2010

Corps Manager Has the Right Rx for DOD’s Medical Megabuild in San Antonio

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Randy Holman, credited with overseeing the surge in military construction activity at San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston prompted by mandated base realignment, describes the program as “fast-moving, complex and dynamic.”

The Top 25 Newsmakers of 2010

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Many people serve to improve the construction industry every day. Each year since 1964, the editors of Engineering News-Record have reviewed the stories that have appeared in the magazine during the year and selected individuals for special recognition.

Relationship-Building With Small Firms: 'Their Success Is Our Success'

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

When Gilberto Neves, chief executive officer of Miami-based Odebrecht Construction, called Eloise Gonzalez in the middle of the night to come with him on an emergency trip to earthquake-torn Haiti, she was astounded.

Healthy Doses of Steel Fiber 'Clear' Rebar Congestion in Concrete Coupling Beams

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Gustavo J. Parra-Montesinos is coming to the rescue of concrete-frame designers and contractors in earthquake country, long bedeviled by rebar-congested coupling beams that span openings in seismic shear walls.

Engineer Is Committed To Make Reading Key to Young Students' Future Success

rubind@enr.com (Debra K. Rubin) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Dean McClure didn’t have to be asked by Tuscaloosa, Ala., city school officials to help them improve elementary students’ chronically-low reading scores.

Affordable, Net-Zero-Energy-Use Buildings Are No Longer Pipe Dreams

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Jeffrey M. Baker is an agent of change. Thanks to his vision and leadership, building teams across the U.S. can avail themselves of the first field-tested, replicable performance-based design-build model for affordable, ultra-energy-efficient buildings.

Expert Driller Saved Chilean Miners in Gripping, International Rescue Effort

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Jim Stefanic, operations manager of Chilean drilling company Geotec Boyles Bros., led the drillers who successfully bored and then widened the “plan B” rescue shaft that became the path to life for 33 Chilean copper miners trapped for 69 days nearly a half-mile underground.

Builder Finished Bedeviling Ballpark Project an Astounding Three Months Early

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Mortenson Construction’s John Wood is a “master of communication,” says Earl Santee.

Hoisting Hero Sent Clear Message to Industry When Voting for Higher Safety

vanhamptont@enr.com (Tudor Van Hampton) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

One person can make a difference in the industry and save lives. That’s what crane man Joe Collins learned when he cast a pivotal vote for construction safety.

U.S. Navy's Chief Engineer Is All Business in Managing Its Global Building Surge

rubind@enr.com (Debra K. Rubin) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Joseph E. Gott, chief engineer and capital improvement director for the U.S. Navy’s Naval FacilitiesEngineering Command, is a trained fire protection engineer.

Architect-of-Record Saves the Day for San Francisco's Cliffside 'Snake' on Stilts

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Marianne O’Brien gives value engineering, or in her case, “value architecting” a good name.

Ignoring Naysayers, Contractor Goes Out on a Limb To Deliver a Better Building

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Multitrade customized prefabrication of hospital components is not exactly old hat in Europe. But it is not new, either.

Union Carpenter Connects, Fuels Support for Tradeswomen Around the World

abaffyl@enr.com (Luke Abaffy) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

A union carpenter by day, Melina Harris has spent her nights as president and champion of Sisters in the Building Trades, propelling it from a local Seattle forum to an international link for tradeswomen seeking to connect and find mentoring and support in their careers.

Project Director Plays Many Roles To Keep Green Highway Megaproject on Time

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Melinda Peters is the first to say that successful construction projects are the result of teamwork, not the actions of a single person.

AGC's General Counsel Negotiates Compromise on California Emissions Rule

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

In 2007, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) set in motion strict off-road diesel emissions rules that could have had long-range impact on contractors and equipment suppliers.

Design Firm CEO Leads Team to 'Super Bowl' of Dam Projects in Missouri

rubind@enr.com (Debra K. Rubin) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Dec. 14, 2005, wasn’t one of Missouri’s best days.

Making Slow but Steady Progress Toward Building Regulatory Reform

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Few people get passionate about permitting—angry perhaps, but not passionate.

Novel Choreography of Massive Truss-Lift Ballet Receives Raves

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Steve Underwood, project manager with joint venture MTI, is orchestrating the span-by-span lift and assembly sequence for superstructure erection on the $1.2-billion widening of the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River at New Orleans.

Harnessing Terrible Storms in Quest To Develop Better Buildings and Materials

sawyert@enr.com (Tom Sawyer) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

For Timothy A. Reinhold, senior vice president of research and chief engineer at the Institute for Business and Home Safety’s newly commissioned, $40-million test facility in Chester County, S.C., the hurricane that blew through the lab on Oct. 18 and tore a two-story house to shreds was a joy to behold.

Hearing the Music of Structures, Analyzing When the Notes Are Wrong

sawyert@enr.com (Tom Sawyer) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

After more than 30 years of research, invention, fieldwork and development, civil engineer Alan P. Jeary finally saw the hardware and software he developed commercialized in 2010.

Professor Examines Ancient Engineering To Help Modern Societies Build Better

vanhamptont@enr.com (Tudor Van Hampton) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

The ancient Inca built a complex system of roads that span some 20,000 miles and range in altitude from sea level to 14,000 feet, all without the benefit of special tools or even a formal writing system.

Physician Pressed for a Solution for Easing Shoulder Pain of Overhead Drilling

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Dr. David Rempel led a team of researchers from the University of California in San Francisco and Berkeley that developed an 'inverted' drill press.

Helping Engineers Lead the Way to Risk Reduction in New Orleans

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Following Hurricane Katrina’s 2005 attack on New Orleans, the best minds in the international water-resources industry began seeking innovative ways to rebuild the city’s storm-surge defenses.

American Structural Engineer Influences China's First Supertower Code

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

While a penniless college student in Texas, Hong Kong native Dennis C.K. Poon’s first gig in the U.S. paid $2 an hour.

Partnership Cuts Down Dangerous Dust From Road-Milling Machines

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

Gary Fore, a now retired vice president of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), Lanham, Md., leads a voluntary partnership of asphalt-paving industry organizations that is researching and recommending ways to cut down the amount of silica dust generated by asphalt-milling machines in advance of federal safety and health regulations.

Design for Rapid Levee Construction Shaves Off Decade in Schedule

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Dwayne Smith, a senior engineer at URS Corp., San Francisco, is a geotechnical program manager on a levee enlargement project in New Orleans that is shaving a decade off the time it normally takes to build and consolidate such a structure.