CEE Magazine Winter 2018 by Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

CEE

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering College of Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Winter 2018

Bricks and mortar

The educational impact of updated facilities Alumni news and features

CEE

CEE is published twice a year for alumni and friends of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. Benito MariĂąas Professor and Head Celeste Arbogast Senior Director of Advancement Operations John Kelley Director of Advancement Kristina Shidlauski Assistant Director of Communications Nishant Makhijani Assistant Director of Advancement

The future is coming. Will you help build it? Planned giving is an often overlooked option for supporting causes important to you. Making a decision now to bestow a gift later can have an enormous impact on future generations. There are many options including bequests, retirement accounts, life insurance policies or other gifts that allow you to provide for your family today and the institution you love tomorrow. We can assist you with language to use in your will, trust and other beneficiary forms to ensure your wishes are carried out. Let us help you establish your legacy: John Kelley, Director of Advancement (217) 333-5120 or jekelley@illinois.edu Ekaterina Trubitsyna, Strategic Data Manager (217) 300-0194 or katia@illinois.edu Nishant Makhijani, Assistant Director of Advancement (217) 265-0407 or nishantm@illinois.edu

Keely K. Ashman Coordinator of Alumni and Corporate Relations Sheree Eyestone Office Support Specialist CEE Magazine Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign 1201 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory MC-250 205 North Mathews Avenue Urbana, Illinois 61801 (217) 333-6955 celeste@illinois.edu Cover: The design for the new Hydro addition, by architectural firm Reifsteck Reid. cee.illinois.edu

CEE 4

Leading a CEE renaissance/Benito Mariñas

A sense of place/Colleen E. Quinn, P.E., (BS 84)

Transform our buildings, revolutionize our curriculum

A guaranteed ROI/Robert H. Dodds (MS 75, PhD 78)

Couple’s gift establishes geotechnical lab

CEE profesors part of bioenergy research center

Balancing food, energy and water requirements in the Corn Belt

California drought led to changes in crops, water sources

A way to evaluate green roofs

IDOT agreement authorizes $19M in research

The consequences of changes in nonextreme precipitation

Early women of CEE

Alumni Q&A: Keith Searles (BS 96)

What are you working on? Jodie Puzio (BS 08)

Fellowship recipients 2017-18

Workshop brings top women students to CEE

Barenberg, Thompson honored with Distinguished Faculty Award

García receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Students gather data on damaged Mexico City buildings

CEEAA hosts first tailgate

The impact of your giving to CEE

Quintessential engineers: freshman women number 34 percent

15 Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 3

Leading a CEE renaissance By Benito MariĂąas Ivan Racheff Professor of Environmental Engineering and Head

Help shape the future of CEE at Illinois. State-of-the-art classrooms Hands-on, upgraded labs Collaborative spaces ADA compliance Modernized exterior Support for the new curriculum Smart bridge The decade-long project to modernize the infrastructure at CEE at Illinois began with the Yeh Student Center and will continue with the renovation and expansion of the Hydrosystems lab. The work will be funded through the support of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the College of Engineering, the campus and private gifts. All donors will be recognized on a giving installation. Naming opportunities are available. To support this effort, please contact: Benito MariĂąas, Department Head, (217) 333-6961, marinas@illinois.edu John Kelley, Director of Advancement, (217) 333-5120, jekelley@illinois.edu Nishant Makhijani, Assistant Director of Advancement, (217) 265-0407, nishantm@illinois.edu

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conventional rehabilitation is becoming a Dear CEE at Illinois Alumni and Friends, he field of civil and environmental en- challenge in the current era of inadequate gineering is approaching an unprec- resources and limited economic developedented renaissance period during which ment. In order to overcome this impasse, engineers with the entrepreneurial spirit CEE at Illinois needs to lead once again in characteristic of CEE at Illinois will have the creation of revolutionary, smart and the opportunity to lead a technological adaptable infrastructure systems and the revolution resulting in the creation of development of new business models a modern built environment. The new that would make them sustainable while infrastructure will be created with and resulting in unprecedented economic expansion at both the incorporate smart domestic and global technologies and levels. automated systems During the first In order to concapable of adapting tinue graduating to evolution in soci- 150 years of our leaders of the CEE etal needs while preprofession that will senting resilience to department, CEE facilitate this excitthe effects of climate ing new era, CEE change and providing at Illinois alumni at Illinois needs to business opportuniprovide its students ties that will improve and friends led the with a modern curthe quality of life in a riculum, which the sustainable built and development of the CEE at Illinois faculty natural environment. is currently developDuring the first 150 civil infrastructure and ing with input from years of our department, CEE at Illinois protection of the natural many of our alumni and friends. The new alumni and friends curriculum will enled the development environment that we gage students in deof the civil infrastrucveloping enhanced ture and protection enjoy today. critical thinking and of the natural environthe skills to solve ment that we enjoy open-ended probtoday, some through inventing revolutionary technical break- lems â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both necessary to address key throughs and managing their implemen- societal challenges in our professional tation, with others playing leadership domain. The curriculum will emphasize roles in government agencies, public the use of strong engineering fundamenpolicy organizations, financial institutions tals, data analytics and smart technoloand law firms. However, much of the infra- gies for developing practical solutions structure created during this sesquicen- through teamwork and hands-on experitennial period has aged over time and its ence. Emphasis will also be on develop-

CEE at Illinois needs to lead once again in the creation of revolutionary, smart and adaptable infrastructure systems and the development of new business models that would make them sustainable while resulting in unprecedented economic expansion at both the domestic and global levels. ing leadership skills through enhanced project-based learning, interdisciplinary teamwork design, communication practice, ethics training, global experience engagement, transdisciplinary innovation and business attitudes, and entrepreneurship experience. Complementary to the curricular development, the CEE at Illinois faculty is also engaged in designing the modern instructional facilities needed to impart the new curriculum. The new facilities will include state-of-the-art classrooms and design studios, teaching laboratories, and student collaboration spaces equipped with state-of-the-art instructional and audiovisual equipment for self-learning, teamwork and active classroom-field work participation experiences. The CEE Modernization initiative with its curricular and facilities components will be a revolutionary educational model that will result in our graduates continuing to lead the profession in the emerging civil infrastructure renaissance era. Because the CEE Modernization Plan is a top priority, the department, College of

What’s in a name? Naming gifts are major gifts that allow an individual or company to name a portion of the new building, for example a laboratory, classroom, office area or collaborative space. Named spaces both honor those whom they commemorate and provide constant reminders for future generations of students about the individuals and industry partners who have forged our department’s history. Opportunities for naming gifts in the Phase II Modernization project range from $20,000 for graduate student office space to $16 million to name the entire new Hydrosystems Lab addition. Specific spaces for which we hope to secure funding and the gift levels required for naming include: • Core classroom, to become the highest-capacity teaching area in the new Hydro Lab addition, used for core courses $2 million • Fluid mechanics laboratory, a centerpiece of the new Hydrosystems addition $2 million • Technology-enhanced classroom, for small group and project-based instruction $500,000 • Materials laboratory $500,000 • First-floor entryway/lobby $500,000 • Conference room $250,000 • Second-floor student collaboration space $250,000 • Third-floor student collaboration space, located prominently at the outlet of the Smart Bridge $250,000 • Faculty offices, 15 total planned, each sponsored at $100,000 • Graduate student office spaces, 79 total, each $20,000 Spaces that have been anchored with generous leadership gifts but for which additional funding will allow us to implement the full design: • Vernon L. Snoeyink Water Chemistry Laboratory • Geotechnical Laboratory honoring the impact of geotechnical engineering faculty All gifts can be made by pledging to pay the full amount over several years, up to five. The first payment of a multi-year pledge can be made as late as 2019. To discuss a naming opportunity, please contact Benito Mariñas, marinas@illinois.edu, (217) 333-6961.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 5

Regardless of our individual experiences, we all share the goal of preserving the top ranking and leadership position of CEE at Illinois. Engineering and campus have invested significant resources toward financing more than half of the new facilities cost. I am also delighted that nearly 2 percent of our alumni and friends have already stepped up with providing or pledging support for the CEE Modernization Plan, which is helping us decrease the funding gap while at the same time giving us the opportunity to honor distinguished CEE at Illinois faculty, alumni and friends with named rooms and spaces. Some of you have also given your time and talent by visiting campus and interacting with our students and faculty and inspiring us with your career accomplishments and advice. I am glad to have this additional opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the approximately 2 percent of our alumni and friends for their support of the CEE Modernization Plan, and to an additional 4 percent for their contributions to scholarships, fellowships, professorships and chairs, as well as to the CEE Trust, all of which greatly benefit the educational experience of our students. However, we need more support for our CEE Modernization Plan, and so this closing portion of my message goes to the remaining 94 percent of our alumni and friends who have not yet supported your department. It’s important to note that an additional 6 percent of you have supported our College of Engineering, campus or University, rather than giving directly to CEE at Illinois, and we are also deeply grateful for that. So far, I have reached out to a portion of you, approximately 15 percent, by correspondence or by meeting in person, and I am planning to expand my efforts for my next two

years at the helm of the CEE at Illinois department. I would like to encourage you all to act now in supporting your department. If you are thinking about doing so please act now because the CEE Modernization Plan is an historic, time-sensitive initiative that soon will not be available. In my interactions with a few of you I have learned about grievances and other reasons that might prevent you from supporting your department, such as unwelcome decisions made at the campus level, accumulation of debt resulting from high tuition, and undesirable treatment by certain faculty when you were a student or during your career thereafter. Although I fully understand and respect the negative feelings that can result from such specific occurrences, please consider not penalizing your department because of them. We do not decide or control campus decisions and financial constraints, and we do not tolerate unfair, unfriendly or offensive treatment when we are alerted to it. If you change your mind and decide to support your department, you will help ensure that CEE at Illinois remains the top-ranked department that we are all so proud of – the reputation of which continues to benefit all of our alumni professionally. Regardless of our individual experiences, we all share the goal of preserving the top ranking and leadership position of CEE at Illinois; I deeply hope this shared objective will overcome your individual hesitation to support your home department at the University of Illinois. I will be happy to meet with any of you who would like to discuss this with me, and our advancement team stands ready to assist you in supporting your department. We will be deeply grateful for any level of support. I will close with some words by a former legendary head of CEE at Illinois, Professor Nathan Newmark, when he was envisioning modernizing the department at the 1958 CE Alumni Association dinner in Chicago: “We want to remain the top school in civil engineering in the country … we need your help. I am sure that we i shall have it.”

CEEAA Board of Directors President Colleen E. Quinn, P.E., (BS 84) Ricondo & Associates Inc. Chicago Vice President John P. Kos, P.E., (BS 77) H.W. Lochner Inc. Chicago Second Vice President and Secretary Paula C. Pienton, P.E., S.E., (BS 85) T.Y. Lin International Group Chicago Past President Allen J. Staron, P.E., (BS 74) Clark Dietz Inc. Chicago Directors Daniel F. Burke (BS 92, MS 93) City of Chicago DOT Chicago Nicholas L. Canellis (BS 94) AVA Consultants LLC Continental Painting and Decorating Chicago John E. Conroyd, P.E., S.E., (BS 83, MS 85) Tishman Realty & Construction Co. Corp. Chicago James M. Daum, P.E., (BS 77) Bowman, Barrett & Associates Chicago James K. Klein, P.E., S.E., (BS 78) Illinois Department of Transportation Springfield Justin R. Lewis, P.E. (BS 07, MS 08) Hayward Baker Inc. Roselle, Illinois Dana B. Mehlman, P.E., (BS 99, MS 01) Vedder Price Chicago Katherine Pripusich-Sienkiewicz (BS 03, MS 13) Fermilab Batavia, Ill. Robert Risser (BS 87, MS89) Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Chicago Julian Rueda, P.E., (BS 80, MS 82) Geo Services Inc. Naperville, Illinois David A. Schoenwolf, P.E., (BS 77, MS 78) Haley & Aldrich Inc. McLean, Virginia Richard Sieracki (BS 74) The Kenrich Group LLC Chicago R. Scott Trotter, P.E., (BS 90) Trotter and Associates Inc. Saint Charles, Illinois 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

A sense of place By Colleen E. Quinn, P.E., (BS 84) President, CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors

ow many of you recall that place on the engineering campus that you considered somehow more distinct, more memorable, more familiar than most of the other buildings that you moved through, occupied over the course of several semesters, and at times perhaps dreaded entering (based on how prepared you felt for an exam or other challenge)? Many recollections and memories of our time spent at Illinois carry with them a sense of place – the office of that professor who changed or inspired the course of our academic or professional career, the lab where we finally began to grasp elements of fluid mechanics, and Newmark during the design and construction of our concrete canoe, to start a list that could go on and on if everyone who read this weighed in. So much of our civil and environmental engineering experience took place between Green Street and University Avenue. Among my strongest CEE memories is time spent in Newmark, mixing and breaking concrete on the way to better understanding its critical role in translating the natural environment into a built environment (and hoping that my mix design was adequate). The professors, the sounds, fellow CEE students, the equipment, the concrete dust – it is all part of that sense of place that Newmark offered. Even now, when the CEE Alumni Association Board comes to campus for our fall meeting, my return to Newmark Lab brings back memories that extend back several decades. While we look back, remembering those buildings, offices, labs, classrooms, libraries and study spaces that threaded through our time on campus, we also realize that change is not only inevitable but necessary. The engineering campus facilities continue to evolve, and the CEE Modernization Plan is a significant part of that. The dedication of the Geoffrey Yeh

Student Center (already six years ago!) was the culmination of a successful first phase, providing students with space to learn, collaborate and gather. Many of these students will look back and remember time in the Yeh Center as a key part of their engineering experience at the University of Illinois, a place that supported their academic accomplishments and fostered their collaborations and friendships. The next phase of the Modernization Plan is underway with the design of a renovation and expansion of the Hydrosystems Laboratory, one that will link it to Newmark. The building modernization will physically reflect the quality and competency that are hallmarks of a CEE education at Illinois. For many, this new space will ultimately generate a sense of place that integrates the building’s physical qualities, their interactions with and in the building and its smart bridge, and the enhanced learning environment. Contributing to support the CEE Modernization Plan is an opportunity to give back to CEE in a way that directly enhances the teaching and learning environment, recreating a space that not only links Newmark and the Hydrosystems Lab, but that also generates a sense of place that shapes future CEE students. As Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” You can understand what he meant when reflecting on your time spent on the engineering campus as a CEE student – no doubt it shaped you in ways that influenced your role as an engineer, no matter what form that has taken. As the end of 2017 appears on the horizon, perhaps you will be able to take the time to remember some of the places and people at Illinois that influenced your engineering development. Consider reaching back to show what a difference it made. i Go Illini!

As Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 7

In October, the University of Illinois launched an ambitious new fundraising campaign, “With Illinois,” designed to raise gifts in support of Illinois students, faculty, research and infrastructure. How does CEE’s Modernization Plan fit in with the University’s campaign? It’s simple. When you support the CEE Modernization Plan, you are automatically a part of the University’s greater campaign. Please make a gift today in support of Phase II, a $32 million, 45,900-square-foot addition to the Hydrosystems Lab, featuring classrooms, labs and collaborative spaces designed to support innovative teaching methods and hands-on learning. With your help, our worldclass faculty will educate the next generation of civil and environmental engineering leaders, prepared to solve the world’s most complex challenges.

Your support for the CEE Modernization will make you part of that success. With CEE. With Illinois. 8

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Transform our buildings,

REVOLUTIONIZE our curriculum

A CEE professor explains how updated spaces will influence learning By Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest ur educational mission in CEE is to produce engineers of the highest caliber, with rigorous core knowledge and problem-solving skills, who understand complex engineering and societal systems and their interactions, and appreciate their role in creating and protecting quality of life through sustainable economic development and environmental protection. To meet the evolving needs of society, we are continually seeking to improve and adapt our students’ educational experience, working with alumni and global engineering leaders to help identify priorities as we modernize our curricula. One constant in our pursuits is our uncompromising focus on fundamental principles and technical excellence; graduates from CEE at Illinois will continue to uphold the highest standards for which our alumni are well known. As we modernize our curricula to meet the evolving needs of the industry and society, we are

building on this strong foundation to enhance students’ educational experiences to prepare them to be leaders in their future careers. To this end, the department has embarked on a multi-year initiative to modernize the educational experience of our students. At the core of the philosophy is the increased emphasis on critical thinking and the ability to work effectively both individually and in teams, helping prepare students to tackle the increasingly complex challenges facing engineers and society in the 21st century – challenges that are poorly defined, openended and require diverse teams for the development of innovative solutions. Across all years, both undergraduate and graduate, we have developed new courses, enhanced existing ones, and created more opportunities for hands-on experiences to address these emerging needs. Notable updates include increased use of project-based learning, the integration of modern computational tools

“It is now time for our buildings’ infrastructure to match our aspirations for our students’ educational experience.”

—Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest

into engineering design and decisionmaking, increased emphasis on communication, and more accessible laboratory experiences through the research experience for undergraduates (REU) program. As we continue to advance these initiatives to train the next generation of CEE leaders, it is now time for our buildings’ infrastructure to match our aspirations for our students’ educational experience. Phase II of the CEE Modernization Plan represents a tremendous leap forward in the educational capabilities of CEE at Illinois. In addition to dramatically increasing the use and functionality of the Hydrosystems building, the renovation will include three key features that will serve as the foundation for the continued advancement of our curricula: technologyenhanced classrooms, teaching laboratories and collaboration spaces. Technology enhanced classrooms for increased engagement. Re-envisioning the classroom experience requires infrastructure that leverages modern technology to support student engagement, discussion and the use of advanced computational tools during class sessions. The modernized

Hydrosystems building will include two technology enhanced classrooms which will provide a collaborative learning environment that can be adapted to a given class’ needs. Key features of the rooms are the ability to have students sit and work in teams of 4-6, with each team having its own monitor to facilitate discussion and interactive problem-solving. Teams can use computational tools, including stateof-the-art disciplinary software, to tackle design challenges and then report out to the rest of the class, projecting from their own tables, to facilitate discussion and practice their ability to concisely communicate complex concepts. Through the incorporation of computational tools into the classroom, students can more rapidly transition through the learning curve, developing an understanding of fundamental principles, applying those principles to analyze a system, and then synthesizing that knowledge to create new designs. Teaching laboratories for hands-on experiences. It is well-established that hands-on experiences increase conceptual understanding and knowledge retention while simultaneously increasing student en-

Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest, left, works with then-CEE student Amanda Lardizabal (MS 16, PhD 17).

gagement and training them in the core activities on which our profession is built. With the support of alumni, the REU program has been tremendously successful, enabling more than 100 students within the past three years to have hands-on experiences as they work directly with faculty and graduate students on cuttingedge research. The expanded facilities offered by Phase II of the CEE Modernization Plan will increase the accessibility of laboratory experiences by building new teaching laboratories to provide designated space for experiential learning. Among the new laboratories will be the Vernon L. Snoeyink Water Chemistry Laboratory, the E.W. and J.L. Merritt Structural Design Laboratory and a Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, and – we hope – more such spaces, depending on the success of fundraising efforts currently underway. These new spaces will act as catalysts for learning, providing more hands-on activities with samples and instrumentation to ground the fundamental principles taught in class to real-world applications. The laboratory spaces will Continued on page 10 cee.illinois.edu/give—Winter 2018 9

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be dynamic, with flexible floor plans to enable our program to continue to evolve over the coming decades. Collaboration spaces to enhance interaction. As we endeavor to train the next generation of leaders, we regularly reflect on feedback we have received from our alumni about factors that have had the most positive impact on their professional trajectories. A common theme among these responses is the importance of being able to work as part of a team, to navigate interpersonal dynamics while tackling larger, more complex projects than they could possibly do on their own. This observation is aligned with expectations from ABET (the accrediting board for engineering degrees) and the National Academy of Engineering that we train our students to be able to work in teams to address the increasingly complex challenges facing society. Building off the success of the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center, completed in 2011, which included designated spaces for students to work and interact, facilitating interactions among students and between students and faculty is central to Phase II of the CEE Modernization Plan. Specifically, collaborative spaces â&#x20AC;&#x201C; areas for 2-5 people to congregate around a small table or workspace â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have been integrated throughout the building and represent the majority of the footprint of the new signature bridge between Newmark and Hydrosystems labs. These spaces will not only provide CEE students with workspace for their class assignments and team projects, but will also increase impromptu interactions among students and faculty to further enrich the CEE community. Maintaining our legacy of excellence and leadership. As we continue to build our legacy of excellence in CEE, we will continue to aspire to provide transformative learning experiences for our students. Phase II of the CEE Modernization Plan represents a giant leap in our infrastructure to help i achieve those aspirations. 10

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Collaboration spaces to enhance interaction

Technology-enhanced classrooms for increased engagement

Teaching laboratories for hands-on experiences

“I want to be part of the

FUTURE of CEE as well as the past.”

By Douglas Foutch (BS 70) Professor Emeritus One of the most exciting days of my life was the day I received my acceptance into the Department of Civil Engineering at Illinois. Some people in Marseilles doubted that I had a chance of being successful, since I was from this small town in north central Illinois from which few students had made it at Illinois in the past. I was quite nervous my first few days on campus. That problem was solved when I discovered Murphy’s. During my years at Illinois, I believe that I received the best general and technical education possible. The faculty in our CE department was well-educated and had real-life experience solving complex problems required for finishing large engineering projects around the world. So they were able to teach us not only the important engineering principles, but also how to analyze problems and find solutions. My education was also enhanced by outstanding fellow students with whom I struggled to solve homework and design projects. This taught me the importance of communication and teamwork. These factors provided a firm foundation for success as I entered the working world. After gaining work experience and two graduate degrees, I was doubly blessed by U of I when I was hired in 1976 as an Assistant Professor of Civil

Above, Connie and Doug Foutch. At left, Doug as a high school senior.

Engineering, which led to a successful career in academia. As a professor I always believed that my greatest contribution to the profession of Structural Engineering would be the students that I would influence through my teaching and research. After talking to former students along the way and learning about the successful careers they have had, I am honored to have been a very small contributor to their education. When I look back over the years, I realize how really important my association with the University of Illinois and Civil Engineering department has been to my professional career. I also highly value the personal relations that have developed through my contact with classmates, students, undergrad teachers, CEE staff and former colleagues. Many years ago I realized that I would not be where I am today had I not received that letter of acceptance to Illinois back in 1965. This realization led me to donate money to the CEE department on a regular basis. Recently Connie and I decided to up the ante and make a more sizable contribution to the CEE Modernization Plan: Phase II. The bottom line is that I want to be part of the future of CEE as well as the past. We chose a brick and mortar project for our donation because I am convinced that it is required

for CEE to remain relevant. Over the past 50 years the CEE professions have changed dramatically. Entire areas that were important when I was an undergrad no longer exist. Research activities within the areas that remain have changed dramatically. Solutions to the problems that currently face the nation are more complex and require new research in areas that could not have been imagined when I was a student. If we hope to remain relevant and keep advancing our professions, CEE must continue to have modern research labs, outstanding faculty and staff, very bright students and a modern learning environment where these students can reach their full potential. I hope that each of you will look back and ask if you would have been where you are today had you not gotten your CEE degree from the University of Illinois. I hope you will decide to be a part of the future of our department and begin or continue to contribute to help ensure its future. There are many possible ways to support CEE besides the Modernization Plan. The first step towards becoming a regular donor is giving for the first time. If we are ever on campus at the same time (dfoutch47@aol. com) we can meet at Murphy’s and share old memories. My old friend Jack might even be there. i cee.illinois.edu/give—Winter 2018 11

“I’ve had a great, rewarding and fun civil engineering career and

IT ALL BEGAN HERE

at Illinois.”

Jess Brown

“In short, my experience at the University of Illinois Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering built the foundation from which my entire career in water has grown. World-class faculty and the program’s deliberate balance between science and engineering, theory and practice are essential in preparing students to tackle the increasingly complex challenges facing our industry.

Furthermore, the friendships and connections I developed through CEE have grown into a giant network of people who influence my professional and personal experiences daily. I give because I will always be in debt to the Illinois CEE program.” —Jess C. Brown (BS 98, MS 99, PhD 02)

cee.illinois.edu/give

“Simple question, simple answer.” By Donald R. Uzarski (BS 70, MS 80, PhD 91) Adjunct Professor, RailTEC Why did I give? Simple question, simple answer. It’s all about giving something back. I’ve had a great, rewarding and fun civil engineering career and it all began here at Illinois. As I look back 50+ years, when I first came to campus as a freshman, I was immature and uncertain about my future. While I wanted to be a civil engineer (I liked building things as a kid), I had little knowledge about what that really entailed. My CEE (just CE back then) courses were enlightening and most of my professors were inspiring and helpful. As such, I graduated with confidence, knowledge, and problemsolving skills ready to pursue my career. Over time, as I gained practical experience, I knew I made the correct career choice, but I also knew that I needed additional classroom knowledge to enhance my professional skills. Fortunately, after a few years while serving on active duty with the Navy Civil Engineer Corps, I was offered a year of postgraduate study (MSCE) at just about any school of my choice that would accept me. Without hesitation, I chose to come back to CEE at Illinois.

Don Uzarski

However, I was deployed to the middle of the Indian Ocean at the time and the only available form of communication was traditional mail via the weekly mail plane. My adviserto-be and longtime friend, Professor Moreland Herrin, was extremely helpful and got me back into the program. Once back, I found graduate school to be the perfect complement to my practical experience. My critical thinking skills were greatly enhanced (not to mention my technical skills) and I could understand much better the actual practice of civil engineering. As it turned out, graduate school was such a positive experience for me that a few years later I came back for yet one more civil engineering degree, my Ph.D. After that, I was offered the opportunity to teach here at Illinois and I jumped at that. Throughout my career progression, I realized that I had a true passion for civil engineering. That passion has only grown over time. There is no doubt in my mind that CEE at Illinois has been most instrumental in fostering that passion, my personal and professional development and my career success. So, giving back to CEE at Illinois is something I gladly do. i

“Gifts to CEE at Illinois in support of students, faculty and facilities carry a 100 percent guarantee of contributing to a

BETTER FUTURE for our nation and people everywhere.”

An investment with a guaranteed return Professor Emeritus Robert H. Dodds Jr. (MS 75, PhD 78) served on the faculty of CEE at Illinois from 1987-2012, and as department head from 2004-2009. He was the inaugural holder of the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Chair in Civil Engineering. During his tenure as head, Dodds began the initiative to raise funds for the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center, a 20,500-square-foot addition to Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory that provided state-of-the-art classrooms and collaborative space. The $7 million project, fully funded through private gifts, is now considered Phase I of the longer-term CEE Modernization Plan. Dodds is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Robert H. Dodds Jr. (MS 75, PhD 78) Professor Emeritus ur department is a national treasure for public education and research in the field of civil and environmental engineering. Incredibly talented and innovative faculty, exceptionally bright and enthusiastic students, dedicated staff, strong support from campus leadership and extensive laboratories and classrooms all together make CEE at Illinois a world leader in our profession. Our deep and ongoing tradition of fostering excellence insures that future CEE at Illinois graduates will advance into key leadership positions in practice, government and academia and will drive innovation in

all areas of the profession. Over the years, many CEE alumni and friends have recognized the tremendous impact their gifts could have at Illinois, empowering the world’s top faculty and students. Their investment in the future has led to growth and sustained excellence in the department. Private support for CEE at Illinois increased markedly during the 1990s with major gifts to support undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and endowed Fellows/Professorships/Chairs for faculty. In earlier decades, much of the private support focused on scholarships for undergraduate students. But over the more recent past, a surge of national and international interest in MS-level education as preparation to enter practice has more than doubled CEE’s graduate enrollment from 300 to 750 full-time students. New gifts that establish continuing fellowships enable CEE to attract the most outstanding of these students from across the nation to study at Illinois. The increased number of permanent, endowed funds for faculty Chairs/Professorships/Fellows enhances the ability of CEE to attract and retain exceptional teachers, researchers and leaders for the department’s future. Unlike at many private universities, funds for the Chairs/Professorships/Fellows are not used to replace the usual academic salary provided by the campus. In CEE,

Bob and Deana Dodds at Bob’s retirement reception in the Yeh Student Center in 2012.

our faculty use these funds, for example, in direct support of students connected with research (often in high-risk earlystage projects), for student travel to present work at conferences and for hosting distinguished visitors to the department. As the department has grown, a different need arose for the modernization of our 50-year-old facilities and more space for our growing department. In 2005, the first year of my tenure as Head of CEE, we launched the largest campaign in the department’s history to raise $7M

Continued on page 14

“I have always felt that my professional career would not have even started without the education that I received from the University of Illinois and my thesis adviser, Dr. Vern Snoeyink.

Byung Kim

I am grateful for that. I have fond memories of the University: running laboratory experiments late at night, searching for answers in libraries (no internet yet), listening to renowned professors in classrooms for new knowledge, and walking around the campus (especially around Illini Union) with my wife. I still remember them.” —Byung R. Kim (MS 74, PhD 77)

cee.illinois.edu/give—Winter 2018 13

“The Yeh Center had an

IMMEDIATE, PROFOUND IMPACT Investment

on the daily life of our students and faculty.”

Continued from page 13

of gift funds to construct a CEE Student Center linked to Newmark Laboratory. Following more than a decade of generous support for CEE, M.T. Geoffrey Yeh (Class of 1953) contributed his challenge gift of $4M to be matched by $3M of gifts from alumni, faculty, friends and supporters. The campaign exceeded this goal, and the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center opened in fall 2011. The Yeh Center had an immediate, profound impact on the daily life of our students and faculty. The large, attractive and contemporary study spaces and classrooms fostered new levels of interactions between students and faculty – bringing the teaching and mentoring missions of the department under one roof with the faculty for the first time since the 1960s. I felt extremely fortunate to head our leadership and development teams to secure the $3M of matching gifts. In our extensive travels over the next four years, we met with many dozens of our alumni who supported this challenge with generous gifts of all sizes. We heard captivating stories of their favorite professors, their hardest professors (!); of lifelong friendships started while studying, working late nights on concrete canoe teams, and playing intramural sports; of caring support from a CEE staff member during some snafu with their scholarship; of first dates at Steak & Shake with a spouse of now more than 50 years; of first apartments after getting married – is the building still there? And, of course, we heard the many and varied marvelous stories of how the CEE at Illinois education and experiences launched and impacted their professional careers. A decision to provide financial support to help today’s young people make their own CEE at Illinois experiences through the Yeh 14

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Center has proven to be a most satisfying investment. With the Yeh Center now designated as Phase I, my wife, Deana, and I are again pleased to make a new gift pledge in support of Phase II of the CEE Modernization Plan focused on the Hydrosystems Laboratory. The project aims and goals follow in the same spirit of the Yeh Student Center. Phase II, however, is far more ambitious in both scope and cost. While CEE Department, College of Engineering and Campus funds comprise much of the total $32M project, private gifts of $5.5M will be critical to reach this goal. Not surprisingly, my reasons for continued giving align with those mentioned above. As a young graduate student in 1974, CEE professors – D. Pecknold, B. Schnobrich, L. Lopez, N. Khachaturian, B. Walker, A. Robinson, J. Stallmeyer, H. Langharr and others – nurtured my growing fascination with structural engineering and mechanics, leading to a most rewarding career of teaching and research on metal behavior for the most demanding of engineering applications. The intellectual fervor and the melting pot of national and international students in the program during my graduate studies forever influenced my outlook on scholarship and world viewpoint. This new gift is made in grateful recognition of those faculty and fellow students. Few investments we make in life are surefire winners — but gifts to CEE at Illinois in support of students, faculty and facilities carry a 100 percent guarantee of contributing to a better future for our nation and people everywhere. Deana and I are honored to count ourselves among those whose gifts will have such profound impact, and I urge my fellow alums to join us in meeting this i new challenge for the future!

Karen and Andrew Martin

"Our time at the world-class facilities of the University of Illinois, and with its industry-leading teachers and mentors, provided us with both the technical foundation and reasoning skills to be successful in our careers. We were challenged

to think critically, were taught the importance of communication, and shown what it means to be a true leader. This has served us well in all aspects of our lives. Having remained personally and professionally connected with the University and its staff since our graduation, we have seen and heard what it takes for the University to remain at the forefront of civil and environmental engineering research and teaching, while staying true to a 150 years commitment to excellence. We are both proud to have attended the University of Illinois and are honored to be able to give back, so that the next generation of students will have the same opportunities we had at this topranked civil and environmental engineering program."

— Andrew J. Martin (BS 98) and Karen M. Martin (BS 98, MS 00)

“We have seen and heard what it takes for the University to remain at the forefront of civil and environmental engineering research and teaching, while staying true to a

150 YEARS COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE.”

Couple’s gift establishes geotechnical engineering lab

ne of Gerald R. Olson’s (BS 56) favorite memories of being a civil engineering student in the 1950s is of yearly lectures by geotechnical engineering great Karl Terzaghi. “Dr. Terzaghi was a close associate of Professor Ralph Peck, and he came to Illinois at least yearly,” said Audrey Olson, Gerald’s wife, who over the years has heard her husband’s many recollections of his time at Illinois. “These trips included a multi-hour lecture open to all civil engineering students. Dr. Terzaghi was considered the ‘father of soil mechanics,’ and his lectures emphasized the importance for detailed field visits and the practical side of geotechnical engineering.” Longtime supporters of CEE at Illinois, Gerald and Audrey recently made a leadership gift to fund a geotechnical engineering laboratory in the new addition to the Hydrosystems Lab that is being built as Phase II of the CEE Modernization Plan. The lab will feature updated equipment

and offer students more hands-on learning experiences. This concept dovetailed with the couple’s philanthropic interests, because of Gerald’s long career in geotechnical engineering. More than 50 years ago, Olson founded and built Terracon, an employee-owned geotechnical engineering consulting firm. Many of the employees remained with Terracon for their entire careers, a fact that was especially gratifying to Gerald, he said. “Loyalty and a feeling of family for all employees was important,” he said. “I feel I was very fortunate during my career to have the opportunity to work on many interesting projects and help develop Terracon into a large consulting engineering firm. “God has been good to us, and we feel that giving this laboratory is something we can do that would pay part of our ‘dues’ for having been blessed throughout our lives.” i

Audrey and Gerald Olson

“God has been good to us. ... Giving this laboratory is something we can do that would pay part of our ‘dues’ for having been blessed throughout our lives.”

cee.illinois.edu/give—Winter 2018 15

CEE professors part of major new Department of Energy bioenergy research center

wo CEE professors are involved with a new, $104 million bioenergy research center at Illinois funded by the Department of Energy. Professor Ximing Cai and Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest will work within the sustainability thrust of the center, which was established to provide scientific breakthroughs for a new generation of sustainable, cost-effective biofuels and bioproducts. The Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) is a collaboration between Illinois’ Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment (iSEE) and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), and it will include 16 partner institutions. Evan H. DeLucia, the G. William Arends Professor of Plant Biology and Baum Family Director of iSEE, will serve as CABBI Director. “As the United States seeks energy independence, we need to look at the most efficient ways Jeremy Guest to grow, transform and market biofuels,” DeLucia said. “This grant is a gamechanger, and CABBI will be at the forefront as we press toward a new bio-based economy. Our center’s holistic approach will generate new products directly from biomass, reducing our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and making us more secure.” One of the major challenges the world faces is how to provide sustainable sources of energy that meet societal needs as the population continues to grow. DeLucia said Illinois is uniquely qualified to address the challenge with a world-class facility at IGB, which will oversee and in16

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tegrate CABBI’s core science team under one roof. “The IGB, now with over a decade of experience in successfully addressing grand challenges by transdisciplinary integration of the life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and engineering, will provide an outstanding environment for the talented CABBI team,” said IGB Director Gene E. Robinson. "We are delighted to partner with iSEE to lead this important new Center.” CABBI researchers will develop fuels and products by integrating three highly interconnected DOE priority areas: Feedstock Development, Conversion and Sustainability. Cai, who in addition to his CEE faculty appointment also serves as Associate Director for Campus Sustainability within iSEE, will chair the Science Integration Committee, which is responsible for ensuring effective communication among the research themes and between the University of Illinois and external partners. He will also be active in the Big Data and Integrated Modeling Teams, both within the Sustainability Theme of CABBI. Guest will be leading the Technoeconomic Analysis (TEA) Team, also within the CABBI Sustainability Theme. “My team’s core objective is to develop a sustainable design platform that enables rapid and robust TEA and life cycle assessment of bioproducts and processes that are under consideration by CABBI and the DOE,” Guest said. “We’ll leverage this design platform to help prioritize research and development objectives for the Feedstock Theme and Conversions Theme, and to design more resilient and efficient biorefineries that convert plant feedstocks to biofuels and bioproducts.” DeLucia said iSEE will coordinate and

Ximing Cai

integrate field work off campus and at the Illinois Energy Farm – “a globally unique, 320-acre site that enables researchers to trial promising biofuel feedstocks at scale. And we will use another state-of-the-art facility of national importance: the nearly complete, $32 million Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL), which is a direct result of state investment in the future of bioenergy research.” The three themes are described as follows: GROWING THE RIGHT CROPS (Feedstock Development). Feedstock researchers will use the “plants as factories” paradigm, in which biofuels, bioproducts and foundation molecules for conversion are synthesized directly in plant stems. TURNING PLANTS INTO FUEL (Conversion). Experts will further develop a versatile, automated “biofoundry” for rapidly engineering microbial strains that can efficiently produce diverse, high-value molecules such as biodiesel, organic acids, jet fuels, lubricants and alcohols. Using a design-build-test-learn framework, this research will overcome challenges associated with driving biological systems to produce non-natural compounds. DETERMINING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC BOTTOM LINE (Sustainability). Researchers will provide an overarching framework for viewing outcomes from the Feedstocks and Conversion themes through an environmental and economic lens. Illinois has been one of the DOE’s top six funding partners over the last five years. i

Balancing food, energy and water requirements in the Corn Belt

FEW system resilience to be discussed at sesquicentennial symposium

proposal submitted by CEE at Illinois professor Ximing Cai is one of six selected to receive funding for a research event that will conclude the University of Illinois’ Sesquicentennial Celebration. The three-day Research at 150 conference will highlight “Illinois strengths in interdisciplinary research, exploring issues as diverse as human health, race and justice, the arts and the humanities, agriculture and the environment, and the legacy of the landgrant institution.” Cai and his interdisciplinary team, which includes CEE assistant professor Roland Cusick, will present a symposium at the conference titled Advancing Food-Energy-Water System Resilience in Agriculture Dominated Watersheds Through a Regional Resource Recovery Network. The conference will take place on April 10-12, 2018. More information about the Sesquicentennial celebration can be found at 150.illinois.edu/. i

llinois researchers will develop a numerical modeling tool to help Corn Belt communities balance the interrelated needs of the food, energy and water sectors, under a project headed by CEE at Illinois Professor Ximing Cai, The four-year, $2.4 million project is funded by the National Science Foundation. The food, energy and water system, dubbed the FEW system by researchers, is complex and increasingly under pressure, with competing demands and great importance nationally and internationally. In the Midwest, a key issue is the release of phosphorus into surface waters from wastewater treatment plants as well as agricultural production and processing grain into fuel, animal feed and human food. Phosphorus is a key component of fertilizers and a significant environmental pollutant that can be expensive for communities to remove through their water treatment processes. Technologies exist to recycle phosphorus, but no system currently exists to help communities examine the issues and accurately weigh the costs and benefits, according to Cai. “This kind of situation really requires new ideas and a systems approach to solve the problem – to combine energy, water and food issues together at the regional scale,” Cai said. To help decision-makers in Corn Belt watersheds assess the challenges and opportunities, the team will develop an In-

tegrated Technology-Environment-Economics Modeling (ITEEM) tool that will enable users to determine the effects of various demands, proposed interventions and policy changes on the FEW system, with the goal of maximum FEW system resilience. Researchers will develop the tool with stakeholder input, field-testing it along the way to maximize its applicability in a number of watersheds in the Midwest. The tool will be customizable to the particular needs of any given region. The modeling development will incorporate input from stakeholders to ensure the relevance and usability of the model. In addition to civil and environmental engineering researchers, the project team also includes agricultural engineers, social scientists, economists and policy analysts. Co-investigators on this project from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign include CEE Assistant Professor Roland Cusick; Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest; Associate Professor Benjamin Gramig of the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics; Associate Professor Emeritus Gregory McIsaac of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences; Professor Vijay Singh of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering; and Stephen John, Executive Director of the Agricultural Watershed Institute. Brain Pianfetti of CEE serves at the project manager. i

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 17

California drought led to changes in crops, water sources By Kristina Shidlauski recent study that evaluated the water footprint of agricultural production during the recent drought in California yielded a surprising result: farmers in the Central Valley used more water than in pre-drought years, not less. Using data from the California Department of Water Resources, CEE Assistant Professor Megan Konar and Landon Marston, assistant professor of civil engineering at Kansas State University and Konar’s former Ph.D. student, tracked waMegan Konar ter use for the area during three years of extreme drought (2012-2014). They found that although there was a decrease in harvested acreage during this period, the production water footprint of agriculture – that is, all the water used in agricultural production – actually increased. The increase in water use was partly due to increased plant water requirements as a result of higher temperatures during the drought, but crop selection also played a role. Many farmers switched from cereal and animal feed crops to perennial crops that have a multiple-decade lifespan, such as fruit and nut trees, Konar said. Because these crops yield a higher revenue, farmers were able to plant less acreage. There are downsides to this decision, however. First, on a per-unit basis these crops are more water intensive. Additionally, perennial crops reduce the resiliency of the agricultural system to future droughts. Trees, for example, cannot be fallowed the way cereal crops can.

cee.illinois.edu

Maps showing the percent change in virtual water exports from the Central Valley of California to the rest of the world. Maps are by type of water and highlight that more virtual groundwater transfers occurred, compensating for reductions in precipitation and surface water supplies. This highlights that global consumers maintained receipts of California agriculture due to groundwater use for production.

When another drought happens farmers will have to irrigate these crops because they’ve made such a large financial investment in them. “Individual farmers are trying to make sure they make enough money to get through the drought,” Konar said. “However, switching to more water intensive and perennial crops reduces the resiliency of the entire agricultural system to future drought.” At the same time farmers were switching crops, they were also changing the source of water used to irrigate the crops. Faced with a decline in both rainfall and

surface water supplies, farmers increasingly began to pump groundwater from the Central Valley Aquifer to irrigate their fields. With no current policies on use, the groundwater footprint increased while precipitation and surface water footprints decreased. Groundwater is currently being used faster than it is being replenished in the Central Valley, Konar said. “Water rights are very complicated in California, but there are no restrictions on the use of groundwater,” Konar said. “The only real restriction is the cost to access the groundwater, as farmers have to pay for the cost to drill the well and the electricity to pump water. One of the main outcomes of the drought is that Governor Brown instituted a groundwater policy, but it doesn’t come into effect until 2040.” Impacts of the drought reverberated well beyond California. The increase in water footprint during the drought years was mirrored in measurements of virtual water transfers, or the water footprint of commodities and services as they move through the supply chain. The researchers found that during the drought, virtual water transfers – particularly that of groundwater from the Central Valley Aquifer – increased across U.S. and international destinations, despite a reduction in food transfers. The U.S. is an important agricultural producer that produces a large percentage of many of the staple grains that are important to global food security, and depleting water resources would have food security impacts around the world,

A way to evaluate green roofs

This work is part of a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (NSF INFEWS) program. A paper describing this work, “Drought impacts to water footprints and virtual water transfers of the Central Valley of California” by Megan Konar and Landon Marston was published in Water Resources Research, an American Geophysical Union Publication in June 2017.

Konar named Hall Faculty Fellow Assistant Professor Megan Konar has been named the William J. and Elaine F. Hall Faculty Fellow in Civil and Environmental Engineering. The fellowship is given to faculty members in the early stages of their career who are excelling in their contributions to the department and the University. “Megan has received this honor in recognition of her demonstrated excellence in research, teaching and service,” said Department Head Benito Mariñas. “I know that this is just the first of what will be many stages of recognition for her work at Illinois.” The recognition is made possible by a gift from Professor Emeritus William J. Hall (MS 51, PhD 54) and his wife, Elaine.

By Lois Yoksoulian reen infrastructure is an attractive concept, but there is concern surrounding its effectiveness. CEE researchers are using a mathematical technique traditionally used in earthquake engineering to determine how well green infrastructure works and to communicate with urban planners, policymakers and developers. Green roofs are flat, vegetated surfaces on the tops of buildings that are designed to capture and retain rainwater and filter any that is released back into the environment. “The retention helps ease the strain that large amounts of rain put on municipal sewer systems, and filtration helps remove any possible contaminants found in the stormwater,” said Reshmina William (BS 14, MS 15), a CEE Ph.D. student who conducted the study with CEE Assistant Professor Ashlynn Stillwell. A common concern regarding green roofs is the variability of their performance. One challenge is figuring out how well the buildings that hold them up will respond to the increased and highly variable weight between wet and dry conditions. Another challenge is determining how well they retain and process water given storms of different intensity, duration and frequency, William said. While studying reliability analysis in one of her courses, William came up with the idea to use a seemingly unrelated mathematical concept called fragility curves to confront this problem. “Earthquake engineering has a similar problem because it is tough to predict what an earthquake is going to do to a building. Green infrastructure has a lot more variability, but that is what makes fragility curves ideal for capturing and defining the sort of dynamics involved,” William said. William and Stillwell chose to study green roofs over other forms of green infrastructure for a very simple reason: There was one on campus fitted with the instrumentation needed to measure soil

L. Brian Stauffer

Konar said. Local and global consumers are benefitting from the Central Valley’s groundwater resources, transportation infrastructure and irrigation systems, which enable them to consume the agriculture California produces. “A lot of people don’t realize the importance of these aquifers, and how important they are for national food security,” she said. “We should think of groundwater aquifers as strategic resources to manage wisely for the future—as part of our infrastructure that we need to maini tain and develop for the future.”

Graduate student Reshmina William, left, and CEE Assistant Professor Ashlynn Stillwell pose on the green roof over the Business Instructional Facility at the University of Illinois.

moisture, rainfall amount, temperature, humidity and other variables that are plugged into their fragility curve model. “This is a unique situation because most green roofs don’t have monitoring equipment, so it is difficult for scientists to study what is going on,” Stillwell said. “We are very fortunate in that respect.” William said the primary goal of this research is to facilitate communication between scientists, policymakers, developers and the general public about the financial risk and environmental benefit of taking on such an expense. “One of the biggest barriers to the acceptance of green infrastructures is the perception of financial risk,” William said. “People want to know if the benefit of a green roof is going to justify the cost, but that risk is mitigated by knowing when an installation will be most effective, and that is where our model comes in.” The results of their model and risk analysis, which appear in the Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, provide a snapshot of green infrastructure performance for this particular green roof. The results from a single model do not yield a one-size-fits-all approach to green infrastructure evaluation, and William and Stillwell said that is one of the strengths of their technique. Adaptability across different technologies and environments is essential to any i green infrastructure analysis. CEE at Illinois and the Ravindar K. and Kavita Kinra Fellowship in Civil and Environmental Engineering supported this work.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 19

The Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory, located in Rantoul, Ill.

Agreement authorizes $19M in transportation research By Waad Ayoub pproximately $19 million of transportation research for the state of Illinois will be led by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT), thanks to a new, three-year agreement signed in July between the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the University of Illinois. The ICT is headquartered in the Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory (ATREL), the de-

(IDOT) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has roots dating back to the 1940s. This partnership was reinforced following the establishment of ICT in 2005, with the joint mission of “stewarding the journey of scientific research from innovation to implementation, providing safe, cost-effective and sustainable mobility of people and goods for Illinois while enhancing quality of life, promoting economic prosperity and demonstrating respect for the environment.”

“These partnerships ensure that research is being conducted by the most knowledgeable investigators, and that more students are exposed to opportunities and careers in transportation research.” Imad Al-Qadi

partment’s transportation research facility in Rantoul, Ill. “This agreement unifies and strengthens our focus on innovative and implementable transportation research while providing research tools for our graduate and undergraduate students,” said Professor Imad Al-Qadi, director of ICT and ATREL. Scientific collaboration between the Illinois Department of Transportation 20

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Since the beginning of its partnership with IDOT, ICT has undertaken or completed more than 223 regular and special projects, including 32 currently active projects, Al-Qadi said. The projects have benefited from the participation and expertise of approximately 150 researchers from various universities and consulting firms and provided learning opportunities to more than 420 graduate students and many undergraduate students. Hun-

dreds of published research reports are available on ICT’s website: ict.illinois.edu. “One of our important goals is to educate and train the next generation of transportation engineers,” Al-Qadi said. “Building on their fundamental science and engineering knowledge, students taking part in research projects conducted at ICT in collaboration with IDOT have the advantage of receiving hands-on experience working on high-priority research studies and contributing their solid and first-class educational preparation at Illinois to the transportation field in the state, nationally and all over the world.” In addition to IDOT, ICT collaborates with several national and international universities and agencies. ICT’s sponsors include the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, National Science Foundation, the Michelin Americas Research and Development Corporation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and many other state and provincial agencies in the U.S. and Canada. “These partnerships ensure that research is being conducted by the most knowledgeable investigators and that more students are exposed to opportunities and careers in transportation research,” Al-Qadi said. i

Changes in nonextreme precipitation may have not-so-subtle consequences By Lois Yoksoulian ajor floods and droughts receive a lot of attention in the context of climate change, but University of Illinois researchers analyzed more than five decades of precipitation data from North America to find that changes in nonextreme precipitation are more significant than previously realized and larger than those in extreme precipitation. These changes can have a strong effect on ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure design and resource management, and point to a need to examine precipitation in a more nuanced, multifaceted way. “This study articulates how everyday precipitation events – not just the extremes that have been the focus of most studies – are changing,” said CEE at Illinois professor and lead author Praveen Kumar. “It’s not just the amount of rainfall that is important; it’s the duration of that rainfall and the amount of time between rainfalls and dry periods.” The study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, is the most comprehensive of its type, said graduate student and coauthor Susana Roque-Malo (MS 16). “We used data from more than 3,000 weather stations across North America,” Roque-Malo said. “There are a few other studies that use a similar methodology, but they have focused on smaller sections of the continent or parts of Europe.” The researchers identified several regions where the microclimates, the local climate determined by elevation and ecosystem, appear to have significant effects on local and regional precipitation trends. In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the researchers observed decreases in the total annual precipitation, the number of days per year with precipitation and the number of consecutive days with precipitation. The areas immediately surrounding the valley, however, experienced increases in those measures.

Researchers Praveen Kumar and graduate student Susana Roque-Malo examined the significance of nonextreme precipitation in context of global climate change. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

“Examples like this indicate that changes in precipitation patterns are much more nuanced, and that it may not be the best practice to make broad assumptions like ‘all wet areas are becoming wetter and dry areas are becoming drier,’ as many climate change discussions assert,” Roque-Malo said. These observations have important implications on the resilience of ecosystems, agriculture and water resource planning, the researchers said. “Successive generations of ecosystems evolve through adaptation to climatic change,” Kumar said. “If that rate of change, however small, exceeds the adaptive capacity, these environments will become susceptible to collapse.” “Hydroelectric plants, storm water drainage systems – any structure that relies on an assumption of expected precipitation – could be vulnerable as we look toward becoming more climate-resilient,” Roque-Malo said. Although current climate models may

not be able to resolve these types of small but creeping changes observed in this study, the researchers hope that this work will inform and provide validation criteria for more sophisticated future models and assessment of the impact of climate change. “This study confirms that there is more to climate than the number and size of extreme events,” says Richard Yuretich, a program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research. “Shifts in the daily pattern of rainfall, sometimes subtle, also occur. These can be very hard to document, but the existence of longterm monitoring sites provides the information needed to recognize trends and plan for future changes.” The National Science Foundation’s Intensively Managed Landscapes Critical Zone Observatory project, the University of Illinois Graduate College Fellowship and SURGE Fellowship supported this research. i

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 21

Celebrating 150 Years of History

EARLY WOMEN OF CEE Photos at far right: Top: Professor Mete A. Sozen and Gloria Caban (BS 69, MS 70). 1967 Photo courtesy of University of Illinois Archives. Bottom: Elaine Greening (BS 67, MS 69/71), at left, and graduate student Sai Lee test the resistance of bacteria to chlorinated water. Photo circa 1970. 22 cee.illinois.edu cee.illinois.edu 22

First woman with B.S. in Civil Engineering (1933):

Mary Thelma Miller The following excerpt is from an article that appeared in the Decatur Daily Review newspaper in 1933, highlighting Mary Thelma Miller, the first woman undergraduate to earn her degree (BS 33) from the department of civil engineering.

Decatur Girl U. of I.’s First Woman Engineer Her First Job a Dog House

By Carmen Weir, Illinois Magazine Staff Because she is happiest when out of doors and enjoys most the freedom of a man’s world, Mary Thelma Miller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Miller, 1704 North Morgan Street, Decatur, will be the first co-ed to graduate from the department of civil engineering at the University of Illinois. To design and supervise the building of tall, graceful office structures, rugged warehouses, sweeping suspension bridges, steel railroad bridges and concrete highway bridges is an ambition that has possessed her from childhood. As a little girl she played indifferently with her dolls and wielded with little enthusiasm a needle to make them sketchy doll dresses. Let the building of a neighborhood “clubhouse” offer itself, however, and she was at once in the midst of the activities wielding her hammer and nails with zest and skill. On the street where Miss Miller played as a child, heavy rains frequently caused the sewer to overflow and created along the gutter a rushing stream. Here Mary Thelma built countless dams and constructed fragile little bridges that fairies might have crossed. [...] All that remains of her early efforts is the old dog house where her dog “Ritzy” still maintains her dignified residence. “Ritzy’s house was really the first building that I ever designed,” said Miss Miller. “I sat up nights drawing the plans and following the specifications and buildings codes of my own dictation. The house is eight by three. I used four different kinds of shingles

to cover the boards. Ritzy loves it. At night she sleeps inside and when the sun shines she jumps to the roof and it becomes her solarium.” To pay for the asbestos shingles that

form part of the splendor of the dog house, Mary Thelma ran countless errands in the neighborhood; she sold hundreds of magazines to customers who soon became regular patrons.

Very early she learned to earn the things that she wanted. It has been so with her university education. While other co-eds were going to dances and parties, Mary Thelma was serving thick steaks and French fries to hungry traveling men and other patrons of the restaurants where she found work. […] The other 62 candidates for diplomas in the civil engineering department this June are all men. They have long since ceased to regard Miss Miller as a curiosity. “When I first came in to their classes, they thought I had made a mistake and waited politely for me to leave,” said the co-ed. “But they finally learned that I was there to stay and now they take me for granted.”

Text & image credit: Herald & Review/herald-review.com

First woman with M.S. in Civil Engineering (1953):

Nancy Brazell Brooks Nancy Brazell Brooks earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Alabama Polytechnic Institute and went on to become the first woman to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois, in 1953. As the first woman on the department’s research staff, Brooks worked on several structural research projects headed by Nathan Newmark, whom she viewed as mentor, boss and friend. She was also a pioneer in bringing computers into use in the department, and received a research assistantship programming the Illiac I.

As a professional engineer, Brooks worked for RAND Corporation, co-founded a small research and development firm, and later joined General Research Corporation as a senior system consultant. In 1998, she was awarded the CEEAA Distinguished Alumna Award in recognition of her “innovative use and development of numerical analysis techniques, computer programming, and computer software in the analysis of complex dynamic physical systems, and for her extraordinary public service, particularly in health care.” Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 23

Consuelo Minnich (BS 51)

Early women of the CEE at Illinois faculty

1972 Judith Liebman

CEE’s third woman undergraduate

Trailblazers, 1933 - 1969:

hen it came time to decide which university to attend, Consuelo Hauser (known to her classmates as Connie Minnich) listened to her father. A civil engineer for Montgomery County, Penn., who sometimes let Connie accompany him on his surveying work, Hauser’s father recommended the University of Illinois because he used and liked a design book by two members of the civil engineering faculty: Thomas C. Shedd and Jamison Vawter. She took his advice and thus became the third woman student to join the civil engineering department. At the time she came to Illinois, only one other woman was studying civil engineering. According to her husband, Ray Hauser, the challenge of being one of only two women in the department didn’t faze her. “Connie wasn’t afraid of challenges and fit in well at Illinois,” Ray Hauser said. “She was befriended quickly by Barbara Schmidt, an upperclassman in CE and was introduced to the Illinois Technograph staff in her first semester.” Hauser spent four years on the staff of the Technograph, eventually rising to Editor during her final years. She was active in other activities as well: she was chair of the parade committee for Engineering Open House in 1950, and helped start the Illinois chapter of Knights of St. Patrick. Hauser was also the first woman inducted into Chi Epsilon. Upon receiving her Bachelor of Science degree, Connie and Ray Hauser attended Yale for their graduate studies, and Connie Hauser became the first woman to earn a Masters of Engineering at Yale. They next moved to Colorado, and Connie Hauser went on to complete the coursework for a doctorate in civil engineering at the University of Colorado. Family obligations prevented her from completing her thesis for the design of hyperbolic paraboloid thin-shell structures (as Ray pointed out, “nigh impossible with slide rule calculations”). As a professional, Hauser worked on hydraulics and drainage projects, design and specifications of sandwich panel structures, design of missile ground support facilities, and sanitary systems at various companies in Connecticut and Colorado. She became a Fellow of the Society of Women Engineers, was the first woman on the Civil Engineering Alumni Association Board, and raised four children, two of whom are engineers with Ball Aerospace i Corp. in Boulder, Colo.

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Mary Thelma Miller (BS 33) Barbara Lou Schmidt (BS 48) Consuelo Minnich (BS 51) Nancy Brazell Brooks (MS 53) Hanka Chryssafopoulos (MS 54, PhD 64)) Dolly Marsh (MS 55) Eleanor Owen (MS 56) Patricia Hogeveen (BS 59) Jane Hsia Shen (MS 63) Judith Hamilton (MS 64) Janice Helgason (MS 65) Elaine Greening (BS 67, MS 69/71) Sandra Levey (BS 67) Nancy Mallonee (MS 67) Gloria Caban (BS 69, MS 70)

Other firsts: First women to earn a PhD: Hanka W. Chryssafopoulos (MS 54, PhD 64) Civil Engineering Marcia Y. Liao-Wang (PhD 84) Environmental Engineering

First women to earn an M.S. in Environmental Engineering: Angela L. Jankousky (BS 79, MS 81) Patricia H. Leary (MS 81) At right, top to bottom: • Barbara Schmidt (BS 48), second woman undergraduate. • Hanka Chryssafopoulos (MS 54, PhD 64), second woman to earn an M.S., and first woman to earn a Ph.D. • Dolly Marsh (MS 55), third woman to earn an M.S. • Patricia Hogeveen (BS 59), fourth woman undergraduate. Thanks to Angie Wolters (BS 99, MS 00), Director of Women in Engineering, for her help identifying early women students. Stay tuned for info about her upcoming book celebrating early women in the College of Engineering.

1986 Sharon Wood

1996

1989

1988

Leslie Struble

Sue Larson

2003

Barbara Minsker

Tami Bond

First Woman Faculty Member:

Judith Liebman Q&A with the first woman on the CEE at Illinois faculty, Judith Liebman. Were you interested in science/engineering as a child, and was that interest encouraged by your family and teachers? My mother noticed my interest in science when I was in elementary school. My Christmas and birthday presents were often science kits. When I was about 12 years old she gave me a book, the biography of Marie Curie, written by her daughter. That gave me the perspective that it was possible to have a scientific career and a family life also. I did my undergraduate work at the University of Colorado in Boulder, majoring in Physics. What had attracted me to Physics was the use of mathematics to model physical processes, particularly processes that were observable such as balls rolling down inclined planes. By the time I graduated, however, physics research was more focused on less easily observed processes. My first job out of college was in 1958 at Convair Astronautics using an electric calculator to do the computations needed analyzing data from the early Atlas missile flights. After a few weeks I got the chance to move the calculations to an IBM 650 and became a computer programmer.

I could apply mathematical models to human decision processes to improve the outcomes. Jon’s first job teaching environmental engineering was at the Johns Hopkins University where I then got my doctorate in the Operations Research and Industrial Engineering department. We were extremely fortunate that the Civil Engineering Department wanted both of us on the faculty. At that time, 1972, it was against the University of Illinois rules to have both husband and wife on the faculty and it took the signature of the President of the university system to make an exception. My original appointment was 60 percent in Civil Engineering and 40 percent in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE).

Continuing that theme, how/why did you get into Engineering, and what brought you to Illinois? When my husband, Jon, was doing his Ph.D. at Cornell in Environmental Engineering, he minored in Operations Research and thought I might be interested in that. At that point, as a computer programmer for the General Electric Research Lab in Ithaca, my job enabled me to take a course a semester at Cornell. I fell in love with operations research because

For how long were you the sole woman faculty member at CEE, and what kind of challenges did you face? I moved over full time to the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department in 1978 when Jon became the Head of CEE. One of the reasons for my original appointment in CEE was that Professor Newmark wanted an Operations Research (OR) faculty member and I was interested in learning more about civil engineering applications of OR. Once I had good

Were there many women faculty members in the College of Engineering when you joined? Women students? In 1972 there was, I believe, a woman faculty member in the Physics department but no other tenure track woman faculty member in the engineering departments. There were a few women engineering students, the exact percentage I don’t know. I think around 2percent.

friends and a research “foot” in CEE I was happy to move over to MIE with other OR faculty full time. There were still not other women in MIE, but that never fazed me. What was a typical day like? Impossible to describe briefly, because I was involved in many aspects of campus and professional life. Professors’ lives are much more than teaching and research. As a citizen of the campus I participated in campus government and program review. As a citizen of the community I got involved with health planning. I was actively involved in the Operations Research Society of America and eventually served as its president. What did you find most rewarding about teaching? Most frustrating? Most rewarding was seeking and developing strategies for helping students learn the techniques of operations research. Most frustrating was assigning numerical grades to tests and assignments. Were you conducting research during this time? If so, what was the topic? Many topics, ranging from health planning to transportation systems and building design. Any other thoughts you’d like to share about your experiences in CEE at Illinois? The CEE department and the university gave me the resources (excellent students, computers, support and time) I needed. For that I will be forever grateful.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 25

“Strive for excellence – turn people into believers. This industry is not for the faint of heart or for those who are not strong-willed. You have to welcome challenges and be resolved that if it doesn’t break you or kill you, then it has to make you stronger. ”

CEE AT ILLINOIS

Alumni Q&A Tomorrow’s Illini civil and environmental engineers have a few questions for today’s CEE senior Damilola Taiwa interviews CEE alumnus Keith Searles (BS 96)

Damilola Taiwo is a CEE senior with a primary in structural engineering and a secondary in construction management. She is a Student Adviser for the CEE department and is involved with the National Society of Black Engineers. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue an M.S. in structural engineering. Keith A. Searles (BS 96) is founder, owner and CEO of Urban GIS Inc., an infrastructure-focused consulting firm that provides traditional GIS consulting, application development, field data collection and staff augmentation with more than 30 employees and offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, St. Louis and Cleveland. It was named Business of the 26 cee.illinois.edu cee.illinois.edu 26

Year in 2014 by Robert Morris University. Searles mentors students from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, providing them with internships and post-graduate employment opportunities. He has been recognized by the Chicago Defender through their Men of Excellence Award program. Searles and Urban GIS support several scholarship funds at the University, all established to honor a friend, colleague or mentor and designed to encourage under-represented groups in STEM fields. Here, Searles explains how his life and career have been shaped by everything from his talent for hip-hop to his deep spirituality and the desire to help others.

What led you to the University of Illinois to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering? After taking four years of architectural drafting and participating in various architecture programs, late in my high school career I decided to pursue civil engineering. I applied to the University of Illinois at the eleventh hour, as I initially had my heart set on going to college out of state. Once I was accepted by the university, they offered me a full academic scholarship. I knew I had to take advantage of such a fantastic opportunity. Midway through my time at U of I the civil engineering program became number one in the country, and it became very clear to me that I had made the right decision. What drove you to start your own company? After graduating, I started with a large consulting firm, Patrick Engineering, where many other U of I grads were also employed. In 2005, fellow co-workers at Patrick, excited for the U of I basketball team, encouraged me to make a song for the then-undefeated Illini team. The song was titled “The O.K.” and it became my first official release as the hip-hop artist KSera. The song took off that February, and provided a great anthem for the country’s best fans and for one of the all-time great teams in college basketball. I started writing the song with prophetic visions of large-scale exposure of the song through various media outlets, and the results were indeed prophetically accurate, with the song obtaining exposure through two articles in Chicago newspapers, guest appearances at two radio stations, a CBS television appearance, a performance during the Final Four weekend festivities in St. Louis, and tremendous support in Champaign and Chicago. The song’s success and revenue generation translated into thousands of dollars of song proceeds being donated to a worthy cause. Everything I had visualized came to pass, and my obedience in giving was a life-

Point your QR code reader here to listen to Searles’ tribute to the 2005 Fighting Illini basketball team, “The O.K.,” his first release as the hip hop artist K-Sera.

changing experience. Because of the confidence gained from fulfilling the visions and the one-on-one conversations I was having with God during this time period, I was led to step out on faith and start my own business. I was a little nervous about making such a big career change with limited experience in running a business, but it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve never worked harder in my life – but it’s extremely rewarding and I LOVE IT. You know what they say, if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. What are some difficult and rewarding aspects of being an entrepreneur? Early on, I spent a lot of time on business development and marketing for my company. Once I started getting a little success I pulled back too much on that front. While I needed to spend a lot of time on doing the consulting work and running various aspects of the business, I learned the hard lesson that you have to keep planting seeds. I learned a lot during my 12 years as an entrepreneur, and we have been blessed to see the company grow from one person to 30 staff members over our 10 years in business. We’ve also expanded from just being a Chicagobased company to developing a presence in Atlanta, St. Louis, Denver and Louisiana. The most rewarding part is to know that you are a vital part of the economy where your efforts directly make the difference in people being able to take care of their families. I understand you’ve established some scholarship funds in honor of colleagues who have passed. What motivated you, and what impact you hope these scholarships will have? Quiana Cleveland and I were very close business partners and former classmates at U of I. She was a multifaceted and dynamic professional engineer who served as a pioneer to African-American women in the civil engineering profession. She

co-founded my first startup called Urban Infrastructure. Together, we set the foundation for what would ultimately become Urban GIS Inc. Upon her passing in 2015, I created a scholarship in her honor to enable other young women of color to pursue degrees in engineering and other STEM fields at the University of Illinois. The Yvette B. Hernandez Scholarship was in observance of an amazing colleague, and more importantly, an incredible person – revered, admired and praised for her enthusiasm and glowing personality. As the GIS Manager of Urban GIS, her work ethic was unrivaled; her passionate concern and care for fellow co-workers unparalleled. After her passing in January 2017, I established a second U of I scholarship designed to aid young diverse women who, like Yvette, possess a true passion for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geosciences. Additionally, myself and other alumni support the Dean Parker Tribute Scholarship, because of the dedication and work Dean Paul E. Parker put into the Morrill Engineering Program (MEP), helping innumerable minority students like myself make it through difficult STEM programs at the University. You are also very involved in your community. Can you speak to some of the things you hope to accomplish? I support many community initiatives such as Project H.O.O.D. (Helping Others Obtain Destiny). Created in 2012, this group empowers people with supporting guidance and information, and provides tools necessary to become peacemakers,

problem-solvers, leaders and entrepreneurs in their communities. Over the years I have volunteered in a variety of ministry capacities working with organizations such as the Cambridge School of Chicago, New Beginnings Church, New Faith Church, and now Soul City Church. I have been increasingly asked to be a motivational speaker at various high schools, elementary schools, graduations and STEM-related programs. My true passion is to help young people to obtain increased confidence and a vision of what is possible. Lastly, I am an adviser for the University of Illinois Professional Science Master’s program and Morrill Engineering Program, and with Robert Morris University. I am always open to mentoring young people by assisting them in career preparation and planning. What advice do you have for students here at Illinois? Strive for excellence – turn people into believers. This industry is not for the faint of heart or for those who are not strong-willed. You have to welcome challenges and be resolved that if it doesn’t break you or kill you, then it has to make you stronger. Be multi-dimensional and establish various facets to your value proposition. Have strong interpersonal skills. Being just a one-dimensional techy isn’t good enough these days. Lastly, don’t let others or even your own poor thinking limit you or box you in. My life motto and favorite quote I’ve ever created is, “never let them put you in a box i until they put you in the box.”

Civiland andEnvironmental EnvironmentalEngineering EngineeringAlumni AlumniAssociation—Winter Association—Winter2018 2018 2727 Civil

What are you working on? CEE alumni are working on fascinating projects all over the world. Let’s hear about some of them! If you’d like to write about one of your projects for a future issue of the CEE magazine, please contact Celeste Arbogast, celeste@illinois.edu, for details.

cee.illinois.edu

“What sets Value Methodology apart from other management practices is the analysis of functions – two-word (verb-noun) generic descriptions on what components of the project do.”

An introduction to Value Engineering Jodie Puzio (BS 08)

ust over a year ago, I started a new chapter of my career. I joined the consulting industry in value engineering – a new field for me, but one I was excited about! After graduation, I entered the world of large capital project management. From my experiences in contractor’s offices as a business and project controls engineer, in the home office leading engineer recruiting efforts and cross-functional initiatives, to the field as a project engineer, I have a wide range of project experience. I was both leveraging my technical engineering skills and furthering my skills as a strong leader and communicator. Soon after relocating to the Pacific Northwest with my husband, I joined Value Management Strategies Inc. (VMS) as an Assistant Value Manager – a position that plays to my strengths, experience and interest. As a consultant, I focus on improving the value of our clients’ projects, products and processes using Value Methodology. Value Methodology is a process commonly and effectively used in both the private and public sectors to analyze and improve design and construction projects, manufacturing products and processes, and business and administrative processes. Through this systematic and structured approach, value is optimized for projects resulting

in improved performance, decreased cost and schedule, reduced risk and enhanced customer satisfaction. What sets Value Methodology apart from other management practices is the analysis of functions – two-word (verbnoun) generic descriptions on what components of the project do. VMS delivers its value enhancing services with pre-study preparation, facilitating a multidisciplinary team value study, and poststudy documentation and implementation. The value study includes the following phases: 1. Information Phase: Gather information to better understand the project. 2. Function Analysis Phase: Analyze the project to understand and clarify the required functions. 3. Creative Phase: Generate ideas on all the possible ways to accomplish the required functions. 4. Evaluation Phase: Evaluate and select ideas that offer the potential for value improvement. 5. Development Phase: Develop the selected ideas into alternatives with a sufficient level of documentation to allow decision makers to determine if the alternative should be implemented. 6. Presentation Phase: Present the value improvement recommendations to the project stakeholders.

Watch your inbox for more details, coming soon.

CEEAA ALUMNI AWARDS DINNER Chicago, Illinois March 8, 2018 A Value Engineering (VE) study, sponsored by the USACE Portland District and facilitated by VMS, was conducted for the US Moorings Replacement Dock in Portland, Ore. The VE team’s proposed design modifications were accepted, which reduced construction costs, enhanced maintainability, and reduced long-term environmental impacts.

A Programmatic Value Engineering (VE) study, sponsored by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District and facilitated by VMS, was conducted on the Guide Walls Program. The VE team identified 34 alternatives as potentially viable value enhancements to the program and respective projects.

Since joining the team, I have received my Value Methodology Associate certification and have participated in 13 value studies, which include value engineering/analysis workshops, risk assessments and function analysis design charrettes. I support the successful facilitation and completion of deliverables for our clients through onsite support and accurately documenting the results of each study. My studies have included highway and transit projects in California and New York, civil works and navigation projects

for the US Army Corps of Engineers in various cities, and military facilities in Alaska and Hawaii. I have had the opportunity to work for various clients in the public and private sector, on a wide variety of projects, and with some incredible team members – adding value all over the country! For more information, visit valueeng.org, the website of SAVE International®, the international professional society devoted to advancing and promoting Value Methodology. i

CEE AT ILLINOIS

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Fellowship awardees 2017-2018 academic year

The following students were awarded graduate fellowships for the current academic year, thanks to the generosity of the donors listed here. Graduate fellowships allow the department to attract the best students, a critical ingredient of a top-tier research program. While CEE at Illinois has rich research offerings to entice students, we must also compete against financial incentives offered by other institutions. We are deeply grateful to our fellowship donors, who share in the accomplishments of these talented students. For information on giving to support a fellowship, please contact the CEE advancement office, cee.illinois.edu/give. Abbott Laboratories Fellowship Samuel Aguiar Alfredo H-S. and Myrtle Mae Ang Fellowship Bryce Mazurowski Ben Chie Yen Memorial Fellowship Rachel von Gnechten Burton and Erma Lewis Graduate Fellowship Elizabeth Berry Nathaniel Levine Lauren Santullo Damon S. Williams Associates Scholarship Makhakhem Kheperu Timothy Alston Gerald R. and Audrey G. Olson Fellowship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Shelby Ahrendt Enok Cheon Kiseok Kim Cai Wang Hanson-Rodriguez International Fellowship in Civil Engineering Education Jesus Osorio Ivan Racheff Teaching Fellowship Anisa Hardin John Carollo Award Samuel Aguiar Indran Kamalanthan John W Page Scholarship/Fellowship Elizabeth Berry Shun Che Michelle Helsel Uthman Mohamed Ali Lauren Santullo

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M. T. Geoffrey Yeh Graduate Research Fellowship in Civil Engineering Shun Che Maidment Fellowship in Hydrosystems Engineering Rachel von Gnechten Mete A. Sozen Fellowship Lauren Santullo Sargent & Lundy Fellowship Tzu-Yu Chang Ravindar K. and Kavita Kinra Fellowship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Akash Bhat Gurpreet Hora Himanshu Joshi Indran Kamalanathan Sagar Rahod Richard S. and Mary E. Engelbrecht Environmental Engineering Fellowship Justin Hutchinson Srinidhi Balasubramanian Terracon Foundation Fellowship Sean Hayter Walter E. Deuchler Environmental Engineering Fellowship Courtney Ackerman Jennifer DeBellis

Kumar honored ‘for keeping the flag of India high’ Professor Praveen Kumar has been awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman award, which is awarded to non-resident Indians (NRI) by the NRI Welfare Society of India for “outstanding services, achievements and contributions for keeping the ‘Flag of India high.’” This prestigious recognition for global achievement, presented in the House of Lords in London, is given to only about 30 people per year among more than 16 million Indians living outside India. Above, Kumar, left, is pictured at the award ceremony. At right is Guhar Nawab, the International President of the NRI Welfare Society. Behind them, wearing a red turban, is Deepak Singh, Convener of the Award Ceremony.

Professor Tami C. Bond won the 2017 Aerosol Science and Technology Outstanding Publication Award for her co-authored paper, “Light absorption by carbonaceous particles: An investigative review.” Professor C. Armando Duarte has been selected as a Fellow of the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics. This award recognizes individuals with a distinguished record of research, accomplishment and publication in areas of computational mechanics and demonstrated support of the USACM. Nora El-Gohary has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. She was also awarded a 2017 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award.

Winfred D Gerber Memorial Fellowship Nathaniel Levine

Nora El-Gohary

Angeli Mariz Urbano Gamez (MS 12), PhD student, has been selected as one of this year’s recipients of the ACRP Graduate Research Award Program.

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Workshop brings top women students, alumnae to campus “I was the only woman in the civil department when I came to Illinois. ... Illinois gave me the opportunity to be fearless.” -Doris Willmer (BS 72, MS 73)

bout 20 top women undergraduates from Illinois and peer universities gathered in Newmark Lab September 21-23 for the third annual We Go CEE workshop. The three-day event is aimed at encouraging top women students to pursue graduate education. Activities included sessions on the graduate program at Illinois; a student panel on the global experience; breakout seminars on resume building, entrepreneurship for engineers, interviewing and research; an alumnae panel and a networking dinner with CEE alumnae. CEE alumna Doris Willmer (BS 72, MS 73), president and principal consultant at Willmer Engineering, delivered the keynote speech. Other CEE alumnae who participated included Francina Dominguez (MS 03, PhD 07), associate professor in Atmospheric Sciences at Illinois; Meg Griffin (BS 92), CEE Coordinator of Online and Blended Programs; Karen Kabbes (BS 77), president of Kabbes Engineering; Dana Mehlman (BS 99, MS 01) of Vedder Price; and Kate Pripusich-Sienkiewicz (BS 03, MS 13), senior engineer for Fermilab Facilities. This year’s workshop was organized by CEE Associate Professor Helen Nguyen and Program Coordinator Marvis Orzek. CEE Assistant Professor Ashlynn Stillwell delivered i the dinner keynote.

Above, l to r: Benito Mariñas, Doris Willmer, Helen Nguyen. At left, l to r: Meg Griffin, Francina Dominguez, Karen Kabbes, Kate Pripusich-Sienkiewicz and Dana Mehlman. Below, the We Go CEE 2017 attendees pose in front of the Yeh Center.

wego.cee.illinois.edu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 31

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Barenberg, Thompson honored with Distinguished Faculty Award

CEE Associate Head for Graduate Affairs Jeff Roesler, left, with Ernie Barenberg, center, and Marshall Thompson, at their award luncheon Oct. 13.

rofessors Emeritus Ernest J. Barenberg (PhD 65) and Marshall R. Thompson (BS 60, MS 62, PhD 64) were honored Oct. 13 with CEE Alumni Association (CEEAA) Distinguished Faculty Awards at a luncheon in the Newmark Lab crane bay attended by members of the CEEAA Board of Directors, current faculty and staff, fellow emeriti, family and guests. The award was established in 2016 as a way to honor faculty in the department who are also alumni. Selection is made by the CEEAA awards committee. Professor Emeritus William J. Hall was the inaugural awardee. Barenberg was honored “for technical contributions to the theoretical understanding of pavement behavior and responses; leadership in the mechanisticempirical design of concrete pavements; for innovations in post-tensioned and precast concrete pavement; for a passion to mentor graduate students and challenge students to strive toward a high standard of professional excellence; and for 30 years of teaching CEE students the importance of the engineering decisionmaking process.” Barenberg earned his B.S. degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University and his M.S. in structural engineering from the University of Kansas.

cee.illinois.edu

After earning his Ph.D. from Illinois in 1965, he spent nearly 40 years on the faculty. His appointments at Illinois included a four-year term as the Associate Head of Civil Engineering, coordinating the departmental graduate students and research programs. For three years he also maintained a joint appointment at the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. He served as director of the Association of American Railroads affiliate program at Illinois from its inception in 1983 through 1998, and as an associate director of the FAA Center of Excellence for airport pavements for more than eight years. Barenberg’s research interests were in concrete pavements, paving materials and railroad track systems, and he has made many contributions to these fields through his research and consulting activities. He was instrumental in developing design standards for pavements at CEE would like to thank the Fort Miller Co. for making a contribution to the Distinguished Faculty Luncheon, in honor of the firm’s professional relationship with Ernest Barenberg.

Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and for London’s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, and developed the background and framework for the mechanistic-based design procedures for concrete pavements currently used by the Illinois Department of Transportation. He has been a part of the design team for several post-tensioned concrete pavements, including those currently in service at O’Hare Airport and Rockford Airport. The pavement at the Rockford Airport is unique in that the post-tensioned pavement is 1,200 feet long and 75 feet wide and does not have a joint in either the longitudinal or transverse direction. Barenberg’s honors include being designated a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies in “recognition of extraordinary service to the National Academies in its role as adviser to the Nation in matters of science, engineering and health” in 2004; being named Educator of the Year by the American Concrete Pavement Association in 2002; receiving the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Robert Horonjeff Award for “outstanding contributions to airport paving engineering” in 1998; and being inducted as an Honorary Member into the International Society for Concrete Pavements in 2001. Thompson was honored “for technical contributions to transportation and pavement engineering through characterization of asphalt, granular and soil materials responses, behavior, and performance; for the development of new flexible pavement design methods for roads and airfields, and to soil improvement techniques and procedures for horizontal construction and vehicle mobility; for innovations, such as first backcalculation procedure, high-strength stabilized base design, and asphalt overlay of rubblized concrete design; and for more than 35 years of teaching and mentoring CEE students.” Thompson joined the faculty in 1964 after earning all three degrees from the department. He retired from the active

Associate Professor Mani Golparvar (MS 10, PhD 10) and his two graduate students Andrey Dimitrov and Rongqi Gu (MS 15) have been awarded the 2016 Hojjat Adeli Award for Innovation in Computing, for their paper entitiled, “Non Uniform B-Spline Surface Fitting from Unordered 3D Point Clouds for As-Built Modeling.” faculty in 1996 but is still professionally active in research and consulting, and still maintains an office in Newmark Lab. In addition to research and teaching, Thompson’s career has afforded him field experience with the Illinois Division of Highways and contractors and extensive consulting experience in airfield and highway pavements, soils and materials, and railroads for various governmental agencies, consultants, industry and contractors. His research interests are in flexible pavement analysis, design and construction; paving materials; subgrade soils and subgrade stability; soil/material stabilization; and concrete pavement rehabilitation (rubblization). He was the Director of the Illinois DOT - University of Illinois Cooperative Highway and Transportation Research Program from 19871997. He has been involved in numerous research studies relating to soils, materials and pavements for highways and airfields, sponsored by many government agencies and industry groups. Thompson has published more than 205 technical journal papers, bulletins and research reports. He developed the Mechanistic-Empirical flexible pavement design procedures that have been used since 1989 by the Illinois DOT. His recent work includes the characterization and design of Rubblized PCC concrete pavements with HMA Overlays and HMA Perpetual Pavement design. Thompson’s many honors have included receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the Asphalt Institute in 2012; being elected to the National Asphalt Paving Association’s HMA Hall of Fame in 2005; receiving the Transportation Research Board’s K.B. Woods Award for outstanding technical paper in the field of design and construction of transportation facilities in 2000; and being named the Illinois Asphalt Paving Assoi ciation’s “Man of the Year” in 1995.

Assistant Professor Jeremy S. Guest was invited to speak in the session on “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene,” at the fifth Arab-American Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine symposium in Rabat, Morocco. Associate Professor Helen Nguyen was invited to participate in the fifth Arab-American Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine symposium in Rabat, Morocco. Professor Timothy D. Stark and Steven Wilk, along with Qingjie Liu of East China Jiaotong University and Jerry Rose of University of Kentucky, were the authors of the paper entitled “Monitoring Changes in Tie-Ballast Interaction in Disturbed Track”, which was selected for the Research Award during the 2017 Railway Engineering Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. “I-5 Skagit River Bridge Collapse Review”, a paper written by Professor Timothy D. Stark, Professor Rahim F. Benekohal, Professor James M. LaFave (BS 86, MS 87), Associate Professor Larry A. Fahnestock and Jiajun He has been selected as the ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities best paper for 2016. Daniel B. Work has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.

Dan Work

were rated Outstanding. Spring 2017 Bassem Andrawes Roland Cusick Larry Fahnestock Paolo Gardoni Jeremy Guest German Gurfinkel * Praveen Kumar Liang Liu * Frank Lombardo Oscar Lopez-Pamies Benito Mariñas Gholamreza Mesri Scott Olson

The following CEE faculty members appeared on the list of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students. Those marked with an asterisk * Yanfeng Ouyang * John Popovics Jeffery Roesler * Mark Rood Bill Spencer * Ashlynn Stillwell Rafael Tinoco Al Valocchi Vishal Verma Brent Young Julie Zilles Summer 2017 German Gurfinkel

García receives the M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award

rofessor Marcelo García, M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Chair in Civil Engineering and Director of the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory, received the 6th M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award made biennially by the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) to one of its members whose experimental, theoretical or numerical research has resulted in significant and enduring contributions to the understanding of the physics of phenomena and/or processes in hydraulic science or engineering and who demonstrated outstanding skills in graduate teaching and supervision. García has been previously recognized by IAHR with the 12th Arthur Thomas Ippen Award (2001) and served as Editor-in-Chief of IAHR’s International Journal of Hydraulic Research (20012006). He is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a Fellow of ASCE’s Environmental Water Resources Institute. García joined the CEE at Illinois faculty in 1990. He teaches courses on water resources engineering and hydraulic engineering, environmental hydrodynamics, sediment transport, river mechanics and open-channel hydraulics. i

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 33

DEPARTMENT NEWS FreshmanFest 2017 celebrates newest students with food, fun

Each August, during the first week of school, the College of Engineering welcomes freshmen with a party on the quad north of Engineering Hall. Freshman students receive t-shirts of varying colors depending on their home department. Here, CEE students proudly wear their mint green t-shirts proclaiming them future engineers. CEE staff and faculty were on hand to give out CEE at Illinois frisbees. At right, CEE Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs Jim LaFave (BS 86, MS 87) poses with a couple of the new students.

Three CEE students win YMCA Bailey scholarships

hree CEE at Illinois undergraduates were awarded University YMCA Bailey Scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year. The awards are given to Illinois students on the basis of â&#x20AC;&#x153;moral character, intelligence, leadership and scholarship.â&#x20AC;? Seniors Yanbing Wang, left, and George Gunter, middle, received Bailey Undergraduate Scholarship Awards for students who also demonstrate involvement in their community and a commitment to volunteering and giving back. Wang and sophomore Fangxing Liu, right, received Bailey International Service Travel Awards, which supports travel for students leading international service projects. Fred S. Bailey established the scholarships to support Illinois students who demonstrate the potential to make a difference as community leaders. The YMCA of the University of Illinois administers the program, which funds more than $100,000 in scholarships each year.

CEE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Nominations invited: CEE Alumni Awards Know any outstanding CEE Illini? The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award and the Young Alumnus/ Alumna Achievement Award recognize those who have distinguished themselves in the field at different career stages. The next deadline is late summer 2018. For more information, visit cee.illinois.edu/alumni/ awards.

cee.illinois.edu

Interested in serving on the CEEAA Board of Directors? The CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2013. If you are interested in serving the department as a board member, fill out an online application at cee.illinois.edu/alumni. For more information, contact Celeste Arbogast, celeste@illinois. edu. (217) 333-6955.

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Students gather data on quake-damaged buildings in Mexico City

wo CEE students visited Mexico City in the wake of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that shook the city September 20. They gathered data on damaged buildings that CEE researchers will use in the development of a system that will utilize drones to help assess structural damage with the ultimate goal of speeding up post-disaster recovery efforts. Vedhus Hoskere (MS 16), a CEE Ph.D. student, is working under academic adviser Professor Bill Spencer to develop the assessment system, which will use drones that are capable of flying autonomously to capture images of damaged structures and develop 3D surface models. Then Hoskere’s image-processing algorithms, which have been trained to detect various types of damage using machine learning, can be used to filter out important information from these models automatically. This information can then be used to direct the attention of inspectors to defects identified by the algorithm instead of examining all buildings in detail and perhaps even eventually allow the process to be completely automated. Hoskere is trying to base the algorithms on widely accepted standards for postdisaster building inspections developed by the Applied Technology Council and used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In pursuit of real-world data to inform and improve his algorithms, Hoskere traveled to Mexico City just 10 days after the quake, along with CEE senior Michael Neal, president of the student chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI). Hoskere is also a member of EERI. “Essentially what happens after an earthquake is that there’s a standard safety evaluation that human inspectors do from the outside,” Hoskere said. “We’re trying to mimic that using these

Hoskere, left, sends out a drone to automatically survey the facade of a heavily damaged building in Mexico City, while Neal, center, notes down details for a rapid visual assessment report under the supervision of Prof. Manuel Ruiz-Sandoval, right. The drone is visible over Neal’s right shoulder.

algorithms. There is usually a huge shortage of inspectors. If you’re able to acquire images of the entire structure and create a 3D surface model of the building, you should be able to make an assessment of whether it’s possible to continue using that building or if it requires a more detailed inspection.” The students’ trip, funded by CEE at Illinois and the EERI, gave them real-world exposure to post-earthquake damage, a critical component for designing an accurate assessment system. “So far we’ve been developing algorithms just on images available on the Internet, images we’ve taken just of regular buildings, and damaged specimens in the lab,” Hoskere said. “Now we want to try to apply it to a scenario where there’s actually damage.” The students were hosted on the trip by Professor Manuel Ruiz-Sandoval, a former doctoral student of Spencer’s, who is now on the faculty of Mexico City’s Metropolitan Autonomous University. An unanticipated collaboration occurred with Mexico’s College of Engineering, a professional organization of structural engineers that was doing building inspections to gather information for local authorities. “We needed to get access to the damaged building sites from them, so they gave us official inspection badges and in

return we contributed to their database,” Hoskere said. “So we helped with the actual inspections, because we are structural engineers, and also got information that is useful for the research. That wasn’t how we had initially planned it, but it turned out to be better.” Hoskere and Neal gathered data on about a dozen buildings. One of the buildings they visited but did not assess was the famous Latino-Americana Tower, the seismic design of which was done by Nathan Newmark. The students saw no visible damage, but they were not allowed to fly their drone in that area. There were some sobering moments, they said, such as happening upon a scene where even more than a week after the earthquake, emergency personnel were still recovering bodies from the rubble. But damage was uneven throughout the city, they said. “One thing I was surprised by, was how life had gone on,” Neal said. “People were still grieving, and there were still areas that were very affected, but there were some neighborhoods we went to where you wouldn’t really know there had been an earthquake. Life has to go on for them.” This latest addition of real-world data to Hoskere’s research may hasten the day when recovery efforts can be accelerated so life can go on even more promptly. i

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 35

ALUMNI NEWS

We find CEE alumni all around the world

Professor Bill Spencer (right) met with C.K. Choi (MS 70, PhD 73), professor emeritus at KAIST, while attending the 2017 World Congress on Advances in Structural Engineering and Mechanics in August in Seoul, South Korea. Spencer gave him the sesquicentennial pin, which he is wearing in the above photo. Choi noted that he has several Illini in his family. His wife, Youngsoon Park, was a 1978 Linguistics alumna; his son, Young Chul Choi (PhD 05) is a CEE alumnus; and his daughter-in-law, Bogeoyng Kim, is a 2011 Linguistics graduate.

2010s Michael G. Kehoe (BS10) is the Founder and Executive Director of Johego, a nonprofit tech startup helping social workers, police officers and other public servants more efficiently connect people in need with essential services. The company uses data science and grassroots community organizing to prioritize, collect and verify information that is needed most by social service professionals, then delivers this information in the form of a free smartphone application that helps users connect people in need Michael Kehoe with services: overnight shelter, medical assistance, mental health treatment and more. Kehoe spoke to students September 6 in the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center as part of the department’s alumni speaker series. Johego is the winner of Washington University’s Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition.

In September, department head Benito Mariñas (right) met with CEE alumnus Arthur Chu (MS 88), owner of Shin Chang Natural Gas Co. in Taiwan.

vice to the organization. As a member of the Engineers’ Club for the past 13 years, he has served on the Board of Directors and currently chairs the Fellowship Committee – a position he has held for the past eight years. Tony F. Shkurti (PhD 98) was sworn in as the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois President at the organization’s awards dinner on June 3. Shkurti is a Fellow, Associate Vice Tony Shkurti President and Great Lakes Lead Bridge Engineer for HNTB.

1980s

1990s

William F. Baker (MS 80) has been awarded the 2017 John F. Parmer Award. He is best known for the development of the “buttressed core” structural system for the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest manmade structure. His expertise also extends to long-span roof structures and specialty structures such as the Broadgate Exchange House in London and the Entrance Pavilion for General Motors’ Headquarters in Detroit.

Brian S. Heil, PE (BS 96, MS 97), project manager for Oates Associates, received a Merit Award from the Engineers’ Club of St. Louis in honor of his distinguished ser-

Douglas W. Rommelmann (BS 80) has joined Bracewell LLP’s Houston, Texas office as a partner in the firm’s intellectual property practice.

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1970s John R. Wolosick, PE, DGE (BS 78, MS 79) of Hayward Baker Inc., has received an Engineer of the Year in Industry Award from the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers. Wolosick is the director of engineering at Hayward Baker’s Atlanta office, where he is responsible for engineering design and business development support for HBI’s offices nationwide. Wolosick is the immediate past president of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), an international association of more over 3,300 contractors, engineers, suppliers, academics and owners in the deep foundations industry.

1960s Thomas F. Larwin (BS 65), retired from a 50-year career in transportation engineering, is a 2017 Tom Larwin Illini Homecoming Comeback guest. He began his professional career as a civil engineer in the U.S. Army at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. He enjoyed a 27-year career with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, where he led the development of the nation’s first modern light rail transit system – the San Diego Trolley – and also managed area bus services, taxicab regulation and a short-line railroad. He recently completed three years as president of the Illini Club of San Diego.

ALUMNI NEWS

CEE Alumni Association hosts its first tailgate The CEE Alumni Association (CEEAA) hosted its first-ever tailgate on October 14 in Grange Grove at Memorial Stadium. CEE alumni, faculty, staff, students and guests enjoyed brunch before the game against Rutgers. Additional photos are available on the department’s Facebook page, facebook. com/ceeatillinois.

CEE alum and Ph.D. student Scott Banjavcic (BS 08, MS 09), carrying Samuel Lewis, the son of Justin and Meagan Lewis, pictured below.

CEE would like to thank Bowman Barrett & Associates and Mott MacDonald for sponsoring students to attend the CEE Tailgate! CEE is deeply grateful for their generosity.

Above, CEEAA board member Justin Lewis (BS 07, MS 08), center, with his wife, Meagan, and their daughter, Erin. At left, CEEAA board members Mike Vitale (BS 82, MS 84) and Colleen Quinn (BS 84), CEEAA board president.

Above, CEE Professor and Head Benito Mariñas, center, with Paul Koch (BS 66, MS 68), left, and Paul’s wife, Barbara. At left, CEE board members Paula Pienton (BS 85), left, and John Kos (BS 77), third from left, with their spouses Chris and Catherine. Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 37

OH, WHAT A

DIFFERENCE YOU’VE MADE Your generous support of the department has a tremendous impact on our students. Here are some of the ways you helped during the past year.

Grainger Foundation matching challenge pays almost $400,000 to CEE at Illinois This is a particularly impactful time for giving to the CEE Engineering Visionary Scholarship fund or any other endowed scholarship in the department: the Grainger Foundation has pledged to match all donations to engineering scholarship endowments, dollar-for-dollar up to $25 million through December 2019. During the past fiscal year, donors have given $398,283 to qualifying scholarships, which means the department will receive an equal amount from the Grainger Foundation. If you are interested in learning more about the Grainger Foundation match challenge and how you can make a gift to a qualifying scholarship, please contact a member of our Advancement team: John Kelley, Director of Advancement (217) 333-5120, jekelley@illinois.edu Nishant Makhijani, Assistant Director of Advancement (217) 265-0407, nishantm@illinois.edu

DAVID WICHMAN Senior, Engineering Visionary Scholarship recipient “Attending one of the top Civil and Environmental programs in the nation has been life-changing because I’ve been pushed to grow in so many ways as a student and as a professional. The financial support provided by donors has allowed me to take advantage of so many opportunities that are preparing me to one day use my talents to make a difference in the world. The scholarship is not only a resource helping me to continue my education, but is also an assurance that what I aim to be a part of is bigger than myself.”

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Research Experience for Undergraduates In 2017, 64 undergraduate students have had the opportunity to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, doing hands-on research years before graduate school. Most of the funding for the REU program comes from the CEE Trust, which is a pool of funds largely supported by alumni gifts.

Why I give, and why I support the Research Experience for Undergraduates program by DEAN ARNOLD (MS 72) With 34 years of professional experience working for W.E. O’Neil Construction Company in Chicago, and being motivated by their support of CEE at Illinois through hiring and scholarships, I wanted to find a way to give back to the Department. Working with the Advancement team to consider options, I decided to fund an endowment that supports two REUs per year. The experience has been most rewarding. Professors have been very gracious in organizing REU student presentations for me, where the students present the state of the art research they are participating in. All presentations covered current societal problems requiring solutions, such as innovative 3D modeling of soil retention for a major city transit center, identifying deficient design methods to resist structural damage from tornado induced uplift, modeling and quantifying of construction sites utilizing drones, and creative water pipe balancing methods. I cannot think of a better way to give back. What better way to encourage and support inquiring minds in a continual quest for knowledge and solutions? What better way to support the University of Illinois—an unparalleled research institution that is a wonderful asset to the State of Illinois, the Midwest and to our country? How can one not give back and support it?

“I cannot think of a better way to give back.”

GABRIELLE BETHKE Senior, REU program participant “I am thrilled to have participated in the Research Experience for Undergraduates program in CEE during the summer of 2017. My experience working with Professor Stillwell and Reshmina William (BS 14, MS 15) on models of green stormwater infrastructure was instrumental in my decision to pursue a graduate degree in Energy Water Sustainability. I am extremely grateful to Professor Stillwell for her continued support and to the donors who make this important program possible.”

451 203

Scholarships, Awards and Fellowships Thanks to donor gifts, CEE at Illinois was able to give scholarships and awards to 108 students, and another 29 received Engineering Visionary Scholarships. In addition, more than 30 graduate students hold fellowships, enabling them to pursue academic goals and research interests without financial worry.

611

The CEE Trust Fund, which supports various department initiatives (including scholarships, undergraduate research programs, student activities and field trips, and faculty research), benefitted from 451 gifts last year. Gifts play an essential role in funding the modernization project. To date, 203 donors have made gifts to the project. The number increases when taking pledges into consideration.

A total of 611 alumni gave to the department last year, with an average gift of $594.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 39

RACHEL VON GNECHTEN

Maidment Fellow in Hydrosystems Engineering B.C. Yen Memorial Fellow When she’s not exploring Urbana and on-campus extracurricular activities, graduate student Rachel von Gnechten keeps busy researching global food security issues as part of assistant professor Megan Konar’s research group. This type of research is exactly what she was seeking in regard to her educational goals. The Arizona-native also wanted to attend an out-of-state school in order to expand her horizons. Without fellowship funding, von Gnechten said that an out-of-state school would not have been an option. “This fellowship made attending [Illinois] feasible,” she said. “It is one thing to have my academic costs addressed, but the fellowship assists with living expenses and fees so I can focus upon my studies and research.” The funding she has received means she will have the time and flexibility to get involved with extra-curricular activi-

ties, including tutoring. “I have always valued education and I intend on making time to tutor younger students to help them reach their goals,” she said. “It means a lot to me that someone believed enough in the idea of investing in a student to help them achieve their educational goals and I would like to continue that generosity.” Von Gnechten is the first recipient of the Maidment Fellowship, which was established by David (MS 74, PhD 76) and Helen Maidment to celebrate their graduate education at Illinois. Von Gnechten also received funds from the Ben Chie Yen Memorial Fellowship, which was established in honor of former CEE faculty member Ben Chie Yen. The fellowship was funded by his wife, Ruth, and many former students and professional colleagues, who saw him as a respected mentor, teacher and researcher.

“My fellowship makes it possible for me to focus my time and energy on the reasons I chose to attend [Illinois] – namely, the research and faculty.”

BRYCE MAZUROWSKI

Alfredo and Myrtle Mae Ang Fellow

“Being notified that I had received the fellowship was an amazing feeling. It took a huge weight off of my shoulders.”

cee.illinois.edu

Bryce Mazurowski loves taking things apart and putting them back together again. Over the years cars, computers and machinery have been targets of his curiosity. As he reconstructs, he finds it fun and rewarding to see what kind of impact design decisions can have on real life systems. It’s not too surprising, then, that he selected structural engineering for his graduate studies. But making the move from New York, where he did his undergraduate studies, was a big decision. “Receiving this fellowship was a major reason for joining the CEE department at Illinois,” Mazurowski said. “I had opportunities to take jobs and even offers from other schools. I knew that Illinois was where I wanted to go, but I needed to justify the move from New York – and turning down careers – to continue school. This fellowship, the caliber of the program, and the research I am involved in made this possible.”

The Alfredo and Myrtle Mae Ang Fellowship was established to support graduate students majoring in structural engineering and structural mechanics. Ang (MS 57, PhD 59), who served on the CEE faculty for over 30 years, designated that recipients be selected based upon scholarship and research capabilities. Receiving the fellowship is allowing Mazurowski to focus on his studies and participate in research without the burden of a job. This has freed up his time to take more classes and set himself up for success in the coming years. He hopes to one day be in a position to do the same for someone else. “Being notified that I had received the fellowship was an amazing feeling. It took a huge weight off of my shoulders,” he said. “Having been on the receiving end of that sheds a little light on [the idea of paying it forward]. I would love to be the reason someone else gets to experience that feeling.”

Corporate support Corporate sponsorships support department events and student projects and activities throughout the year. Additionally, companies recruit CEE at Illinois students for full-time positions and internships during CEE Job Fairs. 82 companies attended the Fall 2016 Job Fair, and 74 companies attended in Spring 2017.

The Gift of Time Throughout the past year, alumni have given generously of their time to help students further their education and learn about real-world engineering. Whether through participation in on-campus events like Backpack to Briefcase and guest lectures, or hosting students at corporate offices and project sites, the gift of alumni time is an invaluable part of the student experience at CEE at Illinois. One example of such a gift occurred in December 2016, when alumnus Marcelo Suarez (MS 2015) of Hanson Professional Services, below in the white hard hat, hosted current undergraduate and graduate RailTEC students on a site visit to a BNSF Railway capacity expansion project in Kelso, Wash.

Making a planned gift Planned giving can be as simple as using the following language in your will or trust, or on IRA or other beneficiary forms: “I/we leave [% of estate, $ amount, or residue of estate] to the University of Illinois Foundation (Tax ID 37-6006007) to increase educational opportunities for students and increase academic excellence in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.” If you would like to designate your future gift for scholarships, fellowships or another specific area of interest to you, or would simply like to discuss giving options, please contact our Advancement Team: John Kelley, Director of Advancement, (217) 333-5120, jekelley@ illinois.edu or Nishant Makhijani, Assistant Director of Advancement, (217) 265-0407, nishantm@illinois.edu.

Planned gift supports professorships The late Colonel Harry F. Lovell (BS 32) was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Illinois, and upon graduation served in the U.S. Army Reserve until World War II, when he was called to active duty and deployed to the Philippines and Japan. After the war, he joined the Army Corps of Engineers and served until his retirement in 1961. Colonel Lovell passed away in 2005. Colonel Lovell was a generous supporter of CEE at Illinois through the Colonel Harry F. Lovell and Frankie M. Lovell Endowment Fund, which was established in 2000 through a combination of annuities and estate gifts. Through the years, the Lovell fund has been used to promote and enhance academic excellence, in part through the establishment of a professorship. Professors Ximing Cai and Praveen Kumar both hold the Colonel Harry F. and Frankie M. Lovell Endowed Professorship. “I’m honored to be Colonel Harry F. and Frankie M. Lovell Endowed Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering,” said Cai, who was awarded the professorship in 2014. “The financial support has helped my group to continue active research on pressing water resources management problems and generate significant outcomes that may lead to more sustainable Ximing Cai food, water and energy systems around the globe.” “The endowed professorship has helped me to engage internationally in critical research in the context of complex hydrologic systems,” said Kumar, who was invested in 2012. “I have had the opportunity to provide leadership in a large water sustainability project Praveen Kumar in India to address perplexing challenges associated with multi-dimensional facets of water scarcity, floods, human health, urban water systems and agriculture in a large populous country. I have also developed a partnership in China to study the sustainability of Gully Consolidation Project, an effort by China to create farmland by filling gullies in the loess plateau to provide for socioeconomic growth in the region. These efforts have extended the impact of CEE at Illinois across international boundaries.”

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Winter 2018 41

PRINCIPAL PARTNERS

LEGACY PARTNERS

CORPORATE PARTNERS PROGRAM The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering gratefully acknowledges the following companies who contribute to CEE at Illinois as Corporate Partners. For information about the program, visit cee.illinois.edu/cpp.

CEE at Illinois gratefully thanks the lunch sponsors for its fall 2017 Job Fair Civiltech Engineering Hayward Baker The Lane Construction Corp

cee.illinois.edu

Excellence. Flexibility. Illinois. New online courses are always being added! Find out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new at cee.illinois.edu/ceeonline.

Quintessential Engineers

The next generation of women in civil and environmental engineering has arrived. More than one-third (34 percent) of the incoming CEE at Illinois freshman class is comprised of women, making this the highest percentage of freshmen women in CEE history (though not by much: the 1998 and 2001 freshman classes were 33 percent women). The beginning of the semester is an especially busy time for students, but about half of the freshman women were able to gather for a group photo around the new Quintessential Engineer statue.

ntial pose.

e Quintesse

Practicing th

Winter 2018 43

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

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 75 Champaign, IL 61820