2019 ASCE Tennessee Section Award Winners
Student Chapter/Club Member Award: Mr. Andrew Robinson
The Student Chapter/Club Member Award was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 2000. The Award may be made annually to a student chapter or club member of one of the ASCE student chapter/clubs in the Tennessee Section of ASCE, who has made definite contributions to the Society at the student chapter/club level.
Andrew is a student from the University of Memphis and was nominated by the West Tennessee Branch. As president of the Student Chapter, he has had an incredible impact on the chapter. Last year, the chapter didn’t have a steel bridge or concrete canoe for the ASCE Deep South Conference due to a lack of leadership, so he set a goal of having both this year. To that end, and in addition to his duties as President, he helped to lead the concrete canoe team and was captain of the Steel Bridge Team. The University of Memphis went to conference this year with both a canoe and a bridge and brought home a trophy in the Men’s Slalom canoe race. He is a member of the Helen Hardin Honors Program at the University of Memphis and has performed several research projects as part of that program. He is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and has served as a grader for two courses and tutored student athletes in various math and civil engineering courses. He has worked during the summer and during the school year as a structural engineering intern at Allen & Hoshall. The summer before his junior year, he worked as an intern in the Design Branch at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District.
Young Engineer Award: Mr. Dustin Scruggs
The Young Engineer Award was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 1988. The Award may be made annually to a younger member of the Tennessee Section of ASCE who has made definite contributions to the Society at the National, Section, and/or Branch levels. A Young Engineer is one who is 35 years of age or less on February 1 in the year to the award.
Mr. Scruggs is a civil engineer with the Gresham Smith and was nominated by the Nashville Branch. He received his BS in Civil Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. Throughout his time at Tennessee Tech, He was actively involved in the university’s student chapter of the ASCE. As part of his membership, he attended numerous contests and events, including competing at ASCE’s Southeastern Conference at the University of Florida and being part of leadership conferences in both Miami and Charleston. He has made significant impacts through his involvement with ASCE’s Nashville Branch. He helped to restructure the branch and has served as its treasurer for six years. He is also active with the Meeting Committee, Budget Committee, Endowment Committee, and he oversees the Scholarship Committee and Sustaining Membership Committee. He is also involved in other industry organizations, having spent three years as a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serving on its Development 101 Committee, and being a part of the Order of the Engineer, a group that fosters a unity and purpose in an engineer’s lifelong commitment to the industry. Additionally, this year’s recipient somehow finds the time outside of his work and industry obligations to be a valuable community member. He stays involved with Gresham Smith’s United Way volunteer efforts and has volunteered with the Nashville Rescue Mission.
Government Engineer Award: Mr. Jeffrey Ogden
The Govenment Engineer Award was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 1999. The Award may be made annually to a government engineer member of the Tennessee Section of ASCE who has made definite contributions to the Society at the National, Section, and/or Branch levels.
Mr. Ogden was nominated by the Knoxville Branch and is a program manager with the Tennessee Valley Authority. He received his BS in civil engineering from the University of Kentucky, and his MBA from Tennessee Technological University. He is a registered professional engineer in Tennessee and Kentucky. In his more than 25 years at TVA he has progressed through positions of increasing responsibility, including staff engineer, senior specialist, senior manager and now a program manager for the Reservoir Release Improvement program (RRI). In his current role, he oversees TVA and contractor staff in preparation and the safe operations of all equipment in the RRI program to ensure TVA maintains a desirable dissolved oxygen level in the tailwaters of specific hydro dams/projects. He manages the assignment of resources (personnel and funding) to complete O&M and Capital projects for RRI and the accountability of those resources (personnel and funding). This program is important to the wildlife living in the rivers and reservoirs and the public using them for recreation. Outside of the office, he participates in ASCE and serves in many other ways in the local community. He is an advocate for the local ASCE branch and supportive of the programs.
Peter G. Hoadley Award for Outstanding Engineering Educator: No award given this year
The Peter G. Hoadley Award for Outstanding Engineering Educator was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 2004 with the designee being the first recipient. The Award may be made annually to an engineering educator member of the Tennessee Section of ASCE who has made definite contributions to the education process and to the Society at the National, Section, and/or Branch levels.
Outstanding Engineering Project: MemFix4
The Outstanding Engineering Project Award was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 1993 and is given for overall achievement so that the many civil engineers and others who have worked on the project are recognized. The project must be located in Tennessee. The owner of the project is the appropriate person/organization to accept the Award. The Award may be made annually to the engineering project that is considered to have made a definite contribution to the betterment of the citizens of Tennessee. The project must fall in the general category of civil engineering and must have been completed within the last two years prior to the year of the award.
This year’s outstanding project award was nominated by the West Tennessee Branch. MemFix 4 is a $54-million project to repair or replace four bridges using the innovative technique of Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). The four bridges in question carry eastbound Poplar Avenue, westbound Poplar Avenue, Park Avenue and the Norfolk Southern Railroad over Interstate 240 in east Memphis. Constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, these bridges had structural and seismic deficiencies that needed to be upgraded. The Accelerated Bridge Construction procedure uses short-term total road closures to allow construction crews the space to do their jobs and the freedom to work around the clock. Each replacement bridge was constructed offsite, then transported to the site and lifted into place over a single weekend. This allowed the project to be completed in slightly more than one year instead of 3-4 years. In addition to the bridge work, crews were able to complete the planned widening of I-240 along this section of interstate at the same time. Particularly noteworthy was the rehabilitation of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge. Rather than replace the bridge itself, the contractor, Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., constructed temporary bridge piers several yards north of the existing alignment. Over a single weekend, rail traffic was stopped, the existing bridge was pushed across the gap onto the temporary piers, and new rail was laid in time for rail traffic to resume on Monday morning. Meanwhile, the old piers were demolished, and new bridge piers were constructed along the original alignment. Once that work was completed, rail traffic was again suspended for a weekend while the bridge was pulled onto the new piers. This preserved the original track alignment, as required by the railroad, with minimal disruption to rail traffic. This is the first-time bridge sliding has been used in Tennessee. The MemFix4 project is wrapping up this summer, on time and on budget. The successful completion of this project provides a safer commute for the approximately 50,000 vehicles that cross the Poplar and Park Avenue bridges each day and the 138,000 motorists who travel under the bridges on I-240. It will also ensure safe use of the Norfolk Southern Railroad for many decades to come.
Daniel B. Barge, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service: Mr. Wesley Goodnight
The Daniel B. Barge, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 1988 with the designee being the first recipient. The Award may be made annually to an engineer member of the Tennessee Section of ASCE who has made definite contributions to the Society at the National, Section, and/or Branch levels.
Wesley is an Environmental Remediation and Geotechnical Specialist with EnSafe in Memphis. He received his BS in Civil Engineering from Christian Brothers University in Memphis. Wesley is a global engineering specialist with more than 20 years in the consulting industry, of which 10 years include extensive geotechnical experience. While at CBU, he was an active member of the ASCE Student Chapter and competed at two Deep South Conferences, including placing in the surveying competition the year he was the Party Chief of the crew. After graduation, Wesley accepted a position as a Geotechnical Project Manager for Golder Associates in Houston, Texas, and worked internationally performing geotechnical investigations and supervising drilling operations across the globe. After six years of jet-setting, Wesley returned home to Memphis with plenty of practical experience and a desire to put down roots. Fortunately for the ASCE West Tennessee Branch, Wesley chose to grow with ASCE. He became a valuable and reliable leader within both the West Tennessee Branch and the Tennessee Section. He has served in nearly every local and state position including West Tennessee Branch President, and his current duties as Tennessee State President. He has also served as practitioner advisor to the CBU student chapter, younger member advisor, and mentor to the ever popular Canstruction® competition at the University of Memphis. Wesley is as a very busy man who generously gives his time to support ASCE. He has played an integral role in the several of the recent Tennessee Engineers’ Conferences, where he assisted with registration last year and is chair of the coordinating committee this year. Wesley has procured the use of EnSafe’s training room for regular West TN Branch meetings. This free meeting space not only saves the Branch money, it also serves as a consistent and convenient central location for all of the Branch members.