Annual Report Year 2009 - Civil and Environmental Engineering

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Department Head’s Message..............................................................................................................1 Research News Disaster Management: A Complex World Brings New Vulnerabilities.........................................2 Infrastructure Development: Implementation Is A Catalyst For Growth And Progress.............4 Nanotechnology Impact: Are Nanomaterials A Risk To Environmental Health........................6 Transportation Modeling: Systems Analysis Is Crucial to Future Safety And Planning............8 New Faculty.......................................................................................................................................10 Faculty Honors And Achievements.................................................................................................11 Faculty News.....................................................................................................................................12 Student News....................................................................................................................................15 Alumni News.....................................................................................................................................18 Program Areas Complete CEE Faculty Listing......................................................................................................19 Vecellio Construction and Engineering Management................................................................20 Environmental and Water Resources Engineering.....................................................................23 Geotechnical Engineering.............................................................................................................30 Structural and Materials Engineering...........................................................................................33 Transportation Infrastructure and Systems Engineering...........................................................37 Via Scholars.......................................................................................................................................41 Via Alumni — Where Are They Now..............................................................................................57 Donors................................................................................................................................................64
DEPARTMENT HEAD’S MESSAGE Changing times Future filled with challenges and opportunities Fifteen Years A lot has changed within the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering during this time. The past 15 years have seen over 3500 degrees conferred to undergraduate and graduate civil engineers. Over 50 percent of the current faculty and over 60 percent of the current staff in CEE were hired. External funded research has seen a fivefold increase; and our national reputation as measured by the U.S. News and World Report rankings have reached collective alltime highs with a 2009 undergraduate ranking of 10th, a graduate CEE ranking of 7th and a graduate environmental ranking of 9th. The English Geotechnical Laboratory, the Baker Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory and a major addition to the Thomas M. Murray Structural Engineering Laboratory were completed through private fund raising from many alumni and friends of the department. These are but a few of the many accomplishments and changes that have occurred in the past 15 years. Up until August 9th of this year, there has been one constant in the presence of all the change represented in the tremendous growth and progress. That constant has been the leadership of Bill Knocke as head of the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Professor Knocke will be the first one to tell you that the success is a direct result of the hard work and dedication shown by our faculty, staff and students, as well as the loyal support of our alumni and friends. However, it is my firm belief that the department has reached the position that we have because of the exceptional leadership and unyielding commitment that Bill Knocke has shown to our department, college and university. No one exemplifies the university motto Ut Prosim – That I May Serve any more than Professor Knocke. You can read more about Bill’s service and plans for the future as he returns to a role of full time teaching and research on page 13. Bill, on behalf of the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, let me simply say thank you and we are deeply indebted to your service. Now To The Future When I wrote this message, I was beginning my second day on the job as the department head. First, let me offer a collective thank you for the overwhelming support that I’ve received from all parts of the Virginia Tech family – alumni and friends of the department, faculty, staff and students. I cannot imagine that anyone entering this position could have had a stronger show of support – as I say it has been overwhelming. Certainly the future is filled with both challenges and opportunities. The financial situation in which we find ourselves in the midst of is certainly a challenge. Levels of state support continue to fall and higher education is carrying a significant portion of the budget reductions. I tend to be an optimist, and so I say to you that as bad as things are, I believe that Virginia is in better shape than many other states and that Virginia Tech is better positioned to cope than most universities. Regardless of how well prepared we may be, the economic downturn has and is affecting our program. We, like many others, will get through it and make every effort to maintain the high quality program that you and we have come to expect. Opportunities exist on many fronts and I am excited about what they offer. This fall semester we once again welcomed an academically talented and excited group of students to campus. The opportunity to interact with high caliber undergraduate and graduate students is what fundamentally drives the faculty and staff. I also continue to be thrilled with the opportunity to work with so many enthusiastic and dedicated alumni. The strong support of our alumni is not only inspiring but is a big part of the success of the department. The engagement and generosity of our alumni and friends enable us to fund scholarships, build laboratories such as those I mentioned earlier, support student field trips, recruit and recognize faculty through named professorships and in many other ways. While this support helps us in critical ways during the tough economy, what it is really doing is taking your department to great places. One of the aspects of my new job that I’m looking forward to the most is continuing to meet and work with more of our alumni and EASTERLING friends. The last opportunity that I’ll mention is on the funded research front, an area in which our faculty continues to have great success. This success tends to feed on itself and attract additional research and visibility for our program. One measure of the success is the annual ranking by the National Science Foundation. The most recent NSF rankings, which were based on FY 2007 expenditures, show CEE as the leading department in the College of Engineering. This is a great accomplishment and directly attributable to efforts of our faculty and supporting staff. Although he has not yet joined us, we are looking forward to welcoming Dr. Adrian Rodriguez-Marek to Blacksburg as a member of our faculty beginning in August 2010. Dr. Rodriguez-Marek will be a member of our geotechnical program area and joins us from Washington State University. Adrian brings great strength to an already strong group of faculty, with his research largely focused in the geotechnical earthquake engineering area. In closing, let me reiterate my appreciation for the opportunity to serve as the head of such a great department. I’m excited about what lies ahead! With kind regards, 2009 | VIA REPORT | 1
Page 1: the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department
Page 5 and 6: RESEARCH NEWS tor must perform much
Page 7 and 8: RESEARCH NEWS the effectiveness of
Page 9 and 10: RESEARCH NEWS sions,” they conclu
Page 11 and 12: RESEARCH NEWS project are Nicholas
Page 13 and 14: FACULTY HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS Jes
Page 15 and 16: FACULTY NEWS Outstanding leadership
Page 17 and 18: STUDENT NEWS Undergraduate scholars
Page 19 and 20: STUDENT NEWS Ph.D. degrees awarded
Page 21 and 22: CEE FACULTY BY PROGRAM AREA Vecelli
Page 23 and 24: PROGRAM AREAS VECELLIO CONSTRUCTION
Page 25 and 26: PROGRAM AREAS ENVIRONMENTAL AND WAT
Page 33 and 34: PROGRAM AREAS GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER
Page 35 and 36: PROGRAM AREAS STRUCTURAL ENGINEERIN
Page 37 and 38: PROGRAM AREAS STRUCTURAL ENGINEERIN
Page 39 and 40: PROGRAM AREAS TRANSPORTATION INFRAS
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Page 43 and 44: MEET THE VIA SCHOLARS The following
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VIA SCHOLARS DOCTORAL STUDENTS Lash
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VIA SCHOLARS DOCTORAL STUDENTS Jenn
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VIA SCHOLARS DOCTORAL STUDENTS Meli
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VIA ALUMNI Via Alumni: Where are th
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VIA ALUMNI Joshua A. Joseph, Jr. Ye
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VIA ALUMNI Clark Morrison Year Grad
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VIA ALUMNI John C. Ryan, Jr. Year G
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VIA DONORS Paul B. Johnson.........
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VIA DONORS The following organizati
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The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department
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Annual Report Year 2009 - Civil and Environmental Engineering

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