Jodi Prosise, Mechanical Engineering ’03
“I was in class in Marston when the first plane hit the Twin Towers on September 11. After class I went to the computer lab on the 4th floor to check my email, as I always did, and had an email from a friend about it. I was baffled, and thought it surely had to be a minor thing, as small planes have hit skyscrapers before and damage is minimal. Then the second plane hit while I was searching the internet. I will never forget.“
Nancy Heymann/Perry, Industrial Engineering ’81/’83
“I loved practicing in the upstairs hall with the ISU Singers. I also loved how the stone steps were worn from years of use. It always made me wonder about the many students and staff who were there before me.“
Mike Gonnerman, Engineering Science ’87
“Two specific memories. For our Freshman Engineering class we had to SWAG (they called it an Engineering Estimate) the volume of terrazzo in Marston, in 10 minutes. Another time I was five minutes late for class and the door was closed and locked. How embarrassing to have to knock to get in to class. I was not late again!“
Russell Hopley, Civil Engineering ’53
“This is excellent news. To ensure a quality engineering education and attract quality faculty and students ISU needs to have adequate and up-to-date classroom and office facilities. I am sure this renovation project will answer those needs.
When I was a CE student in the early 1950’s Marston Hall was the center of our classes which were adequate then, but during fall and spring job interview time space was not adequate for reading all the company interview brochures posted, signing up for interviews and getting a room for an interview. The area on the 1st floor of Marston Hall during that time was also devoted to Engineering Department faculty and administrative offices, classrooms as well as job placement.
In 1952 I wrote an article for the Iowa State Engineering magazine about the iconic and graceful water tower which was designed by Anson Marston. It is just behind Marston Hall. For that article I had an opportunity to meet with Anson Marston’s widow to obtain background information for my article. I had a delightful time speaking with Mrs. Marston and gathered interesting information from her which i used for my article. That water tower is truly a “one-of-a-kind” structure which is striking in its appearance and is still in use to this day.”
George Englesson, MS ’59, Ph.D. ’65
“We were five graduate students in the fall of 1957, each teaching two classes of Strength of Materials in the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Department (T&AM). In those days, a cluster of smaller buildings surrounded Marston Hall, like a medieval village in the shadow of the lord’s castle. We had our offices in a drafty prefabricated barracks building on the quadrangle, and taught our classes in the Engineering Annex, a small brick building west of Marston. The department was headed by Professor Glenn Murphy and occupied a suite of offices in the southeast corner of the second floor of Marston Hall. Dr. Murphy had his office on the north end of the suite and Professors Olsen and Davis shared an office on the south end of the suite. Professor Olsen, called Easy Ed because he was anything but, was the Sub-head for Strength of Materials. (I never inquired too closely as to why his colleague was called Stinky Davis.) Each day, they met with us in one of the classrooms in Marston Hall, to guide us in what we should be teaching for each class. Olsen and Davis each taught a Strength of Materials section of their own, but they had their classes in Marston, while we were relegated to the Annex. [Read More…]“
Jim Sheets, Mechanical Engineering ’63
“Marston seemed like home from a classroom environment standpoint.”
Rick Hingtgen, Aerospace Engineering ’80
“Fondly remember the library with its large wooden tables and the smell of old engineering books on the shelves surrounding the study floor.”
Jessica Riedl, B.S. Mechanical Engineering ’04, M.S. Agricultural Engineering ’13
“I spent many nights in the winter of ’99-’00 carrying our group project for Engineering 170 through the snow from Helser up to the 4th floor Marston computer lab to work on our CAD model. Sometimes the elevator in Marston was really slow so we’d decide to take the steps instead. Helser didn’t have an elevator, so it seemed a long way to haul a big wood/plexiglass box in the cold! Once we got up there, the room was full of students working on big desktop computers with big CRT monitors and all of us were listening to portable CD players.”
Ted Okishii, B.S. Mechanical Engineering ’60; M.S. ’63; Ph.D. ’65; Emeritus Faculty
“I remember fondly that there were classes in here (Marston Hall), there was an engineering reading room that was a great place to study.”