CEE
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering College of Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Spring 2016
Renewal Plans coalesce for CEE’s modernization Alumni news and features
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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 cee.illinois.edu
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CEE
4 Making connections/Benito Mariñas 7 Living the dream/Allen J. Staron (BS 74) 8 BUILD CEE: The plan to modernize CEE at Illinois 9 Why I give: Alumni explain their support of CEE’s modernization
16 Research Reciprocity: 10 years of transportation impact
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20 STEM initiative encourages under-represented students 21 New life-cycle assessment tool for transportation assets 22 CEE’s profs help shape campus program on societal challenges 23 Construction of Sacramento arena using drone monitoring 24 Alumni Q&A: David Maidment (MS 74, PhD 76) 26 Bond invested as Newmark Professor 27 Grad student’s ties to a Mexican icon strengthen at Illinois 28 It’s kind of like Google street view for waterways 29 Team documents impact of Midwest flood 27
30 2016 CEE alumni awards 32 2016 CEE student awards 34 Former Irish president speaks on campus 35 Department news 38 Alumni news 41 In memoriam 43 Parting shot: Meet Baby Nuoyi
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11 Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 3
Making connections By Benito Mari単as Ivan Racheff Professor of Environmental Engineering and Head
CEE Modernization Plan state-of-the-art classrooms hands-on, upgraded laboratories collaborative spaces ADA compliance expansive lobby modernized exterior support for innovative instructional methods smart bridge connecting buildings 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 Hydrosystems and Newmark labs. Work on the project will be funded through 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 for classrooms, labs, student spaces and meeting rooms are available. To support this effort, please contact: Benito Mari単as, Department Head, (217) 333-6961, marinas@illinois.edu John Kelley, Director of Advancement, (217) 333-5120, jekelley@illinois.edu Nishant Makhijani, Assistant Dir. of Advancement, (217) 265-0407, nishantm@illinois.edu or visit cee.illinois.edu/give.
Help shape the future of CEE at Illinois. cee.illinois.edu/give 4
cee.illinois.edu
Many of you have been asking how I feel after my first year as permanent Head of CEE at Illinois. It has been without a doubt the most rewarding year of my academic career! Though I am undoubtedly busier with department management, leadership activities and events hosting while stubbornly retaining my teaching and research interactions with my advisees, there is one key task that keeps me especially energized: meeting and getting to know you, CEE at Illinois alumni and friends, and learning about the amazing things that you are doing or have done. As I travel around the U.S. and the world I have had the opportunity to meet with approximately 250 of you in places such as Austin, Texas; Bogota, Colombia; Champaign-Urbana; Chicagoland; Hong Kong; London; Macau; New York; the Chinese cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Suzhou; Honolulu, Hawaii; Singapore; Springfield, Ill.; Taipei, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; and Washington, D.C. Several of you whom I visited have followed up with a subsequent campus visit, in some cases after decades away since graduation or your last visit, to reminisce about school years, reconnect with a transformed campus, interact with students and faculty, learn about our plans, and explore and commit to support CEE at Illinois in a variety of ways. We have enjoyed very much learning about your Illinois experience and why it is important for each of you to remain connected to Illinois. From our side, students and faculty surely benefit greatly from getting to know you as leaders of the CEE profession and learning about the extraordinary things that you are doing or have done as builders of our civilization and stewards of our environment. I plan to continue traveling through-
Now, you might be wondering why I feel this pressing need to have you connect with us; the overarching reason is that our students and faculty would benefit greatly. out the U.S. and the world during the rest of my tenure as Department Head of CEE at Illinois, but I need help to reach all of you interested in meeting with me. Even if I continue traveling at the same rate as that during my first year, it would mean that I would not be able to meet even 10 percent of our alumni and friends, so I would very much welcome your thoughts and recommendations on how to overcome this limitation. We now have a superb CEE at Illinois Advancement Team, which we call the A-Team, who with their colleagues at the College of Engineering and campus could help implement your recommendations and make us more effective in connecting the entire CEE at Illinois family. Now, you might be wondering why I feel this pressing need to have you connect with us. The overarching reason is that our students and faculty would benefit greatly. For example, we are organizing a Global CEE at Illinois Leadership Seminar for our senior students by expanding the course CEE 495 Professional Practice from a semester to a year-long experience. Our students will benefit from learning about the extraordinary things that our alumni and friends are doing to better our world. We have done a limited pilot effort this spring, and it has been fantastic. So, I will be inviting many of you to participate. Another key reason for you to connect with us is that, very simply, we need your help. We are at a critical juncture in the department’s history. Civil and environmental engineering has changed, and in order to continue to prepare the CEE leaders of tomorrow, in order to retain our reputation as the number one CEE department in the nation, we need to change too. Our world-class faculty are revolutionizing the curriculum, introducing methods of instruction and
topics for research that both meet society’s needs, and excite and energize our students. Our facilities must keep pace; hence our ambitious plan to modernize. Private philanthropy is key to the success of the CEE Modernization Plan. What I ask today is that each of you think about how your personal philanthropic goals might be realized with a contribution to the modernization. Are you interested in honoring legendary alumni, friends or faculty of CEE at Illinois through a contribution to name a classroom, instructional lab, design studio or other space? Could you perhaps make a lead gift, designed to inspire your fellow alumni to give as well? Beginning on page 9 of this issue of the CEE magazine, you can read the words of some of your fellow alumni who have already made contributions to the project. Their words are compelling, because they speak of the love for their Alma Mater and for their profession that all of you share. Next year, 2017, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will celebrate its sesquicentennial. As one of the original departments in the University, CEE at Illinois also will celebrate 150 years of educating engineers—those who built our world’s infrastructure and those who continue to improve it. What better time to make a gift to help us ensure that the department will be as preeminent in the next 150 years as it has been since this great University was founded? Please contact me if you would like to discuss what role you might play in the success of the CEE Modernization Plan. I look very much forward, with Orange and Blue pride, to continuing my quest to meet as many CEE alumni around the world as I am able to during my time as Head. As always, my deepest thanks for your support, and go Illini!i
Next year, 2017, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will celebrate its sesquicentennial. As one of the original departments in the University, CEE at Illinois also will celebrate 150 years of educating engineers— those who built our world’s infrastructure and those who continue to improve it.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 5
ALUMNIEVENTS 2016
MAY 26
JUNE 7
JULY 14
AUGUST 26
Springfield Social Hour Networking event to kick off Memorial Day weekend, with great food and drinks. Island Bay Yacht Club, Springfield, IL
CEE Beer Tasting Happy hour featuring brew samples and appetizers, with CEE faculty and staff. Revolution Brewery, Chicago, IL
CEE Golf Outing Day of golfing with fellow alumni, business associates, and CEE faculty and staff. Gleneagles Country Club, Lemont, IL
Chicago River Boat Tour Social hour and boat tour along the Chicago River, highlighting CEE contributions to the city’s development. Chicago, IL
Find out more about these upcoming events at
cee.illinois.edu/events
CEEAA Board of Directors President Allen J. Staron, P.E., (BS 74) Clark Dietz Inc. Chicago Vice President Colleen E. Quinn, P.E., (BS 84) Ricondo & Associates Inc. Chicago Second Vice President and Secretary John P. Kos, P.E., (BS 77) H.W. Lochner Past President Tracy K. Lundin, P.E., (BS 80, MS 82) Fermilab Batavia, Illinois Directors David Byrd, P.E., (BS 01, MS 06) EFI Global Inc. Addison, Illinois Daniel F. Burke (BS 92, MS 93) City of Chicago DOT Chicago Nick Canellis (BS 94) Turner Construction Chicago Lynne E. Chicoine, P.E., (BS 78, MS 80) CH2M HILL Portland, Oregon John E. Conroyd, P.E., S.E., (BS 83, MS 85) Tishman Realty & Construction Co. 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 Dana B. Mehlman, P.E., (BS 99, MS 01) PCS Administration (USA) Inc. Northbrook, Illinois Paula C. Pienton, P.E., S.E., (BS 85) T.Y. Lin International Group Chicago Frank Powers, P.E., S.E., (BS 82, MS 83) H.W. Lochner Inc. 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 C. Wayne Swafford, P.E., S.E., (BS 78, MS 82) Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. Oakland, California Scott Trotter, P.E., (BS 90) Trotter and Associates Inc. Saint Charles, Illinois Daniel J. Whalen, P.E., (BS 84, MS 85) Hanson Professional Services Inc. Springfield
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cee.illinois.edu
CEE ALUMNI EVENT, SHANGHAI, MAY 2015
Living the dream By Allen J. Staron, P.E., (BS 74) President, CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors
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016 is moving along rapidly. The Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association (CEEAA) recently held its annual dinner meeting in Chicago honoring distinguished alumni and their achievements. I hope that you were able to join in the festivities. I look forward to seeing you at future 2016 events in Springfield and Chicago. This fall will mark the end of my term as President of the CEEAA Board of Directors. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as President for the past two years and as a Director since 2004. Over the years I have come to understand that CEEAA events and programs do not happen without the dedication and commitment of all the board directors and CEE department staff. I would especially like to thank Jamie Byrum and Celeste Arbogast for their tremendous work. Every organization would be lucky to have talented and dedicated individuals like Jamie and Celeste. Jamie is leaving the CEE department in May to relocate to Texas. On behalf of the entire board, I wish Jamie well in her new adventure; she will be missed by all. A special thank you to my predecessor, Tracy Lundin for his mentoring and support; I wish you the best as you leave the board after many years of dedicated service. When asked about my time on the Board of Directors and what I have learned, I inevitably marvel at the overall excellence of the CEE department. What is amazing is that this excellence lies not in having just one special research project or discipline, rather it is the sustained excellence over a broad range of disciplines extending from generation to generation. It seems that the CEE department has somehow been able to master the ability to transition leadership, attract and retain top faculty and students, perform meaningful research, develop engineering leaders, and send them out into the world to make their mark. I am humbled to be a small part of the CEE continuum and often wonder how I was so lucky to find and work my way through the University of Illinois. I have indeed been blessed with the opportunity of “Living The Dream” as fellow board director Frank Powers says. Of all the “Frankisms,” this
one resonates the most for me. In many ways the University of Illinois was, and I feel still is, a place where sons and daughters of immigrants lay the foundation of their American dream. For me it began with my grandparents, Joe and Josephine. In the early 1900s, while still in their teens, they traveled nearly 5,000 miles from separate small towns in Poland only to meet, of course, in Chicago and then to begin their American dream. Their journey together lasted over 75 years (that is a story for another time). My grandmother often told me to get a good education and that someday you could be president. Attending the University of Illinois and earning a degree in civil engineering was not just a good education, it was a great education. Now about becoming president; I always thought she was referring to President of the United States, but perhaps serving as President of the CEEAA Board has its own prestige that suits me better. The University of Illinois provided me the opportunity to live my dream and also advance the hopes and dreams that my grandparents forged nearly 100 years ago. As a Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate I feel that I have a responsibility to help the department sustain its excellence and assure that future generations of students have the opportunity to achieve their dreams like I did. I challenge each of you to examine how you can do likewise, how you can give back. Look at how you can reconnect with the talented faculty and their research. Hire interns and graduates to staff your organizations. Make a regular financial commitment to advance the CEE mission. Remember that to those that have been given much, much is expected. Lastly, I wish to thank everyone for their kindness, help and commitment over the past two years. It was indeed an honor to represent the civil and environmental alumni of the University of Illinois. I ask you to extend the same kindness and enthusiasm to our incoming president, Colleen Quinn. Colleen is a talented airport engineer/project manager and an even better person; expect great things. GO ILLINI! i
Look at how you can reconnect with the talented faculty and their research. Hire interns and graduates to staff your organizations. Make a regular financial commitment to advance the CEE mission. Remember that to those that have been given much, much is expected.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 7
BUILD
CEE The future of our educational and research missions requires a significant modernization of our facilities. We are modernizing the facilities in order to revolutionize the curriculum. —Benito Mariñas, Professor and Head
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cee.illinois.edu
The Plan to Modernize CEE at Illinois CEE at Illinois has embarked on a comprehensive plan to modernize our infrastructure to improve the student experience and facilitate innovative and emerging instructional methods. Engineering education is changing. Our faculty are designing classes with more group and project work, the innovative use of technology and hands-on experiences that excite and motivate our students and prepare them to be leaders in industry and academia. The four-phase CEE Modernization Plan began with the construction of the Yeh Student Center (Phase I), continues with an extensive upgrade to the Hydrosystems Laboratory building (Phase II) and will end with the expansion and subsequent renovation (Phases III and IV) of Newmark Lab. Private philanthropy will be key to the realization of this project. The goal of the current project is to provide classroom and laboratory space to support innovative and emerging instructional
methods, such as hands-on, project-based, technology-focused, and group learning. The hydrosystems bay will remain and continue to serve at the forefront of research in water resources science and engineering. The south portion of the building will be demolished to make way for a new addition featuring instructional labs, classrooms, and collaborative areas for faculty and students. Although located in the Hydro Lab, the new space will be utilized by students and faculty in all of the department’s areas of study, including the new cross-cutting areas. A smaller, three-story addition will be added onto Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory to the south, and a new landmark smart bridge will be constructed to connect the buildings and serve as an instructional tool. The CEE Smart Bridge will be a living laboratory featuring the latest innovations in infrastructure sensing and sustainable energy and environmental design options.
Christina Kochanski Drouet (BS 79) Modernization Plan donor Deputy Regional Administrator Federal Aviation Administration Great Lakes Region
Fully functional as an instructional tool, the bridge will be used to teach students about the effects of dynamic forces on the built infrastructure. It will also serve as a unifying element for faculty and students from all of the department’s areas of study. “Our hope is that the bridge will become a new north campus landmark – a source of inspiration and pride for current students and returning alumni that communicates the department’s preeminence,” said Associate Professor Liang Liu, Associate Dean of Facilities and Capital Planning for the College of Engineering. Alumni and friends have many opportunities to invest directly in the student and faculty experience of our department and its continued excellence. You can support the project by directing gifts to the CEE Modernization Fund to provide classrooms, labs, student space and meeting rooms. This can be accomplished through outright cash gifts, pledges, company matching gifts, or in-kind donations of equipment, materials or other assets. If you have an interest in supporting CEE’s facilities in the future through your estate, please contact our advancement office. All donors will be recognized within the new spaces.
I attended U of I in the late 1970’s – when things like “STEM” existed, but didn’t have a tag. There was not widespread conscious awareness that women and minorities were underrepresented in those fields. Female enrollment in traditionally male fields such as medicine and law were visibly on the rise, however the more technical professions were not garnering attention. When I applied to colleges, I didn’t give much thought to what the world around me expected me to study or become (it was not engineering). At U of I, I found an environment that wanted to provide all its students opportunity to learn and excel. Faculty was openminded and encouraging. It really was idyllic, in that I felt none of the bias or barriers that I later experienced as a professional. The education I received provided infinite opportunity for me to pursue a challenging and satisfying career. The environment provided me the confidence to set forth on that career. The world seems to have changed several times over since I graduated. By supporting U of I financially over the years, I know students will find those same open minds and opportunities to create themselves, and become the civil engineers that our society will always need.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 9
Lyle W. Hughart (BS 60) Modernization Plan donor Hughart Family Ltd. Partnership Retired General Partner Plainfield, Illinois
In my estate plan, I have arranged for two scholarships for engineers and a Chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. After touring the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Building and looking at the CEE buildings I decided that the residual of my estate should go to the CEE department for their building plans of the future. My degree in Civil Engineering, Structures, was instrumental in obtaining a good job when I graduated in 1960 and to holding good jobs through the rest of my working life. It has always been my goal to help the CEE department at some time in my life. I am fortunate to be able to accomplish that goal.
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cee.illinois.edu/give
David A. Tayabji (BS 05)
Modernization Plan donor Magnusson Klemencic Associates Associate Seattle
The CEE department is on the leading edge of research and development and has produced some of the best and brightest leaders in our profession. In order to continue with this tradition of excellence, it’s important to continually invest in the department’s infrastructure. While I have fond memories of Newmark Lab, it was unfortunate that so many classes and student group meetings had to be held in other buildings on campus. The new facilities in the Yeh Student Center are a significant improvement to Newmark Lab and a great first step in the modernization plan. I donated to the CEE Modernization Fund so the department can continue its investment to improve the student experience. These improvements will strengthen the department’s ability to attract the top engineering students. I firmly believe today’s Illinois CEE students are tomorrow’s leaders. I encourage all my fellow alumni to contribute.
Rory Polera (BS 09)
Modernization Plan donor Oasys Water Inc. Field Engineer Boston “After working in China in 2015 and coincidentally attending the CEE outreach event in Shanghai, I was reminded how proud I am to be an alumnus of CEE at Illinois. The presence and reputation CEE at Illinois has built around the world is incredibly impressive. Many thanks go to the students, faculty and staff for creating, leading and supporting life changing opportunities for which as a student, I am forever grateful.
Since graduating in 2009, I have slightly lost touch with what helped shape my career aspirations – my experience as an undergraduate student in CEE. From undergraduate research to the coursework that included a design project with a partner university in Mexico, the department exposed me to much more than just the technical training and skills required of a civil/environmental engineer. As a way to say thanks, I donated to the department and their modernization plans. Whether it’s small or large, I encourage you to do the same in hopes future students will benefit from the same programs and opportunities that we have.”
I hope that, when realized, the modernization will continue to attract excellent students and world-class educators/researchers to study and contribute at Illinois, thus continuing the tradition of excellence CEE at Illinois has had for a long time.
Tjen Tjhin (MS 99, PhD 04) Modernization Plan donor Senior Bridge Engineer COWI Bridge North America Canada
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 11
Technology-enhanced classrooms will create a more dynamic learning environment, allowing students to work with state-of-the-art software and visualize the implications of design decisions in real-time. —Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest
Physical testing and experiments are very relevant, and affording that opportunity to our students is very important. That’s going to give them an edge compared to the education students receive at other schools. —Professor Marcelo García
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cee.illinois.edu/give
John Carrato (BS 79, MS 80) Modernization Plan donor President & CEO Alfred Benesch & Company
Karen and I are thrilled to be able to support the CEE Modernization Plan. The education I received from the CEE Department has been integral to the success of my career. I learned from some of the best professors in the world. We are proud that our son Tommy was able to receive the same excellent education from the Department. This can only happen if alumni continue to support the Department in their efforts to stay on the leading edge of education and research. It has been great to see the positive impact that the Yeh Center has had and we are sure this next phase will be even more impactful.
Carrie Desmond (BS 12) Modernization Plan donor WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Engineer II – Transit & Rail Chicago
When I started at the University of Illinois, the Yeh Student Center hadn’t been built yet and the CEE students didn’t really have a suitable home base for classes, meeting, studying or socializing. The Yeh Student Center opened my senior year and completely revolutionized the atmosphere of the department. We no longer had to rush from one edge of campus to the next between classes. The atriums became the place to relax or study, and anytime you set up there you ran into someone you knew. It completely changed the social framework and student experience of CEE for the better. I donated to the CEE Modernization Fund in hopes that the next phase of plans has as significant an impact or better on the next round of students. It’s very exciting to see the plans for the bridge, that students are involved in the conceptual design and that the bridge will serve as a living lab too. I can’t wait to come see it when it’s done!
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 13
David Byrd, P.E. (BS 01, MS 06) Modernization Plan donor Director of Business Development Blinderman Construction Co. Greater Chicago Area
My gifts to the CEE’s modernization plan have supported the past construction of the Yeh Student Center (Phase 1, complete!) and the current effort involving extensive upgrades to the Hydrosystems Lab (Phase 2). These gifts symbolize my support to the department and its students in their pursuit of providing and receiving the finest education offered to the next generation of Civil Engineers. As Illinois alumni, we have all benefited from the top tier education and experience the department has given us during our time on campus. It is incumbent upon us to support CEE in its modernization efforts to ensure the department is positioned to offer the next generation of students the opportunity to learn about, research, and solve the future problems our communities will encounter. I encourage all alumni to join me in support of the CEE department in its modernization efforts!
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cee.illinois.edu/give
Gennaro G. Marino (PhD 85)
Modernization Plan donor President, Marino Engineering Associates Inc. St. Louis, Missouri As a proud graduate of the University of Illinois engineering college, I was pleased to contribute to the CEE Modernization Plan. My engineering degree has served me well in my endeavors as a Geotechnical Engineer and regardless of where I travel in my business, the U of I is recognized as a world class engineering college by my colleagues and clients. I am proud to have my degree from the U of I. The CEE Modernization Plan continues the long tradition of excellence in the college by providing future engineers the tools and educational environment required to compete in today’s fast-paced and highly technical engineering world. The University of Illinois Civil and Environmental Engineering department is leading the way into the future, one engineer at a time.
Kelley, Makhijani join CEE as fundraisers Two new Major Gift Officers (MGOs) joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in January. John E. Kelley, Director of Advancement, and Nishant Makhijani, Assistant Director of Advancement, are both familiar faces to the CEE family. Kelley worked as CEE’s Director of Advancement from 2006-2012. Makhijani is a former CEE student, having graduated with his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2014. “We are delighted to welcome John and Nishant to CEE’s advancement team,” said Benito Mariñas, professor and Head. “We have much work to do in the coming year, securing gifts and pledges for Phase II of our CEE Modernization Plan, the expansion of the Hydro Lab. I look forward to working alongside John and Nishant to make contact with our alumni and secure their support for this exciting, muchneeded project.” Kelley returns to CEE after a three-year stint in engineering administration as Director of Advancement Operations. His accomplishments include serving as the department’s sole MGO during the fundraising phase for the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center in Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory. “Professor Mariñas has a bold vision for the future of the department and is passionate about making it a reality,” Kelley said. “The best part of advancement is working directly with alumni and friends to help them realize their philanthropic objectives as they invest in students and
Please make a gift today Gifts of all sizes will be needed to achieve our goal, but at this time, as we determine the scope of Phase II, leadership gifts and pledges are most critical.
cee.illinois.edu/give
faculty. It is an honor to call CEE home once again.” During his time as a CEE student, Makhijani was involved in numerous alumni outreach activities such as networking events and hosting tours during Homecoming and Engineering Open House. He was a student leader in the department, serving on the CEE Student Committee and as president of the U.S. Green Building Council student chapter. After graduation, Makhijani worked on campus at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and the Environment before returning to CEE, this time as staff. “I am excited to come back home to CEE and work with alumni and friends to empower faculty and students to work on innovative projects that will solve the grand challenges of engineering,” Makhijani said. i At right, John Kelley, left, and Nishant Makhijani (BS 14) pose in front of the Yeh Center.
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Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 15
RESEARCH RECIPROCITY A ten-year partnership between the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology and the Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hare Modernization Program has benefited the city of Chicago as much as it has the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR AIRPORT TECHNOLOGY
“The idea of having universities partnering with major infrastructure programs… that is a winner.”
F
or ten years, the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) has partnered with the O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP) to conduct multidisciplinary research on a broad range of topics that impact O’Hare International Airport. Although the scope of the project has changed during the course of the partnership, and continues to evolve, the arrangement has proven beneficial to both partners. CEAT is a research center in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (CEE at Illinois), originally established in 1995 by the Federal Aviation Administration to focus on airport pavement improvement and safety issues, including wildlife, anti-icing and lighting. In 2005, CEAT established a partnership with the OMP, an $8 billion program to add and extend runways, increase efficiency, reduce delays and increase capacity for future aviation needs at O’Hare. The partnership, which is renewed annually, was created to target technical issues related to runway construction. CEE at Illinois Professor David Lange, director of CEAT, said that on projects that
are so expensive, making informed decisions is especially important and partnering with university researchers makes sense in light of that. “If we partner and we can inform some of these decisions, find out more about the situation, find out more possibilities, we actually reduce risk through research,” Lange said. “And that allows us to refine some of the engineered solutions and thus save money.” The value of research-informed decisions was apparent from the outset of the partnership. Early successes in the partnership involved ecosystems rebuilt after construction. Collaboration between CEAT and the Department of Horticulture led to a new approach in landscaping using hardy, wildlife-repellant grasses that survive in poor quality soil. This method negated the necessity of trucking in loads of fresh high quality topsoil, which was a large expense. Airport safety was also improved because the unpalatable vegetation reduced wildlife attracted to the airport. Lange estimates that the OMP saved $2 million by implementing this approach. Another early example of success involved lime stabilization of soil—research developed by CEE at Illinois Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson—which was used to combat muddy conditions on the work site during the rainy season and prevented work stoppages. “Those kinds of things were quite powerful evidence that there were ideas that could be The research team’s mobile research laboratory with aircraft brought to bear that passing the instrumented taxiway.
Professor David Lange, director of the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology. would really save money. So every year they gave us money for research, but every year we were able to show in fact that there was benefit from the things we were doing,” Lange said. In addition to providing solutions and saving money for the OMP, the partnership has been equally beneficial to Illinois. The annual funding has enabled research in many disciplines, and proximity to O’Hare has allowed faculty and students to work on the project site. “This center gives us an opportunity to work ‘boots on the ground’ at one of the busiest airports in the world,” Lange said. “This is a terrific opportunity for students to get access and exposure, experience at a terrific airport. We have had students doing field experiments out on those runways at O’Hare. We have put instruments in concrete pavements at Gate F7 on United’s terminal. We put in—with the help of contractors—materials that we specified and did testing to show the success of using recycled aggregate in concrete.” Lange told the story of a research project involving faculty and students that focused on isolation joints, which are
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 17
locations where taxiways, runways and aprons intersect or connect. The standard method to strengthen these joints involves digging extra inches at specific locations and making the pavement thicker, a solution that is effective but creates an added burden and expense for excavators. An alternative solution was developed using fiber reinforced concrete that would not require the additional precision digging and extra pavement thickness. In order to test the effectiveness of the new approach at the airport, the research team installed instrumentation on the runways so they could measure the performance of the joints as heavy freight aircraft crossed them. The catch was that the researchers needed to be on site as this was happening, and freight aircraft typically arrive during the hours between midnight and dawn. The team took a trailer to the airport and stayed on the runway all night. “It was fun,” Lange said. “You wouldn’t want to do it all the time, but being out
Delivering value to both partners. CHICAGO }
A recent report published by CEAT (“CEAT: A 10-Year Partnership with the OMP”, available at ceat.illinois.edu) identifies some of the accomplishments made as a result of the partnership. A few of these include:
CEE AT ILLINOIS }
At Illinois, the partnership has enabled many faculty members and their students to pursue research interests on a variety of topics. CEE at Illinois faculty who have received research funding from the partnership include: 18
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“This story is an illustration of how you build a passion for engineering.”
there on the air side of an airport is very interesting. In the middle of the night… big aircraft moving around… you’re on the illegal side of the fence…. “This story is an illustration of how you build a passion for engineering by giving your students very unique, powerful, empowered kinds of experiences, where they feel like they’ve had the chance to see something special,” he said. The OMP project is a finite one but Lange hopes CEAT will be able to continue working with the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) even after the OMP ends. He believes that the proven success of the CEAT/OMP partnership will justify ongoing collaboration between CEAT and CDA, and notes that
$200,000 SAVED
there are increased opportunities for involvement because CDA jurisdiction covers Midway International Airport in addition to O’Hare. In the future, CEAT may even extend its reach further by partnering with other Midwestern airports. “The idea of having universities partnering with major infrastructure programs… that is a winner,” Lange said. “I have a strong conviction that that is a template for how to do business in the future—one way for us to have relevance, to give students good experiences, to have kind of a tie so that the work we’re doing has a way of coming into practice. All those things can happen with ties to big infrastructure programs.”
MATERIALS IMPROVED
The CEAT study of subgrade stabilization and the “k-150” support issue contributed to decisions that avoided additional test sections, saving over $100,000.
CEAT completed a study on removal of paint markings, providing recommendations related to equipment and technology that can be used at O’Hare.
Another study of mixture proportioning identified strategies to reduce concrete cost compared to previous O’Hare mixtures, with potential to save over $100,000 on the new north runway.
New strategies for using recycled shingles for asphalt materials at O’Hare have been developed. Recycling contributes to sustainable operations with cost and environmental benefits.
COSTS REDUCED
The CEAT study on water quality in retention basins provided technical concepts for solving long-term problems with discharge that impose high costs to CDA.
TECH NOTES PRODUCED
A total of 50 Tech Notes have been provided, covering a range of ideas that lead to cost savings, improved quality, and refined specification language.
RESEARCH FUNDED David A. Lange Imad L. Al-Qadi William G. Buttlar Samuel H. Carpenter Barry J. Dempsey Marcelo H. Garcia Mani Golparvar-Fard Edwin E. Herricks
Wen-Tso Liu James H. Long Paramita Mondal Joshua M. Peschel John S. Popovics Jeffery R. Roesler Arthur R. Schmidt Timothy D. Stark
Leslie J. Struble Marshall R. Thompson Erol Tutumluer Non-CEE faculty who have received funding: Bruce Branham (Horticulture) Bo Zou (University of Illinois at Chicago)
CASE STUDIES The “CEAT: A 10-Year Partnership with the OMP” report lists a number of accomplishments achieved during the partnership and presents ten case studies in which high priority problems have been addressed through research. Excerpts of three of the studies are included here; see the full report for more details on these and other projects:
Non-Destructive Testing John Popovics, Professor
CEAT research has given visibility to new test methods that can be employed at O’Hare. The work included demonstration of air-coupled ultrasonic surface wave measurements to assess the depth of surfacebreaking cracks in taxi-ways and access roads at O’Hare field. In a separate effort, Illinois researchers applied ultrasonic shear wave imaging to runway pavements at O’Hare field to help determine if internal dowel bars were properly placed around embedded runway light cans in the pavement. These modern NDT methods hold promise for improving accuracy and speed of assessing pavement condition.
Sustainable Concrete Pavement
Repair Materials and Methods David Lange, Professor
Jeffery Roesler, Professor David Lange, Professor
Asphalt Pavements Bill Buttlar, Professor
Over the past 10 years, research has advanced the use of sustainable materials and construction practices for the airport by increasing the amount of recycled materials utilized in the pavement structures, identifying alternative uses for recycled materials, quantifying the life cycle environmental impact of multiple pavement rehabilitation strategies, and improving construction efficiency on airfields. Initially, OMP was attracted to finding methods to reuse the construction and demolition waste generated onsite. A large research effort at Illinois explored the usage of crushed concrete as an aggregate (called recycled concrete aggregate, or RCA) in new concrete pavement construction for airports. The high quality RCA sourced from O’Hare was shown to perform well as a coarse aggregate in new concrete construction, with research indicating that even up to 100% coarse RCA can be used in concrete without significantly reducing the desired hardened concrete properties and long-term performance.
Subgrade Marshall Thompson, Professor Emeritus Horticulture Bruce Branham, Professor, Department of Horticulture Water Supply Wen-Tso Liu, Professor Operations Bo Zou, Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago Airport Safety Edwin Herricks, Professor Emeritus
To see the complete report, which includes more information on these and other case studies, visit www.ceat.illinois.edu or scan this code on your QR reader.
Water Runoff
Art Schmidt, Research Assistant Professor CEAT researchers have modeled different scenarios for discharging stormwater runoff from O’Hare and examined the impact of those scenarios on the Des Plaines TARP system. The runoff from O’Hare is captured by an extensive collection network and routed to two detention storage ponds. This runoff often contains aircraft deicing fluids (ADF). Residual material from aircraft deicing operations can result in concentrations in runoff that exceed water-quality standards long after application of ADF to aircraft and paved surfaces. Because of water-quality concerns related to ADF in runoff, the stormwater runoff needs to be treated prior to allowing it to be discharged to nearby waterways. CEAT flow models were used to predict behavior of the interceptor system directed to the Des Plaines tunnel of the TARP system. The study provided a technical basis for assessing the impact of O’Hare runoff on the Upper Des Plaines Interceptor sewer, and suggested solutions in managing runoff in a manner that would serve both O’Hare and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District interests. Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 19
Workshop aims to generate STEM interest among Chicago HS students
Assistant Professor Ange-Therese Akono is passionate about building innovative, strong, durable buildings. That’s why her research involves understanding the mechanical properties of materials used to construct them. Akono is also passionate about passing on her enthusiasm for materials to the next generation, particularly underserved students. So on January 18, Akono and eight of her graduate and undergraduate students hosted a Structural Mechanics Workshop for 28 juniors and seniors from Chicago’s Intrinsic High School, in the hopes of exposing these inner city students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities they might not have previously experienced. “We want them to come to a research one university and then get to understand what it is to do scientific research and to visit the laboratory and get to do hands-on experiments,” Akono said. The workshop involved having each student experience the concept of strength of materials with a wide range of materials commonly used in construction, then carry out experiments and analyze the results. The goal was for students
to “develop scientific curiosities, scientific intuitions, and ... a taste for experimentation,” Akono said. Besides teaching the Chicago youth about research being done in Akono’s Sustainability & Nanomechanics Lab, the day’s activities also involved brief presentations by Becky Stillwell, CEE’s Undergraduate Adviser, and Engineering Associate Dean Liang Liu, to inform students about Illinois and answer any questions about the application process. The workshop was a follow-up event to a webinar, during which Akono met remotely with the students as part of a class. During that 30-minute activity, she introduced the concepts of strength and durability of construction materials, demonstrated some experiments, then answered students’ questions. Based on the interest generated during the video time, Akono set up the January workshop. Akono reached out to Intrinsic High, which is a relatively new school, because
Akono named ACSE New Face of Engineering Assistant Professor Ange-Therese Akono has been named one of 10 "2016 New Faces of Civil Engineering Professionals" by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The New Faces of Civil EngineeringProfessional Edition recognition program promotes the bold and humanitarian future of civil engineering by highlighting the achievements of young civil engineers, their contributions to and impact on society. To see a video on Akono, visit www.asce.org/new-faces-professional/ or point your QR code reader here:
Elizabeth Innes
By Elizabeth Innes, Communications Specialist, I-STEM Education Initiative
A CEE grad student (third from the left) shows the high school students how to work with a material they’re testing.
it has a large population of Hispanic students. Akono wants to empower students commonly underrepresented in STEM, to help them realize that they too can do it. "I went to college, and then I went to grad school, and I feel that my education has empowered me so much,” Akono said. “I want every student to feel that— especially when it comes to minorities and underrepresented groups. I feel like the major obstacle most of the time is that they just don’t identify with the science, technology, and mathematics. They have this idea that, ‘This is a very supercomplicated concept related to really, really smart people and not me!’” Akono hopes that this year’s workshop is just the beginning of a longterm partnership with Intrinsic; she envisions sort of a pipeline into her lab, and into STEM. Akono sees the opportunity for the high schoolers to interact with her and her current graduate and undergraduate students as being invaluable. “This is really about transferring the knowledge,” she said. “We are ... educating the next generation of civil engineers.” i
ICT team develops first regional road life-cycle assessment tool By Waad Ayoub Road vehicles are major contributors to greenhouse gas pollution. The U.S. transportation sector consumes 28 percent of the nation’s energy – 92 percent of which is petroleum-based – and is responsible for 27 percent of emissions. But what about the pavement itself? A significant amount of energy is required to obtain paving construction materials. In addition, the method by which a pavement is constructed, rehabilitated and maintained, used throughout its life cycle, and recycled at the end of its service life all have a great impact on the environment. To more effectively measure the environmental impact of pavement throughout its life, it is useful to use a comprehensive life-cycle perspective. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools assess every stage in the lifespan of a roadway or a bridge – from the use of materials to construction, maintenance and repairs, as well as disposal or recycling. The assessments gather energy consumption data during each stage of the pavement life, which assist in tracking, monitoring, and evaluating the environmental impact. This process includes development of models for estimating energy use resulting from vehicle tires, pavement traction and work zone delays, among other factors. Special attention is given to the use phase as most energy consumption and resulting emissions occur during pavement use, especially on roads with hightraffic volumes. The information from a life-cycle assessment can be used to evaluate the environmental impact of any roadway or roadside asset throughout its life cycle, quantitatively rate a project’s impact on the environment and demonstrate sustainability performance to
A screenshot of the opening page of the life-cycle assessment tool showing the complete set of life-cycle stages considered in the software. stakeholders and the public, recommend best practices, and move toward a roadway system that is more sustainable. The Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) partnered with the Illinois Tollway, Applied Research Associates, and theRightenvironment to develop a comprehensive, regionalized LCA tool – the first of its kind. All roadway and roadside assets of the Illinois Tollway, including pavements, bridges, drainage, landscape and lighting, were covered in the tool, which allows quantification of emissions based on local data and provides owners, designers, consultants and contractors with more complete data sets, thus leading to better-informed, environmentally responsible decisions. The broad impact of this research will be to help the Illinois Tollway ensure that its 15-year, $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future, is the cleanest and greenest in its history. Used together with the qualitative Federal Highway Administration’s Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST), the developed LCA tools enable the Tollway to quantitatively compare current construction projects with similar projects built previously under older standards and use that information to make informed decisions for future projects. “The Illinois Tollway is committed to making environmental responsibility and sustainability part of everything we do – from planning to construction to maintenance,” said Illinois Tollway Executive
Director Greg Bedalov. “As part of this commitment, we are using these innovative tools to monitor the environmental impact from the time new roads and bridges are built until the end of their useful life many decades later, which will not only help us better integrate sustainable practices into our construction projects, but will also allow us to evaluate their effectiveness and measure improvements during construction and beyond.” In addition to these benefits, the development of more sustainable practices will optimize the use of recycled materials while enhancing roadway performance, thereby limiting the use of natural resources. Road users also will save millions of dollars’ worth of fuel and vehicle repairs, thanks to the improved riding quality of the roads they drive on. “The development of such a comprehensive life-cycle assessment tool for transportation infrastructure will help agencies, designers, and contractors build cost-effective and sustainable transportation structures while meeting community needs and building long-lasting transportation infrastructure,” said Imad Al-Qadi, Founder Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and director of ICT, who led the research team on this project. Other faculty serving on the project included CEE professor Jeff Roesler, associate professor Yanfeng Ouyang, assistant professor Jeremy Guest, and research assistant professor Hasan Ozer. i
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 21
CEE profs to help frame society’s challenges in campus initiative A new campus initiative that gives students a chance to learn about society’s most pressing challenges while fulfilling Murugesu Sivapalan their General Education requirements will benefit from the expertise of two CEE at Illinois professors. Professors Murugesu thering the opportunity for cross-college Sivapalan and Paolo Gardoni have been collaboration. Gardoni was nominated to the proinvited to be Teaching Fellows for the Grand Challenge Learning program, be- gram for his expertise in reliability and risk assessment, and will help students in ginning in Fall 2016. The Grand Challenge Learning pro- the Inequality & Cultural Understanding gram consists of three multi-disciplinary pathway—which explores the cultural, pathways reflecting topics of concern economic, social and political roots of inin today’s world: Health & Wellness, In- equality—understand ways in which the equality & Cultural Understanding, and societal impact of failing structures or inSustainability, Energy & the Environment. frastructure can be quantified in terms of Each pathway will offer a Critical Fram- reductions in opportunities available to ings Module—a course designed to bring individuals. “Societal impact is a function of pretogether professors from multiple disciplines to “critically frame” these grand- existing inequalities in vulnerabilities in scale challenges from a wide range of the built, natural, economic and social enperspectives. Gardoni and Sivapalan will vironments,” he said. “Often vulnerable each teach in a Critical Framings Module: populations are most likely to experience Gardoni for Inequality & Cultural Under- disproportionate losses, higher damage standing and Sivapalan for Sustainabil- rates and housing losses.” The Sustainability, ity, Energy & the EnvironEnergy & Environment ment. pathway will introduce In their respective students to the chalmodules, the professors lenges facing societies will collaborate on a syllaas a result of global bus with other participatchanges brought ing faculty and will each about by human activcontribute 2-3 lectures ity. Sivapalan, an exand assignments which all pert in water resources, students in their module believes both students will complete. A unique Paolo Gardoni and faculty will benefit feature of the “module” from participation in system is that all faculty participating in a particular module will this Critical Framings Module. “Firstly, students are introduced to hear the lecturer of the week along with the students, making it a learning oppor- the notion of sustainability and its imtunity for everyone involved while en- portance early in their education, which hancing subsequent discussion and fur- helps them to connect much of every22
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thing they learn on campus through the prism of sustainability,” he said. “Secondly, through the discussion process that is envisaged the module will help both the students and faculty together to come up with a synthesis that shapes sustainability in broad inter-disciplinary terms.” Gardoni agrees that the program will benefit all participants and said that the multi-disciplinary and campus-wide learning provided by the Critical Framing Module program will help the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign be a leader in innovative undergraduate education. “It is a great honor to be selected to teach in this new and high-profile pilot course,” he added. Gardoni is director of the MAE Center, co-director of the Societal Risk Management interdisciplinary program and associate director of the NIST Center for Riskbased Community Resilience Planning. His areas of expertise include sustainable and resilient infrastructure; reliability, risk and performance analysis; policies for natural hazard mitigation and disaster recovery; and engineering ethics. Sivapalan is the Chester and Helen Siess Endowed Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and teaches courses in watershed hydrology, engineering hydrology, stochastic hydrology and water resources engineering. His research focuses on making predictions in ungaged basins, increasingly in the context of human-induced environmental changes. i
Construction of Sacramento Kings arena using drone monitoring By Mike Koon A University of Illinois team has de- and Tim Bretl, associate professor of aeroveloped predictive visual data analytics space engineering. “Our web-based solution provides tools, called “Flying Superintendent,” to automate and streamline today’s time- real-time visual reporting of work comconsuming practices for construction pleted using unordered images collected progress monitoring. Their award-win- by any device, from drones to commodning solution utilizes both images and ity phones,” Golparvar-Fard said. “All videos taken with camera drones and personnel, on and off-site, can interact four-dimensional Building Information with our 3D visual production models to Modeling (BIM) to quickly identify and communicate and analyze work in progress throughout the life of visually communicate the job. Teams can conduct the actual and potential quality control by comparperformance problems ing as-built models with during execution of conspecifications, and improve struction projects via safety by having a clear and smartphones and tablets immediate understanding to project participants, of potential hazards. The on and off site. analytics we conduct on The Illinois team is these survey-grade 3D vicollaborating with Turner sual production models ofConstruction Company’s fer construction managers a Mani Golparvar-Fard Northern California office transparent view into what’s to implement the techhappening on site each day, nology on the NBA’s Sacramento Kings new downtown arena, the empowering them to improve reliability Golden 1 Center. The goal was to use the in short-term plans and eliminate probresulting color-coded 3D visual produc- lems before they happen.” That collaboration has earned a Turntion models from the University of Illinois technology to easily and quickly inform er Innovation Award in Turner’s Fourth project stakeholders about at-risk loca- Annual Award for Innovation program. tions on a project site and allow them to While Turner Construction Company prioritize problems based on their impact monitors progress closely on its projects, on the construction plan, take corrective said Lincoln Wood, regional manager for actions to improve the reliability of short- virtual design and construction at Turner, term project plans and develop more the aerial images and software analysis of the Flying Superintendent provide a productive workflows for construction. Mani Golparvar-Fard, CEE assistant comprehensive picture of what’s going professor, faculty entrepreneurial fellow on and can highlight how a slowdown in and CEO of RECONSTRUCT Inc., is the lead one area may affect the entire project. “The powerful thing about this is that principal investigator on the group. Coprincipal investigators are Derek Hoiem, it highlights issues with our schedule associate professor of computer science, grouped by their location in 3D,” Wood
A next-generation construction site in which monitoring of work-in-progress is enabled by autonomous image data collection via camera drones and building information modeling (BIM). The resulting 4D integrated information models show actual and expected states of work-in-progress, highlight at-risk locations, and communicate who does what work in what location for more effective project controls by construction practitioners.
said. “This streamlines the management of our weekly work planning efforts by allowing us to visualize and mitigate potential risks to our schedule before they happen.” The University of Illinois team received a nearly $1 million Cyber-Physical Systems grant through the National Science Foundation for the project, which kicked off in January 2015 and continues through the end of 2019. With the support of the new faculty entrepreneurial fellowship (FEF) program by the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC), Golparvar-Fard and the team are commercializing the solution via RECONSTRUCT Inc. a new spinoff company housed in the University of Illinois Research Park. To further streamline the data collection practice, the team is currently developing and testing their recent prototypes to autonomously collect images on construction sites using the drones and ground robots without heavily relying on GPS for navigation purposes. As part of this project, they are also exploring mechanisms to autonomously mount video cameras on building elements to detect and track construction resources and offer visual data analytics on construction safety and productivity. Full story available at cee.illinois.edu/ drones-kingsstadium. i
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 23
CEE AT ILLINOIS
Alumni Q&A Tomorrow’s Illini civil and environmental engineers have a few questions for today’s CEE grad student Allison Goodwell interviews CEE alumnus David R. Maidment (MS 74, PhD 76) David R. Maidment (MS 74, PhD 76) is the Hussein M. Alharthy Centennial Chair in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has been on the faculty since 1981. He teaches classes in hydrology, hydraulics and Geographic Information Systems in Water Resources. Maidment is a specialist in surface water hydrology, and in par- David Maidment ticular in the application of geographic information systems to hydrology. He is the leader of of a project on Hydrologic Information Systems for the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science Inc. The project is designed to provide improved access to hydrologic data and synthesis into a digital watershed for application at the nation’s universities. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He and his wife, Helen J. Maidment, a University of Illinois alumna, recently established a fund to provide fellowships for graduate students studying hydro-
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systems engineering, the Maidment Fellowship in Hydrosystems Engineering Fund.
Allison Goodwell is a Ph.D. student in CEE working with Professor Praveen Kumar. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University in 2010, and her M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinois in 2013. Her Ph.D. research involves using information theory and process networks to characterize how ecosystems respond to extreme events, climate change or other perturbations. She has been a teaching assistant in CEE 202 (Engineering Risk and Uncertainty). Goodwell is a former president of the student chapter of the International Water R e s o u r ce s Association (IWRA), and is involved in various activities at Allison Goodwell Illinois including Engineering Open House and Illinois Water Day.
Tell a little about your background. How did you come to attend Illinois for graduate school? I am originally from New Zealand, and after completing my undergraduate degree there I decided to do a Ph.D. I eventually chose Illinois since it seemed like the best possible education. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I received the letter from my future adviser, Ven Te Chow. So there I was, 22 years old from a small faraway country, and I found myself instantaneously in the middle of the dynamic and international student community of the Hydrosystems lab. Never have I felt so much like I was going vertically straight up on an elevator than when I arrived at Illinois. What is one of your favorite memories of working with your adviser, Ven Te Chow? He was a very gracious person, never dictatorial. He would always say, “this is what I’m thinking … ” Of course we students would invariably follow his direction, but he always gave us another option so you could choose a different path if you didn’t agree. That’s one important thing I learned to appreciate and follow – always leave a person with the option to follow another path. A few years ago there was a symposium to celebrate Ven Te Chow and the 50th anniversary of the Handbook of Applied Hydrology, which was published in 1964. I was one of the speakers and realized later that I was the only speaker who had actually worked with him, which was certainly a privilege. Also now, I have spent a life myself as a faculty member and have been able to do some similar things, like write books, do research and mentor graduate students. What was the most difficult or memorable course you took as a graduate student at Illinois? That is an interesting question. I took a control theory course in electrical en-
“Never have I felt so much like I was going vertically straight up on an elevator than when I arrived at Illinois.” gineering. I was researching differential game theory, for which I needed knowledge of calculus of variation and this course. The first three weeks of the semester, I did not even understand the terms being written on the board. I remember the first problem on the midterm exam being so difficult that I answered the second question first and never finished the first question. Later I found out that no answer to the first question existed, and I actually got an A on the midterm! Another valuable class I took at Illinois was Probability Theory in Altgeld Hall, for which I still have the textbook. Altgeld Hall also to me seems symbolic of the tradition of a university, as knowledge is being conveyed generation after generation. You have visited the White House to report on the National Flood Interoperability Experiment. Can you tell us a bit about the goals of the project? There is a new National Water Center on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa that will take the next several years to fully ramp up. In the meantime, I proposed to the National Weather Service to bring students in each summer to work on a project and address issues of concern to the National Weather Service. As part of this collaboration, we have developed a new, high spatial and temporal resolution, near real-time flood mapping system. This has been incorporated into the National Water Model. How does the National Water Model improve our flood forecasting abilities and emergency response potential? [The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] officially released the National Water Model at a White House Water Summit this March. With the ability to forecast at 2.7 million stream reaches (including the Boneyard Creek) in just 10 minutes, it is 700 times more spatially dense than the current flood forecasting system. No one knew anything like that was possible, so the experiment
David and Helen Maidment
was a great success and has been an interesting and beneficial interaction. The National Water Model provides fundamental information about a basic system we haven’t been able to visualize before. There are all kinds of benefits that come with the ability to anticipate flows all around the country, including for emergency response. You can see all the rivers flowing simultaneously in a river basin when it rains, something that you know happens but have never been able to see. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your career as a hydrologist? I value the ability to help people and feel the work we are doing is not just academically interesting but provides beneficial services to humanity. At the same time, I like the capacity to be constantly innovating and always reaching for a new future. Water is so fundamental to life, and surface water hydrology is very visual and exciting to me. You and your wife, Helen, recently made a gift to support fellowships for Hydro students. Why did you decide to give in this way? I feel that at Illinois I received something of inestimable benefit to me and so I had a responsibility to give something back. I vividly recall my first days on campus, my first visit to the Hydrosystems lab, as a life-changing experience. My wife also came with me from New Zealand and
is a graduate of Illinois. The last two years here, we were “house parents” for the Stratford House for undergraduate women, associated with the University Baptist Church, which was another unique experience. I look back on my time as a student and member of the broader university community as such a colorful period of my life. Whenever I return, I try to visit the Alma Mater statue and walk through the union and main quad and appreciate how this place reached out to me and enabled me to reach out to others. Do you have any advice for students at Illinois? Enjoy the ride. Have a good time as a student; it is a neat time in your life. You have so many things in front of you, and it is a great time for growth and development. Is there anything else you’d like to add? I am always inspired by young people. I feel they have such potential for development. If I could send myself a message 40 years ago when I was at Illinois, it would be to “dream the impossible dream,” because I have found that dreams really do come true if you are persistent and believe in your own abilities. i To view an animation of the National Water Model, point your QR code reader here.
Civiland andEnvironmental EnvironmentalEngineering EngineeringAlumni AlumniAssociation—Spring Association—Spring2016 2016 2525 Civil
INVESTITURE
“
In 2006, Prof. Robert Dodds and John Kelly, Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations, approached me with the University’s vision for a CEE student center, a place where CEE students are afforded opportunities outside the classroom to mingle and learn from their colleagues, professors and mentors. I thought it was a fitting way to continue the path of my benefactors — a center focused on students and an environment to spark intellectual and social discourse. In the years to come, I hope to be regaled by stories of entrepreneurship, engineering breakthroughs and lifelong friendships – all starting from impromptu gatherings here. — Geoffrey Yeh, 2011
“
As the Yeh Center reaches its fifth Anniversary, CEE at Illinois would like to know about ways in which your life was impacted by events—however small or large—in the Yeh Center. Email celeste@illinois.edu with memories, collaborations, friendships and other stories!
Bond invested as Newmark Professor Tami Bond was invested Dec. 2 as the Nathan M. Newmark Distinguished Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Bond, who joined the CEE faculty in 2003, is a leader in the study of aerosol emissions with research focusing on the interface between energy use, atmospheric composition and global climate. Her study of combustion emissions, particularly black carbon, led to a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as a Genius Grant, in 2014. Newmark, a pioneer in the field of structural and seismic engineering, received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the faculty in 1934. He held a number of positions in the department, eventually serving as department head for 17 years. Newmark was a Founding Member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and was elected as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1966. “It’s really an honor to be associated with Nathan M. Newmark, who was the quintessential civil engineer,” said Bond. “My work on energy, atmosphere, and climate bears no resemblance, in principle, to the earthquake engineering field where Dr. Newmark conducted his foundational work. The common thread, though, is service to society. I think this shows what an inclusive discipline CEE is.” "The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is delighted to recognize Professor Tami Bond for her excellent scholarly and leadership contributions at the boundaries of the fields of energy, health, and air quality engineering," said CEE professor and head Benito Mariñas. "The Nathan M. Newmark Distinguished Professorship will catalyze the outstanding contributions by Dr. Bond toward improving our understanding of how climate change impacts the health
Top photo: Bond poses with Richard Newmark, the son of Nathan Newmark and a major donor to the fund that made possible both the Newmark professorship and a faculty chair named for Newmark in the department. Bottom photo: Bond is pictured with her parents, Douglas and Gloria Bond.
of our environment at the global scale to how household exposure to smoke from unsafe cookstoves affects the health of impoverished people at the local scale.”i
Student’s ties to Mexican icon deepen at Illinois Graduate Research Assistant Alejandro Alvarez Reyes, who is from Mexico, was surprised to discover upon his arrival at CEE at Illinois that the seismic design for the famous Latino Americana Tower in Mexico City was done by Nathan Newmark. This building, which holds special memories for Alvarez Reyes, is considered one of Newmark’s greatest accomplishments because the tower has twice withstood massive earthquakes that caused major to damage to much of the city around it. The Latino Americana Tower opened in 1956 and was the first skyscraper to be built on active seismic ground. At 44 stories, it remains a well-known presence on the city’s skyline. Alvarez Reyes, who is currently working on a master’s degree in transportation engineering in CEE’s RailTEC program, is the grandson of the building’s architect, Augusto Alvarez. Alvarez Reyes said that his grandfather was engaged as architect for the project after the structural design was already underway. Although ultimately the project was not a favorite of Alvarez Reyes’ grandfather, due to the insurance company’s preconceived ideas that limited design freedom, Alvarez Reyes noted that it was still a big chance for a young architect. “It was a huge opportunity for him when he was invited to work on the project,” Alvarez Reyes said, “because at the time he was less than 40 years old and he was invited to design the tallest building in the city – in fact the tallest building in Latin America for many, many years.” It was because of this family connection that the building held appeal as a location for his first office after Alvarez Reyes received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 2009. The renting of office
space was soon followed by more personal milestones that took place within the same walls. He met his future wife, Jimena, at an event hosted by a neighboring company. Later, he proposed to her on the Tower’s observation deck. It was also in his office that his young son, Pedro, took his first shaky steps in a determined effort to follow a young cousin around the room. As a result of all of this personal history, Alvarez Reyes’ attachment to the building goes deep. However, it wasn’t until he arrived on campus that Reyes discovered that he had inadvertently created another connection to the Tower when he enrolled in CEE at Illinois. After noticing signs at the entrances to Siebel Center and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology which gave information about their namesakes—Thomas Siebel and Arnold Beckman—Alvarez Reyes became curious about the man after whom Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory is named. “I started browsing and went online and found the page on the CEE website that is dedicated to Professor Newmark,” Alvarez Reyes said. “It was really surprising to me that the first image is him standing in front of a picture of the Latino Americana Tower.” Alvarez Reyes continued to research the story and discovered that Leonardo Zeevaert, the building’s structural engineer, had been a PhD student at Illinois. When he was engaged to work on the design for the Latino Americana Tower, Zeevaert invited Newmark to be a consultant on the project. The success of their work was made obvious just a year after com-
At top, Nathan Newmark and the Latino Americana Tower. Below, Alejandro Alvarez Reyes with his son, Pedro, pictured on the tower.
pletion, as the building stood unscathed during a major earthquake in 1957 as others crumbled around it. An even larger earthquake struck the city in 1985 and caused extensive destruction, but again the Tower escaped without damage. Knowing about CEE’s ties to the Latino Americana Tower makes Alvarez Reyes feel even better about his choice to do his graduate work at Illinois. After all, his interest in his chosen field of study can also be traced back to his grandfather. “I came here looking for this railroad engineering program but it’s kind of an interesting circle because my very first interest in railroads is also because of my grandfather,” Alvarez Reyes said. “He used to have a huge model railroad – a whole room at his house dedicated to his model railroad. It was my first contact with railroads. I eventually became interested when I grew up for different reasons, but I think it’s funny how it all connects.” i More information about Nathan M. Newmark can be found at cee.illinois.edu/ about/history/newmark.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 27
Similar to Google Street View, panoramic cameras providing images on waterways By Mike Koon Joshua Peschel calls it “Google street view for rivers, creeks and agricultural tributaries.” The CEE research assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering is using a one-year National Science Foundation research grant to develop new ways scientists and engineers can capture high resolution, high frequency topographic measurements around those waterways as well as take 360-degree HD photos from rivers, lakes and tributaries. Peschel has developed a low-cost, two-foot long robot boat that carries onboard a 360-degree panoramic camera. The images are then stored on a chip like an SD card. The technology is also capable of real-time environmental monitoring, such as taking pH and dissolved oxygen readings, and collecting water samples to be returned and tested. “The boats let us go to places that the people can’t go and allow us to cover a sufficient area to help make key decisions,” Peschel said. “If you look at everything that’s come before this, they are much bigger, more expensive and not very practical to navigate rivers that are extremely shallow or have dense vegetation, including agricultural tributaries.” Because the bottom of the boat is flat
and doesn’t have a rotor, Peschel said, it can go through debris and low-flowing areas and over any kind of submerged obstructions. The boats are also able to provide images in areas where UAVs are unable to fly, such as streams and rivers covered by dense trees or other vegetation. Water is a hot topic, especially in developing countries, as scientists and engineers work to solve major issues with potable supplies. Peschel and his graduate student Sierra Young (MS 15) spent the summer at the Ashoka Trust for Research Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) to test Peschel’s latest technology around lakes and streams near the city of Bangalore, India. “There are lakes that feed the irrigated lands and reservoirs for the greater Bangalore area,” explained Peschel. “Those downstream reservoirs are drying up and that’s catastrophic since that is a source of the water supply for the metropolitan area. We’re trying to help understand why.” In India, for instance, farmers are damming up the water for their own purposes as evidenced by a lot of fragmentation of the landscape. That activity is ramping up as land use is changing from food-based crops like corn to more cash crops like eucalyptus, which require more water. Understanding exactly how much water is being captured is a key question. That issue certainly is not confined to developing nations, with water shortages well documented in California and Texas. Peschel notes that navigable waterways Sierra Young with the robot boat in India.
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Peschel and grad student Sierra Young (MS 15) in India.
are public, even drainage ditches surrounded by private property as long as they aren’t accessed from the property. This technology, thus, will be able to provide agencies with high quality images of any water source that will help tell the story of what is happening to the water. “It’s not enough to just take pictures,” Peschel said. “We need to be able to use some additional low-cost sensors to help in mapping so we can produce better flood models or models of erosion and containment transport. Computer algorithms and some special sensors and thermal cameras on board detect entry points, like tile drains, even when they are visibly obstructed." In addition to the boats, Peschel is using other small, unmanned platforms to provide farmers with 3D maps of agricultural areas, many of which have never been mapped before.
“The goal is to field test what we’ve been developing here to see what works and how we can improve our technology and scientific understanding,” Peschel said. “We are especially targeting people who are trying to do environmental monitoring on a very tight budget in areas where there is little to no information about the environment in the first place.” As part of the NSF grant, Peschel also hosted a workshop in Bangalore with his co-investigators on the project, Sally Thompson (UC-Berkeley) and Veena Srinivasan (ATREE), which brought together experts from academia, government and industry to develop strategies to study and address the issues. The workshop included start-up companies who are equipping “citizen scientists” with technologies to help gather data. That is possible thanks to mobile phones and GPS. “Right now there is a lot of uncertainty associated with the use of water,” Peschel said. “Part of it is associated with climate, part of it is the lack of investment in infrastructure, and part of it is policy-related. Properly planning for the needs of a community is going to be informed by these types of activities. “The United States has an information-rich society and we’re still having a lot of trouble with climate, infrastructure and policy. Imagine how challenging it is for a developing country where the data is sparse. This is a great project because it is putting affordable technology into the hands of people trying to make long-term policy that would benefit communities into the future.” i
Team documenting impact of flooding Five faculty members and three graduate students from the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (CEE at Illinois) are part of a team from the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, supported by the National Science Foundation, which was mobilized to investigate the impacts of record and near-record flood crests and the performance of flood protection systems in Illinois and Missouri. GEER members include engineers and researchers across multiple fields and states in the Midwest. CEE at Illinois Assistant Professor Cassandra Rutherford and Nicholas Pinter, a Professor and the Shlemon Chair in Applied Geology at the University of California, Davis, are coordinating the field investigations. The team also includes Joseph Gamez and Michael Musgrove, CEE at Illinois graduate students; and colleagues from the University of Arkansas, HDR Inc., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lawrence Tech University, the University of Missouri and the University of Arkansas. Additional support will be provided by CEE at Illinois Professor Youssef Hashash, Associate Professor Scott Olson, Research Assistant Professor Joshua Peschel, Assistant Professor Rafael Tinoco and graduate student Sierra Young. These engineers and scientists worked collaboratively with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and with state and local organizations to augment the reconnaissance effort. The team documented the geotechnical, hydraulic, climatic and
policy-related issues as part of a systemsbased approach to understand the overall performance of the flood protection system in the central Midwest. Unusual winter storms in the Midwest sent large volumes of water into rivers and drainage areas causing historic flooding in Illinois and Missouri. Flooding disrupted transportation systems and stressed levee and flood protection systems. Immediately after extreme natural events (for example, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, landslide or flood), perishable data are available that can be used to improve engineering design. Field observations are particularly important to understand the response of complex levee and transportation systems. Detailed mapping and surveying of damaged and undamaged areas provides data to document case histories that drive the development of many design procedures used by engineers. Documenting and sharing the key lessons learned from this and other extreme events around the world contribute significantly to advancing research and practice in physical sciences, engineering, design and public policy. Observations and findings will be posted on the GEER website. Additional information on GEER is available at: http:// www.geerassociation.org/. This work is funded in part by a CEE at Illinois Rapid Response Grant. Paid for by the CEE Trust, the department’s unrestricted gift fund, this program enables department faculty and students to respond quickly to study disasters around the world. i
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ALUMNI AWARDS DINNER Chicago-area alumni, CEE faculty, students and friends of the department gathered March 2 at the Union League Club in Chicago for the annual CEE at Illinois Alumni Awards Dinner in Chicago. The event included a cocktail reception, dinner, the presentation of the CEE Alumni Association awards, and a department update by Department Head Benito J. Mari単as. Earlier that day, a group of CEE students has the opportunity to tour local engineering firms Bowman, Barrett & Associates and Skimore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). Students were given lunch at the Bowman & Barrett offices before representatives of the company showed students around the firm and shared valuable insights about life as engineers. SOM engineers gave students an overview of the firm and took them on a tour of their remarkable space. The department sincerely thanks the companies for their hospitality and everyone who generously shared their time and expertise with the students.
ABOVE: (left) CEEAA President Allen Staron (BS 74); (top right) Professor Emeritus Marshall Thompson (PhD 64) with CEEAA Board Member John Kos (BS 77); (bottom right) Katie Bell (BS 07), Joy Schaad (BS 77). BELOW: Attendees gather in the Union League Club dining room.
More photos are available on the CEE at Illinois Facebook account: www.facebook.com/ceeatillinois
BELOW: (left) Bowman, Barrett & Associates engineers speak with CEE students at a lunchtime presentation; (right) Tomas Zegard (MS 10, PhD 14) takes students on a tour of the SOM offices.
CEE AT ILLINOIS THANKS THE 2016 ALUMNI DINNER SPONSORS: GOLD Alfred Benesch & Co. Greeley and Hansen Hayward Baker Milhouse Engineering & Construction Trotter & Associates Turner Construction Company
2016 ALUMNI AWARD WINNERS Young Alumnus Achievement Award
SILVER AECOM Ardmore Associates LLC Blinderman Construction Bowman, Barrett & Associates Bowman Consulting Christopher B. Burke Engineering Civiltech Engineering Inc. Clark Dietz Inc. Crawford Murphy & Tilly Inc. Geo Services Inc. H. W. Lochner Hanson Professional Services Inc. Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association RJN Group Robinson Engineering Sargent & Lundy LLC Simpson Gumpertz & Heger TranSystems V3 Companies
Kwanrawee Joy Sirikanchana (MS 03, PhD 07) Researcher Chulabhorn Research Institute
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Henry M. Bellagamba
(BS 92, MS 93) President and CEO Fullerton Engineering Consultants Inc.
BRONZE
THIS PAGE: (top to bottom) Dean Arnold (MS 72) and Professor Yanfeng Ouyang. Head Benito Mariñas delivers a department update. Armando Sanchez (BS 15) and Richard Gutierrez (MS 15).
David Mason & Associates d’Escoto Inc. Donohue & Associates Epstein John Frauenhoffer GEI Consultants HDR Engineering Inc. HNTB Corporation Ingenii LLC MWH Global O’Brien & Associates Primera Engineers Ltd. Ricondo & Associates Inc. S.T.A.T.E. Testing LLC Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP T.Y. Lin International The Roderick Group Thornton Tomasetti W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. Wight & Co.
Joseph C. Geagea
(BS 81, MS 82) Executive Vice President Chevron Corporation
Alberto Marulanda (MS 72) President and CEO Ingetec S.A.
2016 STUDENT AWARDS A. Epstein Award in Civil Engineering Cory Mosiman Hannah Lohman Alvord, Burdick & Howson Scholarship Dominic Lim American Society of Civil Engineers Oustanding Instructor Award Brent Young American Society of Civil Engineers Outstanding Student Award Maximilian Orihuela
Bowman, Barrett and Associates Outstanding Scholar Award Anna Marie Cowan C.S. and Ruth Monnier Scholarship Fernando Del Toro Jalal Karaziwan Eric Tepox Xicotencatl CEE Excellence Award on Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring Liang Liu CEEAA Undergraduate Service Leadership Scholarship Matthew Lindeen
Anna Lee and James T.P. Yao Scholarship Alexandra Kawar
CH2M Hill Transportation Endowed Scholarship Ammar Elmajdoub
Bates and Rogers Scholarship Lucas Chae Jinesh Shah Dihan Yang
CRSI Education and Research Foundation Scholarship Xiaodan Du
Bernard Delbert Murphy Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Courtney Ackerman Matthew Tan Bob Zieba Memorial Scholarship Rohini Gupta Denzel McCauley
Carroll C. Wiley Traveling Award Nicole Vail Charles E. DeLeuw Travel Award Darkhan Mussanov Chester P. Siess Award Brian Shoener Reshmina William Chicago Outer Belt Contractors Association Scholarship Eric Etzwiler
Clockwise from top left: Denzel McCauley receives the Bob Zieba Memorial Scholarship, presented by Jim LaFave. Shuo Zhang receives the Walter E. Hanson Graduate Study Award, presented by Dan Whalen. Brian Umbright (center) presents the Wayne C. Teng Scholarship to Vincent Wenzel, Bora Ozaltun, Eugene Kim and Hua Shao. Jeff Roesler presents the CEE Excellence Award on Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring to Liang Liu. Lama Aoudi (center) receives the William C. Ackermann Sr. Civil Engineering Scholarship from Coletta and William Ackermann.
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Civil Engineering Class of 1943 Undergraduate Leadership Award William Sieczkowski III Clement C. Lee Outstanding Scholar Award in Honor of Houssam Mahmoud Karara Joshua Dormeier Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc. Scholarship George Kontos Dan and Mary Guill Scholarship Christopher Giebel Deep Foundations Institute Educational Trust / Berkel & Company Contractors Inc. Scholarship Nana Ochiai Cooper Tonachel Mingjia Zhong Duane Edward and Phyllis Ann Erickson Memorial Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Rebecca Ventura Earle J. Wheeler Scholarship Yubing Liang Vivian Wong Eli W. Cohen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thornton Tomasetti Foundation Scholarship Ilana Slutsky
Eric J. Kerestes Memorial Scholarship Julia Chang George L. Farnsworth Jr. Scholarship Kazami Brockman Eduardo Hanon Xiaohan Shao Sarah Wenzel Geotechnical Scholarship Gift Andony Landivar-Macias Grant W. Shaw Memorial Scholarship Christian Thompson Harold R. Sandberg Scholarship Qingjin Jill Fan Henry T. Heald Award Michael Valentino Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association Scholarship Jacob Sumeraj He Wang Illinois Association of County Engineers Award Kyle Bathgate Belinda Chum Alexander Kendzior Juan Carlos Martinez Mori Cody Simpson
Industry Advancement Foundation of Central Illinois Builders of the AGC Scholarship Joseph Binkowski
Leigh F. Zerbee Scholarship in Civil Engineering Corey Maisch Joshua Meggison
Ira O. Baker Memorial Scholarship Tony Calles Abdullah Hassaballah
Loreta and Silvio Corsetti Memorial Scholarship and Fellowship Fund Gloria Frank Alexandra Zach
Ira O. Baker Prize Hannah Lohman Weixi Li Jack and Kay Briscoe Scholarship Thomas Gibbs Michael Pugh John B. Felmley Engineering Scholarship Aliaa Taha Joseph C. and Marianne J. Geagea Civil and Environmental Engineering Scholarship Kunal Patel Arthur Tseng Klein and Hoffman Inc. Scholarship in Honor of Frank Klein Natsuki Okuda Koch Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Brandon Lung Langan/Dennis J. Leary Memorial Scholarship Fund Mark Abtahi
Maren Somers Memorial Engineering Scholarship Jessica Villie Max Whitman APWA Memorial Scholarship Rachel Kizer Melih T. Dural Undergraduate Research Prize Weixi Li Michael William Bartos Ed. D. Memorial Scholarship Nanaissa Maiga Moreland Herrin Scholarship Sean Pengelly Maude E. Eide Memorial Scholarship Michael Bianchini Thomas Holcomb Shyama Pandya Norman Carlson Scholarship Thomas Roadcap
RJN Foundation Civil Engineering Scholarship Damilola Taiwo
Walter E. Hanson Graduate Study Award Shuo Zhang
Ralph C. Hahn Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Dakota Gonzales
Walter L. and Carole A. Crowley Scholarship Hannah Lohman
Raymond and Sidney Epstein Structural Engineering Faculty Award Larry Fahnestock Road Builders Charities Scholarship Enrique Aragon
Wayne C. Teng Scholarship Vincent Wenzel Eugene Kim Bora Ozaltun Hua Shao Amanda Darmosaputro Kyle DePatis
Samuel C. Roberts Award in Civil Engineering Yanbing Wang Konstandinos Zavos
William A. Oliver Endowed Scholarship Wenjing Wu Meng Wai Yaw
Shelby K. Willis Engineering and Education Scholarship Peter Heintz Abby Mackay Zacker
William C. Ackermann Sr. Civil Engineering Scholarship Lama Aoudi Jacqueline Glattard
Union Pacific Railroad Scholarship Antonio Domel Darkhan Mussanov Paul Shih Taskin Sehitoglu Camila Pereira Silva
William E. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neil Award Jacob Je-Chian Lin
Walker Parking Consultants Scholarship Matt Kaiser
William E. Stallman Scholarship in Civil and Environmental Engineering Andrea Lucas William John Mackay Award Paolo Emmanuel Araneta Michael Baumgartner Justin Vogel John Walker
Clockwise from top left: Jim LaFave (center) presents the George L. Farnsworth Jr. Scholarship to Kazami Brockman, Sarah Wenzel, Eduardo Hanon and Xiaohan Shao. Darkhan Mussanov, Paul Shih, Camila Pereira Silva and Taskin Sehitoglu receive the Union Pacific Railroad Scholarship, presented by Chris Barkan. Hannah Lohman and Weixi Li receive the Ira O. Baker Prize, presented by Jim LaFave. Al Hollenbeck presents the RJN Foundation Civil Engineering Scholarship to Damilola Taiwo.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Spring 2016 33
Three University of Illinois students received 2015 student of the year awards from DOT University Transportation Center: Daniel King (adviser Jeff Roesler), MS student in CEE – Center for Highway Pavement Preservation; Daniel Castaneda (adviser David Lange), PhD student in CEE – Research on Concrete Applications for Sustainable Transportation (Re-CAST) Center; and Andrew Lovell (adviser Chris Barkan), PhD student in CEE – NuRAIL Center.
Former Irish president speaks at climate change workshop “It’s an agreement about sustainable development, economics, energy transformation, human dignity and the planet we pass on to future generations.”
Professor Ximing Cai’s paper ”Multiagent Systems and Distributed Constraint Reasoning for Regulatory Mechanism Design in Water Management” was selected by the editor of ASCE-EWRI’s Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management as the 2016 Best Research-Oriented Paper. Associate Professor Larry A. Fahnestock has received a Special Achievement Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction for his work on the reserve capacity of low-ductility steel braced frames in areas of moderate seismicity, in which he quantifies the effects of reserve capacity in non-ductile frames, which may preclude the need for strict seismic retrofit requirements in moderate seismic regions. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated notable achievements in structural steel design, construction, research or education. It honors those who have made a positive and substantial impact on the structural steel design and construction industry.
- Mary Robinson, on the Paris Agreement
Ximing Cai
Assistant Professor Mani Golparvar-Fard received the 2016 Daniel W. Halpin Award for Scholarship in Construction from the Construction Institute “for his cutting-edge research focused on creating new knowledge in computer vision sensing and analytics to formalize simple and yet effective project monitoring and control techniques for construction teams, as well as for his active engagement teaching philosophy.” Golparvar-Fard also was named a recipient of a 2016 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research. This award recognizes outstanding research during the past year and is presented annually. Golparvar-Fard and his PhD graduate Dr. Youngjib Ham received the best paper award from the 6th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management for their paper entitled “Updating BIM: Reflecting Thermographic Sensing in BIM-based Building Energy Analysis.” The paper was chosen from among 225 published papers from 21 countries. 34
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Understanding the many ways that climate change is affecting society was the goal of a workshop organized, in part, by CEE professors Paolo Gardoni and Praveen Kumar. The workshop, titled Climate Change and Its Impact: Risks and Inequalities, was held March 10-11 at the I Hotel and Conference Center, Champaign. “Climate change is one of the most important and pressing global challenges for the international community,” Gardoni said. “The premise of this workshop was that climate change adaptation and mitigation policy must be technically viable as well as socially and culturally acceptable, economically reasonable, environmentally sustainable and ethically justifiable.” In order to successfully meet these goals, Gardoni said policy should draw on the technical expertise of scientists, engineers, architects and urban planners; the legal, cultural, political and economic expertise of social scientists and legal scholars; and the ethical expertise of philosophers and ethicists. The workshop provided an opportunity for speakers from all of these fields to participate, and featured a
keynote address by the Honorable Mary Robinson, president and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, current U.N. Special Envoy for Climate Change and former President of Ireland. Focusing on the Paris Agreement, in which 195 countries adopted a plan to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, Robinson spoke of the ambitiousness of the Paris deal. “It’s not a narrow environmental agreement,” she said. “It’s an agreement about sustainable development, economics, energy transformation, human dignity and the planet we pass on to future generations.” Robinson emphasized the need to ensure that the Paris Agreement is implemented fairly for all countries, and the importance of championing human rights throughout the process of climate action. Other workshop sessions – which featured scholars and practitioners from diverse disciplinary backgrounds – covered topics including preparedness, ecology, impact, vulnerability, governance and adaptation. In addition to Gardoni and Kumar, workshop organizers included professors Colleen Murphy, College of Law, Department of Philosophy, and Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program; Robert McKim, Departments of Religion and Philosophy; and Don Wuebbles, Department of Atmospheric Sciences. i
DEPARTMENT NEWS
Professor Marcelo H. García gave the 2015 Donald R.F. Harleman Memorial Water Resources Engineering Lecture “Flood ManageGary Parker ment and Sanitation Strategy For a Lakefront Metropolis, The Case of Chicago” at Penn State University. Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest was selected as the 2016 Bill Boyle Educator of the Year by the Central States Water Environment Association. Professor David Lange has been elected vice-president of the American Concrete Institute. He will serve a twoyear term. Associate Professor Thanh H. Nguyen has been named a recipient of a 2016 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research. This award recognizes outstanding research during the past year and is presented annually. Professor Gary Parker was the recipient of the 2016 Hunter Rouse Hydraulic Engineering Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Parker’s oral presentation of “Turbidity Currents that Co-Evolve with Channels Over Lengths as Much as 1000 km: How Can They Do it?” at the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) Research Symposium – Channels: From Geomorphic Expression to Stratigraphic Record was judged the Outstanding Oral Presentation of the SEPM Symposium. Research Assistant Professor Joshua M. Peschel’s PhD student, Sierra Young, was awarded the 2016 FMC Technologies Fellowship, and also the 2016 Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Fund Fellowship. These awards will provide her with funding to study the research topic that she is working on with Peschel, the human-robot interaction for physical object manipulation by small unmanned aerial systems. Professor Jeffrey R. Roesler was elected President of the International Society of Concrete Pavements. His term will be 2016-2018. Professor Timothy D. Stark was the keynote speaker for the 28th Central Pennsylvania Geotechnical Conference in Hershey, Penn. The title of his keynote presentation was “Hurricane Katrina: Court Ruling on IHNC Floodwall Failures.” The two-day conference was attended by more than 400 people and was organized by the Central Pennsylvania Section of the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
RailTEC students all but sweep the AREMA scholarships After receiving a record number of applicants for their 2016 scholarship awards, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association Educational Foundation announced its winners in February. Even during this competitive year, Illinois had a record number of winners. They are, from left to right: Scott Schmidt, Darkhan Mussanov, Xiao Lin, Sean Pengelly, Frederick Bradford Kippen III, Chen-Yu Lin, Alexander Lovett, Paul Shih, Manuel Martin Ramos, Vassilios Lygiros and Thomas Roadcap. Not pictured is scholarship winner Phanuwat Kaewpanya.
Colombian alumni trio visit campus CEE Distinguished Alumnus Alberto Marulanda (MS 72), President and CEO of Ingetec SA, a geotechnical engineering company based in Bogota, Colombia, visited Urbana-Champaign after traveling to Chicago to receive his award on March 2. Traveling with him were his sons, both also CEE geotechnical engineering alumni, Andres Marulanda (MS 00) and Camilo Marulanda (MS 01, PhD 05). Their visit included meetings with faculty, a presentation by Camilo to students that focused on some of their projects, and a tour of the University of Illinois Dairy Research Unit, pictured. Marulanda owns a dairy farm in Colombia.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 35
Illinois announces joint institute with Zhejiang University The University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and its College of Engineering have accepted an invitation from Zhejiang University to form a joint engineering institute. Beginning in fall 2016, about 150 undergraduate students will study civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering at the Institute. The degrees these students receive will be built on Engineering at Illinois’ globally recognized curriculum. “People all over the world recognize that the way we teach engineering is second to none. And we recognize that the education and values that make America prosperous and influential need to be shared with other countries. The Joint Institute is a means of doing that,” said Barbara Wilson, U of I chancellor. The Joint Institute will be part of Zheijiang University’s new international campus in Haining, China. The international campus will bring together worldrenowned programs in the liberal arts, sciences, engineering, business and biomedical sciences for students from around the world. Students will receive a degree from Zhejiang University and a certification from Zhejiang University and the University of Illinois. The Joint Institute also plans to pursue a dual degree B.S. program and graduate degrees. Zhejiang University is considered one
CEE faculty members visited Zhejiang University in May 2015 for a workshop to discuss the Joint Institute. Illinois participants are in the front row: (second, third and fourth from the left) professors Wen-Tso Liu, Liang Liu and Bill Spencer; Professor and Head Benito Mariñas (in navy jacket); (second, third and fifth from center) professors Erol Tutumluer, Ximing Cai and Yanfeng Ouyang.)
of the top five universities in China. Like U of I, it is a large, comprehensive school with a very strong engineering program. “Zhejiang University is a world-class engineering institution, and this collaboration presents an amazing opportunity for us to expand Engineering at Illinois’ already substantial global presence,” said Andreas Cangellaris, dean Illinois’ College of Engineering. Students will be taught by faculty from Zhejiang University and Illinois. Faculty will be trained to Illinois’ highest standards, and all new faculty members will complete a carefully designed, one-
year development program. This partnership will also create a unique study-abroad experience for Illinois students. They will have an opportunity to study with world-class institutions teaching other disciplines, while enrolling in the same engineering classes they would back home. The Joint Institute expects to enroll about 150 undergraduate students in the first year and about 700 undergraduate students by its fifth year. That will make it larger than any current educational partnership with China for any U.S. institution. i
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Nominations invited: CEE Alumni Awards
Interested in serving on the CEEAA Board of Directors?
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 August 1, 2016. For more information, please visit cee.illinois.edu/CEEAAawards.
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.
cee.illinois.edu
DEPARTMENT NEWS
2016 Emeritus Faculty Luncheon
The department held its annual luncheon for Emeritus Faculty on Saturday, April 9. Faculty, spouses and guests met in the Yeh Center for a lunch and a department update by CEE Professor and Head Benito J. Mariñas. Also attending were associate heads Jeffery Roesler and Jim LaFave, members of the CEE Advancement Team and two new professors, Yujie Men and Rafael O. Tinoco. Pictured from left to right are: Coordinator of Alumni and Corporate Relations Jamie Byrum; Mariñas; Pauline Dempsey, Jeannie Snoeyink; Director of Advancement John Kelley; Jon Liebman; Vernon Snoeyink; Bill Walker; Nancy Walker; Yolanda Mariñas; Ed Herricks; Jeff Roesler; Marsha Biddle; Pete Lenzini; Barry Dempsey; German Gurfinkel; Ana Gurfinkel; Rafael Tinoco; Bill Gamble; Yujie Men; Marshall Thompson; and Jim LaFave.
Chicago Water Commissioner Frank Avila (BS 61) visits CEE Frank Avila (BS 61) and his wife, Sherry (BS Ed 66), visited the department in December 2015. Avila is Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. He met with faculty, toured their labs and learned about their research. Pictured left to right in the Yeh Student Center: Blake Landry, Research Associate and Lecturer; Assistant Professor Jeremy Guest; Assistant Professor Ashlynn Stillwell; Avila; Professor Marcelo García; Professor Wen-Tso Liu; and Professor and Head Benito Mariñas.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 37
Congratulations, 2016 NAE Illini!
2010s Hannah A.C. Lohman (BS 15) received the 2016
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for MS/PhD programs. She was one of 2000 awardees, chosen from more than 17,000 applicants. These awards are provided to individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements, and they are investments that will help propel this country’s future innovations and economic growth. Lohman also receive the College of Engineering Harvey H. Jordan Award, which recognizes the scholastic achievement and character of an outstanding senior. For the text of her address at the student awards ceremony, please visit cee.illinois.edu/hannahlohman2016. Richael K. Young (BS 11) participated in the White House Water Summit in March. On World Water Day, approximately 150 top water leaders met to discuss drought, management, and innovative technologies to address water issues. Young, the Richael Young president and cofounder of Mammoth Trading, Lincoln, Neb., shared her story as an entrepreneur who launched the first active smart water markets in the country.
2000s Jared M. Green, PE (MS 02) has been promoted to Senior Associate / Vice President at Sangan. After working for the firm for nearly 13 years, he now joins the executive team at Langan as a New Shareholder. Michael C. Quill (BS 06) P.E., a civil engineer at Hanson Professional Services Inc.’s Chicago regional office, recently earned his professional engineer license in Illinois. Prior to joining Hanson in 2014, he was a project
David Maidment (BS 72, MS 74, PhD 76), the Hussein M. Alharthy Centennial Chair in Civil Engineering, Center for Research in Water Resources, University of Texas, Austin, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for the development of geographic information systems applied to hydrologic processes.
engineer for a construction firm in Chicago and served as a surface warfare officer for the US. Navy in San Diego. At Hanson, he has provided services for projects including the widening and reconstruction of a 22-mile section of Interstate 90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway) in Boone, Kane and McHenry counties and the Glenn Highway capacity improvements in Eagle River, Alaska. Lucas E. Tryggestad (BS 98, MS 01, MARCH 01) has been named to the Building Design + Construction 40 Under 40 Class of 2015. Tryggestad is the associate director, studio head and senior technical architect at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago, Ill. His work spans five continents, ranging in scale from tall towers and entire city plans to small, regional bank prototypes. He is a leader is High Performance Design, SOM’s integrated approach to planning, architecture and engineering and an expert in design, testing and refinement of highperformance curtain walls.
CEE at Illinois gratefully thanks the lunch sponsors for its spring 2016 Job Fair: Bowman, Barrett & Associates Inc. Civiltech Engineering, Inc. Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. Fehr-Graham & Associates
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Gary J. Klein (BS 73, MS 75), Executive Vice President and Senior Principal at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. in Northbrook, Ill., was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for investigations of national and international infrastructure and conveying knowledge from these investigations to the profession.
1990s Alan R. Poeppel (BS 91, MS 93) has designed the foundation for the 1-kilometer-plus-tall Jeddah Tower, formerly known as the Kingdom Tower. Poeppel’s team worked closely with structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti to develop a foundation that would accommodate a gravity load of 860,000 tons.
John R. Viise (MS 92) has joined Thornton Tomasetti’s Chicago office as a vice president in the Structural Engineering practice. Viise has more than 20 years of experience in the structural design of tall and supertall buildings, as well as a variety of complex, large-scale projects in the U.S. and internationally. Viise is also a full voting member of the ASCE 41 Standards Committee, which deals with the development of performance based provisions for seismic design. Viise is currently serving as co-chair of the CTBUH Seismic Working Group, coordinating the development of international recommendations for performance based seismic design of tall buildings. Some of his projects include the Trump International Hotel & Tower; OKO Tower, Moscow; FBI Denver Field Office; Manulife Financial Corp. Office Center, Washington, D.C.; Lakeside Master Plan, Chicago; and Canary Wharf, London.
1980s Terry L. Barnett (BS 79, MS 81), P.E., S.E., a senior structural engineer at Hanson Professional Services Inc.’s Rockford, Ill. office, recently celebrated 35 years
ALUMNI NEWS
of service with the firm. Barnett joined Hansen in 1981. He has provided structural engineering services for a variety of building, industrial and railroad projects, including new construction and investigation and rehabilitation of existing structures. He has worked on projects including the SwedishAmerican Regional Cancer Center, Rock Valley College’s Jacobs Center for Science and Math, City Hall and additions at Auburn, East and Guilford high schools, all in Rockford; OSF St. Anthony’s Rock Cut Crossing medical office building in Loves Park, the expansion of railway intermodal facilities in Illinois, Tennessee and Utah; and foundations for petrochemical plants in Illinois, Louisiana and Texas and for electrical transmission towers in Illinois and Missouri. Barry L. Suits (BS 87) has been named President of Virginia American Water. He brings more than 20 years of leadership and engineering experience to his new role. He has served as vice president of operations for Illinois American Water since 2011, following his promotion from manager of network operations.
1970s Gregory D. Cargill (BS 71) and his wife Kathryn (FAA 74) were part of a tour of Greece and Turkey in October 2015. The tour was part of the University of Illinois’ Explorer Club; approximately 22 alumni participated. The tour included stops at six Greek islands plus Istanbul and Athens. Gabriel Fernandez (MS 72) has been selected by the Geo-Institute to receive the 2016 Martin S. Kapp Foundation Engineering Award “for his outstanding innovative contributions to the design of underground structures.” Andrew W. Richardson (BS 78) was awarded the WEF Emerson Distinguished Service Medal at the 2015 Water Environmental Federation’s annual conference.
1960s Frank Avila (BS 61) and his wife, Sherry (BS Ed 66), cele-
brated their 50th wedding anniversary on November 27, 2015. Frank is Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The two met in Chicago at Esther Hall, a Methodist-run Girls’ Club. They have three children, sons Frank and Quinn, and daughter Audrey; and two grandchildren. The Avilas celebrated their anniversary with a trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. Frank Avila is pictured on page 37.
Professor Gholamreza Mesri , left, and Bill Bennett
Take me out to the ballpark structures Over the century-and-a-half of professional baseball history, the ballpark structures in which the games are played have evolved even more than the sport itself. Each fall semester since 2010, Illinois CEE Professor Jim LaFave (BS 86, MS 87) has taught a CEE 199 freshman discovery course entitled “The Structure of Ballparks.” The one-credit class, open to both majors and non-majors, traces the history of ballpark design Jim LaFave and construction, primarily from a structural engineering perspective. LaFave, who is CEE Associate Head and Director of Undergraduate Studies, covers a wide variety of topics in the class, such as construction material selection and structural system options, as well as economic, functional, and architectural considerations, such as incorporating sustainable site development and materials alternatives. The evolution of baseball stadiums from simple wooden structures to modern steel and concrete ballparks is examined, including treatment of cantilevered trusses, precast concrete components, facades, and retractable roof structures. In addition to case studies
of recent engineering designs and a local stadium site visit, practical examples are also drawn from renovations and expansions of historic baseball stadiums. Professor LaFave has enlisted the services of a number of Illinois CEE alumni over the years as guest speakers in CEE 199. Jonathan Lewis (BS 99, MS 01), from Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., presented to the class a number of years ago about an investigation assessing falling concrete in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. More recently, Justin Barton (BS 04, MS 05), from Walter P. Moore Associates, gave a talk to the students in the class about the design and construction of Target Field, a 21st-century urban ballpark in Minneapolis. And just last fall, Bill Bennett (BS 91, MS 93), from Pepper Construction, spoke to the class about his involvement and leadership in the recent and ongoing renovations at Wrigley Field. Both Bennett and LaFave, who are eternally optimistic Cub fans, were hoping that this really might be “the year,” but at least they can each continue to enjoy the civil engineering aspects of ballparks, regardless of how the games are unfolding down on the field. i
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 39
ALUMNI NEWS
Ballot to select new officers for the CEE Alumni Association Board of Directors All CEE alumni are asked to cast their votes and return this ballot by mail or email to the addresses below. Open positions for Board of Directors for the new term: President 2016-2018:
Colleen E. Quinn (BS 84), Ricondo & Associates Inc., Chicago Write-in: Past President 2016-2018:
Allen J. Staron (BS 74), Clark Dietz Inc., Chicago Vice President 2016-2018:
“A well-prepared engineer confident in his work.”
John P. Kos (BS 77), Lochner, Chicago Write-in: 2nd Vice President 2016-2018:
Paula C. Pienton (BS 85), T.Y. Lin International, Chicago Write-in: Directors 2016-2018 (vote for five):
Justin R. Lewis (BS 07, MS 08), Hayward Baker Inc., Chicago Katherine Pripusch-Sienkiewicz (BS 03, MS 13), Fermilab, Batavia, Ill. Robert J. Risser (MS 87, MS 89), Precast/ Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago Michael G. Vitale (BS 82, MS 84), Hatch Mott MacDonald, Cleveland, Ohio Richard J. Sieracki (BS 74), The Kenrich Group, Chicago Write-in: Please mail to: Celeste Arbogast 1201 Newmark Lab, MC-250 205 N. Mathews Ave. Urbana, IL 61801 Or email your choices to: celeste@illinois.edu
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The family of CEE alumnus Jamie “Al” Mitrani (MS 48) toured campus for the first time to walk in his rather colorful footsteps. Mitrani had come to Illinois to study structures after graduating from the University of Havana. He knew no English when he arrived. At Illinois, he had to bunk in the ice arena, because of a housing shortage during the post-World War II era. Pictured left to right in the ice arena are Mitrani’s daughter-in-law, Debra; granddaughter, Esther; son Alberto; and grandson, Daniel. The group also posed for a picture in front of Engineering Hall, where he took classes. Mitrani went into industry after school, at one point formed his own consulting practice and later served as a city engineer in Florida. He died in 2007. Mitrani’s son provided the photo of one of his father’s projects, giving this explanation: “The enclosed picture is of a cantilever entrance sign to the Vardero International Hotel near
Havana. … According to my uncle, also a civil engineer, my father didn’t think this structure was that complex. However, others were not convinced, and as described later by my uncle, when the concrete was poured, the contractor would not remove the scaffolding as he felt that once the support was dismantled, the cantilever would collapse. When called and advised of the situation, my father went to the job site, stood directly under the structure and ordered the scaffolding removed while he remained underneath it. That was my father. A man who believed he was a well-prepared engineer confident in his work.” i
1970s Allen V. Hirsch (BS 75) died Dec. 20. He was 62. He
worked in financial services throughout most his career. At the time of his death, he was Vice President of Beacon Capital Management.
1960s Col. Richard L. Ruddell (USAF, Ret.) (BS 64) died Jan.
2. He was 74. He served more than 27 years on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. After military retirement, he worked in the Office of Water Resource Management of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
1950s Donald E. Charhut (BS 58) died Sept. 29 in Stamford,
Calif. He was 83. He led the McDonnell Douglas consulting team with ERNO Aerospace in constructing Spacelab, a reusable science laboratory that was used on 22 Space Shuttle flights.
1940s Elio “D’App” D’Appoloni (PhD 48) died Dec. 30. He was 97. He taught structural engineering and soil mechanics at Carnegie Tech.
John Baerwald Former faculty member John Edward Baerwald, former CEE faculty member and director of the University Highway Traffic Safety Center, died April 27, 2015, in Santa Fe, NM. After military service in WWII, Baerwald received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from Purdue University. He served as a transportation and traffic engineer educator and researcher at Purdue University for six years and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for 28 years, in addition to being a self-employed consulting transportation and traffic engineer. The studies Baerwald conducted while at Illinois included one to determine the provisions and policies for increasing the use of bicycles on campus. He spearheaded the Green Street Improvement plan that included walk-wait indicators at the corner of Wright and Green streets and the installation of new signals all along Green Street. He worked
Maxwell truly loved water, and his expertise was in the area of fluid Professor Emeritus Wilmechanics and hydraulic Hall Maxwell liam Hall Christie Maxwell, engineering. He was in80, of Champaign died on ternationally known for April 18, 2016. He was born on Jan. 25, his research on submerged jets, free sur1936, in Coleraine, County Londonder- face effects, stratified flows and thermal ry, Northern Ireland. pollution from power plants discharging Hall Maxwell received his B.Sc. with heated water into rivers and lakes. He honors from The Queen’s University of published numerous technical papers Belfast in 1956, his M.Sc. degree from and technical reports. He edited three Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, books, including “Frontiers in Hydrology,” in 1958 and in 1964 obtained his Ph.D. in honor of the lifetime contributions in Civil Engineering from the Universi- made by the late Professor Ven Te Chow. ty of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He marAs an assistant professor, Maxwell was ried Carolyn McLaughlin of Kingston, charged by professors Nathan M. NewOntario, Canada, on Sept. 28, 1960. In mark and Chow with the design of the 1964, after completing his graduate water supply system and all the experistudies, he joined the faculty of the mental facilities for the new HydrosysDepartment of Civil Engineering at Il- tems Laboratory, built with funding from linois, where he remained until his re- the National Science Foundation and the tirement in 1996. State of Illinois in 1968. He also played a
Hall Maxwell Former faculty member
Photo courtesy of Donna Baerwald
IN MEMORIAM
Baerwald with his wife, Donna
with the Illinois Division of Highways on the factors determining speed limits in the state. He also worked extensively on the functions and design of motor vehicle license plates. Baerwald was the director of the Illinois Traffic Engineering Conference, renamed the Traffic Engineering and Safety Conference (TES) in 1988, until he retired from the University in 1983. His contributions were recognized at the 64th Annual TES Conference October 14, 2015, at the I Hotel and Conference Center. He is survived by his wife, Donna; children Miriam Granger, Barbara Bowman, Thomas Baerwald, and James Baerwald; 11 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; and his sister, Marianne Sanders. i
major role in the design and installation of the existing wave channel facilities in the Hydrosystems Laboratory, which is regarded today as one of the best laboratories in the world. Maxwell was known for his sharp sense of humor, devotion, loyalty and value of fairness and service in the community and his congregation. His graduate students always looked forward to having Thanksgiving dinner at the Maxwells’ household. He and Carolyn enjoyed traveling to many of the nation's parks and memorials, taking multiple road trips to northern Illinois, the Great Lakes, Montana and Calgary, while never missing an opportunity to spend time by the water. He will be missed. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; four children, Katrina (BS 83), Kevin, Wendy and Liam; and eight grandchildren. i – M.H. Garcia
Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 41
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Old Masters
Meet baby Nuoyi Yang Zhang (CEE MS 07) and Lu Wang (MCB MS 08), pictured, met in 2005 as graduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ten years later, the married couple has fond memories of their time at Illinois, and decided to pass that love on to their daughter. Literally.
“How time flies… it’s been ten years! We are both grateful for what UIUC had generously offered us, including knowledge, skills, the way we think and act, memories of best days and life-long friendship. In January 2014 we had a baby girl. The Chinese pronunciation for ‘Illinois’ is ‘Yi Li Nuo Yi’ and we decided to name her Nuoyi.” — Lu Wang Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2015 43 Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association—Spring 2016 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
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