|
Projects and Individuals
Honored at 2009 Engineers Week Awards and Recognition
Banquet
Nearly 200 engineers, award
winners, clients, scholarship recipients and their
guests attended the 45th Annual Engineers
Week Awards and Recognition Banquet on Friday, February
20 at the University Club in downtown St. Paul. Master
of Ceremonies Khani Sahebjam, PE, deputy commissioner
and chief engineer of the MN Dept. of Transportation
guided attendees through an evening of recognition. A
record 23 scholarship recipients were acknowledged, as
were
Minnesota
Federation of Engineering, Science and Technology
Society
winners of the Young Engineer of the Year Award, the
Charles W. Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award and the
Richard Alberg Distinguished Science and Technology
Professional Award. The evening concluded with the
presentation of the Seven Wonders of Engineering awards,
which recognized 14 project entries including 2009
Project of the Year Award winner Dunham for the Great
River Energy Headquarters in Maple Grove.
2009 Project of the Year
Award Winner
2009 Seven Wonders
Award Winners
2009 Merit Award
Winners
2009 Engineers Week
Banquet Sponsors
2009 MFESTS Charles W.
Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award Winners
2009 MFESTS Richard Alberg
Distinguished Science and Technology Professional Award
Winner
2009 MFESTS Young
Engineer Nominees and Winner
Seven Wonders Awards Program
Entries in the Seven
Wonders of Engineering Awards Competition were judged on
the engineering methods, systems and skills utilized;
the extent that the project advances the engineering
profession; project complexity; the significance of the
entry to society; and the extent to which the project
meets the needs of the market, client or owner.
The Seven Wonders of
Engineering Awards Competition is conducted annually to
recognize outstanding achievements in the field of
engineering. As professional engineers, the members of
MSPE are proud to acknowledge and publicly honor those
that have advanced the profession and prestige of the
entire engineering community.
Thank you to all of the
participants, volunteers and sponsors who helped to make
the 2009 E-Week banquet a great success!
For more information on the
Seven Wonders of Engineering Awards Competition, please
contact Mary Detloff at
mdetloff@mnspe.org.
2009 Project of the
Year Award Winner
Beginning in 2007, MSPE
presents a Project of the Year Award to one of the
winners of a Seven Wonders of Engineering Award. The
recipient of this award was selected by the Seven
Wonders of Engineering judges as the entry that best
exemplifies outstanding engineering. The winner of the
2009 Project of the Year Award is Dunham for the Great
River Energy Headquarters in Maple Grove.
In deciding to build a new
headquarters facility, Great River Energy (GRE)
challenged their design partners, architects Perkins +
Will, and mechanical and electrical engineers, Dunham
Associates, to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, and
to "do something with energy efficiency that had never
been done before."
This required the team to
develop an integrated set of sustainable design
strategies. The project includes geothermal energy,
on-site renewable energy sources, and extensive daylight
harvesting. However, the key to achieving the client’s
goals was in the design of the HVAC system, which
integrated many individual HVAC strategies into an
extremely energy efficient system.
As a result, GRE saves more
than 45% on energy compared to a typical code-compliant
building. The project achieved LEED Platinum
Certification, earning all possible energy performance
points.
2009 Seven
Wonders Award Winners
Barr Engineering Co. - Deep
Wind Turbine Foundation Design for the Casselman Wind
Power Project in Somerset County, PA
Working
on the Casselman Wind Power Project for Iberdrola
Renewables, Barr Engineering Company designed a deep
micropile wind-turbine foundation that can be used in
marginal soil. Barr’s design is the first to use
micropiles—an innovation that, in effect, transforms
unstable land into viable wind-power turbine sites. When
Barr’s geotechnical analysis revealed mine spoils (loose
rocks and soil excavated during coal mining) beneath
eight turbine sites, engineers designed a wind-turbine
foundation that uses 24 micropiles extending through the
spoils and anchoring in bedrock 100 feet under ground.
This renewable-energy project is now on line, generating
power for 10,000 homes.
Bolton & Menk, Inc. –
Buffalo, MN Wastewater Treatment Facility
There
is no other wastewater treatment facility in the United
States like the one Bolton & Menk designed for the City
of Buffalo, Minnesota. The city faced increasing
resistance from nearby residents to the hauling and land
application of biosolids. In addition, Buffalo recently
implemented an Energy Conservation Program to reduce
overall consumption within the community. Bolton & Menk
recommended a state-of-the-art system that virtually
eliminates biosolids by converting them into a renewable
energy source. An airtight, closed-loop biosolids drying
process allows for the capture of heat to be reused in a
continuous cycle. This heat energy replaces 80 percent
of the natural gas that would otherwise be necessary for
drying. In this respect, it is an extremely sustainable,
eco-friendly system.
Dunham – Great River Energy
Headquarters in Maple Grove
See
the project description under the 2009 Project of the
Year Award Winner above.
Hydralift AmClyde, Inc.
(National Oilwell Varco) - Chain Mooring System for a
Floating Oil Producing Vessel off the coast of Brazil
Hydralift
AmClyde has long been involved in the design and
manufacture of highly complex machinery. The company’s
latest accomplishment is a new-concept chain mooring
system for use on a floating oil-producing facility. The
system comprises 18 chain tensioning and anchoring
mechanisms that permanently moor the vessel in 4,900
foot water depths using 120 mm chain (each link is 4¾
inches thick, 16 inches wide and 25 inches long). There
are five anchor lines per side on the aft end, and four
lines per side at the stern of the vessel. The system
generates a line pull of 350 metric tons on each mooring
line during tensioning. The system was designed in St.
Paul, and globally sourced from 41 major subcontractors
in 11 states and 9 other countries.
Kimley-Horn & Associates,
Inc. and SRF Consulting Group, Inc. - Hubert H. Humphrey
Parking Facility (Orange Ramp) Structural Modifications
at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
Due
to increased parking demand, the Metropolitan Airports
Commission authorized Kimley-Horn & Associates and SRF
Consulting Group to develop plans for a two-level
expansion of the Orange Ramp Parking Facility located at
the Humphrey Terminal. Originally designed for eight
levels, modifications to the structure were required,
and with construction underway, time was of the essence.
With Kimley-Horn leading the overall project, the
Structural-Engineer-of-Record, SRF, developed structural
modifications to increase the capacities of the ramp
foundations and columns. Innovative techniques for
strengthening, including shear collars and columns wraps
poured with self-consolidating concrete, were used to
provide an aesthetic and cost effective solution. Upon
completion, the facility will provide more than 13,000
spaces, making it one of the largest, single-building
parking facilities in the region.
TKDA - Andersen Corp. Steam
Generating Facility in Bayport, MN
When
Andersen Corporation was notified that their existing
steam energy source would no longer be available for use
at their 63-acre Bayport, MN campus, the company had a
rare opportunity to build a new dedicated Steam
Generating Facility (SGF) on site.
The new SGF produces up to
100% of Andersen’s own steam and thermal demand from
renewable sources by combining wood-fired boilers with
the heat recovery resulting from a Warm Water Recovery
System (WWRS), eliminating Andersen’s reliance on
coal-based steam. The boilers were designed to burn
sawdust by-product from Andersen’s manufacturing
operations. The WWRS utilizes discharge water from the
nearby King Plant to heat make-up air for the facility,
reducing the number of boilers required as well as
reducing the temperature of the water discharged into
the St. Croix River.
WSB & Associates, Inc. -
West 70th Street Roundabouts in Edina, MN
The
City of Edina chose WSB to help reach their project goal
for West 70th Street. WSB worked to plan, design and
implement a corridor plan to reduce crashes, provide for
pedestrian flow, maintain access to businesses and
maintain vehicle operation. The result was the
construction of three single-lane roundabouts between
France Ave. and York Ave. The roundabouts replaced the
uncontrolled major entrances to the retail facilities
and gave West 70th Street a boulevard-type feel
providing slower traffic speeds and a shorter crossing
for pedestrians, while not degrading the level of
service. This project took a fresh look at traffic and
transportation issues within a suburban retail area and
provided an innovative solution to enhance safety,
reduce congestion and improve the overall aesthetics of
the corridor.
2009 Merit Award
Winners
American Engineering Testing,
Inc. – TH
212/CR110 Bridge Foundation Study and Monitoring in
Chaska, MN
Bonestroo – TH149 Street Reconstruction in Eagan, MN
LHB, Inc. – White Bear Unitarian Universalist
Church Porous Parking Lot in Mahtomedi, MN
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) – East Grand
Forks Flood Protection in East Grand Forks, MN
Terracon Consultants, Inc. – Continuous Flow Water
Infiltration using Deep Horizontal Wells in Lake Elmo,
MN
US Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District –
Cedar Rapids Critical Public Facilities in Cedar Rapids,
IA
WSB & Associates, Inc. – Mississippi River
Underground Storm Water Treatment Facility in Brooklyn
Center, MN
2009 Engineers Week
Banquet Sponsors
The 2009 Engineers Week Awards
and Recognition Banquet was made possible in part to the
generosity of our banquet sponsors, which provide a
variety of products and services to the engineering
community.
Platinum Sponsors
H. Robert Anderson &
Associates, Inc.
Coleman, Hull & van Vliet, PLLP
Gold Sponsors
Stanley Consultants, Inc.
TKDA
Silver Sponsors
American Engineering Testing,
Inc.
Braun Intertec Corporation
Mackall, Crounse & Moore, PLC
Meagher & Geer, PLLP
Molin Concrete Products Co.
Schwab-Vollhaber-Lubratt
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.
SRF Consulting Group, Inc.
Terracon
Visu-Sewer
Wells Concrete Products
WSB & Associates, Inc.
Bronze Sponsors
Adolfson & Peterson
Construction
Amcon Construction Company
CNA Consulting Engineers
Cobb Strecker Dunphy & Zimmermann, Inc.
Concrete, Inc.
Construction Results Corp.
QRDC
Westwood Professional Services
Yaggy Colby Associates
Minnesota Federation of
Engineering, Science and Technology Societies (MFESTS)
Award Recipients
The Minnesota Federation of
Engineering, Science and Technology Societies (MFESTS)
is an umbrella organization comprised of
engineering-related member societies within the state of
Minnesota. There currently are 16 MFESTS member
organizations that represent approximately 10,000
individuals.
The primary mission of
MFESTS has three parts: 1) To provide service to the
societies that are members of the Federation; 2) To
provide a service to the community at large, that is the
citizens of the State of Minnesota; and 3) To provide
services to professionals in engineering-related
careers.
To learn more about MFESTS
and to see photos of the winners listed below, go to
www.mfests.org.
2009 MFESTS Charles
W. Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award Winner
This
award recognizes outstanding lifetime achievements in
the practice of engineering, contributions to the
engineering profession and actions enhancing the image
of engineering in our society. Charles W. Britzius was
the epitome of the distinguished engineer, having
excelled in all three areas recognized by the award: he
was the founder of Twin City Testing, Inc.; was a
tireless contributor to MSPE and ASCE; served as mayor
of Deephaven; and was a tireless supporter of numerous
professional and civic causes.
Michael Semmens, PE,
nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers,
was the winner recognized in 2009. He is a professor of
civil engineering at the University of Minnesota.
2009 MFESTS Richard Alberg Distinguished Science and
Technology Professional Award Winner
This
award recognizes outstanding lifetime
achievements in the practice of science and technology,
contributions to their profession and actions enhancing
the image of science and technology in our society. Dick
Alberg was a board member of MFESTS and ASQ – Minnesota
at the time of his passing in 2005. He thoroughly
enjoyed working in the field of quality engineering and
traveled around the world providing his expertise to
various manufacturing facilities. 2008 is the first year
that MFESTS presented this award.
Connie McLinn, nominated
by the American Society for Quality – Minnesota Section,
is the recipient of this award in 2009. She is a quality
systems manager for Digital Marketing, Inc. in
Bloomington.
2009 MFESTS Young Engineer Nominees and Winner
This award recognizes
outstanding achievement by an engineer less than 35
years of age. Nominees are judged on the basis of
educational and collegiate achievements; professional
society activities; technical society activities; civil
and humanitarian activities; continuing competence;
engineering achievements; and professional experience.
Nominees for 2009 are:
Kaizhong
Gao (Seagate Technology) – nominated by the
Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers and the
Chinese American Information Storage Society
Dr. Julian Marshall
(University of MN) – nominated by the American
Society of Civil Engineers
Erin Penne (General Dynamics)
– nominated by the Society of Women Engineers
Randal Riebel, PE (Northwest
Airlines) – nominated by the Minnesota Society of
Professional Engineers
Benjamin Tustison, PE (MBK
Engineers) – nominated by the Society of American
Military Engineers
The winner of the MFESTS 2009
Young Engineer of the Year Award is Kaizhong Gao.
|
 |
 |
 |




 |
|
|