G U E S T EDITORIAL “Every meaningful element of human progress has happened only because humans have shared ideas with each other and then collaborated to turn those ideas into reality” – Chris Anderson, head of TED Conferences (TED). What started as an idea has now evolved into an established annual program to support young to seasoned engineers in the industry. For five years now, the DFI Educational Trust and the DFI Women in Deep Foundations Committee (WiDF) have been providing annual professional development grant opportunities to women involved in design and construction of deep foundations. The goal of the WiDF Committee is to enhance networking opportunities and improve retention of female professionals in the deep foundations industry. This summer, winners of the 2019 DFI WiDF Professional Development Grants were announced (see DFI Educational Trust Report page 67). The program awarded grants to five exceptional women in the deep foundations industry, each of $1,750 full registration to attend the DFI 44 Annual Conference on Deep Foundations from October 14-18 in Chicago. The recipients are being honored at the conference during the WiDF Committee Reception and again during the Awards Banquet. This grant is one of the many ways the WiDF Committee promotes the retention of women in the deep foundations industry. Join us in congratulating our 2019 to cover travel related expenses as well as a th grant recipients: Tugce Baser, Ph.D., assistant professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); Sayantani Ghosh, EIT, senior staff engineer at Langan Engineering and Environmental Services; Amanda Parry, geotechnical engineer at GEI Consultants; Sherry Pirzadeh, P.E., design engineer at Menard Group USA; and Adeleine Tran, P.E., geotechnical engineer at Jacobs Engineering Group. Motivations, Versatility and Aspirations of Professional Development Grant Winners The grant awardees were selected from a large and diverse group of applicants from across the U.S. and abroad. Every applicant completed a personal essay describing her interests, experience and future profes- sional development plans. The vast pool of applicants highlighted not only the large interest in attending the conference, but also the growing number of women in deep foundations and how our continued efforts as an industry and organization to retain women has been fruitful. It is important to remember that we are all contributing to this trend one way or another, as this group effort is fueled by the drive of individuals in our industry pushing for progress. So, we each often ask ourselves what we, not only as an organization but also as individuals, can do to achieve our goals. While the answer to that question is endless, we can all start with something simple: motivating and encour- aging the women we work with every day. Many of our winners this year were motivated to apply for the grant by their colleagues, peers and mentors who saw exceptionalism in them. Baser said, “My mentor, Youssef Hashash, professor in the department of CEE at UIUC, highly motivated me to apply. In addition, Mary Ellen Bruce Large and Theresa Engler of DFI played a significant role in my decision.” Tran declared, “My decision to apply for the grant was largely influenced by women leaders in my professional organizations who have been my source of encouragement to continuously advance my career and take on new opportunities.” Ghosh expressed, “The mentors at WiDF have constantly motivated me and helped me in different aspects of my career ranging from leadership skills, public speaking and technical proficiency.” One of the pillars of the WiDF group is inclusivity and diversity. Younger and new women attendees are often hard to find at conferences, such as the DFI Annual Conference. This grant is a small step in the Arpana Sabu, geotechnical engineer at WSP, and Lucky Nagarajan, general manager of engineering and business development at Giken direction of bridging that gap by including individuals of various backgrounds and levels of experience. Another way the WiDF group exemplifies this mission is by its “buddy program” at DFI conferences, where a seasoned WiDF Committee member is paired with an attendee to help maneuver the conference successfully. The support provided by WiDF members has encouraged women to become more passionate about our industry and even start their own initiatives. Tran disclosed, “I was excited to learn WiDF’s mission of fostering and retaining professional successes for women in the deep founda- tions industry, the area of work that I love. My application for the grant was a first step for me to get involved with the WiDF Committee.” Ghosh expressed, “As the co- founder of WiDF NYC Metro Section, I have organized events within New York City, helping me build my network within the industry and my company.” The DFI Annual Conference is a great platform to learn about industry advance- ment, innovative technologies and ongoing research in different deep foundation markets via the technical sessions. Tech- nical presentations provide tools for engineers from every level to learn new skills that can be implemented on their projects. Baser disclosed, “I hope to learn about advancements, new trends and tools in our profession, and to network with trendsetters and my peers.” Pirzadeh expressed, “I’m looking forward to attending the technical sessions and learning about the recent research done in the field of deep foundations.” DEEP FOUNDATIONS • SEPT/OCT 2019 • 109
