Faculty News
Faculty News |
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On July 22 at the Water Professionals Conference in Knoxville, Dr. Moore
was given the prestigious S. Leary Jones Award by the Kentucky-Tennessee
Water Environment Association (KTWEA). This award is named for S. Leary
Jones, one of the founding fathers of the KTWEA and a former director of the
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Water
Pollution Control. Recognition as an S. Leary Jones award recipient means
that Dr. Moore has been elected to the Kentucky-Tennessee Wastewater Hall of
Fame. This award is not awarded every year, and this year was the first time
in three years that a recipient was selected. The S. Leary Jones Award is
the highest award that a member of the KTWEA can receive. Dr. Moore was
given this award because of his many years of dedicated service to the KTWEA
and the water pollution control field. Dr. Pezeshk recently
received funding from the Federal Highway Administration and the Tennessee
Department of Transportation for a set of downhole seismic arrays to be
installed in the weigh station in Arkansas near the I-40 Hernando Desoto
Bridge.
Dr. Stephanie Ivey and Dr. David Russomanno, R. Eugene Smith
professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering are serving as
Co-Principal Investigators for the newly funded MemphiSTEP project, along
with Dr. John Haddock, professor of mathematical sciences and Ms. Regina
Hairston, STEM program counselor. Dr. Don Franceschetti, Dunavant university
professor of physics and chemistry serves as the Principal Investigator.
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Dr. William T. Segui attended the
three-day seminar “Engineering and Economics of Reinforced Concrete
Buildings” August 4-6, 2008. The seminar was held at the Skokie, Illinois
facilities of the Portland Cement Association. Dr. Segui was sponsored by
the Southeast Cement Association. Dr. Paul Palazolo and Dr. Stephanie Ivey conducted the fifth year of the Girls Experiencing Engineering (GEE) program during June 2008. The program is funded by the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis, and the corporate sponsor this year was Medtronic. Since its inception in 2004, GEE has involved 383 young women, 59 middle and high school teachers, and 80 college and high school mentors in its interactive, fast-paced program that features daily, team-based design competitions using K'NEX manipulatives and prizes for the best team technical presentation and experimental component. Design challenges provide young women with opportunities to apply content covered each day under authentic engineering simulations, providing them with insight into the work responsibilities of an engineer. In addition, daily presentations from local female engineers and engineering students, as well as “field work” snapshot visits to campus labs, allow the girls to learn about the variety of career possibilities within the field, and help them understand the type of math and science preparation they need to pursue an engineering career. The 2008 program included a general engineering session as well as a focus session (environmental and transportation engineering) for high school girls, and a general engineering session for middle school girls. Over 140 students, peer-mentors, and teachers were served through GEE 2008, making it the largest GEE program to date. The Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis has awarded $40,000 for the 2009 GEE program. The photo below shows a group of middle school participants with their peer and teacher mentors.  Dr. David Arellano, P.E., gave a presentation on a paper titled Preliminary Loess Undrained Shear Strength Resistance Factors for Use in Load and Resistance Factor Design during the 41st Annual Symposium on Geological Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering held in Boise, Idaho, April 9 through 11, 2008. Mrs. Melanie R. Anderkin, former University of Memphis undergraduate research assistant now at the University of Kentucky, was co-author of the paper with Dr. Arellano. She presented the same paper at the Bischof Public Speaking Competition held at the University of Kentucky on April 14, 2008. She received second place that included a $500 award. As part of the geological and geotechnical engineering symposium program, participants were invited to a one day geology trip that included viewing landslides of the Hagerman Valley region, approximately 100 miles southeast of Boise. The photo below shows a landslide area adjacent to the Snake River.  The International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC) selected Dr. David Arellano, P.E. to attend the 2008 Foundation Engineering Faculty Workshop held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on June 8-14, 2008. The one week workshop focused on drilled shafts, anchors, and micropiles. In addition to the classroom experience, attendees participated in field demonstrations of the latest construction and testing techniques. The workshop provided participants with state-of-practice information needed to teach the fundamentals of drilled shaft and anchored earth retention design at the undergraduate and graduate level. Last year the Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA) invited Dr. Arellano to attend the one week PDCA Professor's Driven Pile Institute held at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. The PDCA workshop focused on pile foundations and through both classroom instruction and field demonstrations provided participants with the tools needed to teach the fundamentals of pile design and construction. The ADSC and PDCA paid for all expenses of their respective workshops including the cost of expert instructors, lodging, meals, field demonstrations, and take-home teaching packages that included texts; manuals; and audio visual aids. The Department of Civil Engineering paid for travel expenses. Dr. Arellano is using the information from both workshops to supplement his geotechnical engineering experience to teach the graduate level foundation analysis course (CIVL 7130/8130) this fall and foundation engineering (CIVL 7134/8134) in the spring. Dr. Arellano extends his appreciation to the ADSC, PDCA, and their sponsoring members for making the workshops possible. Dr. Stephanie Ivey received a grant through the Strengthening Communities Initiative, funded through a collaboration between the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the United Way of the Mid-South, and the University of Memphis. The proposed project will involve a comprehensive inventory of traffic patterns and transportation networks in the Rozelle-Annesdale neighborhood to identify problems related to safety and efficiency of existing systems. The final product of the project will be a report defining existing conditions, identifying areas of need, and recommending changes to existing transportation networks that will improve the quality of life of neighborhood residents. Twenty undergraduate students and one graduate student in the Department of Civil Engineering are currently working on this project. Stoy Bailey, Managing Director of the Pigeon Roost Development Corporation, is the lead community partner. The overall purpose of the proposed study is to help Rozelle-Annesdale neighborhood residents develop a sustainable effort for community improvement. The photo below shows undergraduate student Sue Ellen Barnes helping Rozelle-Annesdale residents with a transportation survey.
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