educating world-class engineers - penn state engineering ... · penn state students win 2012 big...

Message from the Department Head ................................ 2

Student News ................................... 2–7

Scholarships & Fellowships ................ 5

Faculty News ................................. 8–15

Student Organizations ................ 16–19

Alumni News ............................... 20–22

Harleman and Kavanagh Lectures ........................................ 20–21

On the cover: Penn State’s Concrete Canoe Team before practice for the National Concrete Canoe Competition held at Lafayette College, Easton, PA.

W i N t e r 2 0 1 2 e D i t i O N

Educating

World-Class

Engineers

2 C E E N E w s l E t t E r • V o l u m E 2 9 , 2 0 1 2

Dear Alumni and Friends:

I am so pleased to be sending you our 2012 newsletter. We have had another great year! We had five new assistant professors join us in August, bringing lots of energy and new areas of research to the department. We also brought Ali Memari in as the Hankin Chair of Residential Construction. Memari was previously in the Department of Architectural Engineering and now holds a joint appointment in both depart-ments. You will meet each of these new faculty members inside this newsletter.

Our current faculty won a number of prestigious awards this year. Bruce Logan was awarded an Evan Pugh Professorship, the high-est distinction that the University bestows upon a faculty mem-ber. Logan is one of only two faculty members in the College of Engineering to hold this professorship. Mike Gooseff received the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society (PSEAS) Outstanding Teaching award and Pat Reed won the PSEAS Outstanding Advis-ing award. In this past year, we awarded 179 B.S. degrees, 22 M.S. or M.Eng. degrees, and 10 Ph.D. degrees. Our rankings for that same time period were 17th for the undergraduate program, 19th for the graduate program in civil engineering, and 16th for the envi-ronmental engineering graduate program. A group of our ASCE students attended the ASCE National Conference in Montreal

this year, along with two faculty members, Martin Pietrucha and Tom Skibinski. An Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award was presented this year to Barry Schoch, the Pennsylvania secretary of transportation.

I would like to also bring to your attention the new CEE Alumni Society. With the leadership of several of our alumni and students, we now have an alumni society website, a speakers bureau, and an alumni network that will provide opportunities for our alumni to meet and network with our students and each other as well as vol-unteering to come to the department to speak in a variety of venues, such as classes, seminars, and ASCE meetings. I hope you will all sign up and join the network of more than 8,000 CEE alumni!

In the pages of this newsletter, we highlight some of the many accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni. I hope you enjoy reading the newsletter and please send us your news! We would love to hear from you and share your personal and profes-sional accomplishments with all of our alumni in the next newsletter. Please send me an e-mail ([email protected]), use the form in the back of the newsletter, or call 814-863-3088 to give us an update on your career, your personal achievements, and any other significant event.

Until next year,

Peggy Johnson Professor and Head

M e S S A g e F r O M t H e D e p A r t M e N t H e A D

Penn State students win 2012 Big Beam Competition AwardsTwo groups of Penn State students won awards at the 2012 Big Beam Competition. This nation-wide competition is sponsored by the Precast Concrete Institute. Penn State students placed third and sixth in their regional zone (Zone 5 includes schools from Pennsyl-vania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.). Students were required to design, fabricate, and test a pre-cast, prestressed concrete beam, with support from the local precast concrete producer. This work was developed as part of the CE543 prestressed concrete class in spring 2012. Maria Lopez de Murphy, associate professor, was the faculty adviser.

Spring 2012 Spring MarshalMelanie Ann Perna received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering with a minor in English. She chose Gordon Warn, assistant professor of civil engi-neering, as her faculty escort. Perna is the daughter of Carol Perna of Latrobe, PA. She graduated in 2008 from Greater Latrobe Senior High School in Latrobe, PA. Dur-ing her undergraduate career Perna received numerous awards including the President’s

Freshman Award, the President Sparks Award, and the Evan Pugh Award in her junior and senior year, the 2010 Ameri-can Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) Scholarship, The Jeanne Berkey Renaissance Scholarship, Janet B. Cunning-ham Scholarship in Engineering and the Strawbridge Memo-rial Trustee Scholarship from the College of Engineering. Her extracurricular activities include being a member of the Soci-ety of Women Engineers (SWE) Rube Goldberg team, and a member of the SWE and the Women in Engineering Program Orientation. She participates as a Campus Girl Scout and is on the Honors Leadership Team for Penn State Altoona. Following graduation Perna plans to pursue a master’s of engineering at Lehigh University.

3C E E N E w s l E t t E r • V o l u m E 2 9 , 2 0 1 2

S t u D e N t N e W S

Bobby Stitchick, a junior majoring in civil engineering, had the experience of a lifetime when he traveled to China this past summer to participate in geotechnical engineering research with graduate students at Tianjin University in China. From the moment Stitchick arrived, the people were very nice and welcoming, and he made a lot of friends he still keeps in contact with today. Naturally, Stitchick learned some interesting things in the engineering field when pile testing and soil testing. He also had the opportunity to participate in field-work with the installation of a large water-line and a project of investigating how to strengthen soil through vacuum-packing. Even though Stitchick went on this trip to learn about engineering, he ended up learn-ing even more about a different culture.

What was uncomfortable and unusual for him at first became normal after just a few short weeks. Stitchick began enjoying the food and continued to try new foods with every opportunity. During his free time, he learned Chinese games, played badminton or basketball, or rode his bicycle around Tianjin with new friends. Stitchick even began to learn Chinese from one of the students he had met at the university and due to his wonderful experience, decided to study the Chinese language once he returned. Stitchick believes traveling abroad is something that everyone should do if they had the chance, because his engineering experience abroad was more than he could have ever asked or hoped for.

Stitchick partakes in geotechnical engineering research in Tianjin University, China

Top Photo, left to right: Construction manager, Bobby Stitchick, professor of geo-technical engineering at Tianjin University Dr. Yan, and Penn State student Will Sheehan. Bottom, Clockwise: Stitchick outside the Temple of Heaven; Stitchick’s roommate, Liang, in the Penn State t-shirt performing a pile test; Stitchick on the Great Wall near Beijing; Stitchick at Cultural Day at Tianjin University.



Baskaran, Dzombak honored with Kopp Award for undergraduate studentsShruthi Baskaran, a senior majoring in civil engineering, was one of two engineering students awarded the 2012 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award. Baskaran and Rachel Dzombak, a senior majoring in bioengineering, were honored as co-recipients of the undergraduate award.

The award recognizes undergraduate students who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University. It is named in honor of the late deputy vice president for international programs.

Baskaran is recognized for her involvement in the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship program and her contri-butions to other international projects focused on improving the lives and livelihoods of people living in rural, developing world communities. She has conducted undergraduate research on “The Global Jugaad Commons: Cross-pollinating Concepts across Cul-tures.” This project attempts to explore innovation comparatively across several countries, from shantytowns in Kenya to inner-city youth in Philadelphia.

Enrolled in the engineering leadership development minor through the College of Engineering, Baskaran has been instrumental in creating innovative projects for people in developing nations. In spring 2011, she collaborated with a team of students at Corvinus University in Budapest to assist Roots of Development, a non-government organi-zation based in Washington, D.C., in the design of a water treatment strategy for a rural community in Haiti. A Schreyer Honors College student, Baskaran is working on her undergraduate honors thesis, which is focused on developing an algorithm to guide field workers in determining treatment requirements and options for potable water sources.

One nominator said of Baskaran, “She shows determination, dedi-cation and commitment to complete every activity she undertakes and aspires to nothing less than improving the world. Her vibrant personality, positive temperament, physical resilience and sharp intellect combine to ensure success in her aspirations.”

Civil engineering grad student Kasprzyk wins presentation award

Joe Kasprzyk, a graduate student in civil engineering, won a student presentation award at the International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software in Leipzig, Germany.

Kasprzyk’s paper, titled “Many-Objective Robust Decision Making for Water Supply Portfolio Plan-ning Under Deep Uncertainty,” was co-authored with Patrick Reed, associate professor of civil

engineering, and Shanthi Nataraj and Robert Lempert of the RAND Corporation.

The award and the bi-annual conference are sponsored by the Inter-national Environmental Modelling and Software Society. As part of the award, Kasprzyk will receive a complimentary registration to the 2014 conference in San Diego, CA.

Edwards receives the College of Engineering fall student marshal award

Rebecca Ann Edwards received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering with a minor in watersheds and water resources. She selected Norman Folmar, instructor and director of undergraduate programs, as her faculty escort. Edwards is the daughter of Laura and James Edwards of Glen Campbell, PA. She received a GED in 2004. During her undergraduate career, Edwards received numerous awards and

scholarships, including the President’s Freshman Award, the Evan Pugh Scholar Award in her junior and senior years, and the Excel-lence in Mathematics Award, the Excellence in Water Resources Engineering Award, Gentzler Trustee Scholarship in Engineering, Helen Fiedler Heckert Memorial Scholarship, Morris Helen Wood Scholarship, and Reed Scholarship in Environmental Engineering. Her extracurricular activities include being a member of Engineers Without Borders and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Her Penn State activities include research in the field of glaciology. Following graduation, Edwards plans to pursue a master’s in envi-ronmental engineering at Penn State.

Gombeda receives ACI scholarshipMatthew J. Gombeda, undergraduate student in civil engineering, received the Art Livingood Scholarship from the American Concrete Insti-tute’s (ACI) Pittsburgh Chapter at their annual dinner in April. This award is given to students who have an interest in cement technology, concrete technology, concrete design and/or construction. Gombeda was instrumental in the concrete mix design for the 2012 ASCE

concrete canoe and is currently working on the mix design for the 2013 canoe. Gombeda has also re-established the ACI student chap-ter at Penn State.

Shreve awarded NSF fellowshipMichael Shreve, a second year master’s student in environmental engineering, has been award-ed a 2012 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. This nationally recognized award will cover the cost of tuition and provide a stipend of $30,000 each year, for three years. As an NSF Fellow, Shreve will pur-sue a Ph.D. in environmental engineering, con-tinuing to work with Rachel Brennan, associ-

ate professor of environmental engineering. Shreve’s Ph.D. research will focus on the characterization, enhancement, and augmentation of fungal communities in existing wastewater treatment systems. This work is intended to protect and enhance the nation’s water sup-ply by providing an economical means of removing endocrine dis-rupting compounds from wastewater and preventing the discharge of these compounds into surface waters.


S c H O L A r S H i p S & F e L L O W S H i p S

UndErgradUatE SCHOLarSHIPS 2011–2012

Student MarshalRebecca Edwards Melanie A. Pernaexcellence in environmental engineering Bradley R. Kaleyexcellence in geotechnical and Materials engineeringChristopher P. CartwrightHarry H. West undergraduate Student Award for excellence in Structural engineeringMichael P. Pospisil excellence in transportation engineeringAndrew J. Butsickexcellence in Water resources engineeringRebecca A. EdwardsDavid and rena Miller Arm international travel programJohn Austin Colleen Fegleygert and Jean AronPaul Christnerrichard AustinJustin SlusserBeavers Scholarship in Heavy constructionMark MiloserFred and Kit Bigony Scholarship in engineeringChristopher Bell Tory Carlsen Matthew ParodaCamila ProffitJohn J. BlazoskyMatthew Bachman Eric Kaminsky coldren Family trustee ScholarshipJared Puketzacollege of engineering general ScholarshipLindeon Daviscollege of engineering excellence ScholarshipMaura Fox Janet B. cunninghamMelanie PernaDiefenderfer Scholarship in engineeringLindeon Davisengineering Honors ScholarshipMary Paskewiczevans trustee ScholarshipDewey Amos robert e. FelsburgChristian NoveralLeonard S. FioreThierno Bah

John & Joan gaudinsky Scholarship Anthony Kmetzgary & ralphine gentzler trustee Scholarship Rebecca EdwardsHaines Memorial ScholarshipEric BrogdenHallowell Scholarship endowmentMatthew Golub Tyler GoodmanHelen Fiedler HeckertRebecca Edwards Joshua Moninghoffr. Herman trustee ScholarshipEvan DyllFrank Holzer Jorge Arroyo Shruthi BaskaranAdam Brozda Timothy Fink Michael Galet Brandy GibbonsChristopher Harley Benjamin HeiseyHasib Hussain Karl LeitnerShanxing Lin Kevin LivengoodScott Livengood Zachary ManninoSamuel Marino Blaise MordanPhilip Ramsey Heather SalaskyMatthew Snyder Brian StoyTimothy Vitullo robert & Judith HontzAndrew Butsickrussell e. and eleanor B. Horn ScholarshipRebecca Lutz Darin p. and Laura taylor Johnson trustee ScholarshipMichael Galet Romeo GjergjiHasib Hussain Tzonu Tzonevgeorge W. JohnstoneMary PaskewiczStan & Flora KappeM. William SheehanWalter J. Kinsey Honors ScholarshipChristian Noveralr. rupert KountzBradley Kaleyrichard H. and Helen Kustin trustee ScholarshipMatthew ParodaWilliam & Wyllis Leonhard Honors program endowmentTimothy Vitullo

Harold J. Light ScholarshipBradley KaleyAnthony LisantiBryan KukodaMichael D. LoyChristian NoveralWilliam Marciniak ScholarshipChristopher ArendtJames e. and Melinda L. Marley trustee ScholarshipJorge ArroyoMayefskie trustee ScholarshipTyler FaustWilliam H. Megonnell trustee ScholarshipJudah Batts Joshua Durbinthomas A. MekisChristopher Bell Eric BrogdenDerek Dick William FinneyDean Meyers Memorial ScholarshipChristopher Arendt Michael PospisilArthur & Mary Miller ScholarshipLindsay VogelHelen Wood Morris ScholarshipRebecca EdwardsWalter K. Morris ScholarshipAnthony Grkmanpaul Morrow endowed ScholarshipKristy Lipp Rebecca LutzOelschlager trustee ScholarshipThomas Mondac. r. and Annette pennoni ScholarshipClinton Sorberrobert and Sandra poole Schreyer Honors college ScholarshipErika SmullJohn A. pursley trustee ScholarshipBryan KukodaJoseph r. and Mary reed ScholarshipRebecca EdwardsLeland rhodesMitchell Collinsrozmus Family trustee ScholarshipCameron Mueskeselizabeth A. ShattuckJeremy TomchickHarold B. ShattuckMorgan Bailey

charles A. & Linda e. Sorber trustee ScholarshipDylan Evansralph & eleonora Strawbridge Memorial trustee ScholarshipMelanie PernaKenneth & Marilyn Stevens tracyBrandy Gibbons Ashley Tracyundergraduate teaching intern programShruthi Baskaran Hasib Hussain Dane Kelsey Emily Mahoneyroy i. WebberDavid LeafHarmer A. WeedenEric Bogumilpaul M. WentworthMatthew BachmanNicholas CravenEthan Skrzypek Tzonu Tzonevgeorge M. Wtldasin Memorial trustee ScholarshipChristopher Barber Ryan DoyleMark Keller David LeafMichael Tandarich Ashley TracyAlbert Wilson trustee ScholarshipBlaise Mordan Michael PospisilMichael & Virgina YouchakRyan Jones

gradUatE SCHOLarSHIPS

cecil M. pepperman Memorial graduate FellowshipColin Cash Roland CusickcMt Laboratories graduate Scholarship in civil engineeringJared Wrightgeorge W. Johnstone graduate Fellowship in civil and environmental engineeringNicholas KeyesLeo p. russell graduate Fellowship in civil engineeringScott Himes Nima Kargah Ostadi



Civil engineering’s Himes receives MAUTC Student of the Year AwardScott Himes, a doctor-al candidate in civil en-gineering and research assistant at the Larson Institute at Penn State, has received the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center (MAUTC) Student of

the Year Award. Himes was honored for his accomplishments at the 15th Annual CUTC Awards Banquet, held in conjunc-tion with the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) annual meeting, on Jan. 21, in Washington, D.C.

The MAUTC Student of the Year Award recognizes an individual for noteworthy technical research, academic performance, professionalism and leadership. Himes received a certificate and $1,000. Evidence of research merit is based on faculty nomi-nation and evaluation of written papers or reports. Academic performance is based on completed coursework and grades attained. Professionalism and leadership can be in the form of presentations at professional society meetings and symposia and leadership in student professional activities.

Himes earned both his bachelor of sci-ence and master’s of science degrees in civil

engineering at Penn State. His research focuses on the operational and safety effects of highway geometric design. The State College native current research includes performing research participant assess-ments and vehicle installations for the Stra-tegic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) naturalistic driving experiment. He also co-authored a FHWA informational guide related to speed concepts, and was an investigator on NCHRP Project 15-34, “Per-formance-Based Geometric Design Analysis of Highways and Streets.” Himes has been the laboratory instructor for an introduc-tory class in transportation engineering, a class in traffic engineering, and Penn State’s capstone highway design course.

“Scott epitomizes what you want to see in a student,” said Eric Donnell, associate professor of civil engineering and Himes’s adviser. “In addition to being inquisitive, focused, and devoted to his course work and research, he has proven himself to be an effective teacher and mentor to younger students.”

Himes is a young member of the TRB Com-mittee on Geometric Design and a friend of the TRB Committee on Operation Effects of Geometrics. He has reviewed papers for the American Society of Civil Engineers

(ASCE) Journal of Transportation Engineer-ing as well as for his TRB committees. He has been involved in the Penn State student chapters of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the ASCE. He has published four refereed journal articles, two technical reports, and presented findings from his research at several technical meetings. He was nominated for the MAUTC student of the year award because of his outstanding research contributions, effective teaching, and service to the transportation profession.

MAUTC is the federally designated Uni-versity Transportation Center for the region, which encompasses Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A five-university consortium led by Penn State, MAUTC includes the University of Maryland, Uni-versity of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University. According to its website, MAUTC’s primary goals include attract-ing the nation’s best talent to the study of transportation and developing new strate-gies and approaches to effectively address existing and future transportation issues and problems.

Civil engineering grad student receives NRC Research Associates Award

Kun-Feng (Ken) Wu, a doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, received the Research Associ-ates Award from the National Research Council (NRC).

The mission of the NRC Research Associ- ateship Programs is to promote excel-lence in scientific and technological research conducted by the U.S. govern-ment. This is done through graduate, postdoctoral and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal labo-ratories and affiliated institutions. The fellowship enables the applicants to choose a research project or projects from a list of opportunities. Mutual interest then leads to the collaboration of a project and research.

Wu’s research consists of a study called the second Strategic Highway Research Program. This addresses four strategic focus areas: the role of human behavior in highway safety; rapid renewal of aging highway infrastructure; congestion reduc-tion through improved travel time reli-ability; and transportation planning that better integrates community. The proj-ect is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies under Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials.

Wu graduated with a bachelor of arts in transportation and communication man-agement science from National Chen Kung University in 2003. He then went on to get his master of arts in economics from National Taiwan University in 2005.

We’re on Facebook!Civil and Environmental Engineering has launched a Facebook page. Depart-ment employees, alumni, students, and supporters can “like” the page at www.facebook.com/PennStateCEE.

This social networking site provides followers information on upcoming events, teaching and research, and the latest department news.

“like” us on



Alisha Fernandez, a doctoral candidate in energy and mineral engi-neering and National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate fellow, was awarded the Dennis J. O’Brien United States Association for Energy Economics Best Student Paper Award for her paper “Evalu-ating ecosystem and wind-following services for hydroelectric dams in PJM.” The paper also was accepted for publication in of the Journal for Regulatory Economics in 2012.

Fernandez was invited to present her research at the Dennis J. O’Brien Conference held in October in Washington, D.C., along with four other finalists. After her oral presentation, she was selected as the winner.

The paper outlined a two-year research project Fernandez embarked upon after receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2009 and funding from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. She looked at the balancing of water management goals and energy management goals with in regions experiencing population growth and drought conditions. Her research also explored the envi-ronmental stresses that hydroelectric power places on the ecosystem.

Fernandez assessed the possibility of using hydroelectric power pro-duced by dams to provide fill-in power to compensate for intermit-tent renewable power generation, such as wind power. Wind does not blow constantly and using hydroelectric as a “wind-following” source can create a more reliable electricity grid.

Fernandez simulated the operation of the Kerr Dam in the Roanoke River Basin, which is located in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Mary-land (PJM) Interconnection’s territory in North Carolina. PJM is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity through 13 states and the District of Colom-bia. It is a long withstanding deregulated energy market and the largest of its kind in the world.

Over the course of a three-year period reflecting wet and dry years, Fernandez observed that utilizing hydropower to facilitate wind integration presents significant conflict with other goals for man-

aging river systems. These challenges are magnified during drought years, and exacerbated when the need to protect downstream ecosys-tems is considered. She concluded that the combination of drought risk and demands for ecosystem protection may necessitate a change in how PJM compensates generators for services that support renew-able energy integration.

“The system costs of integrating intermittent generation resources like wind and solar are driven by private and social opportunity costs,” Fernandez explained. The private costs are the loss of revenue from diverting capacity away from energy markets while the social costs are the conflicts that wind-following creates with environmen-tal management goals related to the dam. Additionally, the market prices for wind-following services needs an associated opportunity cost for the utilities. “We have to find ways to entice them financially to produce power that is profitable for them and for other goals,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez said she encountered a challenge in collecting data for the case study. “Water data is well-documented both hourly and yearly, but energy data, specifically wind energy, is new and difficult to obtain,” Fernandez explained. Throughout the research Fernandez tried to mimic how power utilities make decisions and doing this realistically and trying to determine the conflict and trade-offs was difficult.

Fernandez worked with her co-advisers, Patrick Reed, associate professor of civil engineering, and Seth Blumsack, assistant profes-sor of energy policy and economics, on the project and she said that the project benefitted from the blended expertise of her co-advisers.

“My research has been fascinating work because it attracts economists, hydrologists and the electricity industry,” Fernandez explained. In addition to these groups, her findings are important to people because as the country diversifies its energy portfolio, the supply of energy must continue to meet demand for it so that consumers have the power they need.

Fernandez Wins Award Studying Balance between Wind Power and Hydropower

Kelsey receives first-place in poster award

Dane Kelsey, a civil engineering student, re-ceived the first-place poster award for under-graduates for “Optimal Growth Conditions and Beneficial Uses of Duckweed Salvaged from Eco-logical Wastewater Treatment Systems.” A total of eight engineering students were honored at the annual College of Engineering Research Sym-posium (CERS) on Apr. 5 at the Nittany Lion Inn. The day-long event, now in its ninth year,

provides a platform for undergraduate and graduate engineering students to present their research to faculty, students and industry professionals.

Davis wins third place in the engineering category in the 2012 Graduate Exhibition

Robert Davis, graduate student in environ-mental engineering, wins third place in the engineering category in the 2012 Graduate Exhibition for “Bench-scaled Stacked Microbial Desalination Cell with different air cathode dif-fusion layer compositions for seawater desalina-tion.” His adviser is Bruce Logan, Evan Pugh Professor and Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering.

Kasprzyk 2011 Outstanding Reviewer Joseph Kasprzyk, civil engineering Ph.D. student, has been selected as a 2011 Outstanding Reviewer for the “Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management.” His faculty adviser is Patrick Reed, associate professor in civil engineering.


F A c u L t Y N e W S

Shen joins CE’s water resources engineering faculty

Chaopeng Shen joined the civil engineer-ing’s water resources engineering faculty as an assistant professor in August 2012. He received his Ph.D. degree in environmental engineering from Michigan State University, in December 2009. Prior to joining Penn State, Shen was a postdoctoral fellow at Computational Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. In the past he developed a highly efficient

hydrologic model, the Process-based Adaptive Watershed Simula-tor (PAWS) which is integrated with comprehensive land surface processes in the Community Land Model. The PAWS model is now being used to answer hydrologic budget questions in the Midwest region and the Southern California desert. He also studied multi-scale simulation methods and investigated the fate of CO2 in the subsurface using high performance reactive transport modeling at the pore scale. Shen’s current research focuses on advancing funda-mental understanding and predictive capabilities of the interactions between hydrology, carbon, nutrient and other subsystems. In the near term, he is planning to integrate novel physics and processes to explore potential linkages and understand the synergistic effects. The unrecognized interactions can significantly influence system responses under long term global change. Shen is also developing methods to achieve better upscaling of hydrologic dynamics, which allows unifying and physically-based descriptions of hydrology across vastly-different spatial scales. His teaching interests include various hydrology courses and high performance computation in the water sciences.

Mejia joins CE’s water resources engineering faculty

Alfonso Mejia joined the civil and environmen-tal engineering faculty as an assistant professor in August 2012. He received his Ph.D. degree in civil and environmental engineering, with specialization in hydrology and water resources engineering, from the University of Maryland, in August 2009. Prior to joining Penn State, he was a research hydrologist, from 2010 to 2012, and a National Research Council post-doctor-

al fellow, from 2009 to 2010, in the Hydrology Lab of NOAA’s National Weather Service. Mejia’s expertise and research interests are in hydrologic modeling and forecasting, understanding the inter-actions between hydrology and human systems, and in basin-scale hydrogeomorphology. His teaching interest includes courses relat-ed to surface water hydrology, fluid mechanics, and open-channel flow. He uses both computational and mathematical tools to tackle water resources problems and to explore scientific issues in hydrol-ogy. As part of his research work, he developed a geomorphologic-based classification system for stream networks, explored the role of urban patterns in basin-scale hydrology, and developed tools to better understand and improve hydrological forecasting. In the near-future, he is looking forward to continue collaborating with the NWS and to expand his research focus to include the study of large-scale water resources sustainability topics such as the linkage between water and energy.

Radlinska joins CE’s geotechnical and materials engineering faculty

Aleksandra Radlińska joined the civil engineering’s geotechnical and materials engineering faculty as an assistant profes-sor in August 2012. Her Ph.D. degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis in cement and concrete materials, is from Purdue University. Prior to joining Penn State, Radlińska was an assistant professor at Villanova University from 2008 to 2012.

She was also a guest scientist at BAM Bundesanstalt für Mate-rialforschung und –prüfung, Berlin, Germany (BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) in Fall 2011.

Radlińska teaches introductory undergraduate courses on civil engineering materials as well as graduate courses that relate fundamentals of materials science with applications to civil engineering materials. She is active in research areas dealing with early-age shrinkage and cracking in concrete, as well as research on concrete and cement materials in sustainable design. Radlińska participates in several technical areas promoting the use of cement and concrete materials including: ACI Commit-tees 123 and 236, Advanced Cement Based Materials, RILEM Research Board, and serves as associate editor for ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering and reviewer for several inter-national journals and review panels.

Radlińska’s recent awards include the 2012 ACI Young Mem-ber Award for Professional Achievement and 2011 Best Paper Award from the ASEE Mechanics Division. She also received Bryant Mather Award for Best Paper in Concrete Materials:

‘Shrinkage Mitigation Strategies in Cementitious Systems: a Closer Look at Differences in Sealed and Unsealed Behavior.’



Brian Dempsey, professor of environmental engineering, retires

Brian Dempsey, professor of environmental engineering, will retire at the end of December 2012 after 26 years of service at the University.

Dempsey received his Ph.D. degree in envi-ronmental chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. Prior to his Ph.D., Dempsey taught chemistry at the National Autonomous University of Honduras

and participated in agricultural research with Peace Corps/Honduras from 1969 to 1971. He also worked as an environmental engineer with the City of Durham, NC, from 1974-1976. After receiving his Ph.D., Dempsey was a postdoc at The Johns Hopkins and then assistant professor at University of Missouri–Rolla (UMR). Dempsey has also served as visiting professor at The Johns Hopkins University, the Ecole des Mines d’Alès (France), and Yonsei University (Korea) and he was a visiting scientist at ELF (Lacq, France).

Dempsey’s specialty area is water chemistry as it relates to water and wastewater treatment and hazardous wastes. His publications and his students’ theses dealing with potable water treatment have received several national awards including the Outstanding Publica-tion Award for a “landmark environmental engineering and science paper that has withstood the test of time and significantly influ-enced the practice of environmental engineering and science” from the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Profes-sors. That paper dealt with the chemistry of coagulation process-es. Dempsey also received the Penn State Perez Award for student advocacy and the UMR outstanding teaching award. Dempsey supervised more than 80 graduate and undergraduate theses dur-ing his years at Penn State. He also served as associate director and then interim director of the Penn State Institutes of Energy & the Environment.

Dempsey has also been active with local organizations. He was the founder of the Peace Issues Group in Rolla, MO, and the Centre Region Bicycle Coalition in State College. He served on the board of the local wastewater authority for twenty years and with various local, state, and regional organizations. Dempsey is an avid bicyclist and he and his wife Lynda have planned several post-retirement tan-dem bicycle tours.

Velegol lead author on research to provide safe, clean drinking water

Stephanie Velegol, civil engineering instructor, is lead author on research to provide safe, clean drinking water to the developing world using seeds from the Moringa tree. An article on the research is published in the American Chemical Soci-ety Journal Langmuir.

Logan named Evan Pugh ProfessorBruce Logan, Kappe Professor of Environ-mental Engineering, was one of three Penn State faculty recently named an Evan Pugh Professor, joining a list of only 62 recog-nized since the title’s inception in 1960. Evan Pugh Professorships are the highest honor the University bestows on its faculty.

The Evan Pugh Professorships, named for Penn State’s first president, are awarded to faculty members who are nationally or internationally acknowledged leaders in their fields of research or creative activity; have demonstrated significant leadership in raising the standards of the University with respect to teaching, research or creativity, and service; and demonstrate excellent teaching skills with undergraduate and graduate students who have subsequently achieved distinction in their field.

Logan joined the Penn State faculty in 1997. His research has focused on the sustainability of the water infrastructure and the production of electricity and energy carriers, such as hydrogen, from biomass to help provide energy for the needs of water infrastructure. He specializes in microbial fuel cells, biological hydrogen production and new methods of renewable energy production.

Logan received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berke-ley. He is a fellow of the Water Environmental Federation and International Water Association. In 2009, Logan received the Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize, one of the most presti-gious water prizes in the world, for his research in water science and technologies in 2009.

More information on Logan and his research can be found at www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/research_interest.htm.

Jainendra K. Jain, Erwin Mueller Professor of Physics, and James F. Kasting, distinguished professor of geosciences, were also named Evan Pugh Professors.

From left to right: Professors Andrew Scanlon and Dan Linzell co-moderated a technical session and presented papers at the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety Conference held in Stresa, Italy, July 2012.

SCAN THIS CODE with your smart phone to listen to the podcast Supplying Safe Drinking Water: Miracle tree substance produces clean drinking water inexpensively and sustainably. It is also available on the American Chemical Society site http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=2099& content_id=CNBP_029471&use_sec=true &sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=4ccfd66e-0bcd-4c5e-8a2f-2e048fd1c2ee



Architectural engineering’s Memari named Hankin Chair

Ali M. Memari, professor of architectural engi-neering, has been named the Bernard and Hen-rietta Hankin Chair of Residential Construc-tion and director of the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center (PHRC), effective July 1.

Memari specializes in experimental and analytical evaluation of building structural and nonstruc-tural systems for performance under environmen-tal loads and natural hazards. He has recently done

extensive work in building wall and envelope systems, including archi-tectural glass curtain wall and glazing systems, cladding panels, brick veneer wall systems, various types of masonry wall systems, wood-frame, steel stud frames and structural insulated panels. Memari has developed innovative solutions for certain wall and envelope systems.

He also serves as the director of the Building Components and Envelopes Research Laboratory.

Memari received his bachelor’s in civil engineering from University of Houston in 1979, his master’s in civil engineering from the Uni-versity of California, Berkeley, in 1981 and his doctorate in civil engineering from Penn State in 1989.

Established in 1988 with a $1 million endowment from the Hankin family, the chair is dedicated to furthering engineering excellence in the homebuilding industry through teaching, research, technology transfer and public service.

Gorski joins the CE’s environmental engineering faculty

Christopher Gorski joined the depart-ment’s environmental engineering faculty in August 2012. Gorski received his doctoral degree in environmental engineering and sci-ence from the University of Iowa in Decem-ber 2009. Prior to joining Penn State, he was employed as a postdoctoral scholar in the department of Environmental Chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and

Technology, Eawag in Dübendorf, Switzerland. His research focuses on mechanistically understanding redox reactions that occur between mineral phases and dissolved species. This class of reactions plays criti-cal roles in several current and impending water contamination issues, including long-term waste storage (e.g., radioactive waste reposition and carbon geo-sequestration), resource extraction (e.g., mining and hydraulic fracking), drinking water treatment, and contaminant remediation. Using advanced spectroscopic and electrochemical approaches, his research aims to develop cleaner mining techniques, more efficient treatment technologies, and better predictive mod-els for environmental issues spanning long temporal scales. Gor-ski’s teaching focuses on preparing the next generation of engineers to recognize, understand, and address the complex and dynamic environmental issues of tomorrow. His recent awards include the Telluride Science Research Center’s Peter Salamon Award for Young Scientists and the Emmert H. Bashore Faculty Development Profes-sorship.

Burgos in the “Research Spotlight”Bill Burgos, professor in environmental engineering, and his students have been studying ways to remediate acid mine drain-age (AMD). AMD is the number one source of pollution to Pennsylvania’s waterways, impacting over 5,700 miles of streams in the state. One promising natural process for AMD remedia-tion is biological low-pH Fe(II) oxidation where bacteria oxi-dize Fe(II) to Fe(III) and promote the precipitation of Fe(III) minerals from the water. Spectacular terraced iron formations (TIFs) are commonly found below AMD discharges and form with no human intervention (see above photo: Upper Red Eyes, Prince Gallitzin State Forest, Somerset County, near Windber, PA). These TIFs can provide a significant amount of treatment and, until recently, have been underappreciated. As part of a project funded by the US Office of Surface Mining Reclama-tion and Enforcement, Lance Larson, a Ph.D. student of Bur-gos, has been measuring rates of Fe(II) oxidation and Fe(III) removal across many TIFs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Larson’s research objectives are to better understand this process and develop design guidelines that can be used to size TIFs for AMD treatment. While on sabbatical at the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME) in Madrid, Burgos worked with scientists at IGME to study TIFs that have formed in the Ibe-rian Pyrite Belt—one of the largest metal-mining regions in the world (see above photo: Rio Tintillo, Huelva Province, Spain). On-going work will compare how effective TIFs are for the remediation of metal mine drainage as compared to coal mine drainage. As part of a project funded by the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science, Brad Kaley, a new M.S. student of Burgos, is using a fully-automated che-mostatic bioreactor system to measure rates of Fe(II) oxidation in a more engineered setting. A new multidisciplinary project has been started with Jenn Macalady (microbiologist in geo-sciences), Mike Gooseff (hydrologist in CEE), Kamini Sing-ha (geophysicist now at the Colorado School of Mines), and D. Kirk Nordstrom (U.S. Geological Service) to examine the effects of groundwater-surface water mixing in these AMD- impaired environments. The goal of all this research is to develop cost-effective ways to remediate AMD and improve Pennsylvania’s water quality.

Above, Upper Right: Rio Tintillo, Huelva Province, Spain; Bottom: Upper Red Eyes, Prince Gallitzin State Forest, Somerset County, near Windber, PA



Lopez de Murphy honored with the rank of Fellow of the American Concrete Institute Maria Lopez de Murphy, associate professor of civil engineering, was honored with the rank of fellow of the American Concrete Institute during the ACI Spring 2012 Convention in Dallas, TX. Lopez de Murphy is a voting member of ACI Committees 440, Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement; and 544, Fiber-Rein-forced Concrete, and Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 446, Fracture Mechanics of Concrete. She has served as session organizer and chair at national and international conferences and as a leader of several ACI task group efforts. Her research interests include nontraditional materials and technologies for repair and retrofit systems and new structures, specifically the use of fiber-reinforced polymer sheets or plates for retrofitting concrete structures.

Memorandum paves way for Penn State research, teaching collaboration with Spanish universityThe Penn State College of Engineering has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) in Spain that will pave the way for future educational and research collaborations between the two schools.

The effort was spearheaded by Maria Lopez de Murphy, an associ-ate professor of civil engineering at Penn State, during her sabbatical at the university last fall.

The UPM is considered Spain’s top technical university. According to Lopez, the university has more than 40 researchers dedicated to the science and technology of building materials; making it one of the largest such research groups in Europe.

Lopez said she envisions collaborations between Penn State and the UPM in research areas such as materials, sustainable infrastructure and engineering education.

Pictured left to right: ACI President Hoover, Dr. Maria Lopez de Murphy

Larson Institute receives grant to lead federal transportation center, will partner in a second

Penn State’s Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as part of its lead-ership role in the Mid-Atlantic Universities

Transportation Center (MAUTC).

MAUTC has been the federally designated University Trans-portation Center (UTC) for Region 3 since the inception of the UTC program in 1988. Region 3 encompasses Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Dis-trict of Columbia.

MAUTC resides at the Larson Institute, a multidisciplinary research unit within Penn State’s College of Engineering. The grant carries the center’s work forward into 2014. The Univer-sity of Maryland, Morgan State University, University of Vir-ginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University are also part of the center.

Penn State and the partnering universities will use the grant to focus on transportation systems operation and management, working on the needs of Mid-Atlantic states in the areas of safe-ty, state of good repair and environmental sustainability.

The Larson Institute is also part of a nine-university National Transit Research Consortium led by the Mineta Institute at San Jose State University that will be one of two national uni-versity transit research consortia. This grant application to the USDOT was supported by U.S. senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, and U.S. representatives Jason Altmire, Bill Shuster, and Glenn Thompson.



Gayah joins CE’s transportation engineering faculty

Vikash V. Gayah joined the civil and environmen-tal engineering faculty as an assistant professor in August 2012. He earned his doctoral degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in transportation sys-tems at the University of California, Berkeley in May 2012. His dissertation work examined the dynamics of urban traffic networks and unveiled how inher-ent instabilities can be mitigated to improve network performance. He plans to continue this work at Penn

State. In particular, his current research aims to develop techniques to leverage aggregate traffic relationships to improve the efficiency and de-sign of multimodal transportation systems. He has also contributed to and is continuing research in the areas of public transportation systems operations and analysis, traffic flow theory, traffic operations and control. With this in mind, he hopes to create a research group at Penn State that is on the cutting edge of research on urban mobility. He is currently developing courses on traffic flow theory, highway and urban traffic operations and public transportation systems to meet this goal. Gayah’s most notable awards include the Gordon F. Newell Award for Excellence in Transportation Science, the University of California Transportation Center Student of the Year, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Graduate Fel-lowship, and the ASCE Florida Section outstanding graduate student of the year.

American Concrete Institute honors Scanlon: Symposium on Serviceability and Safety of Concrete Structures

The American Concrete Institute hon-ored Andy Scanlon with a four part sym-posium and reception at the ACI Fall 2011 Convention in Cincinnati, OH. Scanlon, a professor of civil engineering at Penn State for the past 25 years, has served the concrete industry in many ways including his role as chair of ACI Committee 435, Deflection of Concrete

Building Structures, and his involvement in ACI Committee 224, Cracking; 348, Structural Reliability and Safety; and 437, Strength Evaluation of Existing Concrete Structures. In 2011 Scanlon received the Delmar L. Bloem Award for his out-standing leadership on ACI Committee 435. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of ASCE and in 1998 a Fellow of ACI.

The Andy Scanlon Symposium on Serviceability and Safety of Concrete Structures: From Theory to Practice, Parts 1–4 covers issues related to serviceability and safety of concrete structures from both a theoretical and design perspective. Part one was held Oct. 16, parts two and three were held Oct. 17, and part four was held Oct. 18. Presentations were delivered by individuals who have worked closely with Scan-lon in his areas of interest.

A reception in honor of Scanlon on Oct. 17 was attended by about 80 people. Andrea Schokker, formerly a faculty mem-ber at Penn State and now the provost and executive vice-president at the University of Minnesota Duluth gave a slide presentation showing Scanlon at various stages of his career. ACI Special Publication 284 containing 22 peer reviewed papers from the Symposium was published by ACI in March 2012.

Reed wins ASCE Huber Research PrizePatrick Reed, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State, has been named the winner of the 2012 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

The honor is awarded to civil engineers younger than the age of 40 and is given to only five people per year. The ASCE cited Reed for his “pioneering advances

in multi-objective systems analysis that have significantly advanced en-gineering practice related to hydrologic prediction, observation network design and risk-based water supply management.”

The selection committee noted his contributions to multi-objective optimization, model diagnostics and visual analytics to create powerful analytical tools for discovering the tradeoffs and controlling uncertainties impacting the performance of complex engineered systems, with a focus on water resources.

The award consists of a certificate and a $1,600 prize.

Reed’s expertise includes management modeling for water resources sys-tems, multi-objective decision support, scientific visualization, high per-formance computing and uncertainty analysis for complex engineered systems.


Brennan selected as a Kavli FellowRachel Brennan, associate professor of envi-ronmental engineering, has been selected as a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sci-ences, and was invited to be an introductory speaker at the German-American Frontiers of Science Symposium in Potsdam, Germany, from May 10–13, 2012.

Jointly sponsored by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Kavli Foundation, the Kavli Frontiers of Science bring together some of the very best young scientists to discuss exciting advances and opportunities in their fields in a format that encourages informal collective, as well as one-on-one discussions among partici-pants. These are highly interdisciplinary symposia emphasizing com-munication of a wide range of contemporary science topics across the traditional disciplines. The symposia, which are both national and international in scope, enable emerging young scientific leaders to become acquainted with their counterparts in a broad range of disciplines, and to stimulate long-term relationships with their peers. The participants become acquainted with their colleagues in other nations, and in this way build an international network of scien-tific communication and cooperation. The symposia also serve to inform these young scientists about the challenges and opportunities being addressed at the frontiers of other scientific disciplines, and to broaden their perspectives on the scientific enterprise as a whole.

Brennan has been invited to speak at a bilateral German-American Kavli Symposium organized jointly by the Alexander von Hum-boldt Foundation and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The Kavli Frontiers of Science symposia are attended by approximately 80 to 100 scholars under 45 years of age. Participants include lead-ing researchers from academic, industrial, and federal laboratories in such disciplines as astronomy, astrophysics, atmospheric science, biology, biomedicine, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, genetics, material sciences, mathematical sciences, neurosciences, pharmacology, and physics. At each symposium, approximately 25 young scientists report on current research within their disciplines to an academically trained and scientifically diverse audience. They highlight major research challenges, methodologies, and limitations to progress at the frontiers of their respective fields. All attendees participate actively in a general discussion period, during which they learn from and form collaborative relationships with other young scientists in different fields.


Dr. Peggy Johnson (left) and a mentee, Dr. Sue Niezgoda

Johnson wins EWRI women’s awardPeggy Johnson, professor and head of civil and environmental engineering, was named the winner of the American Society of Civil Engineering Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) Mar-garet S. Petersen Outstanding Woman of the Year Award.

Johnson was recognized for her EWRI leadership, contribu-tions to her profession and mentorship of young people, espe-cially women, who are pursuing a water-related technical career.

Her research interests include bridge scour, stream stability assessment, river hydraulics and mechanics, uncertainty and risk in civil engineering and probabilistic modeling.

Johnson holds a B.S. in geological sciences from New Mexico State University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Maryland.

She received her award at the EWRI World Congress in Albuquerque, NM, in May.

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Left: (A) Main components of the MRC, showing the membrane stack between the electrodes, the reference electrodes, and the circuit containing a load (resistor). (B) Example of how the anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) and cation-exchange membranes (CEMs) are used to selectively drive the flow of positive ions to the right (toward the cathode) and the negatively charged ions to the left (toward the anode). The flow of these charged ions adds potential to the current produced by the microbes on the anode and maintains electroneutrality at the electrodes. (C) Expanded view of the membrane stack showing flow path of the HC and LC solutions of NH4HCO3. (D) Construction of the gaskets used to direct the flow from one LC chamber to the next LC chamber, avoiding the HC chamber through a short flow path through the membrane and gasket.

SCAN THIS CODE with your smart phone to listen to Science’s podcast interview with Bruce Logan on using microbial fuel cells to produce energy from wastewater, or enter http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6075/1474/suppl/DC2 in your browser.


Unique salt allows energy production to move inlandProduction of energy from the difference between salt water and fresh water is most convenient near the oceans, but now, using an ammonium bicarbonate salt solution, Penn State researchers can combine bacterial degradation of waste water with energy extracted from the salt-water fresh-water gradient to produce power anywhere.

“We are taking two technologies, each having limitations, and put-ting them together,” said Bruce E. Logan, Evan Pugh Professor and Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering. “Combined, they overcome the limitations of the individual technologies.”

The technologies Logan refers to are microbial fuel cells (MFC)—which use wastewater and naturally occurring bacteria to produce electricity—and reverse electrodialysis (RED)—which produces electricity directly from the salinity gradient between salty and fresh water. The combined technology creates a microbial reverse-electro-dialysis cell (MRC). The researchers describe MRCs in the March 1 edition of Science Express.

RED stacks extract energy from the ionic difference between fresh water and salt water. A stack consists of alternating ion exchange membranes—positive and negative—with each RED membrane pair contributing additively to the electrical output. Unfortunately, using only RED stacks to produce electricity is difficult because a large number of membranes is required when using water at the electrodes, due to the need for water electrolysis.

Using exoelectrogenic bacteria—bacteria found in wastewater that consume organic material and produce an electric current —reduces the number of stacks needed and increases electric production by the bacteria.

Logan, working with Roland Cusick, graduate student in environ-mental engineering, and postdoctoral fellow Younggy Kim, placed a RED stack between the electrodes of an MFC to form the MRC.

While the researchers previously showed that an MRC can work with natural seawater, the organic matter in water will foul the membranes without extensive precleaning and treatment of the wa-ter. Seawater use restricts MRC operation to coastal areas, but food

waste, domestic waste and animal waste contain about 17 gigawatts of power throughout the U.S. One nuclear reactor typically pro-duces 1 gigawatt.

Rather than rely on seawater, the researchers used ammonium bicar-bonate, an unusual salt. An ammonium bicarbonate solution works similarly to seawater in the MRC and will not foul the membranes. The ammonium bicarbonate is also easily removed from the water above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The ammonia and carbon dioxide that make up the salt boil out, and are recaptured and recombined for reuse.

“Waste heat makes up 7 to 17 percent of energy consumed in indus-trial processes,” said Logan. “There is always a source of waste heat near where this process could take place and it usually goes unused.”

The researchers tested their ammonium bicarbonate MRC and found that the initial production of electricity was greater than that from an MRC using seawater.

“The bacteria in the cell quickly used up all the dissolved organic ma-terial,” said Logan. “This is the portion of wastewater that is usually the most difficult to remove and requires trickling filters, while the particulate portion which took longer for the bacteria to consume, is more easily removed.”

The researchers tested the MRC only in a fill and empty mode, but eventually a stream of wastewater would be run through the cell. According to Logan, MRCs can be configured to produce electric-ity or hydrogen, making both without contributing to greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The MRC tested produced 5.6 watts per square meter.

Logan also said not having to process wastewater would save about 60 gigawatts.

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology supported this work.

energy, obtained from seawater and freshwatersources, based on the use of many pairs of anionand cation exchangemembranes situated betweentwo electrodes. Many membrane pairs are neededfor effective harnessing of salinity gradients aselectricity, resulting in high costs for standaloneRED systems (10, 11). The use of natural waters inRED can result in membrane fouling without ex-tensive pretreatment of fresh and salt water. Inprinciple, salinity-gradient energy can be effectivelycapturedwithin amicrobial reverse-electrodialysiscell (MRC) by using only a small number of mem-brane pairs (Fig. 1). Bacterial oxidation of organicmatter and oxygen reduction provide favorableelectrode reactions, resulting in efficient capture ofenergy in the RED stack (12). However, RED andMRCapplications are currently limited to estuarineor coastal areas because of the need for both fresh-and saltwater solutions (12).

Thermolytic solutions such as ammonium bi-carbonate (NH4HCO3), which can be concentratedwith low-grade thermal energy (13), theoreticallymay be able to provide the salinity-gradient energysource for a RED stack. When combined with afavorable reaction at the electrodes in anMFC, orused in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) forhydrogen gas production (12, 14), anMRC using

NH4HCO3 could result in more efficient captureof energy from wastewaters and other sourcesof biomass than could an MFC. The capture ofwaste heat (>40°C) energy with NH4HCO3 is pos-sible with conventional and well-proven technol-ogies, such as vacuum distillation (15), that canproducehigh-concentrate (HC) and low-concentrate(LC) salt solutions. The resulting energy differ-ence between 1 M and 0.01 M NH4HCO3 HCand LC solutions is equivalent to 370 m of hy-draulic head, which is even greater than thatof typical ocean and river water (270 m) (11).NH4HCO3 is relatively distinct among many dif-ferent chemicals that have been proposed forcapturing energy through pressure differences, ina process called pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO),because of the easily volatilized ionic species (16).PRO requires the flow of water through specifictypes of membranes, distillation of larger vol-umes of water than would be needed for a REDstack, and mechanical conversion of pressure intoelectrical power. This is different than the MRCprocess, in which electricity is directly generatedby bacteria, voltages are increased by the salinitygradient, conventional ion exchange membranesare used, and there is no direct contact of the freshwater and salt solutions.

To test the utility of NH4HCO3 solutions forenergy production, we examined four differentsalinity ratios (SRs) with a single HC solution(0.95 M NH4HCO3, conductivity of 65.5 mS/cm)in an MRC (58.4 mL) containing five mem-brane pairs (Fig. 1) at a fixed-solution flow rate(1.6 mL/min). The maximum power (normalizedto projected cathode area of 7 cm2) was 5.4W/m2

(SR = 100) with 1 g/L of sodium acetate. Forthese conditions, the RED stack contributed 2.1 T0.01 W/m2 (39%) of the produced power, com-pared with 3.3 T 0.04 W/m2 (61%) from theoxidation of the substrate (Fig. 2A). The cellobtained peak power at a total cell voltage of 0.75Vand current density of 0.72 mA/cm2. Loweringthe flow rate (fig. S2) from 1.6 to 0.85 mL/min(4.9 T 0.1 W/m2) reduced power by an amountequivalent to using an SR of 50 (4.7 T 0.1W/m2).The use of the RED stack and a saline catholytealone increased power, as shown by an MRCpower density of 1.7 T 0.05W/m2withmembranesall containing the same saline solution (SR = 1),relative to that of a single-chamberMFC (nomem-branes; 1.08 T 0.03 W/m2). This improved per-formance of the MRC could be due to a numberof factors, including improved charge transfer atthe cathode (65.5 mS/cm), a salinity gradient be-tween the stack and the anode, and the flow ofbicarbonate ions through the anion exchangemembrane, which helps to maintain anode pH at6.9 T 0.1 compared with a decrease in pH to 5.5by using NaCl salt solutions (12).

We further examined power production usingdifferent concentrations of HC and LC solutionsat a fixed salinity ratio (SR = 100). MRC powerdensity reached a maximum of 5.6 T 0.04 W/m2

for the 1.1 M HC solution (Fig. 2B). This was20% higher than that produced with an artificialseawater (NaCl) and freshwater (12). Internal re-sistances, obtained from the slope of the polar-ization curves (fig. S6), ranged from 170 ohms(HC = 0.5 M) to 138 ohms (HC = 1.8 M).

The most substantial impact of the RED stackon MRC performance was that it increased max-imum power production using organic matter.Electrode reactions in the MRC produced up to3.2 T 0.2 W/m2, which is three times the powerproduced in the absence of the stack in a single-chamber MFC (1.08 T 0.03 W/m2) (Fig. 2). Thecontribution of the electrodes to total power gen-eration did not appreciably vary for HCs between0.5 and 1.1 M (SR = 100), although power wasreduced at the highest HC (1.8 M) (Fig. 2B). Theuse of the RED stack produced a very stable cellvoltage with increasing current, with electrodepotentials maintained very close to their open cir-cuit values as current density increased (Fig. 3). Incontrast, MFC electrode potentials substantiallychanged with increasing current. High salt con-centrations (1.1 and 1.8M) adversely affected theanode biofilm at the highest current densities, asshown by a rapid increase in the electrode po-tential (Fig. 3). This rapid change in electrodepotential resulted in substantially reduced powerdensities in subsequent cycles, indicating damage

Fig. 1. (A) Main components of the MRC, showing the membrane stack between the electrodes, thereference electrodes, and the circuit containing a load (resistor). (B) Example of how the anion-exchangemembranes (AEMs) and cation-exchange membranes (CEMs) are used to selectively drive the flow ofpositive ions to the right (toward the cathode) and the negatively charged ions to the left (toward theanode). The flow of these charged ions adds potential to the current produced by the microbes on theanode and maintains electroneutrality at the electrodes. (C) Expanded view of the membrane stackshowing flow path of the HC and LC solutions of NH4HCO3. (D) Construction of the gaskets used to directthe flow from one LC chamber to the next LC chamber, avoiding the HC chamber through a short flowpath through the membrane and gasket.

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 335 23 MARCH 2012 1475

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Two civil engineering faculty receive Penn State Engineering Alumni Society (PSEAS) awardsPatrick Reed, associate professor in civil engineering won the Outstanding Advising Award. Michael Gooseff, associate professor in civil engineering won the Outstanding Teaching Award.

Every year, the Penn State Engineering Alumni Soci-ety (PSEAS) honors outstanding teaching, research, and advising among the faculty of the College of Engineer-ing. Award recipients are nominated by their respective departments and are selected by a panel of peers and PSEAS rep-resentatives. Those who are selected stand as exemplars of faculty excellence. In 1993, PSEAS established the Faculty Awards Endow-ment which will carry on the tradition of support for quality engi-neering education for many years.

All awardees are selected through secret ballot by committees com-posed of faculty, staff, alumni, and former award recipients. Nomi-nations in each category are submitted by the department or school in which the individual is employed or from which the candidate earned a degree.


Basu receives Harry West AwardSwagata Banerjee Basu, assistant profes-sor of civil and environmental engineering, is the third recipient of the annual Harry West Award for the Advancement of Civil Engineering Education. As part of this award, Banerjee Basu will work on the development of an online assessment tool that will include questionnaire on simple conceptual problems drawn from real-life

scenarios. This assessment tool will provide input on the pro-gression of students’ learning and will help students to build all-round problem solving skills and enhance their confidence levels.

Johnson presents workshopPeggy Johnson, professor and head of civil and environmental engineering, pre-sented a workshop for department heads, chairs and senior faculty titled “Leadership and Fundraising: A Workshop for Depart-ment Chairs and Senior Faculty Interested in Department Leadership.” She was visit-ing North Dakota State University as a member of the external advisory board for

their National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant.

Top: Patrick Reed accepts award from Dean David Wormley. Bottom: Michael Gooseff accepts award from Dean David Wormley.

U.S. News survey ranks Penn State undergraduate civil engineering 17thThe latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges survey rated Penn State’s undergraduate engineering program 16th in the country.

The report, released Sep. 12, ranked the University 46th over-all in the U.S. Under the publica-tion’s specialties categories, Penn State aerospace engineering was ranked 10th, chemical engineer-ing 14th, civil engineering 17th, industrial engineering seventh, materials eighth and mechanical engineering 13th.

The University’s undergraduate biological engineering, bioen-gineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering and engineering science and mechanics programs were not ranked.

According to U.S. News, the undergraduate results are based solely on the peer judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program using a scale of one to five in a mail survey. U.S. News does not include the disciplines of architectural engineering, computer science and nuclear engineering as part of its survey.Maria Lopez de Murphy, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering, was

sworn in as a new citizen of the United States on Nov. 8. Congratulations, Maria!


S t u D e N t O r g A N i z A t i O N S

Engineers Without Borders–Penn State Makes a Difference for Sierra Leone SchoolchildrenThe Engineers Without Borders–Penn State (EWB–Penn State) have implemented their latrine project for the Covenant Prepara-tory School in Baoma, Sierra Leone, after a third trip to the West African country.

Five students, along with one professional mentor and faculty adviser John Lamancusa, spent 14 days in Sierra Leone at the end of May to implement their latrine project and continue assessments for the ongoing water project.

“During the trip, a team of three students—myself, Kyle Palmeter, and Caroline Klatman—and one professional mentor, Rich Kercher of Gannett Fleming, collaborated with the community to build a latrine designed by Penn State students for the [Covenant Preparatory School], improving health and sanitation for over 60 children and their families,” said incoming EWB president Jared Yarnall-Schane, a mechanical engineering major.

Everything except for the roof and the doors of the latrine were com-pleted before EWB–Penn State returned home. The professional chapter of EWB–Sierra Leone will add the last elements.

The location of the school and the latrine is 100 feet up a steep slope, surrounded by rocky soil—and this was not the only challenge EWB members faced in the construction process.

“The largest engineering challenge was working with local building methods,” said Yarnall-Schane. “In this community, and in most developing communities, there are no architectural drawings, pre-building planning or budgeting of materials. One of the big accom-plishments of the trip was showing the community more sustainable and beneficial engineering and construction techniques.”

Despite the challenges, hard work and collaboration between EWB–Penn State members and community citizens ensured the project’s success.

“Now that the latrine has been implemented, we will be spending the majority of our international focus on implementing the water supply project,” said Yarnall-Schane.

Many citizens of Baoma currently get their water from a local spring, which is subject to pollution from runoff and poor sanitation in the village.

In addition to water sampling and GPS surveys, the water team spoke with 30 families in Baoma to assess their water use: how much water they use, where they get it and how many times in the last two weeks, if at all, any family members have gotten sick.

“If they get water from spring sources, they are generally getting sick every now and then,” said Lamancusa.

The water team, including Lamancusa and students Jill Morris and TJ Cepek, helped the citizens build a concrete wall around the spring to protect it from surface runoff, but this is a temporary solu-tion they hope to improve upon in future trips.

EWB–Penn State’s work is funded through grants and donations. The group recently received a grant for $8,500 from Pratt & Whit-ney as well as a $10,000 University Relations Grant from Boeing. You can visit EWB–Penn State’s website to find out how you can help support their ongoing projects.

Clockwise: Discussing the progress of the construction of the latrine; the outer wall nears completion; the EWB-Penn State latrine team with some of the Baoma citizens who helped with construction, in front of the nearly-complete latrine; Students take water samples at a collection site.

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Penn State Student Chapter of EERI-PSUThe Penn State Student Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI-PSU) is an organization with the goal of engaging Penn State students in the field of earthquake engineer-ing. EERI-PSU’s mission includes: promoting student professional development; providing a forum for distinguished lectures to visit Penn State to give talks on contemporary topics related to earth-quake engineering; and conducting educational and outreach activi-ties. The organization consists of a diverse group of students at the graduate and undergraduate levels in both the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architectural Engineering.

Last year, EERI-PSU hosted Stephanie Chang, the 2012 EERI Distinguished Lecturer and a professor at the University of Brit-ish Columbia, Canada. Chang spoke about the “Dynamics of Urban Earthquake Risk.” Last year, EERI-PSU also sent a team of undergraduate students to the EERI annual meeting in Memphis, TN, to compete in a national shake table competition.

This year, EERI-PSU is again planning to host the EERI Distin-guished Lecturer, Professor Mary Comerio of the University of Cali-fornia, Berkeley. Comerio is expected to visit Penn State’s University Park campus in Spring 2013 to speak about “Resilience: An Engi-neering Challenge.” EERI-PSU is planning to again send a team of undergraduates to the EERI annual meeting to be held in Seattle, WA, to compete in the undergraduate Seismic Design Competition. Efforts are under way to complete the design and construction of the balsa wood structure for the competition.

For more information please contact: EERI-PSU president Nolan Amos ([email protected]), faculty adviser Gordon Warn ([email protected]) or visit: http://eeripsu.weebly.com

Penn State Student Chapter of NAHBThe National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Penn State Chapter is a student run organization that encompasses a wide range of majors including, but not limited to, civil engineer-ing, architectural engineering, architecture, land development, and business. It is the goal of the organization to promote the field of residential construction by providing members with the tools and opportunities to expand their knowledge and interests through activities such as lectures, workshops and field trips. In addition, NAHB strives to partner and work along with the local State College High School NAHB student chapter and Habitat for Humanity.

Through the NAHB Penn State student chapter, the stu-dents participate in the Residential Construction Manage-ment Competition organized by NAHB. This year, two teams from Penn State will be competing against other uni-versities across the nation at the annual NAHB Interna-tional Builder’s Show. The objective of the competition is to allow students to demonstrate their problem solving abili-ties by presenting a business plan for the development of a residential area that has been assigned by the NAHB. The students must address various relevant topics in their project including the following: market analysis, residential building design, site development and design, cost estimate, scheduling, green design, marketing strategy, financial and risk analysis, and project management. In addition to the experience provided by the team advisers Katie Blansett, Ali Memari, and Tom Skibinski, the teams must be diverse in their expertise to be able to effectively present the project to a panel of judges who are investors and developers themselves. This year’s competition will be held Jan. 22-24, 2013 in Las Vegas, NV.

Penn State Student Chapter of the AWRAThe Penn State student chapter of the American Water Resources Association was once a thriving student group here at Penn State but has been non-existent for several years now. Today, under the advisement of Elizabeth Boyer and Michael Gooseff, the student chapter is being revitalized, and with more than 30 undergraduate and graduate students expressing interest in becoming active mem-bers, the future of this student group is very bright.

Broadly, the student chapter’s mission is to provide students, both graduate and undergraduate, the opportunity to participate in a professionally recognized, student-run organization at Penn State. Through outreach and educational activities, as well as professional development, hands-on training, fundraising activities, and social events, the chapter will provide students with a platform for devel-oping professional, academic, and networking skills required for a successful career in a water related field.

Although the chapter is still in an organizational phase, they have an upcoming event for student members. At the first Water Year Party, held earlier this semester, Bryan Swistock, the statewide water specialist with Penn State’s Cooperative Extension, participat-ed in their first “Meet a Water Professional” speaker series. During an informal round-table discussion they began planning an outreach activity that will take place in the spring semester. While working with Penn State’s Cooperative Extension, members of the student

chapter will assist private well owners interpret the results from tests conducted on their well water. Students will travel to areas within Pennsylvania that are experiencing increased development for nat-ural gas extraction, particularly in the Marcellus Shale regions of the state. All students will have the chance to go through training with Penn State’s Cooperative Extension early in the semester, in order to properly interpret water test results. This opportunity will not only allow students to develop the skills needed to properly interpret and understand water test results, but will also provide stu-dents with the chance to interact with the community and develop their communication skills.

Once the chapter is officially up and running, they plan to partici-pate in campus outreach activities, develop K-12 educational activi-ties, and participate in community activities with watershed groups and non-profit organizations, including ClearWater Conservancy, the Spring Creek Watershed Association, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Additionally, in order to develop a strong social net-work within the Chapter, they will plan several social activities for group members, including camping and hiking trips and hosting an annual Water Year Party.

If anyone is interested in becoming a member of the student chapter of the AWRA, please contact Sarah Tzilkowski, the current president of the chapter (e-mail: [email protected]).



Penn State Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil EngineersThroughout this past year, the American Society of Civil Engineers, Penn State student chapter, has been involved in many various activities. Our goal as a student organization is to encourage active interest in the study of civil and environmental engineer-ing, aid in professional and intellectual advancement, and establish bonds of good fellowship among our members. One way that we have been able to achieve some of these goals in the past year is by helping to provide funding for and recruiting for our competition teams, the Steel Bridge Team and the Concrete Canoe Team. Both the Concrete Canoe Competition and Steel Bridge Competition allow students to apply the knowledge that they’ve gained from their classes in a practical, hands on project setting. Our Concrete Canoe Team was revived from a five year hiatus and fared well at the Mid- Atlantic Regionals. The competition served as a great learning expe-rience for our members since it was the first time we had a canoe at the Mid Atlantic Regionals in five years. To further help inspire our Canoe Team and to influence some innovation heading into the next school year, the Penn State ASCE chapter funded a trip to the Na-tional Concrete Canoe Competition Finals in Reno, NV, for four of the executive board members of the team. Our members came back with many great ideas and are currently implementing them in our design for our 2013 Concrete Canoe. The Steel Bridge Team fared well at the Mid Atlantic Competition as well and is returning 12 experienced members who are a part of the Steel Bridge Officer Core. The ASCE Student Chapter has aided in recruitment for this school year’s teams by attending the Engineering Activities Fair in the fall.

Activities other than the competition teams also include intramural sports teams and hosting the ASCE Fall Career Fair. The ASCE stu-dent chapter in recent years has failed at providing social bonding events for our members and we’ve tried as an organization to refocus on that aspect of our goals. Intramural sports teams, THON can-ning trips, and a hayride are just some of the ways that we’ve tried to engage our members in social bonding activities. We are also plan-

ning on having an ASCE tailgate before the Penn State–Wis-consin Game where members can come and get to know the officers a little bet-ter while throw-ing around a football, playing tailgating games, and having some burgers and hot dogs before going into the game together as a group. The Fall Career Fair acts as our main means of aiding in the professional advancement of our student members and was a great success with over 50 companies in attendance to recruit our students. Our officer core will be making new strides for the Spring Career Fair by researching companies that are not on our current invitation list in an effort to get an even broader range of companies to attend the ASCE student chapter Career Fairs.

Another way of aiding in professional advancement of our students is to attend professional conferences that center around civil and environmental engineering topics. During the spring of 2012, the Penn State student chapter sent ten members to the ASCE Triennial Conference in Washington, D.C. The Penn State student chapter was the only ASCE student chapter in attendance, which emphasiz-es Penn State’s dedication to developing world class engineers. This fall, the Penn State student chapter sent 11 members to Montreal, Canada, for the 142ND ASCE National Conference where Penn State had one of the largest showings out of any of the student chap-ters. Our members and officers benefitted greatly from the event and made very valuable connections which will undoubtedly be very

Concrete Canoe Team rises from the ashesThe team of a dozen civil engineering stu-dents that competed in last spring’s ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition (NCCC) has evolved into a 50-member amalgamation of civil, architectural, and mechanical engineering students ready to enter their second year more prepared to compete at a national level. Last year’s team, Penn State’s first in five years, was competi-tive but did not place at the regional com-petition held Lafayette College, Easton, PA.

This year’s canoe design, featuring innova-tive technologies including pre-stressed reinforcement and self-consolidating con-crete, is sure to be nationally competitive, and will hopefully be the first Penn State canoe to make it to the national competi-tion since 1997. Judgment at competitions is based on the canoe and its design, a five-

minute presentation, a technical report, and multiple men, women, and coed races.

Penn State’s canoe team is advised by Jeff Laman and Tom Skibinski, professor and instructor of civil engineering, respec-tively.

Penn State Students placed 13th at the NAHB Student Chapter Resi-dential Construction Management Competition–International Builders Show, Orlando, FL, February 2012. Faculty advisers are Andrew Scanlon, Katie Blansett and Thomas Skibinski.

ASCE Fall Career Fair



important through-out the rest of their professional careers. The student chapter plans to contact some of these networking connections from the conference to come in and speak at a Penn State ASCE general body meeting or a larger event during the spring of 2013 for an ASCE executive board member speaker.

At one of the sessions at the conference in Montreal that centered about the topic of opportunities abroad for ASCE members, there was a presentation about an organization called Bridges to Prosper-ity. The Penn State ASCE student chapter will be the first organiza-tion at Penn State to make a Bridges to Prosperity team a part of its framework. The BTP team will act similarly to the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge teams in that it will be a daughter organization un-der the ASCE student chapter. The BTP team will allow students to experience working on a project abroad in a different country while enabling them to assist in a wonderful cause: providing safe bridges to cross for third world communities with a desperate need of them.

One way that the ASCE student chapter strives to meet our goal of aiding in intellectual advancement is by offering student advising for students interested in majoring in civil and environmental engineer-ing here at Penn State. Something that we are going to aim at rem-edying is the lack of proper advising for students transferring from branch campuses to the main campus to complete their final two years in the major. More and more it seems to be an issue that stu-dents are being told that certain classes do not need to be taken in a certain order or that certain classes are not as important for a specific focus in the major when it is pertinent that they take them at certain

time in order to allow for smoother scheduling throughout junior and senior years. One reason for this can be that students are not asking the proper questions of their academic advisers at the Com-monwealth campuses regarding their schedule for the upcoming se-mester. Another reason could be that the academic advisers at the Commonwealth campuses are unaware of the scheduling conflicts at University Park campus. We will work with the current transfer stu-dents from Commonwealth campuses as well as the academic advis-ers at the Commonwealth campuses to ensure that students transfer-ring to University Park campus will be able to take the proper classes in a specific order that will allow them to succeed in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University Park campus. A proper schedule should not include conflicts that force students to take prerequisite courses concurrently with the courses that require them, to take summer courses to make up time, or to come back for an extra semester or extra year to take the capstone of a certain focus.

Also to aid in the intellectual advancement of our students, the ASCE student chapter has funded the renovations of the Jeremy Herbstritt Student Lounge that occurred during the summer of 2012 as well as other renovations that are still forthcoming. Additions to the lounge include 8 brand new computers and a new printer. Lounge renova-tions thus far have totaled over $10,000. New additions that will be seen in the near future consist of: new couches; new, more comfort-able chairs; and more desk space to help facilitate a better group working environment. The lounge has also recently become ASCE members only, where previously any engineering student could access it. This ensures that only dedicated ASCE members receive the benefits of the lounge, such as a quiet work environment, fast, state of the art computers, free printing, and comfortable seating areas that are great for relaxing between classes.

As the school year progresses ASCE is looking forward to many suc-cesses in aiding our student members here at Penn State in becoming role models in and contributing to the civil engineering community.

Penn State Steel Bridge Team

The Penn State Steel Bridge Team is a stu-dent-run organization sponsored by ASCE that offers students in the civil engineering major a chance to learn valuable technical skills to use in real world situations. Each year the team participates in a design-build regional competition that hosts around a dozen teams from schools in the Mid- Atlantic region. A 1/10th scale bridge is designed to comply with the AISC Rules, be constructed quickly on site, and have mini-mal deflection when a 2500-pound load is applied to the bridge.

It is the responsibility of the returning team members to recruit new members, train them on safety, and explain the rules. This year, the team is comprised of ten return-

ing and approximately 15 new members. During the fall semester the team does a lot of non-technical activities such as fundrais-ing, training, design, 3D and 2D modeling, and ordering steel. In the spring, they are focused on fabricating the bridge using the 2D drawings that were made in the fall. Later in the spring semester the construc-tion team will practice three to five nights a week constructing the bridge until they have mastered the construction sequence and achieved the fastest build time possible. Finally they will travel to the University of Pitt-Johnstown to compete in the regional competition, and earn an invitation to nationals.

This is a restructuring year for the team, with a number of changes occurring. They have determined that knowing how to build the same style bridge each year will not be enough to succeed in their competition.

The team has recently decided to shake things up and go for a different style of bridge geometry. They have also increased fundraising efforts to be more than just sending letters. They are now reaching out to offer companies a chance to meet with the team and to show them what Penn State has to offer. The team is constantly think-ing of new ideas for reward packages to send to companies that donate specific levels of money and encourages anyone with sugges-tions to get involved.

As a group they have agreed the team has lost sight of their goals over the last few years, and have decided to raise the bar and set their goals higher. This year they are confident they will do well at both the regional and national competitions. The Steel Bridge Team is looking forward to reminding the other schools that Penn State is the best!

Student chapter members at the Montreal conference


A L u M N i N e W S / L e c t u r e S

Get Reconnected! Join the Penn State CEE Alumni SocietyMost of you reading this article are mem-bers of the Penn State Alumni Association. And, if you are a graduate engineer, you are a member of the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society. These organizations allow you to stay connected to both the Univer-sity and to the College of Engineering, con-nections that are important to many Penn State graduates.

Likewise, keeping in touch with the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department and fellow CEE graduates is on the minds of many CEE alumni. Some of you have done so over the years by actively involving yourselves with the students, fac-ulty, and programs of the CEE department by serving as guest speakers in classes and at technical society meetings, sponsoring field trips for students, serving as judges for concrete canoe competition, offering internships to students, mentoring stu-dents, or offering advice on curriculum issues. And many of you individually keep in contact with fellow CEE classmates.

But have you ever wished you could be more connected, more involved?

Now, there is an opportunity for all CEE grads to connect with both the CEE department (students and faculty) and fel-low CEE alumni through a newly created organization, The Penn State Civil and

Environmental Engineering Alumni Society.

The intent of the new organization, as stated in its charter, is “…to foster a connection between CEE alumni and current CEE students and faculty to provide a plat-form for alumni to: — positively influence the educational

experience of students,— assist the Department in producing

world class engineers,— expose students to the world of the

practicing engineer, and — socially interact and professionally

network.”

The Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Society (PSCEEAS) is being led by a volunteer, interim, board of directors that has been working diligent-ly since early 2012 to get the new Society organized and off the ground. Board mem-bers include: Louis Astorino, B.S. 1997; Steve Devine, B.S. 1984; Jack Diviney, B.S. 1968; Willy Heisey, B.S. 1972; Peggy Johnson, professor and head; Tom Law-son, B.S. 1972; Jim Policaro, B.S. 1982; Andy Scanlon, faculty; Dewey Amos, CEE student; Jon Crisafi, CEE student; and Christa Kelleher, CEE student.

In addition to the overall organization effort, the board has concentrated on the

formation of a speakers bureau to fulfill one of the society’s key objectives, “…cre-ate a well organized alumni network that can provide speakers and example proj-ects from industry to enhance the course content and professional society activi-ties.” Alumni with an interest in return-ing to campus to share the “real world of engineering” with students are encouraged to enroll.

Details of the PSCEEAS and the speak-ers bureau can be found on our website at http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/alumni/about.html. Membership comes at no cost and can be easily accomplished by accessing this website.

Please take time to access the website to learn more about the objectives of this new organization. Hopefully, you will be excited about the opportunity to join more than 8,000 fellow Penn State CEE alumni in reconnecting with the CEE department’s students and faculty, and with each other.

Harleman Lecture focused on root of water problemThe lecture featured Charles J. Vörösmarty, director of the City College of New York (CUNY) Environmental Cross-Roads Initiative and professor of civil engineering at CUNY, presenting “Water for a Crowded Planet: 21st Century Challenges Rooted in the Past.”

Vörösmarty’s lecture summarized major findings of the CUNY En-vironmental Cross-Roads Initiative’s research agenda including the development of frameworks to foster cross-disciplinary research perspectives and the use of hydrologically-meaningful metrics that can be engaged by non-hydrologists. He also focused on the key developments in the evolution of human-water systems over 500 years that provide insight into the ways in which societies currently manage their water systems.

Kavanagh Lecture explored bridges as artLinda Figg, president and CEO of Figg Engineering Group (FIGG), presented “Creat-ing Bridges as Art.” During her talk, Figg pre-sented case studies that illustrated how concrete bridges are constructed with aesthetic beauty while also achieving eco-friendly and sustain-

able designs. She discussed how these bridges are cost effective solu-tions and provide long-term community enhancement and econom-ic benefits. She also addressed the use of high quality, local recycled materials for achieving long life-cycle cost benefits.

Figg, a civil engineering graduate from Auburn University, is con-sidered a world leader in bridge design and management. She has worked at FIGG for 30 years and served as president and owner since 2002. She has expertise in all aspects of bridge design, includ-ing development, design, project management, innovative financ-ing, construction engineering and public involvement. Figg has re-ceived numerous industry awards and honors and currently serves as vice-chair of the American Segmental Bridge Institute.


Tom Lawson, BSCE Class of 1972Tom Lawson is one of our charter members of the Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Society. Lawson is a founding partner of Borton-Lawson, a 200-person A/E firm

with seven offices in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

After 40 years in the engineering profes-sion, Lawson recently stated in a conversa-tion that “my career is still evolving.” It’s a statement that may prompt most of us with many less years in the profession to ask the obvious, “What does a professional engi-neer do late in his career; what keeps Tom searching for new opportunities, setting new goals, finding new ways to contribute to his profession?”

Lawson thinks it is the diversi-ty of the engineering profession. He began his career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers overseeing the flood recovery effort in his hometown of Wilkes-Barre, PA. Much to his surprise, the start of his ca-reer included managing many construction projects versus design of those projects. That turned out to be a great foundation for his future career as a designer and project man-ager because understanding construction

methods usually leads to better design con-cepts which address constructability issues.

Unlike some engineers that specialize in a particular field, Lawson’s design career in-cluded dams and flood control projects while with the Army Corps, but then ex-panded to include airports, bridges, high-ways, storm water management facilities, land development, design of buildings up to eleven stories and prisons, traffic stud-ies, hydrology and hydraulic studies, and on and on. Late in his career, design began to take a back seat to project management and community and professional service or-ganizations, such as chairman of the board of the Pennsylvania Professional Engineers in Private Practice, president of the Lu-zerne County chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers, chairman of the board of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, and board member of the YMCA, just to name a few.

Currently Lawson is busy with his day job as executive vice-president of Borton-Lawson, an ENR Top 500 Design Firm, but some-how he manages to dedicate a considerable amount of time to the profession as an ad-vocate for proper investments in our coun-try’s infrastructure. He enjoys the challenge of educating the public and our political leaders on the impact of proper infrastruc-

ture investment in our country’s future in a competitive global market place.

As for his future after 40 years in business, he wants to retire to a four-day work week serving his community, profession, and Penn State. Why Penn State? He sees the next generation of engineers as the key to building the economy of the future, based on a transformative way of delivering proj-ects thru innovation and lean project de-livery. Lawson stated “engineers will be instrumental in how successful our nation is in meeting the challenges of a competi-tive global marketplace thru application of new technological advances in manufac-turing and innovative advances in systems engineering. Engineers with a project man-agement background and excellent business skills are and will be in very high demand.”

A L u M N i N e W S / L e c t u r e S

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Harry H. West, professor emeritus, speaker for twentieth anniversary 2013 Kavanagh LectureHarry West, professor emeritus, and a well known Penn State structures faculty who taught and conducted research here for 35 years, will present The Ups and Downs of Suspension Bridges and The Highs and Lows of Their Builders as the twentieth anniversary Kavanagh Memorial Structural Engineering Lecture for 2013. During his research career, West studied static and dynamic analysis of

cable-supported bridge and roof structures, researched overload and failure analysis of prestressed concrete box girders and investigated cost-effective bridge strategies including the estimation of bridge life, consequences of overloads, and design optimization methods. West’s suspension bridge research earned him the prestigious Mois-sieff Award in 1970 from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

West is also a fondly remembered, respected, and admired educator. He was honored on five separate occasions for excellence in teaching: 1975 Excellent Teaching Award of the Penn State Engineering Society, 1977 Western Electric Fund Award of the American Society for Engi-neering Education, 1986 Premier Teaching Award of the Penn State Engineering Society, 1990 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award

of Penn State for distinguished undergraduate teaching, and 1996 Alumni Teaching Fellow Award of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Suspension bridges have fascinated all of humankind as engineers continued their quest to reach out and span distances never before conquered. In this quest, engineering principles were employed that, at the time, were not fully tested or completely understood. As a re-sult, the suspension bridge story is a collection of incredible accom-plishments as well as catastrophic disappointments—accompanied by highly-acclaimed individual successes and devastating personal failures. West will trace the developmental history of suspension bridges; identifying the major players and their struggles to gain ap-proval for their plans. He will also examine the prevailing theories used in suspension bridge structural analysis and provide observa-tions of the resulting trends in design. In addition, West will present a full accounting of the chronology of the longest suspension bridges in the world, from the early nineteenth century to current times and the plans for new and longer spans.

Please plan to join us on Thursday, April 4, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in the Forum (note change of venue) for this exciting twentieth anniversary Kavanagh Memorial Structural Engineering Lecture.


A L u M N i N e W S

CEE Alumni NewsRobert Alger (B.S. ’79),president and chief executive officer of the Lane Construction Cor-poration, Cheshire, CT, has been elected distin-guished member of ASCE, the highest honor conferred by the society. Alger is honored for growing and leading a successful construction company, for his work on a number of boards in the construction industry, and for being a role model which promotes a high standard of pro-fessionalism and ethics to young civil engineers. The featured article was published in the May 2012 ASCE News.

Donald Andersen (M.S. ’73), associate profes-sor of civil engineering, retired from North Da-kota State University after 33 years of service. In addition to his teaching role, Andersen mentored many students, previously served as adviser to the Institute of Transportation Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers student groups, and conducted research with the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

Jeffrey Arch (B.S. ’84) has been named the director of the Northeast Region for Open Roads Consulting, a company that has become the leading provider of innovative Intelligent Trans-portation Systems and Critical Asset Protection Solutions.

Bob Bielek (B.S. ’69) has been named El Paso district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation. Bielek has 42 year of experience in transportation planning, design, and con-struction.

Chad Decker (B.S. ’95, M.Eng. ’96) has been named manager of traffic services at Dawood Engineering, Inc. Decker has more than 15 years of consulting experience in the field and will be responsible for preparation of proposals and management of traffic engineering projects, as well as staff and client relationship development.

Glenn Ebersole (B.S. ’70) has been named as the director of strategic business development at Hollenbach Construction, Inc. Ebersole will provide leadership for the company’s strategic business development and marketing.

Scott Himes (B.S. ’06, M.S. ’07) married Marie Pierson on July 21, 2012. Himes is completing a doctorate degree in civil engineering and works for the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Trans-portation Institute at Penn State. Marie is also a graduate of Penn State with bachelor’s degrees in international politics and international studies, and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruc-tion and is a secondary social studies teacher at Bald Eagle Area School District.

Bill Leonard (B.S. ’78) has been named depu-ty superintendent of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. He is also the chief of strategic planning and project management. Prior to his National Park Service career, Leonard was a facilities engineer at the Tobyhanna Army Depot for 19 years.

Colonel Christopher Lestochi (M.S. ’99) assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. The Alaska District provides a number of services to the military,

federal, state, and local governments, to the pub-lic in Alaska, and to the government of India at Hindan Air Force Station.

Gary Maring (B.S. ’64) authored a book enti-tled “Faith, Social Justice, and Public Policy” and is available on Amazon.com.

Steve Miller (B.S. ’02) has joined SEPI Engi-neering & Construction firm as a transportation engineer.

Donald Pasquinelli (B.S. ’02) has joined RETTEW has an engineering technician. He will be responsible for coordinating and man-aging the transportation aspects of natural gas exploration and drilling projects for the com-pany’s natural gas clients.

Paul Skoutelas (B.S. ’74, M.S. ’76) has been named director of Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Transit & Rail Technical Excellence Center (TEC). In this position, Skoutelas will provide leadership to TEC and assist in growing the company’s tran-sit and rail business, increasing marketing, and develop client relationships.

Felix Uhlik (Ph.D. ’84) has retired from Georgia Institute of Technology where he was graduate coordinator and assisted with initiating a gradu-ate program in Facilities Management. Uhlik also previously taught at the University of Flori-da’s Building Construction School and had a 23 year career in the United States Air Force.

Barry Schoch, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Transportation awarded 2012 Outstanding Engineering Alumnus

Although Barry Schoch did not always know he was going to work in the transportation sec-tor, he did have an interest in roadways from a young age. Barry remembers, “We moved around a fair amount because my dad worked in the school system, so we would drive to Du-Bois to visit my grandparents on Route 322. My dad still talks about me being fascinated with the construction.”

Schoch chose to major in civil engineering at Penn State because math and physics were his strengths in high school, but he was un-sure of his choice during his first two years. He considered changing his major to speech communication; however, once he started tak-ing civil engineering courses during his junior year, he knew he had chosen the right major.

During his time at Penn State, Schoch interned with the Delaware Department of Transportation, where he gained transportation en-gineering experience and upon graduation, worked as a highway and hydraulics engineer for Macombs Associates for three years.

He then accepted a position at KCI Technologies as a designer on highway and site development projects. Through the next ten years, Barry rose through the ranks, becoming a project manager, vice pres-ident, and chief engineer of surface transportation.

Schoch next worked for McCormick, Taylor and Associates as the vice president in charge of engineering and helped to expand the company significantly. Throughout his 15 years of affiliation, bill-ings increased from $8 million to $55 million per year and the com-pany expanded to ten offices in six states. Most recently, he served as the vice president and manager of the transportation department at the company’s Harrisburg office.

In April 2010, Schoch was elected president of the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association. He had always considered work-ing in government, and after election, industry members and past secretaries approached him, asking if he was interested in becoming the secretary of transportation. “I was at a point in my career that if I was ever going to talk about seriously considering it, now was the time,” Schoch explains. “Before I knew it, I was sitting across the table from Gov. Tom Corbett talking about the position.”

In January 2011, with 28 years of experience, Barry was nominated to be secretary of transportation. “The most rewarding part of my job is representing the 11,700 employees and tens of thousands of people in the industry who put in many hours to ensure public safe-ty,” Barry says.

He currently resides in Camp Hill, PA, with his wife, Karyn Vander-voort, and their twins, Jackson and Jocelyn.

CEE Department DirectoryPeggy JohnsonDepartment Head and [email protected]

LeAnn AndersonAdministrative [email protected]

Lindsey GarnerDepartment Head Staff [email protected]

William BurgosDirector of Graduate Programs and [email protected]

Judy HeltmanGraduate Staff [email protected]

Norman FolmarDirector of Undergraduate [email protected]

Heather HambyUndergraduate Staff [email protected]

Amy LongFinancial [email protected]

Amy CaseNewsletter Editor and Staff [email protected]

Robert WhiteManager Network & [email protected]

David FauldsLab [email protected]

HelloWe’d Love to Hear from You!We want to know where life has taken you since you left Penn State. Please complete the form below, including any additional comments. You are welcome to send us an update on your personal stationary, or via e-mail.

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Please send to:Amy CaseEditor Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State University212 Sackett BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802

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This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U.Ed. ENG 13-21 MPC 121580

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Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringThe Pennsylvania State University 212 Sackett BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16803-1408

Top left: Dr. Velegol’s CE 370 class took a tour of the waste water treatment plant on Fox Hollow Road, State College; Top right: Dr. Blansett’s CE 410W class visits a local residential construction site, Saybrooke Development in Ferguson Township; Middle left: Dr. Linzell’s CE 342 & CE 447 class visit and tour the Pegula Ice Arena on campus; Middle right: Dr. Burgo’s CE 472W fieldtrip to an acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment system in Blandburg, PA; Bottom left: STS 297A class at Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, PA; Bottom right: Dr. Velegol’s CE 370 class tours Morningstar, sustainable home.

Fieldtrips

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