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2025 PACE Research Seminar

Integrating and Harmonizing

April 22-23, 2025

Location:
Nittany Lion Inn

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Agenda

April 22:  

6:00 PM:  Reception

6:45 PM:  Dinner

7:30 PM: State of the Department – Jim Freihaut, Interim Department Head and Student Awards

7:45 PM: Dinner Presentation

Speaker

Title, Company

Presentation title

Topic Summary

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April 23: 

7:00 AM – Breakfast – 

8:00 AM:  Welcome and Program Overview

8:15 AM: Keynote Presenter

Speaker

Title, Company

Presentation title

Topic Summary

9:00 AM: Break & Poster session

9:30 AM:  Session 1 –

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10:15AM: Break & Poster session

10:45 AM –   Session 2 – 

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12:00 PM:  Lunch

1:00 PM – Introduction of new S:PACE Officers

1:15 PM – Session 3 –

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2:15PM: Break & Poster session

2:45 PM –    

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3:45 PM: Closing Comments, Poster Competition Winner, and Adjourn

We would like to extend a special Thank You to all of our PACE contributors for supporting student participation in this event.

Register here:  Click Here for Registration

2024 PACE Research Seminar

Building Intelligence

April 15-16

Location:
Penn State Conference Center and Hotel

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Agenda

April 15:  

6:00 PM:  Reception

6:45 PM:  Dinner

7:30 PM: State of the Department – Jim Freihaut, Interim Department Head and Student Awards

7:45 PM: Dinner Presentation

Emily O’Keefe
Senior Project Manager, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger

Up in Smoke: Post-Fire Investigation and Damage Assessment of the New Zealand International Convention Center

When completed, the New Zealand International Convention Center (NZICC) will be a signature attraction in the heart of Auckland, New Zealand. Tragically on October 22, 2019, while construction on the NZICC was nearing 80% completion, the roof caught on fire. The nature of the roof design prevented firefighters from being able to extinguish the fire until four days later, leading to extensive thermal, smoke, and water damage throughout the building’s fourteen levels. The immediate aftereffects of the fire rendered the building inaccessible due to environmental and health hazards, exacerbating the consequences of water and fire damage and complicating the determination of causation (fire vs. water vs. post-event weather exposure) and documentation of damage appropriate for insurance claims and remedial works. The result was a multi-year remediation process that included reconstructing the damaged structure, evaluating and identifying new coating and fire protection systems, and evaluating and replacing architectural systems and finishes. This presentation will walk through the fire event and highlight key lessons learned, and successes, during this complex fire investigation and damage assessment.

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April 16: 

7:00 AM – Breakfast – The Gardens

8:00 AM:  Welcome and Program Overview

8:15 AM: Keynote Presenter

Dr. Alan R. Wagner,
Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering
Senior Research Associate for the Rock Ethics Institute
The Pennsylvania State University

Understanding Human-Robot Trust during Emergencies

Trust is often a necessary precursor for the adoption and correct use of an autonomous robot, especially when that use of a robot entails significant risk. Following a robot’s evacuation directions during an emergency presents serious risk and requires trust on the part of the evacuee. This work examines how and why humans trust robots by evaluating whether people will follow a robot during a stress-inducing emergency evacuation. Our work demonstrates that people tend to overtrust robots, relying on them when they should not, potentially increasing the risks they face. This work also explores Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) in situations when the human is under duress, and their decision-making may be influenced by their fight-or-flight instincts. We present results from simulation, virtual reality, and physical experiments and also discuss the ethical ramifications of creating emergency evacuation robots that may one day be tasked with assisting in saving human lives.

9:00 AM: Break & Poster session

9:30 AM:  Session 1 – Building Intelligently

• Chase Walter (Finalist) – Using drones to assess Envelope Performance
• Ethan French (BAE/MAE) – Implementing Layout Robots
• Justin Miller (BAE) – Re-thinking PSU Dorm Renovations using Modular Construction

10:15AM: Break & Poster session

10:45 AM –   Session 2 – Building Sustainably

• Kira Blenk (BAE/MAE) – Understanding the changing market for office spaces
• Klaudia Bak (Finalist) – Consol Project 
• Zachary Hasco (BAE/MAE) – Living Building Challenge
• Zachary Brown (BAE/MAE) – Sustainable Concrete 
• Patrick Doherty (BAE/MAE) – Soil Contamination and Treatment

12:00 PM:  Lunch

1:00 PM – Introduction of new S:PACE Officers

1:15 PM – Session 3 – Building our People

• Andrew Talarico (BAE/MAE) – Why do we Build?
• Caterine Yunez-Cosme (BAE/MAE) – Using Personality Profile Assessments in Teams
• Joseph Saglimbeni (BAE) – Leveraging Emotional Intelligence to Develop Leadership
• Brent Darnell (Brent Darnell International)
  – Transform the Future of Construction by Focusing on Your People

2:15PM: Break & Poster session

2:45 PM –   Building Efficiently

• Emily Pugh (BAE/MAE) – Early Trade Involvement
• AJ Banas (Finalist) – Atrium Health
• Adith Calix (BAE) – Pull Planning
• Ryan Gamler (BAE/MAE) – Digitalization of the Last Planner System®

3:45 PM: Closing Comments, Poster Competition Winner, and Adjourn

We would like to extend a special Thank You to all of our PACE contributors for supporting student participation in this event.