October 25, 2018

Hancherick Returns to Campus as Project Engineer for ANSYS Hall

Students at CMU, and visitors to the campus, have likely noticed a building rising in the heart of the College of Engineering. ANSYS Hall will open for the fall 2019 semester—solidifying the university’s commitment to provide a world-class engineering education.

Carly Hancherick (CEE '14), is bringing her unique perspective to the project thanks to her familiarity with the school and campus. She’s working as the project engineer for the construction management team, Mosites Construction.

Hancherick’s familiarity with CMU and her previous work on university projects made her a prime candidate to be selected for the ANSYS project team.  “As the project engineer, I am responsible for much of the technical content and exchange of information on the project, particularly through the RFI and submittal processes,” she says. She helps to coordinate contractors and acts as a liaison between field personnel and the architects, engineers, consultants, and university.

She adds that her education prepared her to take on high-visibility projects. “The critical thinking abilities instilled throughout my coursework at CMU—as well as effective written and verbal communication strategies—have benefited my career.” Hancherick says that being a construction manager means she must understand all facets of work at the construction site. She has knowledge of the project’s architectural elements as well as the geotechnical, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and structural engineering systems.

“CEE enforced a dedication to work and provided a healthy knowledge base for me to expand upon, based on personal experience,” she states.

Hancherick is excited so see campus grow. And she’s proud to be a part of it. “The new ANSYS building will connect students physically to other parts of campus as well as visually to the outdoors and other people.”

Additionally, the aesthetics of the building—featuring glass façade curtain walls—will bring in light and provide real-time views of student work.  “Walking down the stairway between Hamerschlag Hall and ANSYS Hall, you can see directly into the maker space and watch peers get creative and bring their ideas to life.”

ANSYS Hall also melds the old and the new—bringing Hancherick’s studies and project engineering work full-circle. The building will have the classic CMU beige brick but also a very modern feel. The building is topped off with a green roof that contributes to achieving a LEED Gold green building certification.

“I’m proud to call CMU my alma mater and I’m excited to see this building come to life,” she says.