ALWAYS ON
Global Café
Built within the 2019 Humanities and Social Studies Center renovation the Administration named its on-campus café the "Global Café" to reflect its menu of internationally inspired foods and drinks while advancing the school's commitment to global awareness and cultural exchange in a small Iowa town. Not a lot of art in the name. USA college marketing departments, generally, persist in the hard sell of "globalism" to stay in business.
Rain & Lightning
"The rain began again. It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfilment of its own nature." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby"
Roof Assemblies and Rooftop Structures
Chapter 15 of the International Building Code provides minimum requirements for the design and construction of roof assemblies and rooftop structures. Largely prescriptive, it addresses the weather-protective barrier at the roof and, in most circumstances, a fire-resistant barrier. With links to representative university Roofing Shops.
Flood Abatement Equipment
Seasonal severe weather usually spawns floods and inspire a revisit of relevant codes and standards for mitigating water damage. FM Global, an accredited standards developer, has posted updates of its flood management data sheets; available to the public for free.
Quadrivium: Summer
Educational settlements should be magical places. The stack informing the beauty of these "cities-within-cities" changes 100 to 1000 times per day globally. We monitor the action continuously to formulate response to public consultations. Topics appear on our CALENDAR and explored every day at 15:00 UTC. Recommend refresh of this web page once or twice to see timeliest information.
Flood Resistant Design and Construction
Many school districts, colleges and universities have square-footage at risk of flooding because of the seasonal tornado squalls in the Central United States. It is worthwhile revisiting the "fabric" of titles that set the standard of care for avoid and mitigating flood damages.
Current Issues & Recent Research
We are tooling up for the NFPA 2029 National Electrical Code Technical Committee Meetings in September and the IEEE Industrial Applications Society Meetings in October.
Lightning Protection Systems
Seasonal weather patterns inspire a revisit of lightning protection standards in the United States. While the wiring "technicals" in NFPA 780 are stable it is time we update our understanding of best practice with special attention to campus chapels and outdoor athletic events. Public comment on the First Draft of the 2029 Edition will be received until June 2, 2027.