M.H. Williams Construction
Eric Primavera Memorial
ASCE Student Chapter Endowment
 On April 20, 2000, Florida Tech lost an outstanding alumnus. Eric Primavera, an exceptional former student and a very good friend, died in a tragic accident while performing his duties as a civil engineer. Eric was an inspiration to everyone who was fortunate enough to know him. As a person, Eric exhibited uncommon honesty, dedication and integrity; as a student and a professional, he strived for new levels of achievement. That is why the faculty and students here at Florida Tech admired him so much.
Eric's knowledge of concrete and construction was very advanced. This amazing understanding came while working with his father in residential construction while growing up in New York.
In 1991, Eric and other Florida Tech students attended the ASCE Southeast Regional Competition at Mississippi State without a concrete canoe entry. The next year Eric spearheaded our first canoe effort that resulted in Florida Tech taking fourth place in a field of more than 30 schools. This is one of many engineering feats that Eric accomplished with concrete. He also developed a 17,000-psi high-strength mix and advanced the ACI code for high strength anchor pullout with his Master’s Thesis.
We have formally established a memorial fund to honor Eric Primavera. With the generous support of the F. W. Olin Foundation from New York and Mike Williams of M H Williams Construction, here in Melbourne, we have established the M H Williams Construction/Eric Primavera Memorial/ASCE Student Chapter Endowment.
Each year, five percent of the principal will be given to our ASCE student chapter for use on student projects, scholarships and conferences trips.
I want to thank all of you who gave and helped with the fundraising. The endowment currently stands over $115,000, an enormous achievement.
This fund will exist in perpetuity, guaranteeing ASCE will be a permanent part of the educational experience for our students. This year we hope to give over $1500 scholarship to our undergraduate students, using a portion of the monies we receive. In the spring of 2002 the money from the endowment was used to pay for 50 percent of the cost for the ASCE Regional Competition in Tallahassee Florida. Our students competed in 9 events receiving 4 trophies for the Concrete Canoe event and one for the Mystery Event.
This endowment is truly a milestone for our students and the department. If you would like to make a contribution please contact Dr. Paul Cosentino, the ASCE student chapter faculty advisor at (321) 674-7555 or cosentin@fit.edu, or send a check to the address below.I will make copies of all checks I receive and then send through the proper channels on campus. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. You will receive written confirmation of your donations. Checks should be made payable to the Florida Tech Eric Primavera Endowment.
Thank you for considering our request to help us honor our friend, alumnus and colleague.
Paul J. Cosentino, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor
Florida Institute of Technology
Civil Engineering Department
150 W. University Blvd.
Melbourne, FL 32901-6975 |
