Faculty News

Professor Larry Bank was named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers on May 2, 2001. He is a longtime member of the society, which represents more than 123,000 members of the civil engineering profession worldwide, and is America's oldest national engineering society.

Associate Professor José Pincheira was selected by the North Central District of Chi Epsilon to receive the James M. Robbins Excellence in Teaching Award. This is the second year that a UW-Madison CEE faculty member has been so honored. Pincheira was nominated by the UW-Madison student chapter of the national civil engineering honor society because of his devotion to students and teaching. Nominating students noted that he is adept at explaining complex material in a way that makes it understandable. In addition to his duties as a professor, Pincheira is also a faculty advisor to the ASCE student chapter and the Steel Bridge Team.

Professor Craig Benson received a Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize at the annual meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in Seattle, Washington last fall. The award is presented to ASCE members for notable achievements in civil engineering research. Benson was recognized for his research on waste containment systems.

Assistant Professor Hussain U. Bahia received a $1.7 million grant from a consortium that includes the Department of Energy, General Motors and several foundry associations. The grant will fund a project focusing on the technical barriers associated with recycling foundry by-products. Currently, reuse of foundry sands and slags in highway and utility construction is limited because of a lack of technical documentation. Bahia, along with Penn State civil engineer Paul Tikalsky, will develop performance data for reusing byproducts in asphalt concrete and backfill material.