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| "I highly recommend taking the FE exam while you're still in school. I know while you're in college you feel like you don't have a lot of free time. When you get out, you have less. You have more responsibilities: work, personal life, new house, new car and possibly a family." |
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Robert Rupert, II, P.E.
Vice President, Senior Project Engineer,
JEA Construction Engineering Services, Inc.
Degree: Civil Engineering
Project
Jacksonville is one of the largest, fastest growing cities in Florida. With more than 1 million residents, it is a center of motion consisting of commuters, residents, and tourists. Jacksonville’s downtown and surrounding areas are highly congested, especially during rush hour peaks. With crowd attractions such as the Jacksonville Jaguars and the much-anticipated Super Bowl in 2005, the capacity of Jacksonville’s transportation facilities has become an increasing concern to city officials and residents.
The 9A extension project began in November 2001 and will be completed in three parts, ending in 2006. However, there are incentives if construction can be finished by Super Bowl 2005. The 9A extension will result in a complete limited-access loop around the city, increasing accessibility to all parts of Jacksonville. The total cost of construction will be approximately $156 million.
Significant aspects of the project include: 20 bridges will be built in total, including 3 segmental bridges, 3 Florida U-Beam bridges, 2 Bulb-T bridges, 4 steel girder bridges, and 8 AASHTO beam bridges. The total deck area of these bridges is nearly 580,000 square feet. That’s about 10 football fields, or almost 14 acres. The resulting construction will be a 3-level interchange with 1200 segments in the bridges that will cover 3.5 miles in accumulated distance.
Perspective
"I initially took the FE exam when I was at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. At that time, Connecticut had only a five-year grace period for someone who successfully passed the FE exam. I thought that I was going to be a helicopter pilot after graduating from the Academy, but a football injury prevented me from passing the flight exam. I became a civil engineer for the Coast Guard. When I got out of the military, I went to the University of Florida and I had to retake the FE exam. It was a lot harder to remember the fundamentals after being out of school for so long. I highly recommend that students take the FE while still in undergraduate school and to take it seriously."
"Early in my career when I was in the military, a P.E. license meant promotion. Even though I was working for the government, you had to have a state P.E. license before you could take the responsibility of an engineering management position."
Career Path
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JEA Construction Engineering Services, Inc. Gainesville, Florida, 7/99–Present:
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Sr. Project Engineer, 9/01–Present, Construction of the SR 9A Interchange, Jacksonville, Florida, FDOT
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Sr. Project Engineer, 7/98–Present, Residency Contract, Jacksonville, Florida, FDOT
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Sr. Project Engineer, 6/99–4/01, Myrtle and Mathews Bridges, Jacksonville, Florida, FDOT |
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Jones, Edmunds & Associates, Inc., Gainesville, Florida, 8/94–7/99
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Assistant Resident Engineer, 6/97–6/99, Hart Bridge Group I, Jacksonville, Florida, FDOT:
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Contract Administrator, 8/94–8/96, Lafayette, Jefferson, Dixie, Union Counties Landfill Closure Construction, Florida, Darabi & Associates
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Project Engineer, 6/95–6/97, Districtwide CEI Bridge Repair/Rehabilitation, Jacksonville, Florida, FDOT
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Project Engineer, 8/94–8/95, FIREX I, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Project Engineer, Schwartz Road Landfill Closure, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Project Engineer, Apollo/Saturn Display Facility, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
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U.S. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Miami, Florida, 6/87–6/93:
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Resident Engineer and Project Manager, Hurricane Andrew Reconstruction Project, Miami, Florida
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Project Engineer, Various Projects, U.S. Coast Guard: Projects included: Rehabilitation of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, Miami, Florida; Concrete Bridge Repair, Miami, Florida; Concrete Pier Repair, Miami, Florida; Boat Travel Lift Refurbishment, Miami, Florida; Chandelier Light Refurbishment, Gulf of Mexico; Painting of Lighthouse, Pensacola, Florida; Small Boat Travel Lift Refurbishment, Ft. Pierce, Florida; Steel Hull Repair; Norfolk, Virginia; Structural Steel Inspections; Jupiter and Hillsboro Inlet, Florida
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Education
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M.S., Construction Engineering and Management, University of Florida, 1994
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B.S., Civil Engineering, United States Coast Guard Academy, 1987 |
Certifications
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2000, FDOT, Multi-line Earthwork
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1999, FDOT, Pile Driving Installation Inspection
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1998, FDOT, Drilled Shaft Installation Inspection
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1998, ASBI, Design and Construction of Segmental Bridges
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1998, FDOT, Superpave Training
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1998, SSPC, C-5 Deleading of Industrial Structures
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1997, FDOT, Project Engineer's School
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1997, FDOT, Final Estimates Training Course
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1996, S.G. Pinney & Associates, Inc., Lead Awareness
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1995, University of Florida, Lead Abatement for Supervisors & Contractors
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1995, IMSA, Work Zone Safety Certification
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1995, St. Augustine Technical Center, Traffic Safety in the Work Area
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1995, FDOT, EMS-Basic Engineering Menu System
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Registered Professional Engineer: Florida |
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N. Catherine Bazan-Arias, Ph.D. |
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Kathy Caldwell, P.E. |
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Patricia L. Eng, P.E. |
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Charles Casey, P.E.. |
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Joe Fowler, Ph.D., P.E. |
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Lori Hasselbring, Ph.D., P.E. |
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Brett Pielstick, P.E. |
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Robert Rupert, P.E. |
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Jonna M. Tarpoff, P.E. |
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Dwight L. Williams, Ph.D., P.E. |
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