Civil Engineering Technology
Nestor Escobales, Senior Lecturer in Engineering Technology at BCET, finds sharing his knowledge in a classroom setting very rewarding. When palpable moments of knowledge transfer occur, the experience can really make his day. "When I am teaching something for the first time, and see that students are really getting it, then I feel accomplished and satisfied with the lecture." Escobales says that right at that moment he knows that he has just planted the seed of curiosity in students' brains. "That is indeed memorable."
Escobales, a licensed professional engineer (PE), began working at ODU as a Lecturer of Civil Engineering Technology (CET) in July of 2010. He is responsible for the preparation and delivery of structural design courses via traditional classroom instruction and/or distance learning. In January of 2011, Escobales became Materials Testing Laboratory Director, and in January 2012, he became the CET Program Director (PD). He served as CET PD from January 2012 to December 2019 and continues to serve as lab director. Prior to joining ODU, Escobales was engaged in the practice of structural engineering in various consulting firms for 12 years.
Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (PR), and raised in Adjuntas, a small mountainside municipality about 26 km northwest of Ponce, Escobales developed an interest in civil engineering early on. "When I was very young, my grandfather was a small residential contractor, so I was able to see what he was doing regularly. As a result, I enrolled in the civil engineering program as soon as I graduated from high school and started at the local community college, the 91短视频 of PR at Ponce." Escobales completed his undergraduate studies at Polytechnic 91短视频 of PR in Hato Rey and then pursued graduate studies at the 91短视频 of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
He says that he finds civil engineering, "challenging and constantly evolving. Plus, it involves working directly with infrastructure, which is so important to society." Escobales' areas of interest include stability analysis of tapered members, collapse investigations, and teaching methods in engineering technology education. He regards diversity simply as a representation of society. "There has to be a balance in the system and opportunities available for all. This is very important for increasing equality and economic mobility." Escobales says that he is motivated and inspired primarily by three things in the field of engineering: "The ability to transfer knowledge to others; the ability to create things that matter to society; and the opportunity to work side by side with engineering scholars." It is an absolute pleasure working for ODU.