Monitoring Surface Displacement of the Colby Green Retaining Pond Dams

The Colby Green is a campus expansion project which began in October of 2003. The construction would result in three new buildings, additional parking, and an elliptical 75,000-squarefoot green southeast of Mayflower Hill Drive. There were also plans for the construction of three run-off management and sediment ponds below the green, to manage flooding of the green. Three drains in the green transport water to the three retaining ponds which slowly disperse water into the surrounding environment. The ponds were created by constructing earthen dams around the drain outlets. The dams are composed of soil, cobbles, and boulders procured from the surrounding excavation site. Unfortunately, earthen dams are susceptible to many types of erosion which result in their failure. In this case the potential for clay and silt from the underlying Presumpscot Formation to mix with the soil in the earthen dams raised concerns with regards to frost action. In order to monitor the surface displacement of the dams I drove 92 poles into the ground in 8 straight lines across the faces of the dams in the fall of 2005. I returned to the sites during and after the spring thaw of 2006, to check for any signs of movement resulting from frost-heave, surface creep, or any other form of mass wasting. Fortunately, there was no recordable sign of movement in the stakes across any of the retaining ponds. The dams appear to be functioning as designed.

Spring into summer : a novel

Spring into Summer is a novel based on my experiences as a student living in London for a year. The central character, an American under-graduate student studying history, attempts to complete a piece of work by his older brother who is killed in a car accident several months prior to his brother's departure for England. The narrative traces the younger brother's efforts and eventual failure to work on the history; in so doing, he also fails to become more like his older brother whom he greatly loved and admired. Thus, a doppelganger, or "Double" of sorts is used. Most of the action of the novel is set in London. However, the main character also travels to Dublin, York, and several other places in the British Isles, thereby giving a more complete picture of the experiences an American student undergoes while living abroad. During a year which many people might see as an escape from the problems and pressures of everyday life, the central character is forced to undergo a painful process of self-examination, resulting in his reevaluation of himself, his priorities, and his ambitions.