Getting to Know Our Technical Advisor, David Powell

David with some of the Xuchil Team members

While PUC is a student-run program, it wouldn’t be around today if it weren’t for the technical and traveling advisors that volunteer their time and expertise to help different student teams. This year we are lucky enough to have a wonderful technical and traveling advisor all in one— the one and only David Powell. His expertise in structural engineering and his passion for PUC have helped drive the success of our project throughout the year, and it’s about time we give him the recognition he deserves! Ladies and gentleman, please join us in welcoming David as he gives us a glimpse into his connection to engineering and PUC:

Question: Give us a little information into your background please.

David: I am a native Texan. I was born and raised in Dallas, but I spent my 4th and 5th grade years in Austin when my Dad, a mechanical engineer, was transferred here and then back to Dallas. I grew up watching and then helping my Dad build projects around the house, and I have always loved the design and construction process. When I graduated from Jesuit Dallas I began my study of Architectural Engineering at U.T., and I completed my master’s degree here with a focus on structures in 1987. I love Austin, and I bleed burnt orange. It was in grad school that I met my wife of 31 years, Lisa, also a structural engineer. We founded P.E. Structural Consultants, Inc. in 1992 and have been blessed to be involved in many interesting projects. By far the most rewarding of our endeavors are the three beautiful souls that complete our family – Elise, Zac and Jake.

Question: What is your job and how did you get involved in it?

David: After serving as the engineer of record for projects like the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless and the Austin City Hall building, I felt driven to pursue my vision for the development of building systems – Building Blocks for Big Kids™ – that seek to replicate at full scale the ease and efficiency of building with a child’s block set. That was the birth of what is now LadderBlock®, and in my role as Chief Technical Officer (and CEO) I spearhead the development of residential and commercial building systems and products that offer faster, stronger, and more economical ways to produce high-quality built space. These systems focus on the elimination of waste – from the construction process through the life cycle of a building – to make construction more efficient and to allow deconstruction and reuse in lieu of demolition. My Mom and Dad very much raised us with a “waste not want not” mentality.

Question: What PUC teams have you worked with so far and how did you get involved with PUC in the first place?

David: I was lured into this program by Mary Lou Rawls, P.E. – a close friend of Lisa’s and mine since their time together at the Texas Department of Transportation Bridge Division. My first PUC assignment was for Team Thailand 2016-2017, where the students designed and built a drinking water distribution station. I expected to return to Thailand with the following year’s team, but as a native Texan was drawn away to Team Mexico last year by the intriguing proposition of learning about and improving the process of making highly nutritious flour from mesquite beans. Conventional thinking in Texas is that mesquite is a trash tree that should be eradicated. Everything in Texas is big – even when we are dead wrong! Waste not want not… particularly when we are talking about a tree that I’ve learned has been known by most indigenous cultures on our continent as “The Tree of Life”.

Question: What has been your most memorable experience with PUC so far?

David: This program is fertile ground for experiences and memories that will last a lifetime, so the question is a tough one. Team Thailand slopping in the mud to dig a very long trench in the middle of monsoon season – working their tails off with smiles and laughter and camaraderie in the midst of great adversity, doing the University of Texas proud, and filling me with pride at just being a small part of it. Seeing the badass Thai woman teaching our female students how to lay up masonry, and realizing how many conventional barriers were being demolished in that process… And then Team Mexico last year – after launching out of the gates with a purely engineering focus on the work, being brilliantly redirected by our social work student to focus on including the local community members, and then seeing relationships blossom within the inclusive team to broaden the horizons of both the students and our hosts. Pure magic!

Question: What are your personal goals for working with PUC?

David: When I became aware of the program and its goals, and particularly of the collaboration between the schools of engineering and social work and its focus on engagement with the local community, I just wanted to be a part of it and help in any way I could. By virtue of owning a quality camera and lenses, I quickly adopted the role of team photographer. But I also found great satisfaction in teaching and sharing my knowledge of engineering and the building process. I learned that I love to teach and to learn alongside these groups of students that are so willing to work so hard in the service of others who have not been so richly blessed as we are. I find that I am happiest when I am physically building something, and when I am teaching someone else what I have learned. This program checks each of those boxes.

Question: What are you most excited for regarding this year's project?

David: I look forward to getting to know this awesome group of students even better, and to seeing them solidify what will likely be life long relationships with each other and with members of the local community. I look forward to the unexpected challenges that the project will bring, and to solving them side-by-side as a team. I am excited about getting another taste of the Oaxacan culture, and to seeing how these experiences will enrich the lives of everyone involved.