PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Making a Difference with the DFI Advantage D uring my two-year term as president of DFI, a major initiative is to attract and involve more young engineers. This goal is tied to one of the major challenges facing the entire engineering and construction industry: How do we meet the growing demand for more talent in a highly- competitive market when the cost of an engineering education is rising at a far steeper rate than the starting salary of a typical civil or geotechnical engineer? I looked back and tried to recall what motivated me to go into construction engineering and eventually into the marine foundation industry. As a young boy grow- ing up in a small farming community in central California, I did not interact with engineers or see much that related to their work, until my first trip to San Francisco. I still remember the strong impression the city had on me. San Francisco is due east of my home town of Lodi. As we exited the West Portal of the Caldecott Tunnel in the hills above Berkeley, I could see almost the entire Bay with the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge dead ahead and the Golden Gate Bridge further reflecting its burnt- orange glow in the morning sun. Within 15 minutes, we passed through the 515 ft (157 m) high tower legs of the western sus- pension bridges of the Bay Bridge. I was truly amazed that this was a structure built by men. It was both beautiful and awe-inspiring. I believe we all have a strong desire to create beauty and, if possible, make a difference in this world. With that trip to San Francisco, I saw how this had been accomplished by others. I eventually learned that the people that designed and built these structures were called engineers. In the last two years of high school, students have to start thinking about the direction they want to take in life, and it seemed to me that engineering was the right path. Six years later, as a young engineering student, I met Ben C. Gerwick, Jr. I later learned that Ben’s father, Ben Gerwick, Sr. and his company, Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., had played a key role in building the main foundations for both the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Ben’s father was an extremely innovative marine construction engi- neer, who had conceived, developed and patented the innovative construc- tion method used to build the caisson foundation for the San Francisco Tower, the most challenging con- struction problem of the entire Golden Gate Bridge. SuperPile 2013 — Register Now Register now for SuperPile 2013 in Minneapolis, at the Hilton Minneapolis, May 15-16. Seven DFI technical committees are cooperating on the 2013 SuperPile Conference. The two-day event will feature presentations from the committees on Driven Piles, Augered Cast-in-Place/Drilled Displacement Piles, Micropiles, Marine Foundations, Testing and Evaluation of Foundation Systems, Seismic Design, and Drilled Shafts. For information on the program, accommodations and to register go to www.dfi.org/conferences.asp Robert B. Bittner, P.E. President [email protected] After graduation, I went to work for the Ben C. Gerwick One of the most valuable things Ben did for me was to introduce me to DFI and the opportunities the Institute has to offer young engineers. Company, seeking the opportunity to work with and learn from Ben the techniques of marine construction. I worked with him for almost 40 years before his death. One of the most valuable things Ben did for me was to introduce me to DFI and the opportunities the Institute has to offer young engineers. These included exposure to new ideas and creative people at the top of the foundation industry in the U.S. and around the world. Perhaps most impor- tantly they included the opportunity to make a difference by contri- buting and documenting my own ideas and experiences through the excellent DFI publi- cations; the DFI Journal, Deep Foundations magazine and the many conference papers and presentations. This is the message I want to convey: To the more senior engineers in DFI who are in a position to manage and mentor young engineers — introduce your young engineers to DFI early in their career. They will remember you for it and greatly appreciate this gift. To young engineers who do not get introduced by others to DFI — seek out participation. The rewards are significant whether you work for an engineering firm, a contractor, an owner’s agency, supplier to industry or academia: You can make a dif- ference, and DFI is a tremendous resource for doing so. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAR/APR 2013 • 7
