Page 2 - CEGE Magazine - Fall 2021

CEGE Spring 2021
News 3
Gary Davis, Transportation
Engineer 8
Warren Lecture Series 11 Lacabanne Rock Mechanics
Laboratory Opening 11-13 Alumnus Ali Daneshy and the
Mysterious Underground 14 Junior Mentoring Program
in STEM 16
Scholarships and Fellowships 18 Three Faculty Promoted 20
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College of Science and Engineering
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND GEO- ENGINEERING
Message from the Department Head
Alumni and Friends,
What a whirlwind it has been as we prepared for
fall semester and a return to in-person classes and activities—adapted, of course, to follow the latest
protocols of getting vaccinated and wearing masks.
Nonetheless, it has been invigorating to see students on campus.
Some things are different. For example, there was no CEGE gathering for Homecom- ing this year. We do, however, have some special events in fall 2021.
In the second week of the semester, we welcomed students back to campus with an Open House in the Courtyard. We introduced them to a group of employers and let them know how to get involved with student groups. Michelle Anderson, our Industry and Pre-major Coordinator, was largely responsible for pulling that together. She has been tireless in reaching out to first- and second-year students to make sure they know about CEGE. She has also reached out to many of you, our alumni, to help share with them what a rewarding career engineering can be.
Another new outreach program for high school students was the brainchild of Ph.D. candidate Svetlana Baranova. She enlisted the collaboration of her fellow graduate students to start a unique tutoring program aimed at 11th graders. Read more on page 16.
I am particularly pleased to tell you that the newly renovated W. David Lacabanne Rock Mechanics Laboratory is ready for use. We are very grateful to all our donors. A generous lead gift from The Coleman Family Foundation at the direction of alumnus Dick Coleman and his wife Faith kickstarted the fundraising and made it possible for us to name the lab in honor of Dr. Lacabanne. Ali Daneshy contributed his support
as well (read more about his career on page 14). We will celebrate the re-opening on October 22 with a presentation by Distinguished Alumnus Mark Board and dedication by Dean Mos Kaveh. You can see photos of the remodeled lab on pages 12-13.
Coming up on October 29, we will host the 2021 Sehlin Lecture, which will be deliv- ered by Ron Klemencic, one of the nation’s leading structural engineers, with a career devoted to industry advancement. I hope you can attend. Check the Warren Lecture Series listing on our website for details.
I am also pleased to share an update about my colleague Gary Davis (see page 8). He has a long history of investigating safety in transportation, and now the advent of automated vehicles is bringing his research in new directions.
We are pleased to welcome you back to campus as you feel comfortable. Check the latest updates on guidelines at https://safe-campus.umn.edu/return-campus/covid- 19-updates. Be sure to let me know you are coming!
Go Gophers!
Joseph Labuz
Professor and Department Head