UW College of Engineering - Portals to an Architecture - People

Professor Bank is my MS advisor. He’s an expert at just about everything, and has the best memory on the planet. He also leads the world in neatness and organization. His textbook on FRP Structures, which he is currently editing, will be available soon... I suggest you pre-order your copy today!

So I’m Steve, the one behind all of this crazy Portals stuff. See what you get when you mix an undergraduate engineering degree, a MS research project, and a little bit of imagination and creativity? I’ll be (finally) leaving Madison after this summer, and will start my Masters in Architecture at MIT next fall. On Wisconsin!

Two time Mr. Universe winner, Phil was a welcome addition to INTEREGR 160 Team Portals. With his legendary physical strength, he was placed in charge of the tube transportation and has saved the team thousands since he eliminated the need for a forklift or crane. In his free time Phil enjoys recreational 3-D modeling (especially with SolidWorks) and semi truck lifting. He is also a knot tying extraordinaire.

INTEREGR 160 - Team Portals
Instructor: Al Gomez
Note: Profiles may contain slight exaggerations.

After peaking at the age of 7 as a wildly successful child-actor, Jon decided to put his fortune to good use and go to college after years of limitless ice-cream, candy, and kool-aid. Team Portals recently discovered Jon trying to use one of the 20’ test tubes to make a giant pixy stick, but the relapse was quickly dismissed, and Jon was back to himself telling “stories from the set of America’s greatest TV show,” in no time at all.

After receiving a master in robotic systems at the age of twelve, Hsien-na was determined to make an impact on the robotic world. To her it seemed only natural to star on the Portals team. “Imagine next a giant robot made entirely out of paper tubes, it would be revolutionary!” Move over Roomba, I’d give it a year before a paper tube robotic vacuum is scooting around the floors in your house.

In his free time, Tom spearheads a radical new hobby known as “inverse stargazing.” This involves finding the highest vantage point around and then looking straight down at the ground. Tom describes it as, “...a rush like nothing else! Being up that high and looking at the ground really makes you feel important and tall, not like that worthless stargazing that makes you feel insignificant and small, where’s the fun in that?”

Eric is a Chemical Engineer who switched teams so he could, as he delicately says, “express his artistic side.” Eric is fluent in 4 languages, one of which is real. Eric also has a background in theatrics as can be seen in this picture of him performing his rendition of “The Tube Cracker.” It’s an (way) off Broadway production, but the show recently received favorable reviews from Mrs. Hill’s second grade class at Jefferson Elementary School.

Erin is the resident ballistics and explosives expert. Originally hired for the excavation, she was heartbroken when she found out that neither of her specialties would be needed for this project. Still she remains optimistic, “People love explosions, simple as that. There will be a need for them on this project, if not during the opening ceremonies... there’s always the deconstruction.

Jack first began modeling at the age of 4 for Paper Tube Living magazine. Ever since then he’s been riding a wave of success (and fine tailored clothing) right to the top. Jack hopes that the project will lean more towards the aesthetic side and less toward the engineering side. He is currently spear heading a movement to have his face incorporated into the final design. “With a face like this, and tubes like these, how can Portals be anything but a success?”

Hiliary’s is a ‘wind in her hair,’ kind of girl. She may look like a typical engineering student, but her innocence can be deceiving. When she’s not engineering something, she enjoys more extreme activities like arctic bear wrestling, cliff diving, and extreme squirrel chasing. If you ask her where that scratch is from, she’s likely to reply, “sky-diving accident.”

Megan is the Student Assistant for INTEREGR 160. Trained in six different martial arts, she is in charge of security for Portals. With over three years of experience as a government ‘eliminator,’ she is well qualified for the job. One thing to remember when visiting the final exhibition... just because you can’t see Megan, doesn’t mean she can’t see you.

The College of Engineering External Relations is lucky to have Renee Meiller around. She is also our PR department, and will handle all of the news tips, press releases, and other media related needs for the project. In this photo, Renee can be seen cleaning up after the Science Expeditions Event she coordinated. We hope that she joins us for take down/clean up when the Portals exhibition is over. Be sure to stop by her cave... I mean, office to say ‘hi,’ if you get the chance.