concrete, erected masonry, and performed demolition. This work experience fueled Eric’s desire to pursue a major relating to the construction industry. Following his sophomore year of college, Eric worked for the City of Philadelphia Streets Department –
Survey Division, gaining knowledge about surveying, land elevation, and the usage of surveying equipment. Eric later interned for Grunley Construction in Rockville, Maryland, as a Junior Project Engineer Intern. There he helped managed key project components of a building renovation in Washington, D.C., including contracts, submittals, and RFI documents. He will be starting with Grunley Construction fulltime on June 16th as a field engineer.
Eric became involved with the Student Society of Architectural Engineering at Penn State. He became a mentor member which gave him connections to alumni in the same industry, and also allowed him to advise younger students within the major. Eric also has been playing on the Penn State Club Tennis Travel Team for the past 5 years and serves a leadership role during the organization and coaching for the team. Eric had the opportunity to study abroad in China/Hong Kong the summer after his Junior year at Penn State through the Architectural Engineering program. There he studied International Construction, international safety practices, and urbanization.
Eric was selected to be involved in a selective interdisciplinary collaborative BIM Studio BIM Studio is Penn State’s award-winning class exploring efficiency and communications strategies in collaborative design. Each team was made up of 6 members from each area of AE, Architecture and Landscape Architecture; and was tasked with designing Building 7R of the EEB HUB in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Jordan gained valuable knowledge about building design and project dynamics while following the BIM process throughout the class.
Eric considers himself an “adrenaline junky”, with interests in skiing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, sky diving, and scuba diving. He participates in all of these activities with his friends and family as well. He was also part of the Penn State Club Tennis Travel Team for the past 5 years, while participation in the Tennis on Campus National Championships every year in North Carolina and Arizona. Music is also an important part of Eric’s life, in which he enjoys attending music concerts and festivals with his friends.
(SSAE) and acted as Marketing Director during his sophomore year, and was also involved in the student chapter of the Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence (PACE). Furthermore, he remained active in philanthropic campus-wide events including Penn State’s annual Dance MaraTHON, and consistently held positions as a Merchandise Captain for Penn State Homecoming – the largest celebration of its kind in the United States. RJ was also a member of the Club Swim team at Penn State, and led a special interest organization called Bee House, which was dedicated to raising funds for pediatric cancer
RJ hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduating from Plum Senior High School in May of 2009. In his free time, RJ is an avid runner, painter, and college football fan.
Construction Engineers
Eric Ripkin is in his 5th year at The Pennsylvania State University, studying Architectural Engineering, with a focus in Construction Management. He is graduating in May with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering – Construction Option. Throughout his time at Penn State, Eric was involved with several student organizations, had the opportunity to study abroad in China/Hong Kong, gained internships related to his field of study, and was a part of Penn States Club Tennis Team.
Before attending college, Eric worked on the labor side of the Construction Industry, working for both commercial and residential construction companies. He electrically wired houses, poured
RJ Fazio is currently completing his 5th and final year in Architectural Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He will be graduating in May with a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering. During his time at Penn State, RJ tailored his education to interdisciplinary work experience. After participating in Penn State’s 4th year “BIM Studio,” he was selected, as part of a group, to participate in group thesis at Penn State. Entries from this senior design class were entered into the ASCE Charles Pankow Student Design Competition.
At Penn State, RJ remained active in the Student Society of Architectural Engineers
User Note:
The Capstone Project Electronic Portcolio (CPEP) is a web-based project and information center. It contains material produced for a year-long Senior Thesis class. Its purpose, in addition to providing central storage of individual assignments, is to foster communication and collaboration between students, faculty consultants, course instructors, and industry consultants. Theis website is dedicated to the research and analysis conducted via guidelines provided by the Department of Architectural Engineering. For an ecplanation of this capstone design course and its requirements, please click hereNote: While great efforts have been taken to provide accurate and complete information on the pages of CPEP, please be aware that the information contained herewith is considered a work-in-progress for this thesis project. Modifications and changes related to the original building designs and construction methodologies for this senior thesis project are solely the interpretation of the Apollo design team. Changes and discrepancies in no way imply that the original design contained errors or was flawed. Differing assumptions, code references, requirements, and methodologies have been incorporated into this thesis project; therefore, investigation results may vary from the original design.