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Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

Moving Out, Moving In, Moving Forward

August 6, 2020
Dr. David Johnston looks on as one of the first loads leaves from behind Mann Hall, headed to Fitts-Woolard Hall on Centennial campus.

During the week of August 3rd, we began moving into Fitts-Woolard Hall. One of the first areas to be moved was the Construction, Materials, and Mechanics Laboratory, usually referred to simply as Mann 100.

David Johnston seen here in the new Structural Mechanics Lab, standing behind one of the smaller shake tables recently moved.

Dr. David Johnston, Edward I. Weisiger Distinguished Professor Emeritus, has been overseeing the move to Fitts-Woolard Hall. Planning for the move has been in the works for well over a year. Original schedules were disrupted by closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and had to be revised, and sometimes revised again. Faculty, already extra busy reformatting lectures and labs to meet both face-to-face and online teaching needs, also had to assist with getting laboratory equipment, supplies, and research data ready for transport. Johnson has worked closely with contractors to insure clear communication about moving strategies for heavy equipment, delicate hardware, and research specimens that include everything from asphalt core samples, to delicately balanced microbial communities contained in micro-reactors.

We will write more about the move to our new home in coming weeks and will post on our Facebook page and include more details in our Fall print newsletter. For now enjoy some photographs below. You can also view the 4 construction webcams to watch progress in real time. We are excited to begin occupying our new space.

Stacks of packing boxes ready for moving Mann 100 contents.
Heramb Mahajan (right), and Lucas Maciel, both PhD candidates assist with packing items in Mann 100.
Here we see the base for a shake table used in earthquake research being transported by forklift on its way to Fitts-Woolard Hall. The James B. Hunt Library is in the background.
The base for the large shake table being wheeled into the lab. It weighs over 4,000 pounds.
Dr. Tasnim Hassan directs the moving contractors.
Dr. Tasnim Hassan and Dr. David Johnson instructing moving contractors exactly where to place the base for a shake table used in earthquake research. Because of its immense weight, proper placement the first time is imperative.