The Geotechnical Group returned to the CUNY Recital Hall in Manhattan for its fifth lecture of 2007-2008 on February 20, 2008. The lecture introduction by Dr. Terry Holman included a brief moment of silence in memory of the recent passing of Dr. Ralph Peck, one of the founding fathers of the field of geotechnical engineering. The lecture focused on dynamic testing of deep foundations installed by non-impact methods, and included a summary of dynamic testing theory, examples of load testing on drilled and cast-in-place foundations, and a brief discussion on integrity testing.

Presented by:  Dov Leshchinsky, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Delaware   

Presented January 17, 2008

The Geotechnical Group held its 33rd Annual Martin S. Kapp Dinner Lecture at the Il Campanello Restaurant in Manhattan on January 17, 2008. The lecture took place after a buffet dinner attended by a full house of more than 100 attendees. It focused on the design and construction of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls and the lessons learned from three specific case history failures, each due to unique conditions.

Dr. Leshchinsky began the lecture by describing several MSE walls that had failed due to a build-up of water pressure behind the walls and the progressive block failures that ensued. Such shallow failures were described as common and often result in loss of fascia blocks without compromising the stability of the geo-reinforced soil.

The Met Section and Polytechnic University hosted the New York City Regional Future City Competition on January 19, 2008. Help from volunteers from ASCE Metropolitan Section and Polytechnic University made this another successful year for the competition. Thirty one teams consisting of middle school students throughout the metropolitan region arrived at the Polytechnic University with excitement of presenting the product created by their five long months of effort.

John M. Dionisio, P.E., M.ASCE has been selected by ASCE as the 2008 recipient of the OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award for management. This prestigious award recognizes and honors a civil engineer who has demonstrated exceptional management skills in his/her professional career. Dionisio is the President and CEO of DMJM+Harris in New York City. He will be honored at the OPAL Awards Gala on April 30th in Arlington, VA.

First established in 1999, the Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) awards honor outstanding civil engineering leaders that have made lifetime achievements in design, construction, government, education, and management. Visit the ASCE website for more information about the OPAL awards.

A week after holding a lecture about the foundation construction of the Prudential Center, the Younger Member Forum paid a visit to "The Rock" on January 16, 2007, to attend a NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and their Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Islanders. Located just a few blocks from Newark Penn Station, the Prudential Center is the first major sporting venue built in the New York metroplitan area in the last twenty five years. The arena has a seating capacity of 17,625 for hockey games and 18,500 for basketball games.