We are Hiring: Lecturer (full-time) in Digital Design & Professional Communication

We are Hiring: Lecturer (full-time) in Digital Design & Professional Communication

We are excited to announce the availability of a full-time (12 month) Lecturer position in our BCT program, focused on Digital Design & Professional Communication in the AEC field. Reviews begin in early April with a job start date of September 1, 2024. See below for details: APPLY NOW Job no: 522021 Work type: Faculty Full Time Location: UMass Amherst Department: Environmental Conservation Union: MSP Categories: Faculty, College of Natural Sciences About UMass Amherst UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region. About the Department and the Program Building and Construction Technology (BCT) is one of the programs in the Department of Environmental...
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BCT Students’ Preconstruction Team wins First Place at ASC Region 1 Competition

BCT Students’ Preconstruction Team wins First Place at ASC Region 1 Competition

We are thrilled to announce that after a semester of hard work and dedication, BCT's amazing preconstruction student team, under the skillful guidance of Prof. Fernando Romero, have achieved their goal and brought home the first place trophy at the 34th Annual Associated Schools of Construction Region 1 Student Competition and Conference in Albany, NY. Our student teams were able to secure 3rd place in 2021, 2nd place in 2022, and this year, we clinched the ASC competition and brought home the 1st place trophy. As Prof. Romero said: "I am incredibly proud of each and every one of my students who made this possible, and it is a true testament to our collective effort and commitment. Your outstanding performance was noticed, and the judges were thoroughly impressed by your fantastic presentation." Additionally, the UMass Commercial team's hard work and dedication earned them a commendable 4th-place finish. The team members were: Preconstruction: Jocey Krooks, Madison Mathieu, Connor Perley, Brendan Ware, Lucas Kubaska, Luke...
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Hammer Time: How Students, Faculty, Local Businesses and Holyoke’s Community Development Corporation Are Teaming Up to Fight the Housing Crisis

Hammer Time: How Students, Faculty, Local Businesses and Holyoke’s Community Development Corporation Are Teaming Up to Fight the Housing Crisis

They call it “Paper House”: a modular, 500-square-foot, high-performance, net zero, low carbon house designed and built by the students in UMass DesignBuild, a joint effort between the Building and Construction Technology Program and Department of Architecture at UMass Amherst and the Five College Architectural Studies program. DesignBuild is in its second year, and it seeks to address major problems, both in the educational world, and in the broader world at large. “A builder might go through their whole education and never see the work involved in designing a house,” says Carl Fiocchi, a lecturer and professional master’s program coordinator in the Building and Construction Technology Program. “The reverse is true for architects, too, who might never get any experience actually building their designs.” The DesignBuild class seeks to bridge this gap between the builders and designers with a two-semester sequence. In the spring semester, students are given a set of design parameters—the house’s overall footprint, budget, materials, etc.—and with those in place, design the...
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Fall 2023 BCT Lecture Series Announced

Fall 2023 BCT Lecture Series Announced

The start of a new semester brings with it a new series of public lectures. We are happy to announce the four speakers mentioned below, who will present on various current topics in the built environment. All lectures are open to the public and are held on Mondays from 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm in the Olver Design Building Room 170. Zoom options will be available, too. Want to get notified when these are? Sign up for our email list. MassDOT: Route 2 Gill Slope Failure and Rapid Repair Procedures Patricia Leavenworth, PE, Director for MassDOT Highway District 2, Connecticut River Valley, Western MA 09.18.23 | 4:00-5:15pm | Design Building Room 170 Energy Modeling for Homes: HERS Rating Process & MA Stretch Energy Code Lia Douillet, HERS Consultant, Ecotechnology, Florence, MA 10.16.23 | 4:00-5:15pm | Design Building Room 170 Building a Greener Future: Mercy Corps’ Global Sustainability Efforts Francis Xavier Tuokuu, Ph.D., Senior Advisor, Mercy Corps 11.06.23 | 4:00-5:15pm | Design Building Room 170 Climate-smart Construction: Plant-based Prefab: A Carbon...
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UMass Student Team Places Eighth at National Competition

UMass Student Team Places Eighth at National Competition

Our 2023 team at the competition The 2023 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Competition for four-year programs was held at the 2023 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, 2023. The UMass NAHB Student Chapter team placed 8th in the competition. The mission of the NAHB four-year student competition is to expose students to an in-depth residential construction project from concept to closing. Using real projects, students compete with other schools as they display their problem-solving abilities and learn more about homebuilding. This year’s competition team included 14 students from the BCT program, the Department of Architecture, and the Isenberg School of Management. During the Fall semester, the students worked on developing a business proposal that included market analysis, product design, construction management, project management, financial and risk analysis, and sustainability related to a property in La Plata, MD. The students traveled to Las Vegas and presented their proposal to the judges and attended the International Builders’...
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