Tag Archives: Awards

Oregon State holds steady in first place at international geotechnical competition

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Congratulations! The Oregon State University student team of Nathan Jones and Alessandra Hossley took first place, earning the Mohr-Circle Award in the 2017 GeoPrediction competition at the annual meeting of the ASCE Geo-Institute. Oregon State has won first place three out of the past four years in the competition, taking home the first place trophy in 2014, 2016, and 2017.

The objective of the GeoPrediction competition is for student teams to develop an accurate prediction of geotechnical behavior given detailed information regarding subsurface, boundary, and initial conditions, as well as the geotechnical, structural, and hydraulic loading. After developing their prediction, student teams present their methodology and findings to a panel of judges comprised of geotechnical practitioners and faculty.

2017 GeoPrediction Competition
The student team of Nathan Jones and Alessandra Hossley took first place, earning the Mohr-Circle Award in the 2017 GeoPrediction competition at the annual meeting of the ASCE Geo-Institute.

“The 2017 GeoPrediction challenged student teams, consisting of one graduate and one undergraduate student, to predict the time-settlement performance and lateral deformation of a highway embankment constructed over soft, compressible clays, using surcharge pre-loading and prefabricated vertical drains,” said Jones, a master’s student in geotechnical engineering. “Estimates of embankment settlement were made at 10, 20, and 30 days after construction began, while lateral displacements of the embankment toe were made to 50-feet below the existing ground surface.”

Advised by Armin Stuedlein, associate professor in geotechnical engineering, Jones and fellow team member Hossley, who is pursuing a dual bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and forest engineering, began working on their prediction in September 2016 and submitted their detailed report in January. OSU was one of eight teams selected to attend the conference and compete for the Mohr-Circle Award.

“This was my first time participating in the GeoPrediction competition and I enjoyed the experience of synthesizing a variety of data for the prediction as well as the overall experience of presenting at a professional conference,” said Hossley.

University of Texas at Arlington placed second and the Middle Eastern Technical University of Ankara, Turkey placed third.

View the student team research poster.

OSU ASCE student chapter wins number of honors

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Congratulations to the Oregon State University American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter for winning four awards handed out by the organization! The chapter was honored with the following:

2014 ASCE Distinguished Chapter Award for Region 8  (top chapter in OR, WA, AK, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, AZ)

2014 Richard J. Scranton Outstanding Community Service Award  – Top chapter in the nation. The ASCE Student Leadership Award is granted to an ASCE Student Member who has demonstrated leadership in a Student Chapter/International Student Group through various activities (e.g., service as an officer, leading special events, interaction with university administration, and interaction with ASCE Sections/Branches). OSU ASCE was recognized for their work in Nicaragua.

2014 Outstanding Practitioner Advisor Award for Region 8  – Ken Archibald

2014 Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award for Region 8  – Tom Miller

 

Three OSU CCE alumns honored at Oregon Stater Awards

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A trio of Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering alums were honored at the annual Oregon Stater Awards, held on Friday Feb. 21.

Joshan W. Rohani, a project manager at David Evans and Associates, was named to the Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers. Meanwhile, Lee R. Zink, area manager for Kiewit Infrastructure West, was named to the Academy of Distinguished Engineers and James R. Plasker, retired executive director of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, was named to the Engineering Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to all of the award-winners!

OSU captures two titles at 2014 ASC Regions 6 & 7 student competition

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The Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering placed three teams among the top three in their respective categories at the 27th Annual Associated Schools of Construction Region 6 and 7 Student Competition, held Feb. 5-8 at the J.A. Nugget Casino Resort in Reno, Nev.

OSU captured two team titles at the event, winning the Marine and Mechanical contests while the Determining Project Risk squad finished in second-place.

The marine victory was the fourth for OSU and the second in the last three years. Marine team members for the competition included OSU students Nicholas Briesach, Jeffrey Brink, Chris Duty, Daniel Freitas, Evan Gross and Damien Pulley.

OSU students Lucas Brown, Robbie Mize, Jason Powell, Blain Rennels, Elijah Thibodeau and Chad Walker formed the mechanical team as OSU captured its third straight (fourth overall) win in the category.

Meanwhile, OSU juniors Thomas Bancroft, Sarah Cochenour, Erik Green, Sarah Leads, Jeff Nakashima, Barret Neumayr and Patrick Van Epps led the school to a second-place finish in the ‘Determining Project Risk” competition.

OSU also fielded teams in commercial building, heavy civil and multi-use structures, rounding out an impressive showing by the school at the annual event.

The school’s participation at this year’s event was made possible through faculty and staff support in addition to the generous contributions from a number of industry partners.

The annual student competition, which features thousands of students from institutions in 13 states, is held by the ASC, the professional association for the development and advancement of construction education, where the sharing of ideas and knowledge inspires, guides and promotes excellence in curricula, teaching, research and service.