NJIT CIM Program Pours NCE Concrete Rook

After months of design and preparation, Dr. Mohamed Mahgoub and a dedicated group of NJIT CIM students culminated phase one of a special project. The students, a mix of two CIM courses: senior project and independent studies in decorative concrete, took part in the pouring of a concrete rook.  The concrete rook is the symbol of the Newark College of Engineering (NCE). The rook is 6 ft. high and 3 ft. wide and was poured indoors in the carpenter machine shop at the physical plant building after the construction of the intricate formwork was completed. The form was built with the expertise of NJIT carpenter Mr. William Araujo and his assistant Mr. Edward Jones. Their involvement in the project was invaluable and we are highly grateful. The inspiration came from the pouring of a small 2 ft. by 1 ft. model made a few weeks earlier. The final rook will weigh over a ton.
 

The rook used a concrete mix with fibers and a special coloring mimicking the original “golden-red” shade of the NCE logo. The concrete was donated by County Concrete, and was facilitated by current CIM student Nicolas Denicoli, who works for the company. The final product will be installed in the epicenter of the NJIT campus near the Green where it will be visible to everyone. It will be a powerful marketing tool and bring great exposure to the CIM program. We would like to thank Dr. Basil Baltzis, Dean of NCE , and Dr. Ronald Rockland, Chair of Department of Engineering Technology for their review and approval of the project. Stay tuned for phase two of the project where the finished rook will be installed in its final location.

 

NJIT Media was highly enthusiastic about covering the pour. Ms. Tracey Regan, Department of Strategic Communication, and a professional photographer did an excellent job covering the work of the students. Allyn Luke, Manager of Concrete Laboratory, provided all the concrete testing equipment and facilitated the quality assurance. We extend our special thanks to Mr. Joe Tartaglia, Vice President for Facilities Management, Mr. Charlie Nieves, Manager of Physical Plant, for approving the use of the indoor facilities and the placement of the rook on the Green and their great support for the CIM program.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68318880@N02/sets/72157639055264735/

CIM Student Participants: Narguis Benyamin, Alma Villalba, Robert Goncalves, Nicolas Denicoli, Vincent Del Vecchio, Jeremy Canniff, Justin Wheeler, Robert Samul, Mohamed Mohamed, Ralph Castel, David Jaramillo, Elvin Melendrez , Fabian DeLaHoz