"So, this is my project," he says.
At first, it's hard to see past the red beams, wooden platforms and multi-ton concrete blocks. But Currie points to a single squared column in the middle of the seeming mess, notable only for the hand-written "DO NOT TOUCH" sign affixed to it with masking tape.
In two hours, Currie will arrive at Hilton Coliseum for basketball practice, but before that, he wants to get more done on the professor's pet project that became his master's work, steering him away from an intended MBA and into an advanced engineering degree - all while completing his final season of college hoops.
After a near-fatal car accident four years ago, getting engaged last March and playing three seasons in five years, Currie and three other Cyclone seniors are nearing the end of their college careers.
For the transfer student who never has seen more than a handful of minutes on the court, the end of the season signals the start of the future.
"I didn't care if I played a minute at Iowa State," Currie says. "Just being part of the team was a dream come true."
In high school, Currie was the star player and leading scorer at Odebolt-Arthur, but didn't get many looks at the college level. He gladly accepted an offer to walk on at Division II University of Nebraska-Omaha.
He says he chose UNO for the combination of athletic and academic opportunities. He enrolled as an architectural engineering major and hoped to eventually earn a basketball scholarship.
"A lot of players who were there when I was had come from Division I schools," Currie says. "I knew I'd probably redshirt my freshman year."
One December day in his first semester at UNO, Currie was driving down a country road after an intense morning practice. His girlfriend, Angie Lageschulte, had a basketball tournament back home and he wanted to make the three-plus hour drive in time to see her play.
He dozed off at the wheel of his '97 Cutlass Supreme, ran through an intersection, and was T-boned by a pickup.
Currie met Lageschulte in high school, when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman. She was dating his best friend, and he was hitting on her twin sister.
They've been together more than seven years. But that afternoon in the hospital, Lageschulte didn't know if he would even remember her.
"They said he had some short-term memory loss, and I didn't know if we would have to start our whole relationship over again; I didn't know if I would walk in the room and he would not know who I was," Lageschulte says. "But his mom walked out of the room and said he was asking for me."
Curry was hospitalized for several days. He had a severe concussion, stitches along the side of his head, and enough injures to keep him sidelined for months.
He came back to practice late in his freshman season, but says even that was too soon. The self-described gym rat didn't see any payoff on the court and wasn't as passionate about his classes as he'd expected.
"I'd be in the gym at 10 o'clock at night every day, trying to get better, but I wasn't seeing any improvement," Currie says. "That's when you say 'Is it really worth it to do that for four years and just practice here when I could do that at Iowa State?'"
As a high school senior, Currie applied to ISU, and as a college sophomore, he decided it was time for a change. So the lifelong Cyclone fan gave up his jersey, moved to Ames and enrolled as a civil engineering major.
He said he loved the idea of playing for the Cyclones, but didn't expect it to happen. Still, he asked if the team needed any extra bodies in practice.
When the call came, he almost skipped his tryout because it conflicted with his class schedule.
Three years and a coaching change later, Currie has seen action in only 30 games. He is the first player off the end of the bench, but is hardly a go-to reserve.
"I feel like Coach McDermott's given me an opportunity to actually play a little bit, and that spoils you," Currie says. "You think, 'I can play, I've done some things.' But when it comes down to it - not really."
After transferring, Currie felt more content in the classroom. He found his niche in structural engineering, and despite the transfer had no trouble graduating this December.
He had considered pursuing an MBA while playing out his athletic eligibility when Matt Rouse, an assistant professor of civil engineering and former ISU football player, approached him about a project.
"We're working on a new design for bridge columns that can withstand extreme loads, for example, a large impact or a major earthquake," Rouse says.
For three semesters, Currie has researched, designed and built the columns for Rouse's experiment. He oversees several undergraduate assistants, and is now beginning work on a 200-plus page paper detailing his findings.
In the meantime, he found time to propose to Lageschulte, plan their August wedding and line up an internship in Kansas City this summer.
Oh, and then there's basketball.
"When I was in school, I knew I wasn't going to be a pro football player, for sure, but I was going to be an engineer for a long time," Rouse says. "There aren't a lot of people who have the opportunity to do what Mark's doing and not a lot of people who could do what Mark's doing.
"Looking back, though, I sure wouldn't have traded it and am very glad I did it. I think Mark is, too."
With only two guaranteed games on ISU's schedule, Currie laughs thinking about how his college career matches up against the one he'd expected.
"I would have been ecstatic to be able to practice at Iowa State for four years and not touch the floor. That would have been completely fine with me," Currie said. "To do a little more than that has been icing on the cake."
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