Cornell University

As seen at Cornell: Afternoon light finds its way through the Song of the Vowels sculpture with McGraw Tower looking proudly down.

Look proudly down and take an aerial tour of Cornell in summer.

Cornell adjunct professor Charlie Trautmann and his wife, Nancy, were walking the footbridge that crosses Fall Creek in an area of the Cornell Botanic Gardens known as Flat Rock. Noting how the bridge had fallen into disrepair, Nancy posed an innocent question, “Can’t you do something about this?”

That question sparked an idea. Trautmann, Ph.D. ’83 began working with students to hone their engineering skills by designing and building community bridges.

Now, through Engineering in the Community (CEE 3090), Cornell Engineering students gain hands-on experience designing and building infrastructure that benefits local communities, from the Cornell Botanic Gardens to the Village of Interlaken.

The course is designed to teach students not only the skills to build infrastructure but also the interpersonal skills needed to succeed in public projects.

"So much of our schoolwork happens on paper or on a screen, and actually building something changes how you think about the work," said Julius Pieper '27, president-elect of the Cornell Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Read more: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/06/student-built-bridges-connect-communities-thanks-engineering-course.