This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Crystalann Harbold, a senior civil engineering major, recently secured a position at Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson, a full-service planning, engineering, and environment construction management company with an office in her hometown of York, Pa. She’ll be working on bridge design and bridge hydraulics in the structures department.
“I was looking for a career that involves bridges or bridge design, and I found one!” says Harbold, who will start after she graduates in May. She adds that she learned a lot about her future career by conducting an independent study and summer internship, both of which dealt with bridges.
For the independent study, Harbold researched one of the Lehigh Valley’s historic covered bridges. She gathered information to create a computer model that allowed her to analyze Guth’s Bridge. The bridge, built in 1858, spans 120 feet and crosses Jordan Creek, just north of Allentown.
Harbold began by shooting photographs, drawing sketches, and taking measurements of the bridge. She then modeled the bridge in the structural analysis computer program SAP2000. She also researched stories, poems, and other literature produced in the mid-1800s on covered bridges.
Roger Ruggles, associate professor and head of civil and environmental engineering, advised the study.
“With this project, Dr. Ruggles not only helped me select a topic I’m interested in, but one that related directly to what I want to do after I graduate,” says Harbold.
“There were multiple aspects to this work,” Ruggles says. “From an engineering point of view, Crystalann did computer modeling to determine how today’s loads affect the structure of the design. She was able to see how the bridge has been retrofitted with new repairs to handle modern stresses. She also benefited from getting an historical viewpoint of the structures.”
This summer, Harbold interned with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Facility Design and Construction Bridge Division. “I worked on a small, single-span bridge and culvert designs for the state park system,” she says. “I assisted in bridge inspections at numerous state parks and forest districts, and I also worked on some hydraulic designs. I learned how to use at least six different PennDOT design programs.”
She says of the experience, “This past summer was like a dream come true. I learned so much. It was great to be able to work on things that I have learned about in my classes at Lafayette.”
A graduate of Spring Grove High School, Harbold is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering academic honorary society.
She helped a team of Lafayette civil engineering students earn a third place finish in the regional Concrete Canoe competition in April and helped promote an on-line civil engineering bridge design contest to Easton High School students this fall. She is among 15 Lafayette civil engineering majors who are helping the borough of Alpha, N.J., decide what to do with its aging John Dolak Memorial Pool for a senior design project.
In her junior year, Harbold participated in Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, in which students assist faculty members with research while earning a stipend. She worked with Ruggles, who received a Fulbright Grant to do research in Uganda, and together they developed a Geographical Information System for Mpererwe Landfill.
She is also a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, Newman Society, and Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection.
Crystalann Harbold ’02 explored bridges and bridge design in an independent study with Roger Ruggles, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.