We recently caught up with Shashwat Bhagat, who earned his MSE in Civil Engineering, to talk about his time here at JHU CaSE and learn more about his journey to where he is today.
What is your current position?
My current position is a full-time engineer at Superior Steel Inc., an AISC-certified steel fabricator and and erector.
What are the biggest challenges you face professionally?
The good thing about my role is that I’m exposed to different plans and drawing styles for various engineering, structural, and architectural drawings, which allows me to learn the different ways companies approach a problem or represent something in the drawing. The challenging part is keeping up with all of these different ways. Another challenging, but fun part is learning new things and then applying it right away on my projects. Developing new and unique solutions to complex problems is both challenging and interesting.
What attributes, skills, or knowledge are needed to be successful in your field?
Being curious about problem-solving approaches, openness to learning new things, having a good understanding of the codes like AISC, ASCE, seismic manual, design guides, and proficiency in design software, like RAM, is crucial for someone to be successful in this field. Learning various limit states of different kinds of connection is also helpful.
Describe a significant professional accomplishment that makes you proud.
Getting to work on major projects like steel connection design or stair design for a major university in my city, or working on a stadium job, be it a football or baseball stadium, being involved in such major projects in a small city and listening to people talk about those projects really makes me proud.
What role has your educational background played in your success?
Earning my Master’s at JHU has really helped me a lot. Some significant courses that have helped me in my current role are Lateral Forces: Analysis and Design of Building Structures, Finite Element Methods, and Advanced Structural Analysis to name a few. The knowledge from these classes has helped me direct and give proper load path to a structure, ensuring the elements of structure are stiff enough to carry the load during normal and seismic events, and in constructing various kinds of brace frame and beam to column connections to ensure the directing of load path to foundation in the most efficient way.
We would love to hear about any noteworthy professors or pivotal experiences you had at the Whiting School of Engineering.
Professors James Guest and Thomas Gernay are some of the best professors I have come to know in my lifetime. Not just for their academic teaching, but in teaching me a lot about handling setbacks of life in general. Professor Gernay has always encouraged and motivated me to think critically in classrooms. Aside from academic teaching, one thing Professor Guest has taught me is that “blank pages are the enemy,” which I still apply to my everyday life and which helps me keep moving forward. My life has taken a turn towards promising growth and excellence after being selected to attend such an esteemed university and being guided by such supportive professors and coordinators.
What advice would you offer students preparing for a career in your field?
Listen to the professors, pay attention, have your concepts crystal clear, get familiar with the different building and design codes, learn from your peers, work and learn collaboratively, and have fun along the way.