May 2019

Professor Ron Riggs will retire in the summer of 2019 after 32 years of service as a professor at CEE including leadership positions as Graduate Program Chair, Department Chair (2003 to 2009) and Interim Dean from fall 2016 to spring 2019. Dr. Riggs taught several undergraduate and graduate courses in structural engineering and is well known for his NSF-funded research on floating structures and the impacts of tsunami floating debris on structures; he still publishes and lectures on these subjects. For many years, Dr. Riggs also was an evaluator of programs in civil engineering for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET.) Dr. Riggs is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers since 2002, and recipient of several distinctions. At a recent retirement luncheon, the department expressed its gratitude to Dr. Riggs and wished him a happy retirement.

Avery Page is the Spring 2019 semester Outstanding Graduating Senior. Avery graduated with a stellar GPA and distinguished herself by being on the Dean’s List in all semesters during her study for a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. She has been awarded the Chancellor’s John S. Farmer and Gary D. Harper scholarships. She served as vice president for Chi Epsilon and as conference chair for the ASCE student chapter. Congratulations!

Now accepting applications for the new Fast-Track BAM program

The new Fast-Track Bachelor’s & Master’s Degrees in Civil Engineering (BAM) is now accepting application for Fall 2019 admission. The combined BS (4yrs) + MS (1yr) program provides a fast track for students to receive both BSCE and MSCE degrees in five years by allowing the double-counting of 6 credits in both programs. For more information about this new program please contact CEE Grad Chair Dr. Babcock.

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ASCE honored CEE Professor V. Amarjit Singh with the 2019 Construction Management Award for “innovation and research aimed at improving construction around the globe.”  Only one award is given in any year.

ASCE writes that Dr. Singh is professionally recognized in India, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, and that his research experience has covered “everything engineering and construction,” undertaken all over the world.  He stands out for starting a new ACSE journal in 2009, the Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction, which has created a platform for the publication of papers on the salient issues and is of general benefit to the construction industry.

In ASCE’s perspective, Singh has produced a library of publications that almost requires its own librarian, such that his reach seems to be outside the normal curve, even for an engineer. 

More on the ASCE website. Congratulations! 

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Many thanks to SSFM and Michael Matsumoto for their generous support to CEE Structures Lab of $110,000. Pictured at a lighter moment from the visit to the lab are Michael Matsumoto, Dean Brennon Morioka, senior structures professor Ian Robertson and CEE Chair Panos Prevedouros. Drs. Roberson, Moon and Cho are working on making good use of the funds by purchasing a sizeable shake table for the lab.