DFI Magazine November/December 2020 - 25

DFI

ACTIVITIES

DFI45: The DFI Community Stayed Connected
More than 1,000 attendees navigated new technology to stay
connected and enjoy the popular features of the DFI 45th Annual
Conference in a new online platform this October. Attendees from
over 83 countries participated in 3-1/2 days of technical
presentations, networking activities, and social media feeds, as well
as visiting an interactive exhibit hall.
The 50-plus member organizing committee was led by
Conference Chair Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Ph.D., P.E., American
Geotechnical & Environmental Services (A.G.E.S.), and Program
Co-Chairs Jennifer Nicks, Ph.D., P.E., Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), and Gregg Piazza, P.E., GeoStructures.
The conference, true to the theme " People. Purpose. Passion. "
showcased a profession at the top of its game, highlighting the hard
work, passion, connections, technologies and professionalism that
drive the deep foundations industry worldwide.

Awards Ceremony
The event kicked off with a celebration of DFI's individual and
corporate awards.

Keller Ground Engineering (India); and Ingrid Tomac, Ph.D.,
University of California, San Diego. Also recognized was the winner
of the Paul DeBruyn Memorial Student Scholarship, Fernanda
Bezerra Tomaduci Imamura, Ph.D. student, University of Alberta.
Awards were also presented to Alejandro Martinez, Ph.D., and
Kyle O'Hara, Ph.D., the winners of the Young Professor Paper
Competition and Rabie Farrag, Ph.D., winner of the Student Paper
Competition (see page 29).

Technical Presentations
Bill Khouri, P.E., of Schnabel Engineering D.C., presented the
opening keynote lecture titled " A Tale of a Thriving City and the
Deep Foundations that Support It. " The talk highlighted the
challenging ground conditions in Washington, D.C., where DFI45
had initially been planned to be hosted as an in-person event.
The Hal Hunt Lecture, " An Overview of the Federal
Commemorative Works Process in Washington, D.C., " was
delivered by Michael Sherman, director of policy and research at
the National Capital Planning Commission.
The technical program was presented using various formats to
encourage interaction and discussion, including 36 papers
presented live: 8 papers were provided as 7:7 presentations (quick
presentations with 7 slides delivered in 7 minutes); 12 of those
were on-demand presentations with Q&A sessions; and 5 were
compelling panel discussions, including ones on:
* The Influence of Government Guidelines and Specifications on
Industry Practice
* Geophysics 2020 and Beyond - Advancing the use of
Geophysics for Enhanced Geotechnical Subsurface
Characterization

Videos highlighted in this article can be viewed in the digital
edition of Deep Foundations at www.dfi.org

The Outstanding Project Award for Chase Center, San Francisco,
was presented to Langan Engineering and Environmental Services,
Malcolm Drilling Company and Condon-Johnson & Associates.
Lori Simpson, P.E., G.E, of Langan, accepted the award and gave a
presentation on the project's innovative foundation design.
Kalavacharla Sree (K.S.) Rama Krishna, Ph.D., geotechnical
consultant and chair of DFI of India, as well as a member of the DFI
Board of Trustees, received DFI's highest award to an individual. He
was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) for
being the driving force behind the establishment and success of the
DFI of India Regional Chapter.
Recipients of the 2020 Women in Deep Foundations
Professional Development Grants were recognized during the
Awards Reception. They included Meghan Brassard, P.E., Haley &
Aldrich; Julia Chessa, Menard Group USA; Taylor DaCanal,
American Geotechnical and Environmental Services; Akhila Manne,

* Value Added and Risk Management Considerations of Site
Characterization for Deep Foundation Projects and Programs
* Bringing Geotechnical Baseline Reports to the Surface
Conference Chair Sebastian Lobo-Guerrero, Ph.D., P.E.,
moderated the final panel presentation of the conference: The
Family Business, which featured six industry families, the Becks
(A.H. Beck Foundation Co.), Goffs (Nicholson Construction
Company), Schnabels (Schnabel Geostructural Design and
Construction), Wysockeys (Thatcher Engineering), Tripletts
(Keller North America) and Pattersons (TEI Rock Drills, Inc.).

Business Meeting
DFI leaders conducted the business meeting, which included an
overview of the institute's financial state, accomplishments and
undertakings in 2020. A video was shown highlighting the many
projects, events and accomplishments developed by DFI technical
committees and regional chapters since the last annual conference.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * NOV/DEC 2020* 25
http://www.dfi.org
DFI Magazine November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DFI Magazine November/December 2020
