SPARK

Discoveries, innovations, and insights that illuminate the future of the built environment

What I’ve learned at McKinstry…and what comes next

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Growing up, I always loved science and math. When those two classes combined in my high school physics course, I decided to major in engineering. Though I wasn’t sure what being an engineer would specifically entail in the professional world, I knew that my many interests (math, physics, science, tech, Boeing’s newest jet, epic LEGO Star Wars sets, etc…) put me in a place where studying to become an engineer made sense.

What I hadn’t accounted for was my development into a full extrovert. I love people. I love hearing stories about where they’ve been and where they come from, what they do and how they got there, meeting new people, working with people…you get the idea.

Stereotypically, engineers are not known as “social butterflies.” My love for people has sometimes made me unsure whether I’d picked the right major during college. I’m happy to say that my experience at McKinstry has shifted me back toward confidence in myself and my future career.

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How to engineer an engineer

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Greetings once again! For those who don’t remember my first post, I’m Jason Orr. I’m working as a mechanical design intern on the Energy team in Seattle this summer. Since arriving in May, I’ve experienced a steep learning curve. Luckily, my all-star team is full of patient and flexible people willing to help a rookie like me.

Jason Orr, at his desk in Seattle.

In short, McKinstry’s Energy team is responsible for projects that involve existing buildings. Since humans aren’t perfect, the buildings we design aren’t either. We try to ensure that, say, a hospital that’s been standing for 100 years is there for 100 more. In the age of sustainability, another goal of ours is to make everything more efficient. How can we save the customer money while also saving the planet?

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Leaning and learning at McKinstry

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One of the things that attracted me to McKinstry’s internship program was the opportunity to work on a team where I was of tangible use. So far, my experience has been just that—I’ve been an entry-level design engineer who gets to learn while doing work that needs to be done.

Bunji McLeod at his desk in McKinstry’s Spokane office.

Energy auditing and mechanical design adjustments to boost energy efficiency has been the name of the game for me as I’ve worked in the Spokane office this summer.

During my first week on the job, I traveled with Derek Larson, a design engineer, to a small town in the rolling hills of the Palouse. McKinstry recently helped a small school district there win a large grant to fund an elementary school renovation. The building itself was two stories and made up of several classrooms, office spaces and a gym whose layout was engraved into stone tablets by an architect in the Jurassic era (OK, it was 1927). Adaptations and renovations since then have added offices and rooms to the plans we didn’t know about until we stepped into the school.

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Bunji McLeod: Getting to know me & my journey to McKinstry’s B.L.U.E. Program

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So, first things first, my legal name is not Bunji. I was born in Kagoshima, Japan, on the south end of the island Kyushu. Originally, my mother wanted to give me the name Benjamin. However, I’ve been told “benjo” is Japanese slang for toilet, which must have been why I soon was born—”legally”—as Jason Shang McLeod.

Bunji McLeod.

That name didn’t last long. In the operating room, my dad mentioned that the umbilical cord for a baby is like a bungee cord with a little human attached to the end. My mom didn’t think it was as funny as he did, but I quickly became baby Bunji—much like the name Benji (i.e. Benjamin), but with a little extra spring of uniqueness in it. It has no meaning in Japanese, no cultural rooting in my Taiwanese ethnicity, and no daredevil bungee jump that deemed me worthy of such a nickname. It’s simply my name now.  

Three years after jumping into this world, I moved to Bellingham, Wash., where I lived underneath the smells of damp shade and never-ending greenery. There, I took two classes with a high school teacher who has shaped my college experience more than any other: Mr. Doud. The local legend of a physics teacher could inspire us to tackle any mathematical challenge with passionate fervor, using only a pen, whiteboard and cheesy one-liners developed over decades of classes. Because of him, I am here now in Spokane going into my fourth year of mechanical engineering and working at McKinstry.

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Jason Orr: Getting to know me & my journey to McKinstry’s B.L.U.E. Program

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When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.

Paulo Coelho
Jason Orr.

As an avid reader, I believe people always have something to share. To accomplish anything in life requires shared wisdom across communities and the selflessness of those who are knowledgeable. Let me introduce myself.

My name is Jason Orr, and I am going into my final year studying Mechanical Engineering at Gonzaga University. Before starting my freshman year, the Engineering program at Gonzaga seemed like a great fit. Solving problems was always fun and working hands-on felt more engaging. As I continued through my initial semesters, there was an internal conversation with the malice of a 2016 Presidential debate happening in my mind. Is this what I want to do? Do I love this? Questions led to discontinuity and confusion. The only thing I knew was I wanted to have an impact.

We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul.

Paulo Coelho

The curriculum was undeniably tough: calculus, statics, physics. There was no point in asking what the “hard” classes were because there were multiple every semester. Eventually, I would ask a professor for his perspective and opinion. He offered me sound advice and incredible wisdom on how to persevere your way to excellence as an individual and an engineer.

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Indoor air quality answers as the smoke settles

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The building industry typically focuses on delivering higher quantities of outdoor air as a proxy for occupant wellbeing. The quality of that outdoor air claimed center attention across Washington State with unhealthy ratings for a significant part of August. Now that the smoke has settled, it’s important to examine how outdoor air quality impacts the air we breathe indoors and what can we do to improve our indoor air quality.

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Michael Frank.

As mechanical engineers in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry, we have gained substantial indoor air quality knowledge from working with clients and monitoring our own facilities. A few of the lessons learned are that more outdoor air does not guarantee better indoor air quality and that not all filters are created equal.

Pollutants are typically measured as particulate matter (PM), which quantify substances in micrometers or one millionth of a meter. The typical industry scale ranges from 0.3 to 10. To define the scale a little more as an example, PM2.5 includes all particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller. Smoke is typically measured at PM2.5, but can be as large as PM10 when visible ash is present. In actuality, much of the mass of smoke in PM2.5 is often in the 0.5 to one micrometer size. This is where differences in air filters can make a big impact.

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Getting To Know: Nicole Demby (Golden, Colo.)

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Nicole Demby.

Hello! I’m Nicole Demby, and I’m a commissioning engineering intern and proud B.L.U.E. Program participant at McKinstry this summer. I’m from Cortez, Colo. and I’m a rising junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines—just five miles from McKinstry’s office in Golden, Colo.

Getting to intern at McKinstry this summer has been invaluable. My knowledge of HVAC systems and commissioning engineering (not to mention construction in general) has grown exponentially over the past few weeks.

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Getting To Know: Taylor Blevins (Portland)

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Taylor Blevins.

Hello! My name is Taylor Blevins, and I’m a B.L.U.E. Program intern in McKinstry’s Portland office. I first met with a McKinstry representative at the Oregon State University career fair and once I learned more about the company, I knew it would be a good fit for me.

I’m currently a rising senior at Oregon State studying Energy Systems Engineering. I also have some experience in BIM (Building Information Modeling) from my last internship with an architectural firm.

Ever since that internship ended, I’ve wanted to further-develop my skills in building systems and learn more about how buildings consume energy. As an engineer, it’s important that I learn how to help reduce that energy consumption.

Since McKinstry focuses on the mechanical systems of buildings and the energy aspect of buildings, I knew I was in the right place. So far my experience with McKinstry has been tremendous and I’m learning constantly.

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Getting To Know: Jessica Baumann (Madison, Wisc.)

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Jessica Baumann.

Hello! My name is Jessica Baumann and I’m a rising junior and Engineering Physics major at the University of Wisconsin – Platteville.

There are two things in that sentence that many people don’t know about. One is where Platteville is located. Platteville is in the southwest corner of Wisconsin, about 20 minutes away from the Wisconsin/Iowa border.

Secondly, most people don’t know anything about Engineering Physics. This major consists of curriculum taught to mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and physics majors. I enjoy this major because I feel like—once I’m out of college—it can lead to many opportunities, as I’ll have knowledge from several different areas of engineering.

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Getting To Know: Stephen Shin (Seattle)

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Stephen Shin.

To say that my life after high school has been a little unconventional might be the most accurate way to describe it. I’ve attended two different universities at three different campuses and found work in three vastly different industries. It’s been fun, to say the least.

However, as I’m always reminded, the journey is what’s important and I need to constantly remind myself of that. Besides, I like how things are going so far. It’s led me to a pretty cool internship with McKinstry, so I can’t complain.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me introduce myself a little bit. My name is Stephen Shin and my official position title here is “Energy Design Engineering Intern” within the B.L.U.E. Program. I’m working under Brent Hecker (a senior mechanical design engineer at McKinstry) with a group of (as expected) energy design engineers.

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