		Volume 15, Number 2

"Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT"
is published quarterly by the
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Bldg. 1-383, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139

Editor: Debbie Levey
(617)253-7101
levey@mit.edu

Comings & goings

Awards & honors

The A-6 1948 MIT Benchmark at Camp Tech (Photo sent by Harold Nelson)

Elected as a new member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), CEE Dept. head Rafael Bras was cited for "innovation in hydrological forecasting and hydrometeorology through application of new technology, probability and statistics, and for the advancement of civil engineering education." Membership in the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions an engineer can receive. The organization honors those who have made important contributions to engineering theory and practice, and who have demonstrated unusual accomplishment in pioneering new and developing fields of technology. CEE faculty still active at MIT who are also members include Profs. Chiang C. Mei, Charles Ladd, Don Harleman, Peter Eagleson, and Robert Whitman. We would happily acknowledge any alumni members if you write in and tell us!

Newly chosen as a MacVicar Faculty Fellow at MIT in recognition of outstanding teaching innovations, Prof. Heidi Nepf said, "This award inspires me to work harder to engage and enliven the experience of my undergraduate students." Since she joined the faculty in 1993, she has already won the School of Engineering's Junior Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching, and has won the Departmental teaching award three times. She received an NSF Career award in 1997 and has produced a series of cable and public TV shows on environmental issues for high school students.

The program is designed to create an elite group of MIT scholars committed to excellence in teaching and innovation in education-causes championed by the late Margaret MacVicar, Dean of Undergraduate Education and Professor of Physics. The fellowships provide an annual scholar's allowance for 10 years to assist each fellow in developing ways to enrich the undergraduate learning experience. In the decade since the program was established, 46 MacVicar Fellows have been named. Nepf's colleague in CEE, Prof. Ole Madsen, is in the 1994 group of Fellows.

National Science Foundation CAREER awards have gone to three former students of CEE professors this year. One of Prof. Feniosky Pe=F1a-Mora's first PhD students, Lucio Soibelmann '98 (PhD) is an assistant professor at the Univ. of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. His award-winning topic was "Knowledge Discovery in Databases and Data Mining as New Tools to Support Research and Educational Advances in Modern Construction Management," and he describes it in detail in the Readers' notes column. Prof. David Simchi-Levi reports CAREER awards for two of his former PhD students: Jennifer Ryan, now at Purdue University, and Phil Kaminsky, currently at UC Berkeley.

Not to be confused with the popular band, "They Might be Giants," the Giants in Science Award honors individuals who improve the mathematics, science and engineering education of underrepresented minorities. Dept. head Rafael Bras received the 2001 award from the Quality Education for Minorities/Mathematics, Science and Engineering Network, a coalition of minority and nonminority educational institutions and organizations.

The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science selected 26 sophomores and juniors to be the 2001 Burchard Scholars, including Daniel =46eldman '02 (1-E). Faculty members and students will attend a series of dinner seminars to discuss topics of current research. Feldman plans to minor in Latin American Studies, and also has an interest in public policy.

Prof. David Simchi-Levi's book, Designing and Managing the Supply Chain, written with P. Kaminsky and E. Simchi-Levi and published by McGraw-Hill, received the Outstanding First Edition of the Year award given in 2000 by McGraw-Hill. The volume also received the Book-of-the-Year award and the Outstanding IIE Publication award for 2000 by the Institute of Industrial Engineers. It has been translated into Chinese, and a Japanese translation is in progress. Simchi-Levi was invited to talk about "The Impact of e-Commerce on Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management" at the US/European Intermodal Freight Forum in Genoa, Italy.

Class spirit

Arguments raged over the Class of '02 Brass Rat, which featured a woman with a laptop representing the MIT mens (mind) figure and a man with a protest sign personifying manus (hands). Retreating to tradition, both figures are male in the Class of '03 ring, which in turn ignited another round of controversy. Many tiny details surround the beaver which dominates the design on the top of the ring: it stands above ivy leaves in an oblique jab at Harvard and the Ivy League, and it is building a bridge to an unknown destination. Barely concealed in the design are "tool" and "IHTFP." Since the campus has turned into a giant construction site, the skyline of MIT behind the beaver shows a crane as well as the signature domes. An owl on the bottom of the ring symbolizes MIT students' wisdom, ability to work lat at night, and dependence on the Athena computer system.

Births

Changxin Leon Qi, an MEng student in Information Technology, and Jian Lou "joyfully announce the birth of a new baby for a new century! Sheng-Kai Qi was born on January 11, 2001. His six-year-old big sister Ellen is very excited and every day the first thing for her to do after school is to talk to her cute brother." With Chinese New Year falling on January 24 this year, Sheng-Kai just managed to be born in the Year of Dragon, the most favorable year.

Congratulations to Stephen and Sue Rudolph on Andrea Leigh, born on January 31, 2001. The senior siblings are Krystine, age 11; Stephanie, 5; and Adam, 3. Stephen is a technical assistant in the CEE Dept.

Kjeill & Lotta Orsborn announce the birth of a girl on Feb. 14, but had not decided on a name when they posted announcements and very cute baby pictures along the corridors of Bldg. 1.

CEE Prof. Patricia Culligan and Wade R McGillis, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, are the proud parents of Clare Lily McGillis, born on March 21, 2001. They describe her as "a beautiful little baby girl with lots of dark hair and big eyes."

Deaths

Charles Chaloff '59 died on August 9, 2000. During his 40-year career, he worked as both an architect and a structural engineer on thousands of buildings in greater Boston and around the country, both in new construction and renovation. He was the founder of a structural engineering consulting firm in Boston, Charles Chaloff Consulting. Some of his most visible projects locally include Terminal A at Logan Airport, the Mass. College of Art tower, the stunning Lincoln School in Brookline, and Lowell Square at North Station. In addition, he worked as a consultant for numerous Boston architecture firms.

The Chaloff company renovation of Temple Emannuel in Newton, MA won a 1999 Faith & Form Religious Art and Architecture Award. As structural engineers for the Holocaust Memorial in Charleston, SC, the company received a 1999 Boston Society of Architects Honor Award for Design Excellence.

Mr. Chaloff is survived by his wife, Judith Green Chaloff, four children, and two grandchildren.

Donald C. Taylor '56 (SM) died from accidental choking in late December, 2000. His wife Ruth wrote, "On Dec. 29 we celebrated Don's life in a quaint little church. It was a wonderful ceremony and we felt his presence the whole time. He was given the credit he deserved for all the wonderful (and funny) things he did in his life. People brought unusual foods which Don always enjoyed. We had tales of memorabilia: college day items, papers and books he had written, jokes of all kinds, fishing equipment, and of course 'Big Mouth Billy Bass' (the singing fish) and more of his comical stuff. The celebration of Don's Life was very uplifting and joyful, as he would have liked."

Herbert Davis Nickerson '56 (SM, Sanitary Engineering) died on Jan. 7 at age 72. He began his professional career for the Mass. Dept. of Public Health, serving in various engineering capabilities. He later worked for Dravo Corp., then became Chief Sanitary Engineer and Director of Public Works for Gloucester, MA, where he supervised the construction of two modern rapid sand water filtration plants, new water pumping stations, and numerous improvements to the sewerage systems. As Water Superintendent and Director of Public Works for Haverhill, MA, he supervised the construction of the water treatment plant, storage tanks, pipeline and pumping station improvements, and a major expansion of the main surface reservoir. He gave guest lecturers at many Boston area universities, and established the civil engineering program at Lowell Tech (now UMass/Lowell). In addition, he was active in numerous CE and water-related professional societies. Mr. Nickerson is survived by his wife Gladys (Buffum) Nickerson, two children, and four grandchildren.

Herbert Parkinson '27 & '28 (Course 4A, Architectural Engineering) died on Jan. 29 at age 96 in Minnesota. The only member of his family to immigrate to America, Mr. Parkinson arrived in LaCrosse, WI, at age 16 in 1920. Throughout the Depression he stayed employed and productive as an architect, specializing in designing and supervising building projects for schools. In 1950 he was hired by 3M and rapidly rose to become the director of Central Engineering. In that position he supervised the design and construction of virtually all 3M plants in the US, eventually having supervisory responsibilities for 3M International as well. Mr. Parkinson's family paid tribute to his strong belief in the value of hard work, attaining an education, his love for and appreciation of his family, and his gentlemanly English way. Preceded in death by his wife, Frances Farr Parkinson, he is survived by a son, a daughter, nine grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

Publicity

Even though MIT has not been a traditional destination for Latino students, opportunities abound for those with ability and energy. A recent Univision web page in Spanish and English featured CEE grad student Enrique Vivoni sharing his perspective as a long-term grad student: "I finally realized that I had been at MIT for a long time when I calculated that the incoming freshmen class was in the 6th grade when I entered college....In those seven years, I completed an SB and an SM in Environmental Engineering, and my coursework for a PhD in the same field. Along the way, I have grown into adulthood and matured as an MIT student, researcher and teaching assistant.

".... I came to MIT for reasons that had little to do with technology itself and more to do with environmental studies. Since high school, I was interested in ecology and the geosciences. Most of all, I was fascinated by water and its motion, properties and effects. Since MIT offered an undergraduate curriculum in environmental engineering that was unmatched at the time, the choice was easy....

"MIT's commitment to diversity is about as strong as its commitment to technology. Many programs are specifically targeted at the minority community. I participated in a summer program for incoming freshmen, a summer employment program with large engineering firms, and a graduate fellowship for minority students. Various organizations at MIT are tailored to specific minority groups such as Puerto Ricans, Chicanos and other Latinos. Opportunities abound for Latinos to form part of the MIT community while reaffirming their cultural background, including our common language.

"The Latino community provides a warm, comforting blanket to what can sometimes be a stressful place. As the years progress and potentials are realized, the protective blanket is often shed. Latinos are an important part of the academic, research and social community at MIT, as evidenced by the Latino faces around campus, including this one seen for the last seven years and counting..."

Summer Session

Under the motto of "Helping Experts Stay that Way," the MIT Professional Institute Program for summer 2001 offers several courses taught by CEE faculty:

1.10s       Modeling and Simulation for Dynamic Transportation Management Systems, Moshe Ben-Akiva, July 30 to Aug. 3

14.61s     Individual Choice Behavior: Theory and Application of Discrete Choice Analysis to Consumer Demand and Market Share, Moshe Ben-Akiva, June 11 to 15

CTS31s   Public Transportation Service and Operations Planning, Nigel Wilson, Aug. 6 to 10

For a full list of classes, write to MIT Professional Institute, MIT, 77 Mass. Ave., Rm. 8-201, Cambridge, MA 02139, or call (617)253-2101, fax (617)253-8042, e-mail: professional-institute@mit.edu , or look it up on the Web: http://web.mit.edu/professional/summer