Training Workforce for Infrastructure Construction and Engineering (TWICE) Project

Training Workforce for Infrastructure Construction and Engineering (TWICE) Project

Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Award Amount: $1 million

Principal Investigator: Dr. Yong Bai (McShane Chair and Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Marquette University)

Geographic Scope: Wisconsin

Lead Institution: Marquette University

Overview

A comprehensive grant for research and curriculum development in infrastructure construction and engineering. The project aims to educate future workforce with focus on undergraduate and graduate students while developing training materials for existing workforce and middle/high school students.

Key Partners

• Marquette University (lead)
• Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)
• WRTP | BIG STEP (workforce development partner)
• Argonne National Laboratory

Project Goals

• Address civil infrastructure challenges in Wisconsin and the U.S.
• Develop innovative approach integrating research with teaching and training
• Address skilled workforce shortage in construction and engineering industries
• Diversify the construction workforce with underrepresented groups
• Expose middle and high school students to STEM careers

Five Research & Training Projects

Project 1: 3D Concrete Printing Technology

Address existing challenges with 3D concrete printing

Explore standardization of concrete mix design with local materials

Develop courses and materials for undergraduate and graduate students

Create 30-minute training sessions for younger students

Project 2: Public Housing Infrastructure Resilience

Assess regional methodologies for public housing infrastructure resilience to natural hazards (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding)

Develop retrofit priorities for existing public housing

Provide professional development training on natural hazard risk evaluation

Create K-12 outreach modules on multi-hazard building design

Project 3: Stormwater Infrastructure Monitoring

Apply drone and satellite remote sensing with AI/deep learning to identify maintenance needs

Develop novel inspection methods for stormwater detention ponds

Train workforce in both traditional and remote sensing inspection

Create training materials for middle/high school students

Project 4: Smart Work Zones Training

Develop training materials for workforce on Smart Work Zones (roadways with data/sensors from GPS and connected vehicles)

Create training videos and presentations in collaboration with industry and transportation agencies

Develop 30-minute STEM outreach for middle/high school students

Project 5: Pavement Workforce Training

Develop training materials to bridge gap between state of knowledge and state of practice

Create 150 minutes of presentation content broken into short segments

Collaborate with industry organizations and transportation agencies

Develop simplified outreach version for middle/high school students

Context

• Wisconsin infrastructure requires capacity upgrades or maintenance
• Construction/engineering industries face skilled workforce shortages
• Baby boomers and Generation X reaching retirement age
• Award from HUD's Economic Development Initiative Community Project Funding

Contact Information

Marquette University:
• Principal Investigator: Dr. Yong Bai
• Engineering Dean: Dr. Kristina Ropella
• Opus College of Engineering

WRTP | BIG STEP:

Website: wrtp.org

Phone: (414) 342-9787