This year, the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), held its annual conference for structural engineers, students, and academics right at NASCC: The Steel Conference. Following David Odeh’s SEIcon24 keynote on future-ready structures, ASCE and SEI recognized several remarkable structural engineers for their leadership and contributions.
Andrew S. Whittaker, SE, PE, PhD, F.SEI, F.ASCE, received the 2023 Nathan M. Newmark Medal, named for a University of Illinois professor who made outstanding contributions to structural engineering and mechanics. ASCE and SEI presented this award to Whittaker for his fundamental contributions to earthquake, blast, impact, and performance-based engineering for buildings and mission-critical infrastructure, including advanced nuclear reactors.
The recipient of the Alfredo Ang Award on Risk Analysis and Management of Civil Infrastructure is Kok-Kwang Phoon, PE, PhD, F. ASCE. Named after the developer of practical and effective methods of risk and reliability approaches to engineering safety-and-design structural criteria formulation, the award recognizes Phoon for his technical contributions to geotechnical risk and reliability.
ASCE and SEI named Aditya Jhunjhunwala, S.M.ASCE, and Amit Kanvinde, PhD, M.ASCE, the recipients of the Raymond C. Reese Research Prize in recognition of their paper, “Fracture Mechanics-Based Fragility Assessment of Pre-Northridge Welded Column Splices.”
Gregory J. Hancock, PE, PhD, D.Eng., M.SSRC, received the Shortridge Hardesty Award, presented to an individual who has substantially contributed to applying fundamental results of research to solving practical engineering problems in the field of structural stability. The committee recognized Hancock specifically for his work advancing codes and standards of structural steel and cold-formed steel.
The recipients of the T.Y. Lin Award, which recognizes significant papers in the field of prestressed concrete, are Taye Ojo, SE, PE, PhD, M.ASCE, and Carin Roberts-Wollmann, PhD. They co-authored “Comparison of Post-Tensioned Slabs with Banded-Uniform and Banded-Banded Tendon Arrangements.”
ASCE and SEI presented the Dennis L. Tewksbury Award to Donald R. Scott, SE, PE, F.SEI, F.ASCE, citing his leadership in reorganizing SEI, capitalizing on the Institute’s strengths while forming a more strategic and nimble organization that will put it on a path toward leadership in the profession for the next generation. This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to SEI and the structural engineering profession.
The Gene Wilhoite Innovations in Transmission Line Engineering Award recognizes individuals who make significant contributions to transmission line engineering, and this year’s recipient is J. Kelly Bledsoe, PE, M.ASCE. With this honor, ASCE and SEI recognized Bledsoe’s 30+ years of service and leadership in the development, innovation, design, and construction of electric transmission lines that have dramatically impacted the electrical transmission industry and advancement of transmission line engineering. In particular, Bledsoe helped develop ASCE 48 – Design of Steel Transmission Pole Structures and the ASCE Manual of Practice 74 – Guidelines for Electrical Transmission Line Structural Loading.
Andrea Reynolds, SE, PE, M.ASCE, received the W. Gene Corley Award, which recognizes efforts that support advancing and distinguishing structural engineering as a profession. Reynolds is being honored for her leadership advancing and promoting structural licensure nationally and internationally, along with her efforts to mentor and build diverse teams.
The recipient of this year’s Walter P. Moore, Jr. Award, which recognizes a structural engineer who has demonstrated technical expertise in and dedication to the development of structural codes and standards, is Robert Connor, M.ASCE. ASCE and SEI are honoring Connor for his leadership in the advancement of steel bridge design codes and standards, in particular the AASHTO Bridge Design Standard, and for his more than three decades of service as a designer, researcher, and faculty member that have dramatically impacted the structural steel bridge industry.
Finally, in honor of his exemplary contributions to the success of the Institute, SEI President Jerome F. Hajjar, PE, PhD, M.NAE, F.ASCE, F.SEI, honored Michael Gryniuk, PE, M.ASCE with the SEI President’s Award. Gryniuk, a founding leader of SE2050, is advancing the structural engineering profession through his role as an advocate for sustainability and net-zero embodied carbon construction to meet premier design objectives.
“I am honored to receive this award,” Gryniuk said. “We are actively shaping a more sustainable future for structural engineering and amplifying the discussion on embodied carbon within our profession. We hold a unique opportunity to lead, and I am fully committed to continuing this vital work.”
In addition to recognizing individuals, ASCE and SEI also honored two student groups for their exemplary efforts to engage members and advance the structural engineering profession. They presented the SEI Chapter of the Year Award to the SEI Maryland Chapter, citing the group’s role advising the Green Building Council, which examines and comments on Maryland State Policy related to key contributors to climate change. The Graduate Student Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign received SEI’s Graduate Student Chapter of the Year Award in recognition of the group’s role in engaging students with industry professionals both on and off campus and improving soft skills related to hiring.
ASCE and SEI also recognized 12 SEI members as 2024 SEI Fellows in honor of their leadership and mentorship in the structural engineering profession. They are:
Ossama Ali Ahmed, PE, PhD, PMP, F.SEI, F.ASCE
Bradley Byrom, SE, PE, F.SEI, M.ASCE
Vijaya Gopu, PE, PhD, F.SEI, F.ASCE
Sriram Kalaga, PE, PhD, F.SEI, F.ASCE
Linda M. Kaplan, PE, F.SEI, M.ASCE
David Lattanzi, PE, PhD, F.SEI, M.ASCE
Saurabh Mittal, SE, PE, F.SEI, M.ASCE
Spencer Quiel, PE, PhD, F.SEI, M.ASCE
Dorothy Reed, PE, PhD, F.SEI, F.ASCE
Girum Urgessa, PE, PhD, F.SEI, F.ASCE
Brian Uy, PE, PhD, F.SEI, F.ASCE
Ioannis Zisis, PhD, F.SEI, M.ASCE