There are two notable geotechnical engineers among the recipients of the 2016 ASCE Opal Outstanding Projects and Leaders awards. Rudolph Bonaparte, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, NAE, the president and CEO of Geosyntec, will receive the award for design. Jerry A. DiMaggio, P.E., D.GE, M.ASCE, will receive the award for government for his many years of service as the FHWA’s lead geotechnical engineer. [Source: Read more about the award and bios for the recipients at the ASCE Roundup Blog. Image: ASCE Roundup]
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New FHWA Mechanically Stabilized Earth Retaining Wall (MSE Wall) Manual
The much anticipated LRFD update to the MSE Wall and Reinforced Soil Slope Manual is now available for download from the FHWA’s website. The full title of the document is Design of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls and Reinforced Soil Slopes and it was authored by Ryan R. Berg, P.E.; Barry R. Christopher, Ph.D., P.E. and Naresh C. Samtani, Ph.D., P.E. Find the abstract and download link below. As time permits, I’ll try to post more about some of the changes in this important geotechnical publication.
FHWA’s Jerry DiMaggio to Retire
On Tuesday July 8, Jerry DiMaggio, P.E. was confirmed as the Implementation Manager for the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) at the National Academies. He will be retiring from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Bridge Technology, where he is the Principal Bridge Engineer – Geotechnical and National Program Manager (essentially the top dog geotechnical engineer in the country for surface transportation). He is an internationally recognized figure in geotechnical engineering and geo-construction. Read on for more details.
ASCE G-I: Proposed “Journal of Geotechnical Engineering Practice”
Most geotechs are familiar with the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (JGGE), one of the (if not the) premier journal in the industry. It’s published by the ASCE’s Geo-Institute (G-I) and accounts for about 20% of the revenue of the G-I organization.
The G-I’s President, Dr. Jean-Louis Briaud, convened a task force in early 2009 to investigate if the JGGE is “adequately serving as a venue for practice oriented papers.” According to the final report from the Proposed "Journal of Geotechnical Engineering Practice" Task Force, the reason for the task force is that: