Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

Chris Rehmann, assistant professor of environmental engineering, and Hui Hu, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, recently received a Research Grant Development Award from the College of Engineering. The award recognizes the top proposal submitted to the College this spring and provides the professors with funding to enhance the proposal entitled Interaction of Salt Fingers and Turbulence in order to obtain further funding from national organizations.

The proposed work would allow Rehmann and Hu to apply Hu's Molecular Tagging Velocimetry and Thermometry technique to "salt fingers." Salt fingers are thought to be important in transporting heat and salt in the ocean, and thus, are an important component of global ocean circulation and climate.

Hans van Leeuwen, professor of environmental engineering; Shinnosuke Onuki, graduate student in agricultural and biosystems engineering; and Jacek Koziel, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, have been awarded the Grand Prize for University Research by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. The honor rewards the researchers for their work in developing a more effective way to purify alcohol, and even turn fuel ethanol into beverage alcohol. Click here to learn more about this research.

Shashi Nambisan, professor and director of the Center for Transportation Research and Education, received numerous awards before leaving his position at the University of Nevada to start at Iowa State in February. Nambisan was named Engineer of the Year by Nevada’s chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and he received the Leadership in Community Involvement Award from the Southern Nevada branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons also issued a proclamation declaring January 31, 2007 Professor Shashi Nambisan Day in Nevada to “thank and commend him for his devotion, honorable service, and dedication” to serving the citizens of Nevada. (To view the full proclamation, please visit gov.state.nv.us/PROCs/2007/
2007-01-31ProfessorShashiNambisanDay.htm.)

David White, assistant professor of geotechnical engineering, has been chosen by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Geo-Institute Board of Governors to receive the 2007 Arthur Casagrande Professional Development Award. The award selection committee particularly noted White’s achievements in the area of dynamic soil behavior, characterization, and testing using innovative soil system evaluation strategies. This is the highest award for a junior geotechnical engineer in the United States.

The prestigious national award was established by family, friends, and colleagues of Arthur Casagrande, a pioneer in soil mechanics, to recognize outstanding achievements in teaching, research, and the practice of geotechnical engineering. It provides professional development opportunities for outstanding practitioners, researchers, and teachers of geotechnical engineering under age 35.

For winning this honor, White will receive a certificate and a cash award during the Geo-Institute’s 2008 conference, March 9-12.

Max Porter, professor of structural engineering, was honored as one of the first Fellows by the Masonry Society. He was inducted in a ceremony in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 15, 2005. This ceremony marked the first time the society has honored any of its members as Fellows. 

Porter is an internationally recognized leader in masonry, reinforced concrete, and fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) structures and has held numerous positions of leadership in developing new codes and standards in the United States.

Throughout his distinguished career, he has received over 40 awards, including Honorary Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the President's Award from the Masonry Society, Fellow of the American Concrete Institute, Anson Marston Award by the Iowa Engineering Society, and the Regents Faculty Excellence Award from the State Board of Regents.

The Masonry Society is an international organization with more than 750 members in more than 30 countries with a mission to advance masonry knowledge. Porter is past president of the Masonry Society.

Lowell Greimann was named Outstanding Civil Engineer during the 84th annual meeting of the Iowa Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on September 9 in Ames.

"Each year our board selects one member to receive the Outstanding Civil Engineer Award for exemplary professional conduct, an established reputation for professional service and for serving as a good model for aspiring engineers," says Tim Monson, president, Iowa Section of ASCE. "It gives me great pleasure to announce Lowell Greimann as this year's recipient. He is truly deserving of it."

James Gaunt, manager of the environmental engineering research lab, received the Dean's Staff Excellence Award for his dedication and superior service to the college, university, and community. Gaunt, who has been an engineering lab manager for more than 30 years, has served his community in the U.S. Army Reserves, in elected and appointed local government positions, and as a volunteer firefighter, elementary school PTO president, church leader, Extension Master Gardener, and youth leader in sports and Boy Scouts.