December 1995 - Vol. 2 No. 1

Dr. Helweg Named Outstanding Civil Engineer In Tennessee

At the Fall Meeting of the Tennessee American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Section, Dr. Otto J. Helweg received the Daniel B. Barge Jr. award as the outstanding Civil Engineer in the State of Tennessee. Dr. Helweg Was introduced by the chairman of the awards committee and presented the award by Bob Bailey, past president of the West Tennessee Branch of the ASCE and now president of the Tennessee Section of ASCE. Bob is a University of Memphis alumnus. Daniel Barge Jr., for whom the award was named was present at the banquet and congratulated Dr. Helweg after the meeting. Mr. Barge is co founder and principle of the Engineering and Architecture firm, Barge, Waggoner, Sumner, and Cannon. He is a past president of ASCE. Dr. Helweg was nominated by the West Tennessee Branch of ASCE.

Robert Bailey (at right), President of the Tennessee Section of the American
Society of Civil Engineers, presents the Daniel Barge Award to Dr. Otto Helweg.

Dr. Helweg came to The University of Memphis from Texas A & M University and assumed the chair of the Civil Engineering Department. Prior to the time at Texas A & M, Dr. Helweg was in the Civil Engineering department at the University of California at Davis and the acting director of the California Water Resources Center.

Dr. Helweg has received numerous awards which include the outstanding geohydrologist in the United States from the American Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers. He has published over 100 technical papers and three books. He has brought in over $2 million in research and consulted in a number of foreign countries. He has been the editor of the ASCE Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering and is presently on the Executive Committee for the newly formed ASCE Water Resources Engineering Division.

Chairman's Corner

Why I Became A Civil Engineer
by
Michael Knipple

When I was a young boy, around the age of seven or eight years old, my family moved to Tennessee where we visited my grandfather's house in Mississippi as often as possible. I do not remember a lot of things during the trips to Mississippi except the cheese and spaghetti dinners of grandma and one sack of toys my grandparents kept in the back closet. The sack contained a few building blocks, some log cabin house pieces and a rubber chicken. I could not figure out why they kept the rubber chicken in the toy sack but since I had a limited choice of toys, I used it along with the other pieces for hours and hours of entertainment. I remember building ancient castles for the prehistoric rubber chicken to attack and space stations on Mars for the monster rubber chicken to destroy. Although these were childhood activities, I have always wanted to create and build using my imagination and my hands. Even though I did not think about the hours of enjoyment I received from building and creating things at that time, I realize that I was creating the path for my education and future career as a Civil Engineer.

Michael then goes on to describe the areas of specialization in Civil Engineering and how they have influenced his life and his interests in fishing and other outdoors activities. He concludes:

The Civil Engineering field offered many options and answered many questions that I did not want to take for granted. The most important aspect of the Civil Engineering field is its ability to create a world that is safe. Remarkable structures such as the Memphis Arkansas bridge are safe for me to ride over without fear because of a Civil Engineer. I can drive my car wherever I want and drink fresh water because of a Civil Engineer. I will be able to give these same comforts and promises I enjoy in life to family, friends and even people I do not even know when I become a Civil Engineer. I do not know who to thank, my grandparents, my parents, the fish or the rubber chicken but I do know that I am very thankful that I have chosen the career of a Civil Engineer.

We Are on the WWW WEB

The Department of Civil Engineering is now on the INTERNET. Our address on the World Wide Web is: http://www.ce.memphis.edu

The home page site is being developed by Dr. Charles Camp and currently has information on Graduate and Undergraduate programs, courses, faculty and research opportunities, departmental announcements, and ASCE Student Chapter information. We are providing links to the University of Memphis WWW site and other sites of interest. We are including application and financial aid information. Please use the site and tell us what you think. The home page is continually under development and we welcome your suggestions on how we can improve it.

Col. Marvin L. Jacobs Receives National Award

Col. Marvin L. Jacobs has been appointed a fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers. He was formally installed October 19 into the Society's Academy of Fellows during ceremonies in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1985, Jacobs established the Center for River Studies at the University. The Center is located within the Department of Civil Engineering. Under Marvin s direction, the Center has conducted studies and research investigations for federal, state, and local governments and the private sector on river related issues. The work has focused on the area of inland waterway transportation and port development and has involved Department of Civil Engineering faculty and students. He was instrumental in submitting a proposal to the U. S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, establishing a National Maritime Enhancement Center at the University of Memphis. The Inland Waterways Studies Institute, is a consortium of three universities, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the University of Kentucky, and The University of Memphis, with leadership provided by the Department of Civil Engineering.

Col. Jacobs is currently the principal investigator on a study being conducted by the consortium for the Maritime Administration, to assess the current status of the inland waterway transportation.

He is a 1940 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy with a master's degree from the University of Illinois and he served as a combat engineer during World War II. During his Army career, his assignments included three years with the Panama Canal Company and three years as head of the Corps of Engineers' Memphis District. Following his retirement from the Army, Jacobs began a civilian engineering practice specializing in waterway transportation, flood protection, and environmental evaluations.

Civil Engineering Holds Conference
Focusing On Civil Engineering Careers

A round table discussion and forum, A LIFE LONG EXPERIENCE LETS BEGIN IT NOW!, was held on The University of Memphis campus on May 4, 1995. This conference, focusing on Civil Engineering as a career and the needs of Civil Engineering education, provided high school students, guidance counselors, and teachers with the opportunity to interact with University faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students in addition to Civil Engineering practitioners from the Memphis engineering community.

The conference was proposed by Dr. John Smith as a college and department enrichment activity. The principal goal of the day long event, according to Dr. Smith, was to introduce high school students, teachers and guidance counselors to the Civil Engineering profession and the Civil Engineering program at the University of Memphis.

Thirty-two high school students joined 17 University of Memphis undergraduate students and 10 graduate students in ten round table discussion groups each chaired by a Civil Engineering faculty member. The following issues were discussed by the groups:

Financial support for the program was provided by the Herff College of Engineering and the Department of Civil Engineering. The program was under the direction of Dr. John W. Smith with the assistance of Dr. Jerry Anderson, Dr. Thomas S. Fry, Carol Ferguson, David Smith, and Larry Faries. Special assistance was provided by Bob Bailey who secured the practitioners for the program.

The leadership of the faculty and the participation by the practitioners were essential to the success of the program. The faculty and practitioners who assisted in the program were:

The enrichment program concluded with a group discussion session where the high school students were encouraged to present a summary of the individual group discussions. A luncheon was provided for all the participants with Edward F. Williams, P.E., presented a talk on Opportunities in Engineering.

ASCE Student Chapter

Once again, the student chapter took its skills on the road as the spring semester was coming to an end. After many long hours of preparation, the chapter traveled to sunny(?) Florida for the regional student competition. When the rain and smoke had cleared, they finished a respectable eighth in the southeastern region out of 22 schools participating. It seems that building bridges could be a specialty as both the steel and balsa wood bridges finished well. The steel bridge, proudly fabricated in the shops of the college finished third and was the only one of the top bridges fabricated by students. The balsa wood bridge, designed and build by Bill Showalter, finished second. What with rain washing out what promised to be the surveying team s best events and slides pointing in all directions, there were some minor setbacks but overall the chapter performed with pride and competence. All the efforts of the chapter were supported by strong support from the College, the Department, the local professional ASCE chapter and some local engineering firms including, Fisher Steel, the Pickering Firm, Continental Engineering, and Buchart Horn. The student chapter would like to extend thanks and express its grateful appreciation to these organizations.

Rob Rash (at left) and Jason Gregory work cooperatively on
a homework assignment in the College Learning Center

Activities did not stop with the conference. The student chapter assisted in an engineering oriented academic enrichment program designed to bridge the information gap between high schools, universities, and the professional community developed and sponsored by Dr. John W. Smith. The students put their design and construction talents to work under the guidance of Dr. Charles Camp and Dr. Larry Moore building a concrete handicap ramp for the New Song Baptist Congregation in South Memphis. The chapter is currently involved in another project, this time with the Elmwood Cemetery. The project entails the redevelopment of underutilized areas within the grounds. The students are conducting surveys and preparing maps using GIS technology.

As usual, banquets were held for the graduating seniors at the end of the Fall and Spring semesters. Graduating seniors were given the chance to get even with the faculty in humorous roasts where the foibles of the faculty were brought into glaring focus. At the spring meeting, Dr. Jamie Hurley was honored as the Outstanding Faculty Member for the 1994 1995 school year.

Meetings were held approximately once a month during the school year. Guest speakers presented topics of both technical and professional natures. Students were introduced to some new technology and also to some old pizza. The chapter is striving for a mixture of both technical and social meetings. In addition, it appears that the ghost of the old Steel Sewer may have awakened as victories in both softball and tennis just seem to be rolling in again. Maybe by this time next year we will need a new trophy case.

Currently the student chapter is in the overworked but quite capable hands of Roy Andrews as president, Rob Rash as president elect, Dan Wilson as secretary, Julie Etherton as secretary, Chris Marshall as program chair, and last but surely not least, Don Fletchter as conference chair. Watching from the wings as advisors are Paul Palazolo and Dr. Charles Camp. As this goes to press, preparations for this year's regional conference in Knoxville are underway. Expectations are higher than ever.

New ITE Student Chapter Formed

The growth of student interest in the field of transportation engineering has resulted in the formation of a student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). ITE is an international organization of over 10,000 professionals devoted to the improvement of transportation. The organization has active student chapters at over fifty colleges and universities.

Last spring at the inaugural meeting of ITE, by laws were adopted and dues were set at $5.00 per year. Fifteen students have joined the chapter. Officers are: Sarah Iverson, President; Chris Marshall, Vice President; Jane Jones, Secretary; and Jeff Ball, Treasurer. Dr. Jamie W. Hurley will serve as the chapter's faculty advisor. Dr. Hurley is a member of ITE and serves on the ITE District 5 student chapter committee.

Looking forward to this semester's activities, ITE plans on hosting guest speakers, conducting field trips, and of course, participating in social gatherings. The organization has established its own bulletin board outside the Civil Engineering office to post notices of future events and transportation related materials.

Department Joins the Corps of Engineers in Partnering Agreement

On December 14, 1995, the Department of Civil Engineering and the Memphis District, Corps of Engineers signed a partnering agreement aimed at fostering a reciprocal relationship between the Corps and the University. The agreement encourages sharing resources, collaborating on projects, and exchanging information on earthquake technology. In the first year of the partnership the department has participated in several studies, including the Eastern Arkansas. According to a Corps spokesperson, the agreement is one of the first of its kind between the Corps and a major university.

Dr. J. Ivan Legg, Provost, the University of Memphis, and Col. Ted Fox, Memphis District,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a partnering agreement.
Looking on are Eddie Belk and Maj. Joe DeMenil, Corps fo engineers;
Dr. Marty Lipinski, Mavin Jacobs, Dr. John Smith, and Dean Richard Warder,
the University of Memphis; and Donald Dunn, Corps of engineers.

Undergraduate Industrial and Systems
Engineering Program Approved

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission approved the establishment of an undergraduate program in Industrial and Systems Engineering (INSE). The program is to be administered initially under the Department of Civil Engineering until it reaches sufficient size to become an independent department. The graduate INSE program has been housed within Civil Engineering for many years. There is a strong symbiotic relationship between the activities and research interests of civil engineers and systems engineers in the area of modeling of complex systems, such as transportation and environmental.

Dr. Michael Racer, Associate Professor, who has been directing the graduate program, will assume responsibility for supervising the undergraduate program. Joining the INSE faculty this Spring will be two new professors, Robin Lovgren, who is earning her doctorate from the University of Tennessee, and Dr. Miguel Gonzalez, currently at the University of Houston. Both new faculty will be teaching courses taken by Civil Engineering students.

Civil Engineering Research Continues to Grow

Faculty and student involvement in Civil Engineering research continues to increase. According to a report issued by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the Department of Civil Engineering was second among all University departments and academic units in externally supported awards during the 1994 fiscal year. Eight faculty members received a total of $1,530,756 in funding. The projects with the largest funding were: "Tax Assessment Modeling" $634,000, sponsored by the Shelby County Assessor's Office and being performed by Dr. Michael Racer of the Industrial and Systems Engineering program within the department; "Ground Water Institute" $439,000, from Memphis Light Gas and Water and other municipalities and industries, Dr. John Smith, director, and "Effective PC Based Software Engineering with Ada" $159,000, supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Dr. O.E. Wheeler, principal investigator.

The final totals for fiscal year 1995 are not yet available, but the department will again be among the most productive in the University. Major new funding includes: "Memphis Intelligent Transportation System Early Deployment Project", $346,000, Dr. Martin Lipinski, principal investigator, City of Memphis, sponsor; "Seismic Acceleration Coefficients for West Tennessee, $118,500, Dr. Shahram Pezeshk principal investigator, Federal Highway Administration and Tennessee Department of Transportation, sponsors; "Feasibility Study for the Detection of Bridge Scour in West Tennessee by Pile Thermal Variation, $62,000, Dr. Charles Camp principal investigator, Tennessee Department of Transportation, sponsor, "Environmental Engineering assistance to Tennessee Industries", $44,000, Dr. Larry Moore principal investigator, University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, sponsor; Effective PC Based Software Engineering with Ada , $239,000, Dr. O.E. Wheeler, principal investigator, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sponsor; Tax Assessment Modeling , $200,000, Dr. Michael Racer principal investigator, Shelby County Tax Assessor, sponsor; and "Ground Water Institute", $300,000, Dr John Smith, director, support provided by Memphis Light, Gas, and Water, local municipalities and industries, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

These projects provide funding for equipment purchases and both faculty and student support. Approximately ten graduate students and a comparable number of undergraduate students will be provided with a total of over $100,000 in funding to work with faculty on these projects.

Faculty Notes

Dr. O.E. Wheeler lectures at Dartmouth

On April 7, 1995, Dr. O.E. Wheeler gave an invited lecture at Dartmouth College. The occasion was the three day Annual Senior Symposium hosted by the graduating senior class. The symposium was titled "Lest the Old Traditions Fail: An Examination of Tradition in America." Dr. Wheeler's talk was "Historical Changes in Engineering Over the Past Four Decades." Other speakers included representatives of several religious faiths, professors of journalism, English, and law, a former college president, as well as professional poets, story writers, and the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness/National Disaster Medical System.

Dr. Roger Smith on leave

Dr. Roger Smith, Associate Professor, is on leave for the 1995 96 academic year He will be conducting research under an Interagency Personnel Agreement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. He will be continuing research in the area of watershed streamflow and sediment transport modeling.

Dr. Roger Meier joins faculty as a temporary instructor

Dr. Roger Meier has accepted a one year appointment on the faculty. Dr. Meier earned a BSCE from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, an MSCE from the University of Colorado and PhD from Georgia Tech. For the past ten years he has worked as a research engineer at the Waterways Experiment Station developing analytical models and computer simulations in diverse areas, including geotechnical applications. He will be teaching in the geotechnical/materials and the computer applications areas. Currently he is working with other faculty and developing proposals to continue his previous research here at the University of Memphis.

Faculty Assume Leadership Roles in the Profession

Civil Engineering faculty continue to provide service to the engineering organizations. Dr. John Smith is an member of the Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners. Dr. Jerry Anderson is chair of the ASCE Water Resources Planning and Management Division Executive Committee. Dr. Otto Helweg and Dr. Martin Lipinski are members of the Executive Committees for the ASCE Water Resources Engineering and Highway Divisions, respectively. Dr. Roger Smith is chairman of the Urban Water Resources Committee and a member of two task committees. Dr. Shahram Pezeshk is a member of the Methods of Analysis Committee of the Structural Division and the Subcommittee on the Seismic Performance of Bridges. Dr. Jamie Hurley is chairing the ITE District 5 Education Committee and Dr. Lipinski is also chair of the ITE Safety Council.

Dr. Helweg Selected as University Distinguished Researcher

Dr. Otto Helweg received the University of Memphis Distinguished Researcher Award. This award, one of the University's most prestigious commendations,, is given each year for outstanding contributions in the area of scholarly productivity. Only two faculty are selected each year for this honor. He was presented the award last spring by president Rawlins at the faculty convocation.

Dr. Lipinski selected as Feature Engineer

Dr. Martin Lipinski was selected as the University of Memphis Feature Engineer during Engineer s Week, 1995. He received a certificate at the kickoff luncheon sponsored by the Memphis Joint Engineer s Council.

Dr. Hurley meets with Tennessee Congressional Delegation

Dr. Jamie Hurley represented the Department of Civil Engineering at a breakfast meeting with Tennessee s Congressional Delegation. The meeting was sponsored by the Tennessee Transportation Technology Coalition, a group composed of universities and industry involved in transportation research. The University is a charter member of the organization. At the meeting Dr. Hurley met with several congressmen and their staffs and discussed the department s research activities.

Dr. Jamie Hurley (at left) meets with Congressman John J. Duncan during a visit to
Washington to discuss the Department's transportation research activities.

Dr. Howard Hwang

Dr. Howard Hwang, adjunct professor in the Earthquake Center, was selected as one of the U.S. delegates to participate in the Sixth U.S. Japan Workshop in Earthquake Disaster for Lifeline Systems held in Osaka, Japan, July 18 21, 1995. During the workshop, he presented a paper on the application of GIS technology to seismic risk assessment of lifeline systems in Shelby County, Tennessee. Following the workshop, Dr. Hwang joined a technical tour to investigate the damage to the lifeline systems in the Kobe area caused by the 1995 Hyogo Ken Nanbu earthquake.

Dr. Hurley Selected as Faculty Member of the Year

The Civil Engineering student body selected Dr. Jamie W. Hurley as Faculty Member of the Year for the 1994-95 academic year. Dr. Hurley was given the award at the senior banquet sponsored by ASCE Student Chapter in May, 1995. The Chapter initiated the award in 1993. Past recipients include Dr. John Smith and Dr. Tom Fry.

Larry Faries (at left), president of the ASCE Student Chapter,
presents the Outstanding faculty Award to Dr. Jamie Hurley.

Dr. Hurley is one of the department s leading and perhaps most versatile instructors. He regularly teaches the required junior level transportation course, the traffic engineering and airport planning electives, and the graduate level statistics course. Because of his varied academic and professional experience, he has also taught a variety of other undergraduate courses, including Surveying, Fortran Programming, Statics, Micro Computer Applications, Structures I, Strength of Materials, Engineering Economics, and Computer Methods. Last year he helped students organize a student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and he serves as the faculty advisor to this group.

He joined the faculty in 1981 after serving as a faculty member at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Mississippi State University in Aeronautical Engineering and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Transportation) at the University of Florida. Prior to beginning his doctoral program he worked for NASA and Boeing on the lunar landing project.

He has performed research for the City of Memphis and the State of Tennessee, Department of Transportation on traffic engineering issues. He is currently working on the development of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Early Deployment Plan for the City of Memphis.

New Curriculum

This year s freshman class is being introduced to a revised curriculum that was developed by the faculty last year. The major changes include: a reduction in the number of hours required for graduation from 141 to 133; a required 1 credit hour senior seminar course; a required course in the application of statistics to civil engineering problems; a broader choice of electives; and a revised sequence of lower division sequence of courses Civil Engineering Measurements, Civil Engineering Analysis, and Civil Engineering Computations, replacing 2 existing courses: Elementary Surveying, Civil Engineering Microcomputer Applications, and making major modifications to Civil Engineering Computations. This revision follows a national trend where many Civil Engineering programs are reducing the number of hours required for graduation and introducing more flexibility into the curriculum.

Paul Palazolo (at left) discusses concrete mix techniques with
Sheree Turner and Doug Dietz during a laboratory session in the
new lower-division Civil Engineering Measurements class.

The most innovative aspect of the program is the new lower division sequence. The content of these courses will include the traditional topics of surveying and computer programming, while introducing students to the concepts of design with emphasis on group activities and on computer usage in a problem solving setting. Dr. Charles Camp and Paul Palazolo are team teaching the sequence and a faculty committee of Dr. Jerry Anderson, Dr. Jamie Hurley, and Dr. John Smith are serving as an advisory committee to aid in the transition.