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August 2014

The Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) proudly recognized the following recipients at the Structures Congress 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts on April 3, 2014:

Outstanding Structural Engineers
Award winners (left to right): Mike Miller, Todd Helwig, Maria Pia Repetto, Sherif El-Tawil, Sam Rihani, Herbert Mang, Don Dusenberry, Stan Caldwell, Taka Kimura, Ron Hamburger, Lou Geschwindner, Chia-Ming Uang, Satish Nagarajaiah, Jennifer Goupil.

Structural Engineering Institute Awards

2014 Chapter of the Year Award

The 2014 SEI Chapter of the Year Award was given to the SEI Philadelphia Chapter. The Philadelphia SEI Chapter has been very active in a variety of activities including technical presentations, conferences, tours, student outreach events, and networking opportunities.

Gene Wilhoite Innovations in Transmission Line Engineering Award

The Gene Wilhoite Award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the art and science of transmission line engineering. The 2014 Gene Wilhoite Award was given to Michael Miller, P.E., P.Eng, M.ASCE. Mr. Miller has more than 25 years of experience in the design, analysis, and testing of high-voltage transmission structures. Mr. Miller is the current chair of the ASCE/SEI Electrical Transmission Structures Committee.

Dennis L. Tewksbury Award

The Tewksbury award recognizes an SEI member who has advanced the interests of SEI. The 2014 award was presented to Sam Rihani, P.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE. During his 36-year professional career, Mr. Rihani has specialized in the structural analysis and design of steel framing systems and buildings. Mr. Rihani has been an active member of ASCE since 1975, serving on the Executive Committee of the Structural Engineering Institute’s Business and Professional Activities Division, was a member of the ASCE Technical Region Board of Governors, and served as President of SEI from 2011 through 2013.

Walter P. Moore, Jr. Award

This award is presented for significant contributions to the development of codes and standards. The 2014 Walter P. Moore, Jr. Award was given to Ronald Hamburger, S.E., SECB, F.SEI. Mr. Hamburger has nearly 40 years of experience in design, failure investigation, research and building code and standards development. He has also given of his time to serve on many SEAOC, AWS, and NCSEA committees.

SEI President’s Award

The SEI President’s Award recognizes exemplary contributions to the success of SEI. The 2014 President’s Award was given to Stan R. Caldwell, P.E., SECB, F.AEI, F.SEI, F.ASCE. Mr. Caldwell’s experience includes the structural design and management of more than 800 projects over his 40 year career. He has been very active in professional organizations including ASCE. Mr. Caldwell was a member of the SEI Board of Governors, participated in bettering the Structural Engineering Certification Board, helped form the Structural Engineering Licensure Coalition, and helped in the creation of the SEI Futures Fund.

American Society of Civil Engineering Structural Awards

Shortridge Hardesty Award

The Shortridge Hardesty Award may be given annually to individuals who have contributed substantially in applying fundamental results of research in the field of structural stability. The 2014 award was given to Todd Helwig, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE. Dr. Helwig is currently in his 20th year of teaching and conducting research in the design and behavior of steel structures with an emphasis in structural stability and bracing.

Ernest E. Howard Award

The Ernest E. Howard Award recognizes an ASCE member who has made contributions to the advancement of structural engineering. The 2014 award was given to Louis Geschwindner, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE. Dr. Geschwindner was a faculty member at Penn State for more than 40 years. He has published books on structural analysis and structural steel design, and is active in writing and presenting continuing education programs for the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).

Moisseiff Award

The Moisseiff Award recognizes a paper contributing to structural design, including applied mechanics, as well as the theoretical analysis or construction improvement of structures. The 2014 award was presented to Hyoung-Bo Sim, Ph.D., and Chia-Ming Uang, for the paper titled “Stress Analyses and Parametric Study on Full-Scale Fatigue Tests of Rib-to-Deck Welded Joints in Steel Orthotropic Decks,” published in the September-October 2012 issue of the Journal of Bridge Engineering.

Nathan M. Newmark Medal

The Nathan M. Newmark Award is presented jointly by the Engineering Mechanics Institute and Structural Engineering Institute for outstanding contributions in structural engineering and mechanics. The 2014 medal was awarded to Herbert A. Mang, Ph.D., F.ASCE. A 40 year ASCE member, Dr. Mang has made outstanding research contributions in the area of nonlinear continuum and computational mechanics that clarified the cause of collapse of important concrete structures and quantified the influence of bending on the initial post-buckling behavior of metallic structures.

Raymond C. Reese Research Prize

The Raymond C. Reese Research Prize is awarded for a paper published by ASCE that presents structural engineering research that can be applied to design. The 2014 prize was presented to Maria Pia Repetto, Ph.D., and Giovanni Solari, Ph.D., P.E., F.EMI, M.ASCE, for their paper titled “Closed-Form Prediction of the Alongwind-Induced Fatigue of Structures,” published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Structural Engineering.

George Winter Award

Candidates for the George Winter award must be highly accomplished civil engineers who are also proficient in the arts or have made social contributions to the community. Armen Der Kiureghian, Ph.D, M.ASCE, was presented with the 2014 award in recognition of his contributions to structural engineering, painting, and humanitarian work. Dr. Der Kiureghian’s research deals with development and application of probabilistic methods to solve civil engineering problems. Dr. Der Kiureghian was fundamental in the creation of The American University of Armenia (AUA) and is an accomplished painter.▪