Ayres’ long-standing NHI involvement
Ayres NHI
Hydraulics
Courses
Ayres has been teaching hydraulics courses
for the FHWA National Highway Institute for
nearly 30 years. The following is a listing of
what courses Ayres has taught or is currently
teaching:
• Urban Drainage Design + *
• Stormwater Pump Station Design + *
• One-Dimensional Modeling of River
Encroachments with HEC-RAS *
• Stream Stability and Scour at Highway
Bridges + *
• Stream Stability and Scour at Highway
Bridges for Bridge Inspectors + *
• Countermeasure Design for Bridge Scour
and Stream Instability + *
• Culvert Design + *
• Introduction to Highway Hydraulics + *
• Plan of Action (POA) for Scour Critical
Bridges
• Stream Stability Factors and
Concepts
• Scour at Highway Bridges: Concepts and
Definitions
• Hydraulic Design of Safe Bridges + *
• Basic Hydraulic Principles Review
• Two-Dimensional Hydraulic Modeling
of Rivers at Highway Encroachments (in
conjunction with Aquaveo, LLC)*
• River Engineering for Highway
Encroachments (under revision) +
*Currently teaching
+ Developed course material
Web-based instruction
Ayres Associates has played an active role in helping NHI achieve its
mission for nearly 30 years by helping develop and teach a multitude
of transportation hydraulics-related courses. Starting in 1989 with the
Stream Stability and Scour Course and continuing today with a total of
850 courses taught by Ayres team members, the firm has a long-standing
history of NHI teaching.
To date, Ayres instructors have taught approximately 22,000 students
about a range of transportation hydraulic topics, from bridge scour
and design of safe bridges, to urban drainage design and 2D hydraulic
modeling. Classes range from one- to three-day courses and are taught
across the country to professionals representing state departments of
transportation as well as others in private and public industries. Ayres
also has been involved in the development of nine instructor-led courses
and four web-based offerings.
Program offers hands-on, practical
knowledge
Being able to learn practical engineering applications from professionals
who have actually “walked the walk” is critical to NHI’s success, Eberhard
said. “It’s just beneficial to have both the hands-on knowledge as well as
learning actual laws and regulations.”
Jim Schall, a project manager in Ayres’ Fort Collins, Colorado, office,
said transportation hydraulics is a subset of engineering that often lacks
understanding, which is why continuing education on the subject is so
important. Schall is one of the Ayres employees who has been involved
in NHI course development and instruction from the start.
“A lot of roadway engineers understand that hydraulics needs to be
looked at, but they don’t understand how to do it, and they’re frustrated
by it, and that’s why it sometimes doesn’t get the attention it should,”
Schall explained. “Through the training they get more proficient, and
they understand how to apply some of the design tools and practices
that are out there.
“It’s not something they know how to do until they start getting more
advanced training, and then they’re able to apply those tools and
address what they see.”
NHI, as part of its mission, strives to ensure it constituents receive the
highest quality training by staying on top of the latest digital tools, adult
learning research, and industry advancements to deliver the knowledge
they need to succeed.
Training program centers around adult
learners
A major component of NHI training is its emphasis on the specific needs
of the adult learner. NHI requires its new instructors to complete an
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