The Temple of Antioch: A Study Abroad Internship for Architectural Engineering Students

The summer of 2005 marked the beginning of a landmark project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During this summer, principal investigators Dr. Ece Erdogmus, Dr. Michael Hoff, and Dr. Rhys Townsend began work on the restoration of the Temple of Antioch, located near the modern-day city of Gazipaşa, Turkey. Every summer since 2005 (with the exception of 2006 and 2010), Dr. Erdogmus, Dr. Hoff, and Clark University's Dr. Rhys Townsend have led teams of students in on-site fieldwork in Turkey. This project gives architectural engineering students the opportunity to work on a real world problem by applying their classroom knowledge and collaborating with students in other disciplines. The principal investigators of the project, themselves educators in engineering, archeology, and art history, specifically designed this project as an interdisciplinary internship opportunity housed within the environment of a study abroad program. Their efforts have led to the possible creation of a new discipline within architectural engineering, "archeological engineering."