As many of you are aware, I recently traveled to Bolivia to participate in a humanitarian mission with the University of Tulsa student chapter of…
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origin: starting the conversation
Archive for the ‘Engineering’ Category
Mixed Reviews
Having taken an embarrassingly long – decade, perhaps? – break from reading books of my choosing for pleasure’s sake rather than a grade or knowledge acquisition, I…
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Rock Climbing: A Route Through the Mind of An Engineer
Rock Climbing Like many people, I was a bit apprehensive before I started rock climbing. I am not, however, afraid of heights; no, it’s the…
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End of History of Architecture…?
I recently was lucky enough to get on one of those newer Delta planes that have monitors built into the back of the head rests….
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Let The Good Times Roll
If you are like me, you often hear the questions: “Is business good?” and “Are you staying busy?” Recently, unlike a few years ago, my…
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Jump In With Both Feet
My first experience with marketing as a Professional Engineer is likened to jumping into a pool of water with both feet. You don’t know how…
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Land Use: It’s What We Do
There is a saying circulating around that makes Urban Planners chuckle… “I’m an Urban Planner. I solve problems you don’t know you have, in ways…
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…and a responsible engineer shall lead them.
I came to art at an early age. It has always been woven into my life. A friend gave me a word a few years…
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Wide Load
You may have seen the news coverage in October talking about the transport of a demethanizer tower manufactured by a company in Broken Arrow and…
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Bound for Belize
A couple of months ago, I had a chance to take my own mini vacation. Everyone else in the family had plans, so this one was…
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Team Unity
My youngest son plays soccer for a team that has had success both at the state level (two-time state champions) and at the regional level….
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Keeping the Craft
Let’s keep the craft in our work. We usually think of craftsmanship as being the skill and effort to create a physical object. But I…
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68 Days to a New Perspective
I had an image of what a day at a typical engineering firm would look like. It’s quiet and maybe a little impersonal. Employees work…
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Quality Control
I recently gave a presentation on quality control policy. During preparation, it dawned on me that as engineers we often miss the boat as to…
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What A Difference Four Years Make
Do you ever stop to realize how much changes occur in a typical 4-year span? We just went through college graduation with our son. How…
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Give a Girl a Chance…
Not too long ago, I formed a new relationship with a client who was in the market for a consultant with national retail experience. I…
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“To boldly go where no engineer has gone before…”
Architectural Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of Wallace Engineering. Its thirty five-year mission: to explore strange new geometries, to seek out new…
Read More It’s Not Always About The Numbers
As engineers, we tend to focus on the calculations and drawings and not on the other aspects of running a successful business. I think a…
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March Madness
When the month of March rolls around I think most everyone is aware of March Madness in college basketball. First, there are the conference tournaments,…
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Embracing Differences
In a scene that is played out most mornings in our house, my wife is up bright and early ready for the day. She has…
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Naturally Curious
“Curiosity is a willing, a proud, an eager confession of ignorance.” -S. Leonard Rubenstein. I wonder if I act and think the way I do…
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The Next of a Thriving Breed
art·i·san (ärt’ə zən, -san) noun one that produces something in limited quantities often using traditional methods We’ve all grown up in an industrialized world. Literally everything…
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A Different Perspective
Several years ago, I started providing metal stud shop drawings for sub-contractors, and it made me change the way that I detail the construction drawings…
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Retaining Wall Design
As a structural engineer, I am frequently called upon to investigate and develop repairs for failed or failing earth retaining wall structures. The call often comes…
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The Art of Engineering
At Wallace Engineering, we often talk about the “art of engineering”. But what does that mean? The American Engineers Council for Professional Development (ECPD), an…
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Watch Where You Step
PPE – Personal Protective Equipment. These small items are there to protect you, typically from making some careless decisions. I, unfortunately, have gone through more…
Read More Positively Stable
If a structural system includes an unstable element, a sudden (and possibly catastrophic) failure will eventually occur. In addition to safely resisting the applied gravity…
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Top Ten Reasons I’m Thankful to be an Engineer at Wallace Engineering
You can just imagine my delight to see the last Origin entry, ‘Be Aware of Your Surroundings’, expertly penned by our own Sam Ray, was…
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Play Ball!
Wallace Engineering moved into the Brady Arts district in 2006 to a great historic 1920s brick warehouse. We had a small parking lot with additional…
Read More What is a Lifer?
lif·er ˈlīfər/ noun informal noun: lifer; plural noun: lifers 1. a person serving a life sentence in prison. 2. a person who spends their life in…
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Pay It Forward
I sincerely appreciate working for a company whose culture encourages employees to give back to the community. Most have done more than I, but to…
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Get A Hobby!
Structural engineering requires a broad skill set in order to be well rounded and deliver successful projects. We have to visualize projects mentally in three…
Read More Structure Expressed
I was a young student of architecture at the University of Illinois when I took my first structures course: statics and dynamics. This was my…
Read More Hammer Away
While there have been many experiences that have shaped me as an engineer, I believe that the ones that have benefited me the most have…
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