PEOPLE & COMPANIES Elizabeth (Liz) M. Smith, P.E., was selected as one of six 2015 inductees to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Smith is a senior principal and the national program manager for transportation for Terracon and earned her M.S. and B.S. degrees from Virginia Tech. Ryan Johnson joined Hayward Baker as senior project manager at the new office location in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. Johnson, who has over 15 years of experience in the construc- tion industry including on-site project management, will support customers in the company’s central region. Johnson earned his B.S. in construction management from North Dakota State University, is active in industry associations across the region and is a LEED accredited professional. The White House National Economic Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Office of Management and Budget invited Pile Dynamics (PDI) president, George Piscsalko, P.E., to the White House Forum on Connecting Regional Innovation Ecosystems to Federal and National Labs. The forum explored leading and innovative models of technology transfer. Senior administration officials, directors of federal and national labs, and state and local leaders participated in the forum. Piscsalko was invited because of PDI’s partnerships with laboratories, universities and technology transfer offices. Geotechnology announced major expan- sion with the acquisition of Thelen Associ- ates of St. Louis, Mo. Thelen Associates, an engineering firm founded in 1971, provides geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing services locally in the Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area and regionally in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. With the addition of Thelen, Geotechnology has 280 employees operating from 10 offices. Thelen’s projects include transportation infrastructure; commercial, institutional, industrial and retail developments; water/wastewater; dams and levees; and major sports facilities. The ISSMGE-European Technical Com- mittee 3 – Piles, in conjunction with the Belgian Member Society of ISSMGE (BGGG-GBMS), are presenting the inter- national symposium “Design of Piles in Europe - How did EuroCode 7 change daily practice,” on April 28-29, 2016 in Leuven, Belgium. For more information visit www.etc3.be/symposium2016 Subsurface Construction Company located in Raleigh, N.C., recently cele- brated its 20th anniversary. A “county fair” style picnic was held for all employees and their families at Lake Benson Park. Subsurface now operates in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina, installing shoring, under- pinning and micropiles. nicians; and complying with all health, safety and environmental mandates common to the U.S. and Canadian foundation drilling industry. The National Academies’ Committee on Geologi- cal and Geotechnical Engineering announced a new report completed under its auspices titled “Characterization, Modeling, Monitoring, and Remediation of Fractured Rock.” This report describes how existing tools — some only recently developed — can help solve or avoid problems related to contaminants in fractured rock, and how practitioners, researchers and decision makers take an interdisciplinary approach to engineering in the fractured rock environment. In June, over 30 PDCA Northeast Chapter members enjoyed a day of skeet shooting, barbeque and net- working at Thunder Mountain Trap and Skeet in Ringwood, N.J. The event sparked some friendly compe- tition to determine who was the best marksman. There was even a “Chili Cook Off” to determine who had the Equipment Corporation of America (ECA), a leading distributor of foundation construction equipment, received the Bauer Manufacturing Service Partner Certification Award at the Bauer parts and service initiative meeting in Conroe, Texas. ECA is an exclusive Bauer distributor covering the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada. This coveted award certifies that ECA meets all Bauer manufacturing standards, including stocking and supplying factory-authorized parts; employing factory-trained tech- best chili recipe. Special thanks to John B. Wright Insurance for sponsoring the event. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2015 • 121
