• Woodrow Wilson bridge and water resources policy leader among those being honored by national civil engineering organization
RESTON, VA, Feb. 28, 2008 -- Did you flip a light switch this morning? Turn on the tap to brush your teeth? Did you get in a car, bus or train to go to work? A civil engineer is responsible for the energy, water, transportation and other infrastructure systems that are used every day.
Each year the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognizes outstanding civil engineering projects that have made a contribution to society, new applications of innovative technology that demonstrate research and development transferred into practice, and the exceptional leaders that made it all possible, with its Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Lifetime Achievement Awards and Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award, as well as the Civil Engineering Forum for Innovation's (CEFI) Charles Pankow Award for Innovation and Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research.
The awards will be presented at ASCE's annual OPAL Awards Gala on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 6 p.m. in the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va.
OPAL Awards
ASCE first presented the OPAL Awards in 2000 to recognize the lifetime achievements of civil engineers whose contributions have greatly enhanced the health, safety and economy of our nation and the world. The 2008 recipients are:
• William H. Luyties III, P.E., vice president of major projects at Luminant Construction (previously TXU), for Construction
• Clyde N. Baker Jr., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, NAE, senior vice president and senior principal engineer at STS Consultants, Ltd., an AECOM company, for Design
• Ernest T. Smerdon, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, NAE, dean emeritus at the University of Arizona, for Education
• Gerald E. Galloway, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.D.WRE, Dist.M.ASCE, NAE, a Glenn L. Martin Institute professor of engineering and affiliate professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, for Government
• John M. Dionisio, P.E., president and CEO at AECOM Technology Corporation, for Management
Additional information on the OPAL Lifetime Achievement Awards program can be found at http://content.asce.org/handa/lifetime.html
OCEA Award
Established in 1960, the OCEA program recognizes projects for their contribution to the well-being of people and communities, their resourcefulness in planning and design challenges, and their innovations in materials and techniques. Selected from a group of 26 entries, the 2008 finalists include: the Arsenic Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent: Sustainable Engineering Solution in West Bengal, India; the Mission Valley East Light Rail Transit project in San Diego; the Pasadena City Hall Seismic Upgrade and Rehabilitation in Pasadena, Calif.; the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, Wash.; and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project in the Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area. The winner will be announced at the OPAL Awards Gala.
Additional information on the OCEA Awards program can be found at http://content.asce.org/handa/ocea.html
Pankow Award
Created in 1996 by CEFI, the Pankow Award recognizes the contributions of organizations involved in collaborative efforts that demonstrate innovative design, materials or construction-related research and development being transferred into practice in a sustainable manner. The 2008 recipient is the lightweight modular composite firewall system-which is designed to protect each transformer in a system, isolating the potential damage associated with a catastrophic failure and was developed collaboratively by Composite Support & Solutions Inc., Southern California Edison, San Diego State University Research Foundation and the University of Southern California.
Additional information on the Pankow Award can be found at http://content.asce.org/handa/Pankow_Award.html
Michel Award
The Michel Award, also established by CEFI, recognizes individuals in the design and construction industry who strive to increase industry participation in research and in efforts to bring innovation into practice. The 2008 recipient is retired Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, P.E., a project director with Bechtel Corporation and former chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Additional information on the Michel Award can be found at http://content.asce.org/handa/Henry_Michel_Award.html
Registration for the OPAL Awards Gala is now open, and additional information can be found at http://www.asce.org/opal.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society.
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