CEE Magazine Summer 2022 by Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

CEE

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The Grainger College of Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Summer 2022

Grand Opening Celebrating our new spaces Alumni news and features

UPCOMING CEE ALUMNI EVENTS JULY 2022 Golf Outing

July 21, 2022 Ruffled Feathers • Lemont, Ilinois

SEPTEMBER 2022 Faculty Research Webinar Date TBA Online via Zoom

OCTOBER 2022 CEE Tailgate

October 8, 2022 Memorial Stadium • Champaign

MARCH 2023 CEE Alumni Awards Dinner Date TBA Union League Club • Chicago

Keep up-to-date on events and find links to register on our website:

cee.illinois.edu/events

CEE

The CEE magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Ana P. Barros, NAE Donald Biggar Willett Chair of Engineering and Head Celeste Bock Senior Director of Advancement Operations (217) 333-6955 celeste@illinois.edu Steven Hall Director of Advancement (217) 300-7830 stevhall@illinois.edu Kristina Shidlauski Associate Director of Communications Vicki Dixon Associate Director of Operations Keely K. Ashman Assistant Director of Alumni and Corporate Relations Sheree Eyestone Office Manager

CEE Magazine Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The Grainger College of Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 1201 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory MC-250 205 North Mathews Avenue Urbana, Illinois 61801 cee.illinois.edu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Grainger College of Engineering

CEE 5

What’s Next/Ana Barros

The only constant in life is change/David Byrd

CEE alumni dinner in Chicago

Grand Opening of the CEE Building and Smart Bridge

Tsunami: CEE alumnus reflects on relief work

ASCE student chapter hosts regional symposium

Global Leaders students travel to Italy

Six professors invested with named professorships

Undergraduate student scholarships and awards

William W. Hay Award honors legacy of CEE rail professor

Department News

Alumni News

2022 Graduation Reception

In Memoriam: William Gamble

Kinra Fellows meet with donors

Parting Shot: And now, a musical interlude

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 3

Professor Ahmed Elbanna u Associate served on the UIUC SHIELD Team, charged with designing and monitoring the campus’s testing and reporting protocol during the pandemic. A newly published report details the innovations in modeling, saliva testing and results reporting that helped mitigate the spread of the virus, and shares the data collected and lessons learned through the process.

CEEAA Board of Directors President Paula C. Pienton, P.E., S.E., (BS 85) CN Homewood, Ill. Vice President David L. Byrd (BS 01, MS 06) Envista Forensics Deerfield, Ill.

Photo: Fred Zwicky

Second Vice President and Secretary Dana B. Mehlman, P.E., (BS 99, MS 01) Vedder Price PC Chicago Past President John P. Kos, P.E., (BS 77) H.W. Lochner Inc. Chicago

Check out these and other stories at

uCEE.ILLINOIS.EDU/NEWS

Directors Nick Canellis (BS 94) Trellis Group LLC Chicago John E. Conroyd, P.E., S.E., (BS 83, MS 85) Ardmore Roderick Chicago

Photo: Brian Kay

A CEE study examined how Lake Michigan’s rising levels affect water quality, flood control and invasive species management within the Chicago-area waterway system that connects the lake to Illinois, Indiana and the Mississippi River basin.

Photo: Meta

CEE researchers will participate in a multi-institution consortium funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aimed at improving the nation’s ability to predict water-related hazards and manage water resources.

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Kimberly Cummins (BS 98) Cummins Engineering Corporation Springfield, Ill. Kevin C. Fuhr (BS 96) Hanson Professional Services Chicago James K. Klein, P.E., S.E., (BS 78) Springfield Justin R. Lewis, P.E. (BS 07, MS 08) Keller North America Chicago Michael J. Mack (BS 89) Burns & McDonnell Downer’s Grove, Ill. Andrew J. Martin Greeley and Hansen LLC Chicago Douglas S. Pelletier (BS 95) Kiewit Chicago

istockphoto.com/ RomoloTavani

CEE researchers have partnered with Meta and concrete supplier Ozinga to discover better concrete formulas using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The early-stage results found the AI-powered formulas reduce the carbon footprint of the concrete by 40 percent while maintaining strength and durability.

Katherine Pripusich-Sienkiewicz (BS 03, MS 13) Amazon Web Services Chicago Robert Risser (BS 87, MS89) Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Chicago David A. Schoenwolf, P.E., (BS 77, MS 78) Haley & Aldrich Inc. McLean, Virginia Richard Sieracki (BS 74) The Kenrich Group LLC Chicago Michael Vitale, P.E., (BS 82, MS 84) Mott MacDonald Cleveland, Ohio Daniel J. Whalen, P.E., (BS 84, MS 85) Hanson Professional Services Inc. Springfield

What’s next? By Ana Barros, NAE Donald Biggar Willett Chair in Engineering and Head Dear CEE Friends, We were delighted this spring to be able to host a Grand Opening celebration for donors to our new Civil and Environmental Engineering Building and the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge. After several pandemic delays, it was exciting on April 29, 2022, to finally be able to welcome about 400 of our generous alumni and friends who made these beautiful new spaces possible. Photos of that exciting day appear later in this issue. As you know, the new building and smart bridge were a long time in coming. Efforts began in 2015 to plan the project and fundraise to make it possible. Many of you – about 600 individuals and companies in total – stepped up to help us meet that challenge with gifts and pledges totaling more than $12 million. The Grainger College of Engineering and the campus contributed $2 million each, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering committed $11 million to this $32 million project. Today, our students and faculty are realizing the benefits of this ambitious plan. Although these spaces are in use – and will enhance the experience of generations of CEE students to come – our work is not done with regards to funding them. We still have a funding gap of more than $4 million. This has resulted in some of the labs currently lacking furnishings and equipment. In addition, beginning this year we will need to pay interest on the construction debt. This comes to approximately $150,000 per year – money that could be spent in countless other ways to benefit our students. Your help is still needed in helping us realize the full potential of this project. There are still naming opportunities available throughout the building. Another important department prior-

ity is to improve our ability to recruit top undergraduate students by increasing the funds available for scholarships. The scholarships currently available within CEE to rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are plentiful and very needed; this past spring we were able to award $284,000 through 120 scholarships for these students. You can see the full list of scholarships and many photos of these deserving students on pages 30 and 31 of this issue. But we also have a great need for a different kind of scholarship: those we can offer to highly qualified, prospective first-year students to encourage them to accept their offers of admission to UIUC. These scholarships are used to improve access for women, under-represented minorities and first-generation college students, as well as to make a UIUC education more affordable for Illinois students, who in many cases are enticed by lower tuition at out-of-state schools – public and private alike – that compete with us for the very top, most qualified students. Our efforts to improve access to populations not currently well-represented in CEE can be seen in our incoming class for fall 2022, which is the biggest first-year class in the history of the department with 218 students: Our percentage of women firstyears will be 33 percent – the highest ever. Fully 18 percent of the class will be under-represented minorities. Although we are encouraged by these successes, we realize there is more work to be done. Only nine of our incoming first-years are first-generation college students; we have a particular need for scholarship funds for this population. And we hope to grow our numbers of women and under-represented minorities so that

we are producing civil and environmental engineers who truly reflect the diversity of society. We know that the CEE profession and the world we serve will be better for it. We are confident that the civil and environmental engineering education we provide here at Illinois is second-to-none. Our aim now is to open the doors a bit wider so that the outstanding education we provide can be offered to an evermore-diverse population of top students. I have seen the profound impact of your generosity and commitment to CEE at Illinois with the realization of our beautiful, transformative new spaces. I am confident that with your help, our next priority to offer more recruiting scholarships will become a reality, clearing the path for a new generation of top students from all backgrounds to join the Illinois family and serve society as CEE leaders. Be assured that your home department at UIUC is very strong. Research expenditures have increased approximately 20 percent in the past year. Junior faculty are opening up new avenues of research; several more this year have won prestigious research awards from the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Senior faculty are receiving much-deserved national and international recognition. Applications to CEE have grown, reflected in the record-setting size of our first-year class. And as always, our alumni continue to help us maintain our worldclass reputation through their work around the globe as Illini Engineers. Go Illini! i To explore ways to give to the department, please contact: Ana Barros, barros@illinois.edu Steve Hall, Director of Advancement, (217) 300-7830, stevhall@illinois.edu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 5

“The only constant in life is change” By David Byrd (BS 01, MS 06) President-Elect, CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors I am confident the phrase above from Greek Philosopher Heraclitus rings true for all of our CEE alumni over the past few years. It definitely has for me. Now more than ever we are in a time of immense change that has brought a global pandemic – leading to the mass adoption of the hybrid work environment and a redistributed labor force through “The Great Resignation” – given rise to a $1.3 TRILLION Infrastructure spending bill, deepened our political divides, seen landmark decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, and on and on. It has been a lot to take in, as all of you reading this firsthand know. Our CEE department and Alumni Association (CEEAA) are emerging from these past few years stronger than ever and are poised to embrace the world of constant change we find ourselves in. The department had its Grand Opening Celebration of the modernized CEE Building (formerly Hydrosystems Laboratory) and the Kavita & Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge on April 29, 2022. Kudos to the department for such a fantastic event that showcased our new facility. I had the pleasure to meet and speak to many alumni who attended. It was refreshing to listen to so many that keep an ownership philosophy toward the present and future success of the CEE department. I was able to catch up with the current Concrete Canoe team, camped out near the first-level Concrete Canoe permanent display. They allowed me the opportunity to reminisce about my undergrad days on the team and engage in some of the same passionate

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discussions about mix designs, mold construction and racing. An impressive group of students rowing the team forward! Phase II of the department’s modernization plan is physically complete, but its fundraising goals are still to be met. There are many gifting opportunities still available and many creative ways you can contribute.

Our CEE Department and Alumni Association are emerging from these past few years stronger than ever and are poised to embrace the world of constant change we find ourselves in.

In September, I will have the privilege of leading the CEEAA as President of our Board of Directors. I am grateful for the leadership of our outgoing President, Paula Pienton. Her efforts in leading our board the past few years will allow us to embrace the shift to the “new normal” we are seeking out. Our work will encompass a return to your favorite in-person events and build upon our experiences of the recent past.

In March, we were finally able to emerge from our two-dimensional remote meetings and return in-person to the Union League Club of Chicago for our annual awards dinner. What a great event that had record alumni turnout! Congratulations to all our award winners this year. In June, we partnered with the Young Engineers Division (YED) to resume our annual Beer Tasting event. The YED was established several years ago by board members Dana Mehlman and Richard Sieracki and has grown into an amazing group of young alumni. The YED leadership has been successful at engaging new graduates, and I am confident this group will continue to expand its outreach to our younger alumni. Be on the lookout for their own networking events. All our in-person alumni events are back in full swing (pun intended). I hope you have a chance to join us at our Annual Golf Tournament on July 21, 2022, at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club in Lemont, Illinois. We will seat five new Board Members this fall who will add significant geographical diversity to our group. Expanding on our current activities, we hope to increase in-person alumni engagement beyond the Chicagoland area, leverage our experiences with remote learning to further highlight the great work and accomplishments of our CEE faculty, and develop new programs aimed at sharing best practices of our alumni leaders in how we train, mentor and find success within our profession – all while living in a world of constant change. I-L-L ... i

To nominate an outstanding alum for a CEE alumni award, visit cee.illinois.edu/alumni/awards The deadline for the submission of nominations for 2024 awards is February 1, 2023.

2022 Alumni Awards Dinner For the first time since 2019, CEE alumni, faculty, students and friends of the department were able to gather in person at the Union League Club in Chicago for the annual CEE at Illinois Alumni Awards Dinner on March 10, 2022. The event included a cocktail reception, dinner, remarks by Department Head Ana P. Barros, and presentation of CEE’s alumni awards.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DINNER SPONSORS: DIAMOND SPONSORS Alfred Benesch & Company Burns & McDonnell EPSA-LABCO HDR Inc. HNTB Corporation Talman Consultants LLC PLATINUM SPONSORS AECOM Ardmore Roderick Blinderman Construction Greeley and Hansen Hanson Professional Services Lochner Milhouse Engineering & Construction Mott MacDonald William A. Randolph Inc. GOLD SPONSORS Christopher B. Burke Engineering Clark Dietz Geo Services Kiewit Rubino Engineering The Walsh Group Trotter and Associates Turner Construction

Above, the award winners are pictured with CEEAA and department leadership. Left to right: CEEAA Board President Paula Pienton; Katherine E. Latham, Jody A. Quinton, Evgueni T. Filipov, Manuel Gomez-Achecar; and Department Head Ana P. Barros. Visit cee.illinois.edu/ alumni/awards to read more about the winners. Below, scenes from the evening.

See More Photos Online Scan this QR code on your device or visit cee.illinois.edu/alumni/events/photos to see more photos from the event.

SILVER SPONSORS BLA Inc. Carollo Engineers Ciorba Group Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Dean J. Arnold Donohue & Associates Duane Morris EXP Fermilab Gannett Fleming Globetrotters Engineering Corp Ingenii LLC Kenrich Group McHugh Construction Patrick Engineering RME Inc. STV Inc. TranSystems TY Lin International Vedder Price PC Wight & Company BRONZE SPONSORS Bowman Consulting ExxonMobil Fehr Graham Gary S. Baker Haley & Aldrich Inc Hampton Lenzini and Renwick James K. Klein Keller North America Lin Engineering Matt J. Pregmon O’Brien & Associates Orion Engineers LLC Ricondo & Associates W.E. O’Neil Construction Company

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 7

At last CEE celebrates new building, Smart Bridge with Grand Opening event Approximately 400 donors and alumni gathered April 29, 2022, to celebrate the Grand Opening of the new CEE Building and the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge. The day began at 2 p.m. with remarks by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Provost Andreas Cangellaris, The Grainger College of Engineering Dean

Rashid Bashir, CEE Department Head Ana Barros and CEE Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs John Popovics. A series of ribbon-cuttings and an open house followed. Faculty and students hosted rooms in the building, sharing information about the way the spaces will be utilized, presenting their research and telling visitors about the history

Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson

and current activities of various student groups. Professor Bill Spencer led a class of graduate students in a presentation about the Bahl Smart Bridge. The group also did demonstrations on the bridge showcasing its instrumentation (see pages 16-17 of this issue).

Left to right: CEE student Lauren Schissler (BS 22), Raven DeVaughn, Robert Johnson, Glenda Johnson, Lalit Bahl, Krishna Johnson, Kavita Bahl, Provost Andreas Cangellaris, Professor Emeritus Vernon Snoeyink, Andrew Richardson (BS 78), Lyle Hughart (BS 60), Dean Rashid Bashir and CEE student Dale Robbennolt (BS 22). Top right, Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson (BS 60, MS 62, PhD 64) is ready with the big scissors.

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Left to right: Lauren Schissler, Lalit Bahl, Kavita Bahl, Provost Andreas Cangellaris, Dean Rashid Bashir, CEE Department Head Ana Barros and Dale Robbennolt. Below, Ana Barros, left, with Tracy Mayfield, the granddaughter of Nathan M. Newmark.

Representing the student body The students holding the ribbons for all the ribbon-cuttings are Dale Robbennolt and Lauren Schissler, 2022 bachelor’s degree graduates of the department, both of whom were awarded the 2022 Ira O. Baker Prize, first place, the highest award given to graduating seniors. These two top students graciously agreed to represent CEE students present and future, who will most benefit from the new spaces.

Video A video of the Grand Opening remarks and main ribbon-cutting may be viewed with the QR code at right.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 9

First floor Vernon L. Snoeyink Water Chemistry Laboratory William J. and Elaine F. Hall Classroom Robert H. Dodds Jr. Commons Robert and Glenda Johnson Student Collaboration Space Concrete Canoe Display

CEE graduate student Ana Okinczyc (BS 21) talks about the Concrete Canoe team to a Grand Opening guest. The Concrete Canoe display features two canoes built by past teams, as well as a plaque explaining that CEE at Illinois was the birthplace of concrete canoe competitions and a photo of the professor and alumnus who established the practice in 1971, Clyde Kesler (BS 43, MS 46). Below left to right: Lauren Schissler, Barbara Koch, Paul Koch (BS 66, MS 68), Charlie Werth, Professor Emeritus Vernon Snoeyink, Andrew Richardson (BS 78), Jeannie Snoeyink, Ana Barros and Dale Robbennolt.

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Donors point out their names on the main donor wall in the first-floor Robert H. Dodds Commons. Left, top to bottom: Phillip L. Gould (BS 59, MS 60); Karen Parker; Clayton Patterson (BS 01) and Joseph Good (BS 07). Above, Jerry (BS 62, MS 63, PhD 70) and Sharon Parola.

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Second floor Milhouse Family Classroom Jerry and Terry Benson Faculty Lounge Graduate Student Office Suite John W. Melin Faculty Office James G. Clark Faculty Office Leonard A. Lopez Faculty Office Albert J. Valocchi Faculty Office Byrd Family IT Closet David A. Lange Faculty Office Neil M. Hawkins Faculty Office Douglas A. Foutch Faculty Office Nathan M. Newmark Distinguished Faculty Office Judith S. and Jon C. Liebman Gallery Ben Chie Yen Library and Maurice N. Quade Faculty Lounge Illinois Alumni Employees of ExxonMobil Conference Room

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Above, Chi Epsilon students, donors and faculty pose by the group’s history display on the second floor. Chi Epsilon, an honor society for engineering students, was founded at UIUC. Left to right: Liam Botts, Chi Epsilon vice president; Lauren Schissler, Chi Epsilon president; Professor Emeritus Al Valocchi; CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors President Paula Pienton (BS 85); Professor Scott Olson (BS 94, MS 95, PhD 01); and Amber DeCarlo, Chi Epsilon past president. Below, left to right: Dale Robbennolt, Ruth Lopez, Professor Emeritus Leonard Lopez (MS 63, PhD 66), Professor Emeritus Jon Liebman, Alan Hollenbeck (BS 75, MS 77), Professor Emerita Judith Liebman, Megan Archibald, Professor Emeritus David Lange, Ana Barros and Lauren Schissler.

Above, left to right: Lauren Schissler, Paula Pienton (BS 85), James Klein (BS 78), Dana Mehlman ( BS 99, MS 01), Richard Sieracki (BS 74), Marjorie Bardeen, Joseph Odencrantz (MS 86, PhD 92), Professor Marcelo Garcia, Janice Kupperman, unidentified, Mickey Kupperman (BS 57, MS 58), Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson, Professor Emeritus Albert Valocchi, John Conroyd (BS 83, MS 85), David Byrd (BS 01) and Dale Robbennolt.

Third floor Sidney Epstein Alumni Welcome Center Graduate Student Office Spaces E.W. and J.L. Merritt Structural Design Laboratory Alfredo H.-S. Ang Faculty Office Transportation Faculty Classroom Honoring Barry J. Dempsey and Marshall R. Thompson Moreland Herrin Distinguished Faculty Office Ellis Danner Faculty Office

Byrd Family IT Closet One of the most recent naming gifts was that of the second-floor Byrd Family IT Closet, funded by David L. and Monica H. Byrd. David (BS 01, MS 06) is a longtime member and soon-to-be president of the CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors and Monica is a proud Accounting alumna (BS 01) of the Gies College of Business. “The CEE department at Illinois is widely regarded as the best in the world,” David wrote. “The department has consistently maintained this status by having world-class faculty and staff that produce cutting-edge research and educate the top engineering students in the world. It’s necessary that Illinois has modern fa-

John D. Haltiwanger Faculty Office LeRoy T. Boyer Faculty Office Sharon L. Wood Faculty Office L. Richard Shaffer Faculty Office Edwin H. Gaylord Jr. Distinguished Faculty Office Chi Epsilon Alpha Chapter History Display CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors Student Collaboration Area

Naming opportunities are still available. For more information, please contact Steve Hall, stevhall@illinois. edu, (217) 300-7830. cilities to support this work, and our gift represents our commitment to this effort. “We inquired about supporting the project through identifying a smaller, more nondescript portion of the building that aligns with a gift level we were comfortable with. We feel the Byrd Family IT Closet will stand as an example of our commitment to the department. “We are honored to have our name associated with a small portion of this facility that does so much in support of the overall effort of this great department.” i

CEEAA Board President-Elect David Byrd, pictured with his sons, Jack, 8 (left) and Tommy, 6.

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Basement Ernest J. Barenberg Concrete Materials and Pavement Instructional Laboratory Geotechnical Laboratory honoring Karl von Terzaghi, Ralph B. Peck and Don U. Deere LANGAN Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory honoring Edward J. Cording, Melvin T. Davisson, Gabriel G. Fernandez, Alfred J. Hendron, Peter A. Lenzini, Gholamreza Mesri and Alberto Nieto Gary Parker Morphodynamics Laboratory John T. Pfeffer Sanitation and Resource Recovery Laboratory Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

Above: Dale Robbennolt, Professor Emeritus Alfred “Skip” Hendron (BS 59, MS 60), seated; retired professors (l to r) Gabe Fernandez (MS 72, PhD 77) and Pete Lenzini (MS 71); Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson; Clayton Patterson; Professor Emeritus Edward Cording (MS 63, PhD 67); Joseph Good; Department Head Ana Barros; and Lauren Schissler at the basement ribboncutting. Bottom right: Ruben Aza-Gnandji, Ph.D. student of Assistant Professor Tugce Baser, presented his research during the Grand Opening. Bottom left: Hojung You and Pallav Ranjan, Ph.D. students in the Water Resources Engineering and Science program, and Michael Molloy, CEE undergraduate, explain experiments in a wave flume investigating the impact of aquatic vegetation on coastal areas. Top left: CEE students discuss their research with Grand Opening guests.

Still want to help?

Kavita, left, and Lalit Bahl cut the ribbon for the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge.

There are still many ways to support this project, including naming opportunities and funding laboratory equipment. For information, please contact gift officer Steve Hall, stevhall@illinois.edu, (217) 300-7830.

Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge Chester P. Siess Smart Bridge Gateway Collaboration Space William L. Gamble Collaboration Space German Gurfinkel Collaboration Space Mete A. Sozen Collaboration Space Arthur R. Robinson Collaboration Space Piano donated by Albert J. Valocchi and Anne Silvis

Members of the CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors socialize on the Bahl bridge during the Grand Opening cocktail party. Left to right: David Byrd, president-elect; Dana Mehlman; Paula Pienton, current president; and Dan Whalen (BS 84, MS 85).

Professor Emeritus William L. Gamble (MS 61, PhD 62) poses with the plaque marking the student collaboration area on the Smart Bridge that is named for him. Sadly, Gamble passed away just three weeks later. Read his obituary on page 41 of this issue.

Charlie Greer (BS 71, MS 73), CEE adjunct instructor, on the Bahl bridge with his wife, Sarah, and graduate student Amber DeCarlo (BS 21).

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Bahl Smart Bridge showcased as a “Living Laboratory for Education and Research” This spring, students in Professor Bill Spencer’s CEE 573 Structural Dynamics II course were assigned a final project to utilize the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge and its instrumentation to develop modules that engage various audiences – including students, researchers and the general public – for the Grand Opening event and beyond. CEE 573 is designed to “provide an in-depth understanding of experimental and theoretical structural dynamics to enable students to work and conduct research in the field,” and this project is a key element of the class. The students formed five teams, with each team focusing on a different area, but all working to deepen their understanding of structural dynamics

and achieve the ultimate project goal to “make the Smart Bridge a premier destination on campus.” Some of the smart bridge features the students used during the course project include accelerometers that sense the motion of the bridge, displacement sensors at the expansion joints on the abutments, a pedestrian tracking camera and the high-precision data acquisition center. “The smart bridge significantly enhances our ability to teach students how to leverage emerging technologies to monitor, understand and predict the behavior of structures, ultimately leading to safer and more resilient designs,” Spencer said. “The smart bridge will serve as a living laboratory for many generations

At top, the CEE 573 class gathers on the bridge during the Grand Opening. Left to right: Shaik Althaf V. Shajihan, Brian Welsh, Huy Tran, Ray Ausan, Travis Fillmore, Alex Fields, Professor Bill Spencer, Thomas Ngare Matiki, Mohammad Fakhreddine, Casey Rodgers, Mandy Zhong, Ricardo Dorado. Not pictured, Laurelin Strom (who took the class remotely). 16

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to come – going far beyond our current capabilities and imagination. Such an experience is only available at Illinois.” The students shared the results of their efforts during the grand opening event, introducing attendees to the features of the bridge through a special presentation and an interactive game they developed that challenged individuals to sneak across the bridge without the sensors detecting their footsteps. Summaries of the teams’ projects are described on the next page.

Scan this QR code or visit go.cee.illinois.edu/bridge-presentation to view a truncated version of the PowerPoint slideshow from the class presentation.

Smart Bridge Long Term Plans

Bridge Rock’n Roll’n

Mandy Zhong | Laurelin Strom | Ricardo Dorado

Brian Welsh | Casey Rodgers

The students explored the capabilities of the bridge’s sensing system to learn about structural dynamics. Beginning with an initial computer-generated model, the team used measured data from the bridge to update the model to better represent the as-built structure. This “digital twin” of the bridge allowed students to simulate events and study the bridge response to various scenarios. In addition to the model’s education and research applications, the students proposed an interface that would engage the public: for example, by allowing bridge visitors to see how the bridge would react to a large earthquake.

Sensor data collected from the bridge was used to update the computer model (top) until its behavior matched the bridge’s measured responses (bottom).

Building upon their successes, the students brainstormed ways to inspire researchers, students and the general public to further explore the bridge, both in-person and online. For example, users could manipulate 3D models of the bridge, helping them understand the real-time data; visitors could view informational topics or pick from a variety of mini-games to play, including the Ninja Sneak game described at left; and authorized users could access an online database of measured data for research and teaching purposes.

Ninja Sneak Game

Travis Fillmore | Huy Tran

A diagram of the sensor layout and start/finish lines, and the interface which allows players to select the difficulty and set a timer. Provost Andreas Cangellaris tried out the Ninja Sneak game during the Grand Opening.

The students developed an interactive game called Ninja Sneak to engage the public and make the bridge a “must-see” destination for any trip to campus. The objective is to “sneak” across the bridge without the accelerometers detecting the impact of footsteps. Players can select the difficulty and the preferred time limit. A leaderboard will encourage visitors to keep coming back to the bridge to beat previous scores or keep a high score, and variations on the game allow for team play or increased difficulty.

Computer Vision for Pedestrian Load Estimation and Tracking Shaik Althaf V. Shajihan | Thomas Ngare Matiki | Ray Ausan

Using a camera installed on the bridge, the students showed how computer vision and machine learning can be used to turn sensor data from the smart bridge into useful data for the study of pedestrian traffic monitoring. After anonymizing the renderings (in this case, as stick figures), they track movements and load patterns. These methods can also be used for other research including vehicle monitoring, speed tracking and bridge statistics.

A camera captures images of people crossing the bridge (left), which the students use to create animated renderings (center) and plot the pedestrian movements and loads on the bridge (right). No information that could be used to capture identity is stored.

The students presented a sample dashboard which offers options to users, both remote and in-person, for educational topics and a series of interactive games. A 3D model uses sensor data to display the real-time structural health of the bridge.

CEE 573 Class Experience

Mohammad Fakhreddine | Alex Fields During the course of the class, students delved heavily into data science and computer science to understand bridge behavior in response to external and internal stimuli. The students shared some of the lessons from the class, including good data collection practices, computer modeling, exploration of mode shapes (the movements of a structure – often invisible to the human eye – in reaction to forces acting on it), and model updating. One example of work the students completed during the class: a series of animated visualizations of lateral, vertical and torsional (pictured) mode shapes, using measured data.

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My wife reminded me that I was, at that time, 62 years old and asked me to think on it before moving ahead.

Retired alum reflects on bringing CEE skills to relief work By Bob Becherer (BS 64, MS 65) I was living comfortably in retirement in 2004, when I read an article in the New Yorker about a crisis in Darfur, a region in the Sudan in central Africa. The article discussed a humanitarian crisis in the region exacerbated by a war. The war was partly the result of the changing climate causing people to migrate from an area that became uninhabitable as rainfall diminished. The migration caused friction with the people living in the area to which the people were migrating. There were other factors, but climate change was one of the causes of the migration. One of the points that struck me in the article was the need for water supply and sanitation systems for the people in the area. It was a "lightbulb" moment for me. I thought, I have done this kind of work all my life! After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1965 with a BS and MS in Civil/Sanitary Engineering, I served in the United States Public Health Service for two years. I went on to work for consulting firms Horner and Shifrin - St Louis, and Greeley and Hansen - New York and, in 1972 turned toward city, county and state work in New York. Initially, I worked for the City of New York as a process control engineer in New York City sewage treatment plants and then worked as Director of Operations and Maintenance at the Bergen Point Sewage Treatment Plant in Suffolk County, Long Island. I retired from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Stony Brook, New York, where I was involved in a regulatory role in solid waste, hazardous waste and the State superfund programs. I decided I wanted to put my engineering background to work helping the people in Darfur. An acquaintance who worked at the United Nations directed

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The coastal highway bridge, destroyed by the tsunami.

me to the non-government organization (NGO) Doctors Without Borders, known throughout the world as Medicine sans Frontiers (MSF). My wife reminded me that I was, at that time, 62 years old and asked me to think on it before moving ahead. I mulled it over for a few days, got her consent, and went for an interview at the MSF U.S. headquarters in New York City. I was enthusiastically received by MSF New York in October 2004 and sent to France for a one-week training program as a logistician in November. I came home and awaited an assignment with MSF. I did not go to Darfur. The call came in March 2005 to go to Indonesia. On December 24, 2004, a tsunami had formed, caused by an earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean about 100 miles west of Sumatra, one of the largest islands of the Indonesian archipelago. The earthquake started the formation of several tidal waves that reached the Sumatra coast causing death and massive destruction. I was sent to Banda Aceh, the capitol of Aceh province on Sumatra. After spend-

ing several days at MSF headquarters there, I received my assignment to Meulaboh, a coastal city about 110 miles away. Meulaboh had been decimated; its population of 80,000 had become 40,000. The coastal highway had been destroyed. It took weeks for substantial aid to get through, usually by boat. I arrived in Meulaboh on April 15 by helicopter, the primary means of transportation from Banda Aceh. Other than MSF's Land Cruiser's, helicopter transportation remained throughout my time in Indonesia. Both the beauty of the land and the destruction from the tsunami seen from the helicopter's height were breathtaking. The time spent in Meulaboh was exhausting and exhilarating, challenging and extremely rewarding. Meulaboh is almost on the equator; very hot, humid and, during my stay, without electricity for the short wave communications we had installed. MSF was involved in restoring local health clinics in Meulaboh and nearby communities. We worked building wells and water/wastewater and solid waste disposal facilities at the health clin-

Above, the beauty of Sumatra. Two photos at right: a water tower and well constructed by the MSF team. At bottom, Bob Becherer with nation staff at a health clinic.

ics. There were many NGOs in Meulaboh in addition to MSF. One, for example, was Catholic Relief Services (CRS), whose personnel were also installing drinking water wells. Prior to the tsunami, most wells were shallow, so when the tsunami came ashore, many of the wells were filled with salt water, rendering them unusable. CRS brought in large drilling rigs to install deeper wells. We, however, did not have that equipment, so our wells were smaller, shallower, dug by hand and using locally made rigs. Another of MSF's main functions was to provide work for the Indonesian people. There were about 10 expatriate MSF workers from Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Uzbekistan, Sudan and the United States. They included doctors, mental health professionals, nurses, engineers, a logistician and administrative staff. The national staff of about 100 were employed as drivers, guards, cooks, custodial and construction workers. I left Meulaboh in late September 2005, six months from my initial arrival in March. What started as a desire to aid in Darfur, Sudan, resulted in utilizing my water/wastewater and management skills on the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was a life-changing experience and I credit the University of Illinois Depart-

ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering for enabling me to address the needs of the people of Meulaboh at a most stressful time. Never did I anticipate that all I learned from my Civil and Environmental Engineering education would be used beyond a working career to the service of others halfway around the world. I am very grateful. Thank you. Terima kasih. i

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 19

ASCE student chapter hosts 2022 regional symposium By Jack Lawrence CEE undergraduate The UIUC student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) hosted the 2022 ASCE Western Great Lakes Student Symposium (WGL 2022) April 7-9. The annual event brings together ASCE student chapter members to compete in a variety of civil engineering-focused competitions. Across the country, there are 21 regional student symposia that occur annually. The responsibility of hosting is rotated among all the schools of the region. More than 450 students, faculty members and guests representing various companies and organizations attended the symposium in Urbana-Champaign. Students traveled from 19 universities scattered across the Midwest and Southern Canada. One university even competed virtually, all the way from Egypt! The symposium program featured 11

WGL 2022 Executive Chair Jack Lawrence speaks during the awards ceremony. (Photo: Justin Shen)

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competitions and three professional development events. The Illinois team excelled in nearly every event. The team’s results are summarized below: • 1st place in the Geowall competition • 1st place in the Technical Paper competition • 1st place in the Construction Institute competition • 2nd place in the Volleyball Tournament • 2nd place in the Concrete Canoe competition • 2nd place in the Concrete Cornhole competition • 3rd place in the Surveying competition • 4th place in the Sustainable Solutions competition The Illinois team also participated in the quiz bowl, scavenger hunt and steel bridge competitions. After appealing what was determined to be an incorrect disqualification, the UIUC Steel Bridge team qualified for nationals. They competed in Steel Bridge Nationals May 27-28 at Virginia Tech, finishing 15th out of 33 teams. The symposium was capped off with an awards banquet held at the I Hotel and Conference Center. Illinois CEE alum Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon (MS 97), current Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, served as the keynote speaker. Spellmon discussed the importance of educating talented civil engineers so the country can satisfy changing infrastructure needs induced by climate change. WGL 2022 was the result of just over

Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon (MS 97), current Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, delivers the keynote address at the awards banquet. (Photo: Justin Shen)

a year’s worth of planning by the executive committee, who were assisted by members of the ASCE Student Chapter. The student chapter managed to raise approximately $60,000 in order to host the event. Hundreds of hours were put in to make sure the event showcased the technical excellence and innovation of the Illinois CEE department. The executive committee consisted of Executive Chair Jack Lawrence, associate chairs John Sadek and Nic Novak, and coordinators Michael Cano, Izabela Dimevska, Corey Michaels and Ally Kolar. The executive committee would like to thank faculty members Jacob Henschen, Art Schmidt and John Popovics, senior undergraduate adviser Becky Stillwell, and Department Head Ana Barros for their support during the planning process. i

At left, UIUC’s concrete cornhole game. Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Concrete Canoe team preparing to race. (Photo: Justin Shen)

Above, senior Matt Groll checking bridge members for compliance with the rules. Below, members of the UIUC Steel Bridge team constructing their bridge.

Above, members of the Bradley University Surveying team participating in the competition (Photo Credit: Justin Shen) At right, rising junior Coleman Froehlke serving during the volleyball. tournament.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 21

GLCM in ROME “The friendships that form on these trips are the building blocks for the networks that are built throughout their careers.” – E.J. Ignacio

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Students in the Global Leaders in Construction Management program spent eight days in Rome this summer, learning about construction projects both old and new A group of CEE at Illinois students recently had the unique experience of exploring the long history of construction engineering in Italy, through a week-long trip to that country as part of the Global Leaders in Construction Management (GLCM) program. The students saw examples of construction projects up close, with visits that ranged from the ancient Roman aqueducts to a modern subway construction site. International trips such as this one are a key component of the GLCM program, which is currently led by E.J. Ignacio, an instructor in CEE at Illinois. “There are two main goals for GLCM trips: educate and inform,” Ignacio said. “First, we want to educate students on the construction management techniques used in other countries and the means and methods used to perform similar activities that they will encounter in their careers. Second, informing students how the skillsets they’ve developed at UIUC can be utilized in different locations and industries, and present global opportunities.” The experience began when the group touched down in Rome on May 17, 2022. Their first day included visits to some of Rome’s most famous historical sites, including the Pantheon, Forum and Colosseum. Other days saw them visiting active jobsites, taking the high-speed train to Naples, exploring Fascist-era architecture, walking through a more

modern working class neighborhood that grew out of the 1960 Olympic Village, touring the site of an ancient city outside of Rome called Ostia Antica, and more. Students maintained a daily blog of their experience, which is available on the GLCM website at glcm.cee.illinois.edu. The class trip was hosted by Gustolab International and the Borromini Institute, which partners with UIUC on study abroad programs. Institute Director Tom Rankin led the group throughout the trip

and, in combination with CEO/Founder Pier Alberto Merli, created a successful academic and cultural experience for the students, Ignacio said. Established in 2005, the GLCM program combines a rigorous Construction Engineering and Management curriculum with in-depth exposure to the practice of engineering. Students enrolled in the GLCM program are provided with a summer internship opportunity and visits to domestic and international construc-

tion sites. Ignacio has led previous trips to London (2019) and Austria (2020), and is already planning the 2023 class trip to see the Panama Canal expansion work that is currently underway. Students interested in joining the program, companies interested in supporting the program and anyone that would like to learn more are invited to contact Ignacio at eignaci2@illinois.edu or visit glcm.cee.illinois.edu for more information.

Read the student trip blog at: glcm.cee.illinois.edu/rome-may-2022

Not long after the group landed in Rome, host Tom Rankin led them on a walking tour of some of the city’s most famous sites including the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Roman Forum. Photos clockwise from top left: the group poses with the U of I flag outside the Colosseum; the dome of the Pantheon; statue of Moses by Michaelangelo in the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli; view from Roman Forum.

Photos on these pages by: Lu Yuan of the Borromini Institute, Keely Ashman and the GLCM students. Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 23

Modern job sites meet historical ruins The students visited two active work sites in Rome: the Mausoleum of Augustus and the Metro C Subway construction. One common aspect of construction projects in Rome is the uncovering of historical structures on the active jobsite. Each time this happens, archaeologists are called in to examine, excavate and preserve or remove the ruins. Ignacio explained that since Rome is basically built on a series of layers – medieval structures are built on byzantine structures which are built on top of ancient imperial Rome – this process can add months or years to the construction process. “We learned that in Italian construction, completion dates are often pushed back or delayed due to unexpected archaeological findings during excavation,” wrote Michaela Patton in the trip blog. “Designs are constantly altered in order to preserve and account for any ruins. As a result, construction culture is

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more relaxed than in the United States when it comes to design modifications that must be made during construction.” The Mausoleum project involves adding a piazza, museum and stairs to showcase the ancient structure. Student Zack Gold noted in a blog entry that archaeological work had been completed – and construction is moving forward – on half the site, while the rest of the site was still in the dig stage. “In this site, mosaics can be seen,” Gold wrote. “As it turns out, these are from the Middle Ages, when people had moved near the Mausoleum. We were amazed at how well preserved these were, and even more amazed that the cultural superintendent, a branch of the government who “owns” any historic items, decided to simply remove it. This decision was made because Rome has artifacts from around 100 A.D, so they do not feel the need to preserve everything from the 1500s.”

Above: the students visited the active jobsite of the Mausoleum of Augustus. The on-site excavation uncovered mosaics from the Middle Ages (visible in the center photo). Below: One of the things the students learned during a tour of the Metro C Subway construction site is that the crew consists of three groups that work concurrently: one on demolition and excavation, one on concrete pours and beam placement, and one on placement of any precast concrete.

Scan this QR code to see more photos from the trip.

Scenes from the trip Top: The students learned about the ancient aqueduct system that carried water from the mountains into Rome and throughout Italy. Pictured here in front of the famous Claudio aqueduct, they also saw ground-level aqueducts that are still active, albeit with non-potable water. Middle row: The group saw many examples of modern architecture in Rome, including the MAXXI Art Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid. On their free day, students explored sites, including the famous Trevi Fountain, on their own. During a trip to the Mariotti travertine workshop, Fabrizio Mariotti showed the group the manufacturing process by which rough blocks of stone from nearby quarries are turned into ready-to-sell slabs of marble. Bottom row: Taking a gelato break on a warm day in Santa Maria. From the blog: “Popular flavors were mango, pistachio, cocciato, and ‘fragola’ or strawberry. One of our group also got ‘Steve Martin’ flavored gelato, an almond and caramel flavor that we thought was interesting.” Also popular: pizza.

Read the student trip blog at glcm.cee.illinois.edu/rome-may-2022

“I always hope that the students learn something. Preferably something about civil engineering and construction management, but if the students learn something about Rome, Italian culture, architecture, cuisine, history or even themselves, I’m satisfied with providing that opportunity to them.” – E.J. Ignacio

At right: E.J. Ignacio.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 25

What is an investiture? An investiture is a formal ceremony during which a professor officially receives the honor of a named chair or professorship. Dignitaries at an investiture ordinarily include Provost Andreas Cangellaris, Dean Rashid Bashir and CEE Department Head Ana Barros. Donors also attend. Because of the significance of the honor, a professor’s family, colleagues and students also are invited. The first time a professorship or chair is bestowed, an inscribed medallion and a shadow box for display are presented to the primary donors. In that case, the professor is named the inaugural holder of the professorship or chair.

How do named positions for faculty benefit the department? Named professorships and chairs offer a significant career honor for faculty plus additional discretionary funding to pursue innovative research and enhance their teaching. These honors are very important for the recruitment and retention of top faculty. A named professorship can be established with a gift of $500,000. A named chair can be established with a gift of $2 million.

Investitures C. Armando Duarte Nathan M. Newmark Distinguished Professorship C. Armando Duarte was invested April 27, 2022, as the Nathan M. Newmark Distinguished Professor in CEE. Present at the ceremony were Duarte’s wife, Carolina Duarte, and his daughters, Camila and Clara Duarte. A special guest speaker at the event was a colleague of Duarte’s, Patrick O’Hara, a Research Engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Duarte joined the CEE at Illinois faculty in 2004. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in methods of structural analysis, introductory and advanced finite element methods and structural mechanics. He holds an M.Sc. degree from the University of Santa Catarina, Brazil, (1991) and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin (1996). Prior to joining the Illinois faculty, Duarte was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta, Canada, a Visiting Professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and

a Research Engineer at Altair Engineer, Austin, Texas. Duarte is affiliated with the Computational Science and Engineering Program and is a Fellow of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at UIUC. Duarte has made fundamental and sustained contributions to the fields of Computational Mechanics and Methods, in particular to the development of Meshfree, Partition of Unity and Generalized/ Extended Finite Element Methods (G/ XFEM). He proposed the first partition of unity method to solve fracture problems and pioneered the use of singular enrichments for this class of methods. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Association for Computational Mechanics, and the American Academy of Mechanics. He is a Fellow (2017) of the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics. He regularly appears on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students.

Marshall Thompson Professorship Fund A fund to honor Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson with a named professorship is approaching the level at which the fund can be used to award the inaugural professorship. To contribute to this fund, please contact Steve Hall, Director of Advancement, (217) 300-7830, stevhall@illinois.edu.

Left to right, Dean Rashid Bashir, Provost Andreas Cangellaris, Armando Duarte, Patrick O’Hara, Department Head Ana Barros.

cee.illinois.edu 2626 cee.illinois.edu

Gary Parker Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering

Left to right, the Duarte family: Carolina, Armando, Camila and Clara.

The Nathan M. Newing of the behavior of mark Distinguished structural materials Professorship in CEE was under various enviestablished to honor the ronments including legacy of Nathan Newfatigue and brittle mark and recognize the fracture. He added generous contributions materially to knowlof Newmark’s family and edge of the behavior friends, including his son, and design of highway Dr. Richard A. Newmark, bridge decks and floor and daughter-in-law, slabs in buildings and Joan F. Newmark. structures subjected Nathan M. Newmark to impact, periodic exreceived his M.S. (1932) citation, wave action, and Ph.D. (1934) in civil Nathan M. Newmark wind, blast and earthengineering from UIUC. quakes. He held a succession of During World War positions in the department, becom- II, Newmark was a consultant to the ing Research Professor of Civil Engi- National Defense Research Committee neering in 1943. From 1947 to 1957 he and the Office of Field Service of the Ofalso served as Chairman of the Digital fice of Scientific Research and DevelopComputer Laboratory of the University. ment; for his service he was awarded the In 1956 he was appointed head of the President's Certificate of Merit in 1948. Civil Engineering department and held Newmark was a Founding Member of that position until 1973. He continued the National Academy of Engineering in as a Professor of Civil Engineering until 1964 and was elected as a Member of the 1976. He retired as Professor Emeritus. National Academy of Sciences in 1966. Newmark developed simple, yet His numerous honors include the 1968 powerful and widely used, methods for National Medal of Science from Presianalyzing complex structural compo- dent Lyndon B. Johnson; the prestigious nents and assemblies under a variety Washington Award (1969), an award givof conditions of loading and for calcu- en collectively by the major engineering lating the stresses and deformations in societies of the United States. His pubsoil beneath foundations. He contribut- lications include more than 200 books ed significantly to a better understand- and papers. i

Gary Parker

Fred Zwicky

Professor Gary Parker was invested as the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering on April 27, 2022. Because Professor Gary Parker could not be present at the ceremony, Professor Barros accepted the medallion on his behalf. Parker joined the University of Illinois faculty in 2005. He holds a 75 percent appointment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in fluid mechanics, river engineering and sediment transport, and a 25 percent appointment in the Department of Geology, where he is the W.H. Johnson Professor of Geology. Parker is also associated with the Center for Advanced Study and Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science. Parker received a B.S. from the Department of Mechanics and Materials Science of Johns Hopkins University (1971) and a Ph.D. from the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Minnesota (1974). Before coming to Illinois, he was an Institute of Technology Distinguished Continued on page 28

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 27

Gary Parker Continued from page 27

Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Parker’s research interests are in morphodynamics, the study of the evolution of landscapes and seascapes in response to the erosion and deposition of sediment, associated with rivers, debris flows and turbidity currents. His work on meandering rivers led to his selection as winner of the 7th Prince Abdul Aziz Surface Water Prize, awarded at the United Nations headquarters in New York in November 2016. Parker has received numerous other honors over the years, including the Hunter Rouse Hydraulic Engineering Award (2016), the Water Resources Research Editor’s Choice Award (2014), the American Geophysical Union G. K. Gilbert Award (2014) and Fellow (2003), and the BSG Wiley Blackwell Award (2012). He appears frequently on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students. In 2017, Parker was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. Grainger Distinguished Chairs in Engineering are made possible by the Grainger Engineering Breakthroughs Initiative (GEBI), the result of a $100 million investment in The Grainger College of Engineering by The Grainger Foundation. The GEBI supports multi and inter-disciplinary study and provides a springboard for groundbreaking projects by allowing the college to invest in strategic priorities including faculty chairs and named professorships, undergraduate scholarships, facilities and infrastructure, and research support. Grainger Distinguished Chair appointments have helped the college to recruit and retain world-class faculty and contribute to our elite science and engineering program. i

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Left to right, Dean Rashid Bashir, Arif Masud, Komal Masud, Department Head Ana Barros and Lisa Monda-Amaya, Interim Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. .

Arif Masud John and Eileen Blumenschein Professorship Arif Masud was invested as the John and Eileen Blumenschein Professor on May 9, 2022. Honored guests included his wife, Komal Masud; and his brother, Tariq Masud. Speaking on Masud’s behalf was Professor Glaucio Paulino, the Margareta Engman Augustine Professor of Engineering at Princeton University and a former faculty member in CEE at Illinois. Masud has been on the UIUC faculty since 2006. In addition to his appointment in CEE, Masud also holds faculty appointments in The Grainger College of Engineering with the Department of Aerospace Engineering, as well as in the Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Masud’s research interests are highly cross-disciplinary, with an emphasis on the development of new classes of stabilized and variational multiscale methods for a wide range of problems in fluid and solid/structural mechanics, biofluid dynamics, nonlinear material modeling in additive manufacturing and numerical methods for physics-constrained machine learning. Masud is President-Elect of the Society of Engineering Science 2023, and Vice-President of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of the American Soci-

ety of Civil Engineers (ASCE). His service in professional societies has been extensive and includes past Chair of the Computational Mechanics Committee of ASCE, and past Chair of the Fluid Mechanics Committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has served as an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics and the ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, and currently serves as the Associate Editor of the International Journal of Multiscale Computational Engineering. Among his many professional honors are the G.I. Taylor Medal of the Society of Engineering Science; Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award and Medal from the ASME; and Fellow of ASME, the American Academy of Mechanics, the Society of Engineering Science, the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE, the United States Association for Computational Mechanics and the International Association of Computational Mechanics. The John and Eileen Blumenschein Professorship was established thanks to an estate gift from John (BS 50) and Eileen Blumenschein. This unrestricted endowment provides flexible support to recruit and retain top faculty in Civil and Environmental Engineering. i

Jeffery Roesler Ernest J. Barenberg Professor Jeffery R. Roesler was invested as the inaugural Ernest J. Barenberg Professor on May 9, 2022. Honored guests included Roesler’s wife, Sandra Roesler; their children, Samuel, Angela and Bella Roesler; his mother, Pam Roesler; and his sister, Jill Parker. Ernest Barenberg’s wife, Nancy Barenberg, also attended. She was presented with a medallion in a shadow box commemorating the inaugural presentation of the professorship. Speaking on Roesler’s behalf was Lev Khazanovich, the Anthony Gill Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Jeffery R. Roesler holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has been on the CEE at Illinois faculty since 2000, where he is currently Associate Head for Graduate Affairs. Prior to joining the CEE at Illinois faculty, Roesler was a Visiting Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of California at Berkeley. Roesler has taught courses in pavement and materials engineering, transportation engineering, geometric design of roads, project-based learning in CEE and professional practice. His research addresses the structural analysis, design,

and sustainable concrete materials for airports, roads and industrial pavement systems. Past research has focused on fatigue and fracture of concrete, roller compacted concrete, photocatalytic cements, internal curing, fiber-reinforced concrete, recycled and by-product concrete materials, and development of concrete pavement design methods. Recently, he has modeled the microscale urban heat island and impact of cool surfaces through changes in the optical and thermal properties of construction materials; developed a passive material sensing system for autonomous vehicles to detect their lateral roadway position; and developed a non-contact ultrasonic sensing system for concrete construction decision-making. Roesler is an active participant in the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and is a member of the TRB Design and Rehabilitation of Concrete Pavements Committee. He was President of the International Society of Concrete Pavements from 2016-2020. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of California. Roesler has received multiple research, best paper and teaching awards and regularly appears on UIUC’s List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students.

Left to right, the Roesler family: Angela, Isabella, Jeffery, Samuel and Sandra. .

Dean Rashid Bashir and Nancy Barenberg .

The Ernest J. Barenberg Professorship was established in honor of Ernest Barenberg and is supported by many of his friends and family. Barenberg earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from UIUC in 1965. He taught and conducted research in transportation facilities here for more than 40 years. Barenberg’s research focused on the early development of theoretical/ empirical design procedures for concrete pavements and premier pave- Ernest Barenberg . ments for long life and low maintenance. He developed the background and framework for the mechanistic-based design procedures currently used by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Working through various consultants and government agencies, he was instrumental in developing standards for pavements at international airports, including Chicago O’Hare and London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports. He authored more than 200 technical papers on paving materials, design and transportation facilities and lectured on six continents. Barenberg’s many honors included being a lifetime National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences and receiving the CEE Distinguished Faculty Award. i

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Thahn (Helen) Nguyen Ivan Racheff Professor of Environmental Engineering Thahn (Helen) Nguyen was invested as the Ivan Racheff Professor of Environmental Engineering on May 9, 2022. Honored guests included Nguyen’s husband, Loc Vu; and their son, Karl Vu. Speaking on Nguyen’s behalf was CEE Professor Benito Mariñas, former department head in CEE at Illinois. Nguyen holds a B.S. with Honors in Geology (Ivan Franko National University of L'viv, Ukraine), an M.S. in Earth and Environmental Science (University of Illinois Chicago), and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering (Johns Hopkins University). A CEE Excellence Faculty Fellow, Nguyen joined the CEE at Illinois faculty in 2006 where she teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in environmental engineering, with an emphasis on physical and chemical processes. Prior to joining UIUC, she was a Gaylord Donnelley Environmental Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. Nguyen’s research expertise includes pathogen transmission and control, food and drinking water safety, and environmental surveillance of pathogens.

Dean Rashid Bashir with Thahn Nguyen

Among her research honors are the Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Research, a National Science Foundation CAREER award, a Fulbright Specialty Fellowship to Israel, a Fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, and AEESP/CH2M Hill Outstanding Dissertation Award.

Left to right: Ana Barros, Thahn (Helen) Nguyen, Karl Vu, Loc Vu and Rashid Bashir. .

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From 2017-2021, Nguyen served as Chair of the CEE at Illinois Environmental Engineering and Science Program. She has served on the Editorial Advisory Board for Environmental Science & Technology and is currently a co-Editor-in-Chief for Environment International. Nguyen’s passion is in mentoring students. She has served as faculty advisor for an Engineers Without Borders team that has won 1st Place in several competitions, including 2010 ASCE/ EWB Sustainable Development Award and the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Summit Student Poster Competition. During her time on the CEE faculty, she has mentored over 50 undergraduate researchers. In 2021, she received UIUC’s Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research Award. The Ivan Racheff Professorship in Environmental Engineering was established through an estate gift. Racheff left $5.5 million, more than 70 percent of his estate, to the University of Illinois. Racheff earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1917 and maintained a lifelong interest in the environment and in study and research of the effect of pollution and pollutants on the environment. After graduation Racheff became a metallurgist apprentice at Illinois Steel Company of Chicago. He later founded the Racheff Metallurgical Laboratory as well as a consulting practice for the steel industry. He purchased Knoxville Iron Works in 1946 and remained the president until 1968 when the company was sold. i

Paolo Gardoni Alfredo H. Ang Family Professor in CEE Professor Paolo Gardoni was invested May 11, 2022, as the inaugural Alfredo H. Ang Family Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Honored attendees at the investiture included Gardoni’s wife, Colleen Murphy, and their sons, Peter and Patrick, and Gardoni’s mother, Anna Sala. Also present were donors Alfredo Ang (MS 57, PhD 59) and his wife, Myrtle Mae Ang; and their daughters, Irene Strohbeen and Evelyn Ang. Speaking on behalf of Gardoni was Armen der Kiureghian (PhD 76). Der Kiureghian is the emeritus Taisei Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as the former President of the American University of Armenia. Gardoni is the Excellence Faculty Scholar in CEE and a Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, and a Fellow of the Office of Risk Management & Insurance Research in the Gies College of Business.

He is the Director of the Multi-hazard Approach to Engineering Center, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Reliability Engineering and System Safety, and the founder and former Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure. Gardoni is a member of the Board of Governors of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineering, and of several national and international committees and associations on risk, reliability and resilience analysis. His research interests include probabilistic mechanics; reliability, risk and life cycle analysis; decision-making under uncertainty; performance assessment of deteriorating systems; modeling of natural hazards and societal impact; ethical, social and legal dimensions of risk; optimal strategies for natural hazard mitigation and disaster recovery; and engineering ethics. Gardoni is the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Alfredo Ang Award on Risk Analysis and Management of Civil Infrastructure from the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is the author of one book, nine edited volumes, over 200 journal papers, and 28 book chapters; and has received over $50 million in research funding. Gardoni has graduated 26 Ph.D. students and 33 master ‘s students. Several of his former students now hold faculty positions around the world.

Left to right, Alfredo Ang, Myrtle Mae Ang, Irene Strohbeen and Evelyn Ang.

The Alfredo H. Ang Family Professorship was established by the Angs. During his career, Alfredo Ang combined academic research and teaching in several aspects of structural mechanics and structural engineering. His major effort has been directed toward structural safety by applying probability and reliability concepts in structural engineering. He is author or co-author of more than 300 publications and was senior author on a two-volume textbook, Probability Concepts in Engineering Planning and Design. Ang extended his theoretical work to practical problems, including seismic hazard analysis, earthquake engineering, wind engineering, offshore structures, and life-cycle cost effectiveness in design criteria development. His research work on safety criteria has had a major impact on engineering specifications and practice. He has served the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for many years and in multiple positions. He is an Honorary Member of ASCE and his awards have included the Nathan M. Newmark and Alfred M. Freudenthal medals. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He served as honorary consultant to the Chinese Academy of Building Research and distinguished visiting professor at the Institute of Engineering Mechanics, Academia Sinica, Harbin, China. He was awarded the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2003. i

Left to right, Anna Sala, Patrick Gardoni, Paolo Gardoni, Peter Gardoni and Colleen Murphy.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 31

2022 CEE Student Awards We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our alumni, friends and companies, who so generously support our undergraduate students through scholarship and award funds. A. Epstein Award in Civil Engineering Euginio Kurniawan, Lauren Schissler Alan Zimmer Scholarship Joseph Fraterrigo Albert J. Reinschmidt Memorial Scholarship Jake Wagoner Anna Lee and James T.P. Yao Scholarship Yeongbok Lee ASCE Outstanding Student Award Ashmitha Dandamudi Bates and Rogers Scholarship Kassandra Estrella, Sheikh Faysal Bernard Delbert Murphy Scholarship in Civil Engineering Leah Courtney, Sarah Dzieza, Jared Mitchell C.S. and Ruth Monnier Scholarship Izabela Dimevska, Clare Whalen Canadian National Railway Scholarship Allison Hefner, Jake Wagoner CEE Visionary Scholarship Abigail Ahlquist, Charlie Albert, Jackson Allen, Patrick Alonso, Giselle Anguiano, Tamara Bader, Cindy Cai, Carlos Carretero, Rachel Chen, Dominika Dynak, Kassandra Estrella, Daniel Farray, Yaritza Frias, Jeanette Guerrero, Ryan Hammond, Natalie Hill, Ahmed Kahack, Maeve Keeley, Riley Kelch, Hayley Kieu, Joanna Kryczka, Samantha Linares, Eduardo Mancera, Yazmin Martinez, Maxwell McAvoy, Andrea Nava, Benidel Ntumba, Sofia Orozco, Marlon Paz, Yamilet Perez-Ruiz, Jacob Quintana, Jack Reicherts, Janellie Roach, Angel Valdes, Marcela Velazco, Kayla Wilson, Alice Xing, Saranya Yegappan

CEEAA Undergraduate Service Leadership Scholarship Junryu Fu, Yatri Sutaria

Eli W. Cohen-Thornton Tomasetti Foundation Scholarship Qi Yue Dai

Charles E. Deleuw Scholarship Fund Praneeth Devunuri

Eric J. Kerestes Memorial Scholarship Charlotte Poole

Class of 1943 Civil Engineering Award Anna Bogdanski

Foster Research Scholarship Billy Delaney, Emily Shao

Clement C. Lee Outstanding Scholar Award in Honor of Houssam Mahmoud Karara Madison Kats

George C. Eisenmayer and Ida Eisenmayer Scheve Scholarship Patrick Alonso, Arannya Roy

Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute Scholarship Riley Kelch Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc. Scholarship Kennedy Branch, Halie Collins Dan and Mary Guill Engineering Scholarship Natalie Hill Delores Wade Huber Scholarship Tom Kunst, Luca Franceschina DFI Educational Trust Charles J. Berkel Memorial Scholarship Marcin Nieradka Donohue & Associates Scholarship Abby Culloton Doris I. and James L. Willmer Endowed Scholarship Michaela Patton Duane Edward and Phyllis Ann Erickson Memorial Scholarship Anthony Dirico, Chloe Fess, Matt Wingen

George L. Farnsworth Jr. Scholarship Amritha Bellary, Robert Cappello, Hannah Still Geotechnical Scholarship Jack Lawrence Glenn E. Hodges Civil Engineering Scholarship Alfredo Guzman, Jay Patel, Jose Reyes, Hristo Toshev Grant W. Shaw Memorial Scholarship Ally Kolar Harold R. Sandberg Scholarship Kevin Danner, Nicholas Marchak Harry K. and Carol A. Windland Endowment Fund in Memory of David A. Windland Pierre Azar, Rydon Jalley Henry T. Heald Scholarship Anthony Finucane Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association Scholarship Akash Bajaj, Panagiotis Vassilakos

Earle J. Wheeler Scholarship Luke Bermudez, Kayla Wilson

Below, left to right: CEE Alumni Association Board President Paula Pienton, center, presents the Canadian National Railway Scholarship to Jake Wagoner and Allison Hefner; Jesse Ekanya, Isabelle Newsom, Sahil Patel and Dominika Szal receive the Richard Jaccoud Scholarship from Associate Head for Graduate Affairs Jeffery Roesler.

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Illinois Association of County Engineers Scholarship Zachary Gold, Samantha Guagliardo, Jared Motley, Dale Robbennolt, Robert Wiggins

Maren Somers Memorial Engineering Scholarship Abby Hutter Maude E. Eide Memorial Scholarship Jack Allen, Darrel Plank

Industry Advancement Foundation of Central Illinois Builders of the AGC Scholarship Nathan Reid

Max Whitman APWA Memorial Scholarship Matthew Ding

Ira O. Baker Award in Civil Engineering Dale Robbennolt, Lauren Schissler (tie for first place)

Moreland Herrin Scholarship Yiwen Hou Nancy Lawrence Boyer Merit Scholarship Hailey Grubich

Ira O. Baker Memorial Scholarship Danny Blidy, John Devine, Collin Sorge Young

Norman Carlson Scholarship Thomas Stogin

J. Dudley and Alma B. Goodell Civil Engineering Scholarship Madisyn Amoral

Ralph C. Hahn CEE Scholarship Ethan Light

Jacobs Transportation Endowed Scholarship Emma Conroy

Richard Jaccoud Scholarship Hannah Ann, Jesse Ekanya, Sakher Haris, Faith Maranion, Isabelle Newsom, Sahil Patel, Dominika Szal, Marcela Velazco

Jean D. and Michael W. Franke Scholarship Liam Bots

RJN Foundation Scholarship Madison Kats

John and Kay Briscoe Scholarship William O’Brien

Samuel C. Roberts Scholarship Madisyn Amoral

John B. Felmley Civil Engineering Scholarship Brandon Bui, Johnson Nguyen, Rose Vellappally

Shelby K. Willis Engineering Education Scholarship Abigail Fields Susan Douds Goertz and Jack L. Goertz Scholarship Matthew Ross

John Carollo Scholarship Emily Dickett, Michael Roche John O. Fooks and William D. Fooks Scholarship Kartik Gupta Joseph C. and Marianne J. Geagea Civil and Environmental Engineering Scholarship Emma Conroy, Katherine Schroeder, Isabella Zardini Julian Rueda Geotechnical Engineering Scholarship Jack Lawrence Kay and John Briscoe Scholarship Alejandro Fernandez Klein & Hoffman Scholarship in Honor of Frank Klein Nathan Finkelshteyn Koch Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Josephine Hoppenworth Langan/Dennis J. Leary Memorial Scholarship John Sadek Leigh J. Zerbee Scholarship John Kane

W. E. O’Neil Award Nidia Bucarelli From top: Ashmitha Dandamudi receives the ASCE Outstanding Student Award from Robert Wiggins, ASCE President (2020-2021); Joe Good presents the DFI Educational Trust Charles J. Berkel Memorial Scholarship to Marcin Nieradka; Michael Franke presents the Jean D. and Michael W. Franke Scholarship to Liam Bots; Al Hollenbeck presents the RJN Foundation Civil Engineering Scholarship to Madison Kats.

Walter E. Hanson Graduate Study Award Anthony Finucane Wayne C. Teng Scholarship Aaron Leshuk-Morita, Kent Lullo, Eduardo Mancera, Michael Molloy, Marcella Yates William A. Oliver Endowed Scholarship Joshua Zavala William C. Ackermann Sr. Civil Engineering Scholarship Jack Reicherts William E. Stallman Scholarship in CEE Meredith Innes

Leonard C. and Ruth E. Lindblom Undergraduate Scholarship Steve Bae

William John Mackay Award Maria Joaquina Noriega Gimenez, Helen Sun

Loreta and Silvio Corsetti Memorial Scholarship Ryan Croce, Dominic Pontrelli

Wilson H. Tang CEE International Scholarship Hongjie Luo, Abraham Xu, Gang Zheng

Louis A. Bacon Scholarship Teresa Barrett, Dominic Pontrelli, Siari Rodriguez-Ayala

Wilson H. Tang CEE Risk, Reliability & Decision Analysis Scholarship Emma Velkme

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 33

William W. Hay Award for Excellence honors legacy of CEE rail professor By Christopher P.L. Barkan and Michael W. Franke (MS 71) Given the more than century-long tradition of railway engineering excellence at the University of Illinois, it is fitting tribute that the principal North American railway engineering organization, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenanceof-Way Association (AREMA) has named its premier annual award for outstanding railway engineering projects for William W. Hay (1908-1998), who was a Professor of Railway Engineering at the University of Illinois for more than 40 years. It is no coincidence, however. The award itself was inspired by Professor Hay’s reputation for excellence as a teacher, mentor, researcher and practicing engineer in the field. More than 35 years after his retirement, Hay’s influence continues to be felt throughout the industry due to the ongoing work of the students he taught and his textbook, Railroad Engineering, that remains a standard in the field. This year marks the twenty-fourth anniversary of the creation of the Hay Award, which was established in 1999 as an initiative of the AREMA Committee on Engineering Economics and established by the AREMA Board of Directors. The purpose is to recognize outstanding achievements in railway engineering and to honor the memory of one of the Committee’s former members, Professor William Walter Hay. Hay had a long and distinguished career in railway engineering. He completed his B.S. degree at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1931 with a degree in Management Engineering. Following graduation, he worked briefly for the Pennsylvania Railroad and a chemical company, before taking advanced coursework on railway operations at Yale University in 1932-33. He then returned to work in

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railway positions with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Long Island Railroad, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad and the 8th Avenue Subway (Independent Subway System) in New York City. With the onset of World War II, he joined the Military Railway Service where he rose in rank from 1st Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel, serving in both the European and Pacific theaters culminating as Chief Engineer of the Korean Railways. After the war Hay undertook further study in transportation under Professor Kent Healy at Yale University and in economics at New York University, followed by a job with the Reading Railroad. As is evident, William Hay’s rail career encompassed much more than private sector railroads; it included transit, military rail service and overseas railroad engineering and operation. His breadth of experience gave him an exceptionally broad and cosmopolitan understanding of rail transportation engineering. This, combined with his rigorous education in engineering, economics and management, gave him unique perspective that prepared him well for the next phase of his career as a faculty member in railway civil engineering at the University of Illinois beginning in 1947. He completed his M.S. in Civil Engineering the following year in 1948, and in 1956 he completed his Ph.D. and was promoted to the position of Professor of Railway Civil Engineering, a position he held until his retirement in 1977, when he was appointed an emeritus professor, remaining active teaching railway engineering for another 12 years. Over the course of his 42-year career at Illinois, Professor Hay taught, mentored and motivated nearly 700 students. They have had a significant impact through their service to private and public sector rail companies and organizations both domestically and abroad. His students

William W. Hay

made many wide-ranging contributions advancing the state of the art of railway engineering and operation. A hallmark of Professor Hay’s teaching was his high standards and expectation of excellence in his students’ work, whether it was in the classroom, or in their research. Consistent with rail industry objectives, this was defined by an emphasis on safety, service performance and reliability, in addition to innovative approaches to achieving improvements in all of these. These characteristics inspired, and in fact are the embodiment of, AREMA’s William W. Hay Award for Excellence. Competing for the Hay Award for Excellence is often intense, bringing forth the best efforts of the organizations and individuals involved. To be competitive, submissions for the award must describe in detail how their projects fulfill all the criteria. Railroads and engineering firms go to great lengths gathering and presenting all the pertinent information in an informative and professional manner. The submissions are evaluated by a panel of judges that includes railroad engineering professionals and railway academicians using a multi-variable scoring system that

Follow this QR code to see a video about the Hay Award’s most recent winning project, the CN Railway construction of the New McComb Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge, introduced by CEE alumna Paula Pienton, PE, SE (BS 85). Photo: CN

ranks them on all the key parameters. The award for the winning entry is presented at the opening session of the AREMA Annual Conference. Since its inception, 23 different projects have received the award. The nature of the winning projects varies. Some involve major new construction projects, others substantial improvements to existing facilities, and a third category are large recovery and rebuilding efforts following natural (or humanmade) disasters. What they all have in common is extraordinary engineering accomplishments, often under substantial time or budgetary pressures that call for the sort of creative problem-solving that exemplifies high quality, high impact engineering efforts. Given the number of successful Illinois engineering graduates in the rail industry, it is not surprising that a number of winning entries have involved Illinois alumni, including the most recent winner, CN’s new Bonnet Carré-McComb Spillway Bridge near New Orleans, La.

Through the Hay Award for Excellence, Professor Hay continues to influence students. The grand nature of the winning projects and the substantial barriers that must be overcome are, by their nature, the type of engineering feat that inspires interest and admiration among young and old engineers alike. In this way,

they excite engineering students’ interest and their aspiration to enter the field and participate in such projects. In addition to seeing presentations about these projects at the AREMA Annual Conference, several of the winners have been invited to present in the William W. Hay Railroad Engineering Seminars that are presented on campus. Co-author and CEE alumnus Mike Franke (MS 71) summed up the impact of his experience studying under Professor Hay as follows, “Dr. Hay’s personal interest and mentoring of his students served as an inspiration for me to have a nearly 50year career in the rail industry. He applied his own railroad experience to his teaching style, which focused on the practical applications of the academic side of railroad engineering and operations. That helped greatly over the years. I was happy to stay in touch with Dr. Hay after graduation and will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to study under him. Continued on page 36

Winners of the William W. Hay Award *1999 BNSF Railway - Thayer Subdivision Maintenance Blitz 2000 Amtrak - Northeast Corridor Improvement Project *2001 CSX Transportation - B&O Capacity Improvement Project 2002 Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority - Alameda Corridor Project 2003 Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and AirRail Transit Consortium - JFK International Airport Light Rail System *2004 Port Authority of New York & New Jersey - Restoration of PATH Commuter Rail Service to Lower Manhattan, New York City and Exchange Place, Jersey City (after 9/11) 2005 TranSystems Corporation - Renaissance of the Kansas City Junction * Projects involving UIUC alumni

2006 CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway - Hurricane Katrina Recovery Efforts 2007 Norfolk Southern Railway - Keystone Buildout Project in Pennsylvania 2008 Union Pacific Railroad - Grant Tower Realignment Project *2009 Union Pacific Railroad - Frazier Slide Clean-up and Construction Project on the Cascade Subdivision in Oregon 2010 Norfolk Southern Railway - Heartland Corridor Clearance Improvement Project 2011 CSX Intermodal Terminals, Inc. Northwest Ohio Intermodal Terminal Project 2012 BNSF Railway - Rising Above: How BNSF Overcame the 2011 Floods 2013 Utah Transit Authority - FrontRunner South Commuter Rail Line

2014 Union Pacific Railroad - Santa Teresa Terminal *2015 Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway Tower 55 Multimodal Improvement Project 2016 TranSystems Corporation - CREATE Project P-1: Englewood Flyover in Chicago 2017 Washington State DOT and BNSF Railway - Improvements for Passenger Rail Service and Reliability on BNSF Railway in Washington State 2018 Arup - The Fulton Center in New York City 2019 KiwiRail - Rising to Meet the Challenge: Main North Line Earthquake Recovery Project in New Zealand *2020 Hanson Professional Services - Norfolk Southern’s Grand River Bridge Emergency Repairs in Brunswick, Missouri *2021 CN Railway - Construction of the New McComb Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 35

Photos on this page show just some of the AREMA William W. Hay Award for Excellence projects that Illinois CEE alumni have been involved in.

Continued from page 35

Night-time trestle work on the BNSF Railway - Thayer Subdivision Maintenance Blitz near Marked Tree, Arkansas. The existing wooden structure (all wooden trestles and beams) was converted to all steel and concrete support (1999 Hay Award). Photo: BNSF Railway

Norfolk Southern freight train crossing the Grand River Bridge in Brunswick, Missouri following the emergency repairs by Hanson Professional Services and Massman Construction (2020 Hay Award) Photo: Hanson Professional Services Inc.

Installing six of seven new diamonds in the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway - Tower 55 Multimodal Improvement Project (2015 Hay Award). Photo: HDR Inc.

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The Hay Award has kept his impact on his students and the rail industry alive.” Another alumnus, George Avery Grimes (BS 77, PhD 04) who went on to a successful career with Class 1, short line, and commuter railroads and now chairs the Technical Activities Council for the Transportation Research Board said, “Doc Hay’s love of the business, his fantastic stories about his railroad experiences, and his care for his students” were what made him so successful as a teacher and mentor. We think that Professor Hay would be pleased with the renaissance of the Illinois railroad engineering program over the past 25 years and would take pride in the fact that his influence continues to be strongly felt among students as well as professionals in the field. The Hay Award for Excellence is a fitting and enduring legacy to his impact on the field of railway engineering. i Christopher P.L. Barkan is Professor of Railway Engineering and George Krambles Director of the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center at Illinois. Before coming to UIUC in 1998, he was Director of Risk Engineering at the Association of American Railroads where he worked for 10 years following completion of his M.S. and Ph.D. at SUNY Albany. Michael W. Franke retired from Amtrak in 2017. He completed his B.S. in civil engineering at Washington University and his M.S. in railway civil engineering at the University of Illinois, where he studied under Professor Hay. His successful rail industry career culminated in senior engineering, operating and management positions with several major railroads.

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Professor Imad Al-Qadi has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Robert Horonjeff Award. The prestigious award recognizes a person or organization for outstanding achievements in and contributions to the field of air transportation engineering. A research article recently published in AGU Advances, “Achieving Breakthroughs in Global Hydrologic Science by Unlocking the Power of Multisensor, Multidisciplinary Earth Observations,” co-authored by Professor and Head Ana P. Barros, was selected as an Editor’s Highlight on Eos. Fewer than two percent of papers are selected to be featured as Editor's Highlights. Assistant Professor Tugce Baser was recognized by Geostrata Magazine as one of the new faces of Geotechnical Engineering. A recent paper by assistant professor Tugce Baser and graduate research assistant Sofia Fernandez Santoyo has been selected as the Editor's Choice in the latest issue of ASCE's Journal of Cold Regions Engineering. The paper is titled “A Review of the Existing Data on SoilFreezing Experiments and Assessment of Soil-Freezing Curves Derived from Soil-Water Retention Curves.” Assistant professors Eun Jeong Cha and Ann Sychterz were selected as UIUC faculty scholars for the 2021-2022 academic year to advance academic research on risk management and preparedness. Professor Marcelo Garcia has been named a recipient of the 2022 Grainger College Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring. This award honors faculty members who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to and impact in mentoring early- or mid-career faculty in the development of their careers. Associate Professor Jeremy Guest is a lead editor on a new book published by IWA Publishing, “Resource Recovery from Water: Principles and Application.” The book will serve as a teaching tool at the graduate level, as well as a resource for water professionals and practicing engineers. Associate Professor Megan Konar is the recipient of a 2022 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research. This award, presented annually by The Grainger College of Engineering, recognizes outstanding research during the past year. Associate professor Megan Konar has been appointed Chair of the Water and Society Technical Committee of the American Geophysical Union. The twoyear appointment began January 15, 2022.

Youssef Hashash elected to National Academy of Engineering Professor Youssef Hashash has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Hashash is the William J. and Elaine F. Hall Endowed Professor and John Burkitt Webb Endowed Faculty Scholar in civil and environmental engineering. He was selected “for contributions to geotechnical engineering, seismic safety and the evaluation, design and construction of underground infrastructure,” according to the NAE. Hashash’s research focus includes deep excavations and tunneling in urban areas, earthquake engineering, soilstructure interactions, and the resiliency and sustainability of built infrastructure. He also works on geotechnical engineering applications involving deep learning, artificial intelligence, visualization, augmented reality, imaging and drone technologies. His research group developed the software program DEEPSOIL, which is used worldwide for the

Youssef Hashash

evaluation of soil response to earthquake shaking. Hashash is among 111 new members and 22 international members elected to the academy this year. According to the NAE, “Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature and to the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.” He will be formally inducted Oct. 2, 2022, during the NAE’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. i

Hashash, Stillwell named Outstanding Advisers Professor Youssef Hashash and Senior Academic Adviser Rebecca Stillwell have been chosen as recipients of the Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising. Award recipients are nominated by their students and represent the top 10 percent of engineering advisers across the college. Engineering Council is a union of engineering societies and committees that serves as the students’ voice in the Col-

lege of Engineering. The Council encourages academic, professional and personal growth by offering leadership opportunities and fostering interdisciplinary relation- Rebecca Stillwell ships within the College of Engineering.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 37

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Lombardo, Zhao win NSF CAREER awards

Frank Lombardo

Lei Zhao

Assistant professors Franklin T. Lombardo and Lei Zhao have been awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awards. Lombardo will work to advance thunderstorm risk assessment in a structural and wind engineering context. Zhao will continue his work in establishing and advancing a new transformative interdisciplinary field – climate-sensitive urban science and engineering. CAREER awards, administered under the Faculty Early Career Development Program, are the NSF’s most prestigious form of support and recognition for junior faculty.

Chris Tessum

Tessum wins NASA Early Career award Assistant Professor Christopher Tessum has won a research grant from NASA’s Early Career Faculty component of its Space Technology Research Grants Program. Tessum’s project will work to reduce the high computational cost of the GEOS-Chem model, a widely used global model of atmospheric composition.

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Associate Professor Megan Konar has been awarded the 2022 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize by the American Society of Civil Engineers for “research contributions to the interconnected infrastructure systems that support the water-food nexus, including policy relevant research on the role of food supply chains in the sustainability, security and resilience of global water resources.”

ness Development Engineer at Xylem Inc.; and Joseph R. Kasprzyk of the University of Colorado Boulder.

Assistant Professor Eleftheria Kontou was invited to join the Transportation Research Part D Journal’s editorial advisory board. This journal focuses on the transportation and environment nexus.

Professor B. F. Spencer Jr. has been elected a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the highest academic title in engineering sciences and technology in China.

Assistant Professor Eleftheria Kontou has been named a 2022 Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Faculty Scholar. Kontou will use modeling to explore improving the resiliency to flooding of southern Lake Michigan communities.

Professor Timothy D. Stark has been selected as the 2022-2023 Cross-USA Lecturer by the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The CrossUSA Lecturers are selected based on a range of criteria, including prestige in the geoprofessional community, professional achievements and lecture abilities.

Professor Praveen Kumar has been named the Executive Director of UIUC’s Prairie Research Institute. Professor Arif Masud is the 2022 recipient of the Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Division Award, given by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The award is given for significant contributions in the practice of engineering mechanics. Professor Gholamreza Mesri has been named winner of the 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers’ OPAL (Outstanding Projects And Leaders) Award, in the education category, for demonstrated excellence in furthering civil engineering education. Professor Murugesu Sivapalan is the recipient of the 2022 Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award. Sivapalan was selected for his “extraordinary record of accomplishment, both within and beyond the boundaries of this university.” Professor Murugesu Sivapalan has been elected Fellow by the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in the Section on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science. Associate Professor Ashlynn S. Stillwell has won the 2022 Best Policy Oriented Paper Award from the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management for her paper, “Linking reclaimed water consumption with quantitative downstream flow impacts.” Co-authors are Brendan Purcell, University of Colorado Boulder; CEE alumnus Zachary A. Barkjohn (MS 15), Busi-

Professor Billie F. Spencer has been elected a foreign member of the Engineering Academy of Japan. He is the first faculty member from UIUC and one of only five civil engineering professors in the U.S. to achieve this honor.

Professor Erol Tutumluer delivered the 2021 Carl L. Monismith Lecture at the American Society of Civil Engineers Geo-Congress 2022. Tutumluer’s lecture, titled “Unbound Aggregate Pavement Layers – Dynamic Loading Behavior and its Characterization,” highlighted key findings that emphasize the importance of geotechnical aspects of pavement engineering. Assistant professor Vishal Verma has been invited to be on the editorial board for the journal Aerosol Science and Technology. Dongchen Wang, a Ph.D. student advised by Professor Marcelo Garcia, was named winner of the Outstanding Student Presentation Award by the American Geophysical Union Hydrology Section Remote Sensing Technical Committee. His presentation was titled, “Coupled numerical modeling and remote sensing data analysis of river mixing surface patterns and sub-surface processes at Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal-Calumet Sag River confluence.” Assistant Professor Jinhui Yan has been selected as a 2022-23 Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellow by UIUC’s Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment. Assistant professor X. Shelly Zhang won the 2022 Journal of Applied Mechanics Award for her paper, “Topology Optimization with Many Right Hand Sides Using a Mirror Descent Stochastic Approximation – Reduction from Many to a Single Sample.”

ALUMNI NEWS

Geagea and Williams named College Distinguished Alumni CEE alumni Joseph C. Geagea (BS 81, MS 82) and Damon S. Williams (BS 78) are two of six recipients of 2022 Grainger College of Engineering Alumni Awards for Distinguished Service. This award recognizes recipients for professional distinction through outstanding leadership, contributions to the field of engineering, creativity and entrepreneurship; as well as service to society, the professional community, and to the department, college or university. Geagea was recognized for “his outstanding professional achievements, culminating in his role as one of the highest ranking executives in one of the largest energy companies in the world; for his successful efforts to facilitate impactful partnerships between Chevron and the

2000s

Francina Dominguez (MS 03, PhD 06) has been named a University Scholar in recognition of her excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. Dominguez is an associate professor of atmospheric sciences at Illinois, with a background in civil engineering hydrology. She is one of five faculty members on the Urbana campus to receive the award for 2021.

1990s

Preeti K. Ghuman (BS 97) has earned 25 years of service with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. She was also awarded Preeti K. Ghuman the 2021 SWE Asian Connections Affinity Group Outstanding New Member.

1980s

David A. Sabatini (BS 81) was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame. Sabatini is the David Ross Boyd Professor, the Sun Oil Company Chair, Director of the WaTER Center and Associate Director of the Institute for Applied Surfactant Research at the University of Oklahoma. An award-winning teacher, he emphasizes participatory learning, teamwork and peer mentoring, using real-world problems to motivate student curiosity. Sabatini’s research has advanced un-

University of Illinois; and for generous personal philanthropy to the department, college and university.” Geagea retired this year from Chevron as Executive Vice Joe Geagea President and Senior Adviser to Damon Williams Chevron’s Chairman and CEO. and Environmental Engineering at the His career there spanned 40 years. Williams was recognized for “pioneer- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.” Williams is the Managing Engineer of ing entrepreneurship and leadership in the water industry, including the areas of DSW Water Strategies LLC, a firm specialmunicipal drinking water, wastewater and izing in providing high-level consulting recycled water; for serving as a visionary services to municipalities, federal, state trailblazer and inspirational role model and local agencies, utility districts, water for African Americans in environmental districts, private water companies, uniengineering; and for financial support, versities, municipal and industrial water mentorship and career assistance to un- and wastewater treatment operators and derrepresented minority students in Civil other consultants in the water industry. i

derstanding of subsurface contaminant transport and innovative remediation technologies, developed environmentally friendly products, processes and biofuels, and pioneered sustainable technologies for water treatment in developing countries.

outstanding leadership and technical expertise, and his contributions to ACI guidance on prestressed concrete, corrosion, and repair of concrete structures.

Roberto Stark (MS 84, PhD 88) has received Honorary Membership in the American Concrete Institute for his impactful contribution to structural design globally, his notable academic influence and his sustained engagement in technical activities in Mexico and various countries in Latin America.

1970s

Francina Dominguez

COL John E. Schaufelberger (MS 70, PhD 71) received ENR California & Northwest’s 2022 Legacy Award. Alan J. Hollenbeck (BS 75, MS 77) has been appointed the new AARP State President for Illinois. He will serve as a spokesperson for the organization and chair the AARP Illinois Executive Council, a volunteer leadership committee that helps set AARP’s state agenda and programs.

1960s

Lawrence F. Kahn (MS 67) has received Honorary Membership in the American Concrete Institute for his

Frances and David Sabatini

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 39

Graduation reception Spring 2022 For the first time since the pandemic, May CEE graduates and their guests enjoyed a traditional, in-person department reception. (December 2021 grads were invited to a reception, but due to lingering pandemic concerns and bad weather, only a few guests were able to attend.) Approximately 300 May graduates, family, friends and CEE faculty and staff gathered on the first floor of the new Civil and Environmental Engineering Building to enjoy refreshments and celebrate their accomplishments.

Graduates Joyce Li and Helen Sun pose with Senior Academic Adviser Becky Stillwell.

Above and at right, CEE graduates celebrate with family and friends.

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Department Head Ana Barros and Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs John Popovics addressed the crowd.

IN MEMORIAM CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAM

William L. Gamble 2000s

Clinton K. Arlis (MS 13) died January 11, 2022. He was 34 years old.

1980s

James P. Donnelly (BS 83, MS 85) died August 22, 2021. He was 60 years old. Mr. Donnelly joined WJE as a junior engineer in 1985. Over his thirty-sixyear career, he excelled at identifying distress in and James Donnelly rehabilitating post-tensioned, precast, and conventionally reinforced concrete structures. A licensed professional and structural engineer, his experience also included the investigation and repair of steel structures, wood structures, foundations, plazas and facades. His professional highlights include the condition assessment and repair of the O’Hare parking garage in Chicago, Illinois; a long-term repair and maintenance program for the parking structures at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; and the evaluation and repair of the U.S. Bank Plaza Garage in St. Louis, Missouri.

1950s

Harry D. LeRoy (BS 51) died December 20, 2017. He was 90 years old. Harry served his country in the U.S. Navy and was awarded the Victory Medal. After his service, he began a lifelong career with the Illinois Central Railroad.

PRINCIPAL PARTNERS

(1936-2022) Professor Emeritus William L. Gamble, 85, died May 22, 2022, in Urbana. He spent 40 years on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineer- William Gamble ing (CEE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Gamble joined the CEE faculty in 1963. He had earned a B.S. (Kansas State University, 1959), M.S. (UIUC, 1961), and Ph.D. (UIUC, 1962), all in Civil Engineering. After earning his Ph.D. at Illinois, he spent a year (1962-1963) as a Fulbright Fellow at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Division of Building Research in Melbourne, Australia, then returned to UIUC as a faculty member. Gamble taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of reinforced and prestressed concrete, in addition to a course on the fire resistance of structures. He had research and professional interests in the analysis and design of highway and railway bridges, building structures, prestressed concrete piling and tunnel lining systems. His bridge-related research included a major concentration on the time-dependent behavior of prestressed concrete structures. He is co-author (with Robert Park of New Zealand) of the book “Reinforced Concrete Slabs” (Wiley, 2nd Ed., 2000). Gamble was a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and a Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He was also a member of the Prestressed Concrete Institute, the American Society for Testing and Materials, and the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois. He served on a number of ACIASCE committees. i

LEGACY PARTNERS

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Summer 2022 41

Kinra Fellows meet with fellowship benefactors Recipients of the Ravindar K. and Kavita Kinra Graduate Fellowships past and present met with benefactors Lalit and Kavita Bahl on April 29, 2022, for a luncheon. They are pictured here on the brand new Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge. Since 2010, Lalit and Kavita Bahl have been providing fellowships for graduate students in the department through the Ravindar K. and Kavita Kinra Graduate Fellowships. Lalit Bahl is an alumnus of Illinois’ Electrical and Computer Engineering department who earned his master’s degree in 1966 and his Ph.D. in 1969. Kavita Bahl’s late husband, Ravindar K. Kin-

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ra, earned his Ph.D. in 1968 from CEE at Illinois. Gratitude for their education and the research assistantships the two men received during that time motivates the Bahls’ continued philanthropy to this day. Recipients are selected by the department, with preference given to Indian students whose families reside in India. The Bahls were in town for the Grand Opening of the new Civil and Environmental Engineering Building and the Bahl smart bridge, which they sponsored with a naming gift. Since establishing their fund, the Bahls have supported 50 CEE students in their graduate studies.

Heather Coit/Grainger Engineering

AND NOW A MUSICAL INTERLUDE CEE students Lauren Schissler (BS 22) and Alejandro Fernandez, who both play trumpet for the Illini Marching Band, enjoy CEE’s new piano outside the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge. The piano was gifted to CEE by Albert J. Valocchi, CEE professor emeritus and former interim department head, and his wife, Anne Silvis, assistant dean of Community and Economic Development at the University of Illinois Extension. The smart bridge connects Newmark Civil Engineering Lab with the newly constructed addition to the Hydrosystems Laboratory. “We wanted to encourage our students to take a break from the normal routine and enjoy themselves for a few minutes, whether they are playing the piano or just listening,” Valocchi said.

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Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The Grainger College of Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory MC-250 205 North Mathews Avenue Urbana, Illinois 61801

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID CHAMPAIGN, IL PERMIT NO. 453