Page 5 - CEGE Magazine Fall 2023

Forty years ago, on October 12, 1983, the University celebrated the opening of the brand new Civil Engineering Building.
CAROL SHIELD received the distinc- tion of Honorary Member, the highest distinction awarded by the American Concrete Institute (ACI). Shield was the driving force behind creation of
the national design specifications
ACI 440 for the design of structural concrete reinforced with glass fiber- reinforced polymers (GFRP). This huge undertaking required significant effort throughout her career, and even as an emeritus professor. Shield was chosen for her “outstanding contributions as an educator, researcher, and leader, including her tireless service to the profession.” Shield will be recognized at the Spring 2024 ACI Convention.
Automated vehicles (AVs), whether fully autonomous or partially automated, have the potential to provide tremen- dous safety and efficiency benefits; however, they may also be suscep- tible to compromise via cyberattacks. RAPHAEL STERN received funding from the Center for Transportation Studies to examine the effects cyber- attacks may have on AVs and how affected vehicles might impact traffic operations. https://www.cts.umn.edu/ research/seedprojects/2023/stern
BEN WORSFOLD, et al., received the ACI Wason Medal for Most Meritorious Paper, given to the top paper selected from all the papers submitted to ACI Structural Engineering Journal and ACI Materials Journal. “Moment Transfer at Column-Foundation Connections: Phys- ical Tests,” DOI: 10.14359/51734799.
JUDY YANG was one of the eighty-one highly accomplished early-career engineers selected by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to take part in The Grainger Foundation Fron- tiers of Engineering 2023 Symposium. The event brings together engineers performing exceptional research and technical work in a variety of disciplines and crossing industry, academia, and government. Yang commented, “It was very inspiring to network with extraordi- nary colleagues and learn about various research topics, ranging from health care, to quantum computing, to misin- formation, and mining industries.”
ALUMNI
Two CEGE alumni are currently serving on the Alumni Society Board for the College of Science and Engineering: CAMILLA KUO-DAHAB (BCE 2012) and JOHN SIEKMEIER (BCE 1989, GeoE MS 1992).
RYAN CAPELLE (BCE 1997, MS Infra- structure Systems Engineering 2002), a project manager with Stantec, is the lead engineer on construction of the new Cold Spring Water Treatment Plant, Minnesota’s first biological nitrate reduction plant. His work was featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune July 31.
MICHAEL HEUER (BCE, 1978) was honored by Braun Intertec for reaching 45 years at the company. Heuer previously served on the CEGE Advisory Board and is the benefactor to the Michael M. and Nancy L. Heuer
Soil Mechanics Laboratory and the Heuer Soil Mechanics Labo- ratory Operations Fund. Check out Braun’s LinkedIn page for a video.
DWANE ROLLAG (BCE 1959) died March 11, 2023, at the age of 92, in Surprise, Arizona. He worked three years as a Professional Engineer, and then completed his Master's (SDSU) and Ph.D. (Purdue). He was a professor at South Dakota State University from 1975 until his retirement in 1999. He specialized in water treatment and management.
ALI TAROKH, JACOB SHARPE (now at Barr Engineering), and JOSEPH LABUZ received the Giovanni Barla Best Paper Award 2022 for their paper “Confined Tensile Testing of Porous Sandstone,” which was published in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (vol. 55, issue 11). Joseph Labuz (far left) pictured with former students: Feitao Zeng (visiting Ph.D. student), Ali Tarokh (Ph.D. student), Jacob Sharpe (MS student), and Jianwen Peng (visiting Ph.D. student).
BRET WEISS, PE (BCE 1987), was featured in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as one of the Most Admired CEOs. Weiss is CEO of WSB, based in Golden Valley with over 700 employees and around $120 million
in annual revenue. “One of the most significant shifts in Weiss’ leadership approach over time has been moving from a follower in the industry to being a leader in it. Weiss pointed to technology as a prime example. In 2021, while working on a project to convert a stretch of Highway 169 in Elk River into a freeway, WSB was the first firm to deliver fully paperless plans to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “Nobody else was doing it and nobody was really asking for it,” Weiss said. Now there
is a big push through departments
of transportation to adopt the type of software modeling WSB used, Weiss said. “It gives us a head start to lead the industry.” Weiss serves on the Gover- nor’s Advisory Council for Connected and Automated Vehicles, where he aims to ensure that Minnesota businesses are at the forefront of any industry devel- opments, from pavement markings to sensor technology” (by Rachel Keranen published Sep 20, 2023).
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering | DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND GEO- ENGINEERING 5