project: Bringing It Home: Mount Michael Athletics

Through out the history of Mount Michael a large part of a student's life is centered on athletics. Team sports bring the students together teaching teamwork, competitive spirit and contribute to a sense of school pride. Unfortunately not all of the team sports at Mount Michael can have the advantage of competing as truly the "Home Team". Those sports that can not compete at home are Football, Soccer and Track. A new athletic complex where daily practice could be held as well as home games or meets hosted would help the Mount Michael student athlete compete to the best of his ability.

   

Team Leader
Marilynn Theis

Mentors
Mark Butler, HDR, Inc.
Don Ohnstad, HydroGeoLogic

Project: Stadium 2.0

The current Mount Michael Baseball Diamond is average at best. By renovating the existing field with such amenities as permanent seating, handicapped accessibility, and an extended backstop a new and improved baseball complex could be created. This would open up the possibility of hosting larger tournaments and even a State Competition.

   

Team Leader
Dr. Lee A. Kallstrom

Mentors
Philip Deakin, Environcon
Hank Vieregger; Gerry Rathouz, Retired
Robert Sink, CH2M Hill

Project: Conceptual Design for Midwest Xpress, a high speed rail system

The Engineering Design and Development Class at Omaha North High School found a need for a simple expressway between Omaha and Lincoln and created a conceptual design of a monorail to connect the two metropolitan areas. In the past decade eastern Nebraska has boomed with new economic interests, growth, and attractions. However, traffic between the two major cities, Omaha and Lincoln, has become a burden on residents. We see great need for some kind of connection between the Omaha and Lincoln communities. We, the Senior Class at Omaha North High School, propose a high speed rail system between the two metropolitan areas with connections in-between to the smaller communities.

     

Team Leader
Dr. Lee Kallstrom

Mentors
Eddy Santamaria, Contrivium

Project: The Vikingship

Our team is working on designing a multipurpose athletic facility/stadium to host various events. The reason behind the project is that Omaha North High School is the only Omaha Public high school without a stadium of its own. The stadium section of the facility will have a 4,500 seat capacity with the possibility of grass burms outside the end zones. The field will have both football and soccer field line markings with a six lane track that has eight lanes on the home straight. This facility will be to host a plethora of activities including: football, soccer, track, concerts, graduation, etc; also included will be locker rooms, blue field turf, automated shutters for the stadium lights, training rooms, and handicap accessibility.

 

Team Leader
Dr. Lee Kallstrom

Mentors
Greg Stachon, BCDM Architecture
Jamie Wietfeld, BCDM Architecture

Project: Cornfield to Community: Sunset Acres

Our team has decided to design a neighborhood, called Sunset Acres, in western Bennington. This neighborhood will help accommodate all of the people who are moving to Omaha’s suburbs. Sunset Acres will include certain aspects of the design philosophy called New Urbanism, making the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly. This project will help us understand the effort needed to design a subdivision using the engineering process.

 

Team Leader
Lynn Weaver

Mentors
Johnette Shockley, US Army Corps of Engineers
Brian Osborn, URS

Project: Performance Intracting: Cutting Energy Usage at Papillion-LaVista High

Inefficiency at Papillion-LaVista High School results in unnecessarily high heating and cooling costs and disproportionate use of natural resources. Therefore, we propose a series of feasible changes that will improve the efficiency of the building, thus reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and cutting the utility costs or our school over time.

   

Team Leader
Dr. Al Hudek

Mentors
John E. Jorgensen, HGM Associates Inc.
Kim Conine, HGM Associates Inc.

Project: Jefferson Sports Complex

As the 2006-2007 Thomas Jefferson Engineering Team, we have decided upon creating a new indoor sports complex. Our site, 2400 West Broadway, is a prime location for both our school and our community. We plan on including sports such as football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, soccer, and much more.

 

Team Leader
Gregg Ratliff

Mentors
Chris Cain, 3DS2, Inc.
Megan Lutz, DLR Group

Project: A 'Green' Approach

Because resources needed to sustain a growing community must also increase as new developments sprout up, how can we incorporate sustainability into the Omaha area in order to limit waste and the increasing the need for resources such as water and power? As a team, we plan to first research what is required to be a sustainable community and look at green requirements. Through this research, we will find a site and create a possible community, which utilizes the ideas of sustainability and is environmentally friendly. The team will divide up to accomplish different tasks that will all fit into our overall project. Using different resources, we will create a sustainable community and a house plan that are environmentally friendly and efficient.

   

Team Leader
Chad Zimmerman

Mentors
Ryan Huff, HWS Consulting Group
Sarah Hansen, Olsson Associates Consulting Group

Project: SIMP Drag Stip & Road Course

The project we are proposing is to make a large and modern drag strip with a road course. Our purpose and goal in this project is to design and create something that would benefit our local society. The complex will provide entertainment and fun, as well as national recognition and tourism to Omaha and some other parts of Eastern Nebraska. It will be located northwest of Omaha. The drag strip and the road course will be contained in a triangle of land that was previously an airport. It will seat around 75,000 spectators and will provide food and drink as well as various, unique local businesses. This project will be a positive influence the growth of Omaha as a city.

   

Team Leader
Chad Zimmerman

Mentors
Greg Stieren, BCDM Architecture
Dale Schilke, BCDM Architecture

Project: Westside Athletic Facility Renovation

Our group is going to redo the pool, the gyms, and some of the locker rooms at Westside High School. All of the other athletic areas have been updated and it is about time these areas are updated as well. Many of the students as well as faculty have commented on the amount of space and the overall cleanliness of the pool and the locker rooms. We are planning to expand the pool deck and redo the layout of the pool locker rooms. We also plan to add more seating for spectators. As for the gym we are going to redo the entrances to make getting in and out easier. A new swimming facility and gyms will attract more teams to have events here as well as attract more spectators.