Alexander C. Schreyer
Senior Lecturer II
Associate Department Head – Environmental Conservation
Program Director – Building and Construction Technology
Director – Trimble Technology Lab @ UMass Amherst
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Primary Interests
- 3D CAD and BIM applications in architecture and construction
- Digital fabrication, 3D printing
- Wood-concrete composite structural systems
- Fasteners and connection systems for wood structures
- Structural upgrading of historic buildings
- Structural optimization and artificial intelligence
- Web applications for research and teaching
Bio Sketch
Mr. Schreyer is Program Director and Senior Lecturer in the Building and Construction Technology (BCT) program at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in Amherst, MA. He teaches courses in BIM (Building Information Modeling) and CAD (Computer-Aided Design), building materials and construction methods, wood properties as well as a capstone graduate structural design class in the M.Arch. architecture program.
Combining backgrounds in structural engineering, wood science and digital design, Mr. Schreyer’s interests span the entire range of planning, design, and execution of buildings and structures. He specializes in the design and construction of mainly heavy-timber type (e.g. glulam) structural systems. This is complemented by a strong interest in technology applications and web-based solutions in structural engineering, construction and architecture.
In his research, Mr. Schreyer focuses on the behavior of wood-based structural systems with a particular interest in innovative connection systems for wooden structures. Other foci are development of software-based approaches in digital design and structural optimization as well as interactive web-based tools.
Mr. Schreyer is the author of “Architectural Design with SketchUp”, which provides a beginner- to intermediate-level overview of various techniques to “do more” with the popular 3D modeling application Trimble SketchUp. He is also co-author on the widely-used reference and textbook “Fundamentals of Residential Construction”, which provides a complete overview of the materials and methods used in single- and multi-family residential construction. Both books are published by John Wiley & Sons.
Courses Taught
BCT 204 – Construction Materials & Methods (3 cr., Spring)
BCT 304 – Properties of Wood (3 cr., Fall)
BCT 420 – Designing with 3D CAD & BIM (3 cr., Fall & Spring)
BCT 492A – Jobs and Professional Life in BCT (1 cr., Spring)
ECO 620 – Studies in Building Information Modeling (3 cr., Fall & Spring)
Books
Schreyer, A., 2023. “Architectural Design with SketchUp: 3D Modeling, Extensions, BIM, Rendering, Making, Scripting, and LayOut“. 3rd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ
Allen, E., Schreyer, A., Thallon, R. 2022. “Fundamentals of Residential Construction“. 5th Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ
Selected Recent Publications
A Bahmanzad, PL Clouston, SR Arwade, AC Schreyer (2020) “Shear Properties of Symmetric Angle-Ply Cross-Laminated Timber Panels“. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 32 (9)
A Bahmanzad, PL Clouston, SR Arwade, AC Schreyer (2020) “Shear Properties of Eastern Hemlock with Respect to Fiber Orientation for Use in Cross Laminated Timber“. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 32 (7)
Clouston, P.L., Schreyer, A.C. (2019) “J.W. Olver Design Building. A Case Study of a US Mass Timber Building“. Wood Design Focus. 29 (2)
Khoshbakht, N., Clouston, P.L., Arwade, S.R., Schreyer, A.C.. (2019) “Evaluation of ASTM D5764 Dowel Connection Tests for Laminated Veneer Bamboo (LVB)“. ASTM Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 47, no. 4 (2019): 2717-2736.
Khoshbakht, N., Clouston, P.L., Arwade, S.R., Schreyer, A.C.. (2018) “Computational Modeling of Laminated Veneer Bamboo (LVB) Dowel Connections“. ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 30 (2)
Fiocchi, L.C., Schreyer, A., Clouston, P.L. 2017. “A New Teacher on Campus“. Learning by Design, Fall 2017.
You can find a complete list here. I am also on ORCID here.