Save the Dates – DFI 45 Annual Conference in Maryland th Next year’s DFI 45 Annual Conference on Deep Foundations (#DFI45) is taking place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, in National Harbor, Maryland, from October 13-16, 2020. The organizing committee, led by th Conference Chair Sebastian Lobo- Guerrero, Ph.D., P.E., and Program Co- Chairs Jennifer Nicks, Ph.D., P.E., and Gregg Piazza, P.E., met for the first time in August to start planning what is anticipated to be an exciting event considering the diverse geotechnical conditions of the area and many firms that support the local deep foundation construction industry. published in scientific journals, geotechnical magazines, and conference proceeding worldwide. He is also a co-author (and implementation instructor) of the State of Delaware LRFD Bridge Design Manual. He is a former chair of the Pittsburgh ASCE Geo- Institute, and a former director of the ASCE Pittsburgh Section. Lobo-Guerrero is a member of the DFI Anchored Earth Retention Committee. committees. Nicks is a member of DFI’s Driven Piles and Women in Deep Founda- tions Committees. She earned her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering at Texas A&M University. Gregg V. Piazza, P.E., is a foundation Jennifer Nicks, Ph.D., P.E., is a research Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Ph.D., P.E., is a geotechnical project manager/AAP laboratory manager at Amer ican Geotechnical & Environmental Services (A.G.E.S.) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania headquarters. He has more than 18 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, specializing in the design of deep/shallow foundations, earth retaining structures and landslide stabilization. Lobo-Guerrero has authored more than 60 technical papers geotechnical engineer with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. She manages a geotechnical research program focused on the design and construction of transpor- tation infrastructure related to bridge foundations, retaining walls, slopes and embankments, and led the development of an updated FHWA Deep Foundation Load Test Database. Nicks is currently serving as chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Geosynthetics committee and vice chair of the Geo-Institute’s International Activities Council and Geotechnics of Soil Erosion engineer at GeoStructures, in Purcellville, Virginia. He has more than 25 years of experience in geo-structural engineering, specializing in problem solving and design solutions for an array of geotechnical and marine foundation projects. He is a member of the DFI Marine Foundations Committee and has been a presenter at numerous DFI and industry events. Piazza is licensed in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. Piazza earned his B.S. in applied math from the University of Vermont, and his M. Eng. in civil engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. DFI is excited to have these members onboard leading the DFI45 planning committee. We hope to see you all in Maryland! www.dfi.org/Annual2020 DEEP FOUNDATIONS • SEPT/OCT 2019 • 51
