Dedication TK lF k To Karl Frank - Ferguson Structural Engineering ...
Dedication TK lF k To Karl Frank - Ferguson Structural Engineering ...
Dedication TK lF k To Karl Frank - Ferguson Structural Engineering ...
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<strong>Dedication</strong><br />
<strong>To</strong> <strong>Karl</strong> <strong>Frank</strong><br />
…professor<br />
…researcher<br />
…mentor<br />
…friend<br />
Presented during STEER 2010, March 4-5
Chapter 1: <strong>Frank</strong>’s Students
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Photo<br />
provided by Catherine Hove<br />
ll<br />
Current <strong>Ferguson</strong> Laboratory employees and advisees<br />
Catherine Hovell<br />
MS 2007<br />
Jeremiah Fasl Anthony Battistini Vasileios Samaras<br />
MS 2008 MS 2009<br />
MS 2009<br />
Janghwan Kim<br />
Luca Magenes<br />
James Kleineck Brian Petruzzi<br />
Stephen Pool Jason Stith<br />
Craig Quadrato Andrew Wahr<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>’s Students<br />
2
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
John Pass<br />
MS 1982<br />
Lynn Eaves<br />
MS 1978<br />
Susanne Gealy<br />
MS 1990<br />
Truc Tran<br />
MS 1992<br />
©Google – Map data ©2009 Tele Atlas<br />
Mitch Currah<br />
MS 1993<br />
<strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
MS/PhD 1994<br />
Vincent Dolan<br />
MS 1995<br />
Jon Richter<br />
MS 1998<br />
Heather Gilmer<br />
MS 1999<br />
Kazuo Endo<br />
MS 2000<br />
Chris Bilich<br />
MS/PhD 2002<br />
David Lubitz<br />
MS 2005<br />
Jamie Farris<br />
MS 2008<br />
David Platten<br />
MS 1980<br />
Thomas Tansil<br />
MS 1991<br />
Bradley Shuey<br />
MS 1996<br />
Willy Ramirez<br />
MS/PhD 1999<br />
Joey Dowd<br />
MS 2001<br />
Lisa Woof<br />
MS 2002<br />
Jennifer Ridd<br />
MS 2004<br />
Matthew Bean<br />
MS 2006<br />
Craig Rios<br />
MS 2007<br />
Loyl Bussell<br />
MS 1997<br />
Amy Barrett<br />
MS 2009<br />
Hyeong Jun Kim<br />
MS/PhD 2007<br />
Geoff McDonald<br />
MS 2009<br />
Gurvis Post<br />
MS 1988<br />
Thomas Anderson<br />
MS 2007<br />
Terry Kohutek<br />
PhD 1986<br />
Jeffrey Moore<br />
MS 1989<br />
Darin Riggleman<br />
MS 1994<br />
James Light<br />
MS 1993<br />
Francisco de Garagorri<br />
MS 1990<br />
Brian Farris<br />
MS 1991<br />
Michael Harville<br />
PhD 1993<br />
Kyle Woodward<br />
MS/PhD 1980<br />
Farrel Zwerneman<br />
MS/PhD 1985<br />
Liang Yu<br />
PhD 2006<br />
Dennis Wittry<br />
MS 1993<br />
Christy Schluter<br />
MS 1989<br />
Blanca Velazquez<br />
MS 1998<br />
Nicolas Cocavessis<br />
MS 1978<br />
Arthur Colwell<br />
MS 1981<br />
Andrew Shuh<br />
MS 2008<br />
Amanda Palmatier<br />
MS 2005<br />
David McIlrath<br />
MS 1999<br />
Guzhao Li<br />
PhD 2002<br />
Yavor Cekov<br />
MS 2006<br />
Omar Espinoza<br />
MS 2007<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>’s Students<br />
3
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Michael Lopez<br />
MS 1999<br />
Erik Soderberg<br />
MS 1994<br />
Travis Richards<br />
MS 2005<br />
Rene Vignos<br />
MS 1994<br />
Bryce Neuman<br />
MS 2009<br />
Joe Ales<br />
PhD 1994<br />
Brian Chen<br />
MS/PhD 2002<br />
Joshua Mouras<br />
MS 2008<br />
Justin Brown<br />
MS 2006<br />
John Eggers<br />
MS 2003<br />
David Sanders<br />
MS/PhD 1990<br />
Michael Wehr<br />
MS 1995<br />
Joanes Gerard<br />
MS 1992<br />
Lisa Orgren<br />
MS 2003<br />
Timothy Jaquess<br />
MS 1998<br />
David George<br />
MS 1990<br />
James Weeks<br />
MS 1987<br />
Gregg Reese<br />
MS 1983<br />
Kenneth Miller<br />
MS 1999<br />
Andrew Stam<br />
MS 2009<br />
David Jauregui<br />
PhD 1999<br />
Scott Barney<br />
MS 2000<br />
William Kittleman<br />
MS 1992<br />
Conrad Paulson<br />
MS 1982<br />
David Horos<br />
MS 1989<br />
<strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
MS 1999<br />
Ann Fiechtl<br />
MS 1987<br />
Peter Hoadley<br />
MS/PhD 1984<br />
Neil Glaser<br />
MS 1993<br />
John Joehnk<br />
MS 1982<br />
Kurt Swensson<br />
MS/PhD 1986<br />
Mark Koenigs<br />
MS 2003<br />
Peter Schonwetter<br />
MS 1999<br />
Ben Cheplak<br />
MS 2001<br />
Michael Stallings<br />
PhD 1988<br />
Tim Barnard<br />
MS 2006<br />
Jim Sutton<br />
MS 2007<br />
Firas Ibrahim<br />
PhD 1995<br />
James Ricles<br />
MS 1980<br />
Ronnie Medlock<br />
MS 1998<br />
Joe Spadea<br />
MS 2002<br />
Reagan Herman<br />
MS/PhD 2001<br />
Nicholas Richman<br />
MS 2009<br />
James Lamb<br />
MS 1985<br />
Mikkel Hansen<br />
MS 1980<br />
Peter Dean<br />
MS 2005<br />
Timothy Overman<br />
MS 1984<br />
Scott Dykers<br />
MS 1984<br />
Trey Hamilton<br />
PhD 1995<br />
David Winget<br />
MS 2003<br />
Matthew Memberg<br />
MS 2002<br />
Thomas Pechillo<br />
MS 1993<br />
Kenneth Hinsch<br />
MS 1986<br />
Mark Venti<br />
MS 2000<br />
Pedro Galvez<br />
MS 2004<br />
Gun Up Kwon<br />
PhD 2008<br />
Joseph Muscarella<br />
MS/PhD 1995<br />
Christopher Gilcrist<br />
MS 1997<br />
©Google – Map data ©2009 Tele Atlas<br />
Scott Montgomery<br />
MS 1987<br />
Ananda Bergeron<br />
MS 2003<br />
Robert Dexter<br />
MS/PhD 1992<br />
*Deceased<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>’s Students<br />
4
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Humberto Mendoza<br />
MS 1989<br />
Micah Florea<br />
MS 2005<br />
©Google – Map data ©2009 Tele Atlas<br />
Thomas Boone<br />
MS 1982<br />
Bert Shelton<br />
MS 1981<br />
Michael Gilroy<br />
MS 1997<br />
Michael Gilroy Keizo Otsuka<br />
Marcel Poser<br />
MS 2001<br />
Ahmet Yakut<br />
PhD 2002<br />
Taichiro Okazaki<br />
PhD 2004<br />
Chong-One Bak<br />
PhD 1992<br />
Keizo Otsuka<br />
MS 1995<br />
Nobuyuki Matsumoto<br />
MS 1985<br />
Adrian Laffitte<br />
MS 1979<br />
Apostolos Drolias<br />
MS 2007<br />
Ramadevi Duraisamy<br />
MS 2005<br />
Yonggang Zhang<br />
PhD 1997<br />
Matthew Albert<br />
MS 2006<br />
Hsin-Yang Chung<br />
PhD 2004<br />
Yajai Promboon<br />
MS/PhD 2000<br />
<strong>To</strong>kul Kanchanalai<br />
PhD1977<br />
Jung-June June Cheng<br />
PhD 1984<br />
Chan-Ping Pan<br />
MS/PhD 1986<br />
Shih-Hsiung Wang<br />
MS 1997<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>’s Students<br />
5
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
Provide ed by Ben Cheplak<br />
Prov vided by Amy Barrett<br />
AMY BARRETT<br />
MS 2009<br />
P.E. <strong>Structural</strong> Consultants, Inc.<br />
Austin, TX<br />
BEN CHEPLAK<br />
MS 2001<br />
<strong>Structural</strong> Engineer<br />
Walter P. Moore and Associates<br />
Atlanta, GA<br />
Anthony Battistini<br />
Provided by<br />
ANTHONY BATTISTINI<br />
MS 2009<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX<br />
Provide ed by Mitch Currah<br />
NICOLAS COCAVESSIS<br />
MS 1978<br />
VP <strong>Engineering</strong> & Construction<br />
LDH Energy<br />
Houston, TX<br />
MITCH CURRAH<br />
MS 1993<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Supervisor<br />
Lower Colorado River Authority<br />
Austin, TX<br />
Contributor List 6
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
Provided by Jos seph Dowd<br />
JOSEPH DOWD<br />
MS 2001<br />
Walter P. Moore and Associates<br />
Dallas, TX<br />
ar Espinoza<br />
Provided by Om<br />
OMAR ESPINOZA<br />
MS 2007<br />
Standard Renewable Energy<br />
Houston, TX<br />
Provide ed by Jeremiah Fasl<br />
JEREMIAH FASL<br />
MS 2008<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong><br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin<br />
Austin, TX<br />
GEOFF MCDONALD<br />
MS 2009<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> Lam & Associates, Inc.<br />
Austin, TX<br />
MICAH FLOREA<br />
MS 2005<br />
Staff <strong>Structural</strong> Engineer<br />
eMi america latina<br />
Atenas, Costa Rica<br />
Provid ded by Chris Gilchrist<br />
CHRIS GILCHRIST<br />
MS 1997<br />
Post-Doctoral Research Associate<br />
Department of Biomedical <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
Duke University<br />
Durham, NC<br />
Contributor List 7
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
usanne Gealy<br />
Provided by S<br />
SUSANNE GEALY<br />
MS 1990<br />
Portfolio Manager<br />
Teacher Retirement<br />
System of Texas<br />
Austin, TX<br />
Provided by<br />
Trey Hamilton<br />
H.R. (TREY) HAMILTON<br />
PhD 1995<br />
Associate Professor<br />
University of Florida<br />
Gainesville, FL<br />
Photo by Ro onnie Medlock<br />
HEATHER GILMER<br />
MS 1999<br />
Engineer<br />
Texas Department of Transportation<br />
Austin, TX<br />
TODD HELWIG<br />
BS/MS/PhD 1994<br />
Associate Professor<br />
University of Texas at Austin<br />
Austin, TX<br />
Pro ovided by <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Contributor List 8
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
Prov vided by Catherine Hov vell<br />
CATHERINE HOVELL<br />
MS 2007<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong><br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin<br />
Austin, TX<br />
DAVE LUBITZ<br />
MS 2005<br />
Project Manager / Project Engineer<br />
Aguirre & Fields LP<br />
Austin, TX<br />
JAMES KLEINECK<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong><br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin<br />
Austin, TX<br />
hao Li<br />
Provided by Guz<br />
GUZHAO LI<br />
PhD 2002<br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Manager<br />
MMI <strong>Engineering</strong>, Inc.<br />
Houston, TX<br />
TERRY KOHUTEK<br />
PhD 1986<br />
Senior Lecturer & Director<br />
Undergraduate Student Services Office<br />
Zachry Department of Civil <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
Texas A&M University<br />
ed by James Kleineck<br />
Provid<br />
Prov vided by Farrel Zwernem man<br />
FARREL ZWERNEMAN<br />
MS 1990<br />
Technical Authority<br />
Offshore Civil /<br />
<strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
Mustang <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
Houston, TX<br />
Contributor List 9
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
Provided by Bryce Neum man<br />
BRYCE NEUMAN<br />
MS 2009<br />
Degenkolb Engineers<br />
San Francisco, CA<br />
CRAIG QUADRATO<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX<br />
raig Quadrato<br />
Provided by Cr<br />
Provided by Marcel Poser<br />
MARCEL POSER<br />
MS 2001<br />
CEO<br />
BBT VT International Ltd<br />
IMMIN CHUNG POSER<br />
PhD 2003<br />
Prov vided by <strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
KARL PENNINGS<br />
MS 1990<br />
Senior <strong>Structural</strong> Engineer<br />
KJWW <strong>Engineering</strong> Consultants<br />
Naperville, IL<br />
STEPHEN POOL<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin<br />
Austin, TX<br />
Contributor List 10
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
Provided by Tr<br />
avis Richards<br />
Provided by Vasilis Samaras<br />
TRAVIS RICHARDS<br />
MS 2005<br />
Transportation Engineer<br />
TJKM Transportation Consultants<br />
San Francisco, CA<br />
VASILIS SAMARAS<br />
MS 2009<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX<br />
Provided d by Andrew Schuh<br />
ANDREW SCHUH<br />
MS 2008<br />
<strong>Structural</strong> Engineer<br />
Mustang <strong>Engineering</strong><br />
g<br />
Houston, TX<br />
JOSHUA MOURAS<br />
MS 2008<br />
<strong>Structural</strong> Design Engineer<br />
Magnusson Klemencic e ccAssociates<br />
Seattle, WA<br />
RONNIE MEDLOCK<br />
MS 1998<br />
VP Technical Services<br />
High Steel Structures<br />
Lancaster, PA<br />
ERIK SODERBERG<br />
MS 1994<br />
<strong>Structural</strong> Engineer<br />
Liftech Consultants, Inc.<br />
Oakland, CA<br />
by Erik Soderberg<br />
Provided<br />
Contributor List 11
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Some more about the contributors…<br />
Provided by Jo oseph Spadea<br />
Provide ed by Jason Stith<br />
JOSEPH SPADEA<br />
MS 2002<br />
Project Development Manager<br />
Modjeski and Masters, Inc.<br />
Harrisburg, PA<br />
JASON STITH<br />
Graduate Research Assistant<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong><br />
<strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory<br />
University of Texas at Austin<br />
Austin, TX<br />
ANDREW STAM<br />
MS 2009<br />
<strong>Structural</strong> Engineer<br />
Martin/Martin<br />
Denver, CO<br />
Provided by Paul Summers<br />
PAUL SUMMERS<br />
MS 1982<br />
Principal<br />
MMI <strong>Engineering</strong>, Inc.<br />
Houston, TX<br />
Provide ed by Andrew Stam<br />
LIANG YU<br />
PhD 2005<br />
Senior Researcher<br />
and Engineer<br />
DeepFlex, Inc.<br />
Houston, TX<br />
JAMES SUTTON<br />
MS 2007<br />
Modjeski & Masters, Inc.<br />
Poughkeepsie, NY<br />
Pro ovided by James Sutto on<br />
Contributor List 12
Chapter 2: Memorable Moments<br />
What is your most memorable<br />
experience with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
teach·er:<br />
one whose job is to instruct<br />
My most memorable experience is a toss up between the barely visible<br />
plaque, “Neatness is a sign of a sick mind,” I saw on his desk the first day I<br />
met him and the “C” I received in Fracture Mechanics at the end of my first<br />
semester in grad school. The latter hovered over me like the Sword of<br />
Damocles until I made it up and graduated, d while the former is something that t I<br />
have taken to heart.<br />
- Nicolas Cocavessis<br />
Provided by Vasilis Samaras<br />
My most memorable experience was when I took <strong>Karl</strong>’s fracture mechanics<br />
and fatigue course in a semester when he tried to quit smoking. Needless to<br />
say he was not in the best of moods some days but the class took it in stride<br />
because we knew how tough it was on him to kick this habit. It turned out to<br />
be one the best and most useful courses I took at UT. Although it was several<br />
years later, everyone who cares about <strong>Karl</strong> is glad that he was finally able to<br />
quit smoking.<br />
- Terry Kohutek<br />
Memorable Moments 14
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
re·search·er:<br />
one who finds the solution to a problem<br />
by Ronnie Medlock<br />
Provided<br />
IfIh I had dto pick one thing about tDr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
that I liked most, I think it would be the<br />
hands on approach that he took as a<br />
research advisor. I had more meetings<br />
and conversations with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> on the<br />
lab floor than I ever did in his office.<br />
- James Sutton<br />
I have had several memorable experiences with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, but one of my favorites is:<br />
When I asked Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> why I was selected to work on his research project, he told me<br />
that I was selected because I was one of the larger entering students and that I looked<br />
like I would be good at moving the many concrete blocks onto and off of our steel deck<br />
test diaphragm. I could never tell if he was joking, but I am pretty sure he wasn’t.<br />
- Erik Soderberg<br />
My favorite<br />
memories are sitting<br />
around with Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>, Nick and<br />
Andrew at our<br />
fatigue meetings. I<br />
had so much fun<br />
talking, debating and<br />
of course joking<br />
during those<br />
meetings.<br />
- Geoff McDonald<br />
ided by Vasilis Samara as<br />
Prov<br />
Memorable Moments 15
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
ex·per·i·men·tal·ist:<br />
one who dabbles in the unknown<br />
Having started a bending fatigue test, Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> commented: “If you want to be a<br />
real fatigue tester, you need to always<br />
push the setup to run at the highest<br />
frequency possible.” So we did, and a<br />
few days later we spent a whole day<br />
cleaning the lab floor after two barrels of<br />
hydraulic oil had been spilled because<br />
the hydraulics broke! At the annual lab<br />
BBQ this got me the “cleaning prize” and<br />
afreemop<br />
mop…<br />
- Marcel Poser<br />
There were a lot of positive experiences<br />
but, unfortunately, my most memorable<br />
experience is a negative one. A fatigue<br />
experiment was being conducted on a<br />
small weldment at the south end of the lab<br />
behind the reaction wall. Overnight, a slow<br />
hydraulic leak developed around an o-ring<br />
in a servo-control. Because the leak was<br />
slow, the system was able to maintain i the<br />
load on the weldment so it did not shut<br />
down on a load error. Because the system<br />
was under high pressure, hydraulic oil was<br />
released as a fine mist tens of feet into the<br />
air. Overnight, multiple gallons of hydraulic<br />
oil were sprayed into the lab until the pump<br />
finally shut off due to low oil. There was a<br />
big mess to clean up in the lab the next day<br />
and there probably is still hydraulic oil<br />
hiding in crevices high in the lab. The<br />
problem was with the equipment (right,<br />
bottom).<br />
- Farrel Zwerneman<br />
Provi ided by Farrel Zwernem man<br />
Provide ed by Farrel Zwernema an<br />
Memorable Moments 16
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
euman<br />
Provided by Bryce N<br />
My most memorable experience<br />
with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was when I broke<br />
off a slugger bit into a steel plate.<br />
The broken bit was stuck in the<br />
plate and the lab techs, other<br />
students, and I came up with<br />
some very elaborate and time<br />
consuming methods to get the bit<br />
out. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> takes one look at<br />
it, grabs a hammer and some<br />
pliers, and has the bit out in<br />
under a minute.<br />
- Stephen Pool<br />
My research involved corrosion protection systems for stay cables. I learned quite a bit<br />
from <strong>Karl</strong> about testing techniques, instrumentation, test fixtures, and general structural<br />
laboratory knowledge. One of my memories of <strong>Karl</strong> is that he used to (probably still does)<br />
wander through the laboratory looking at the test setups under various stages of<br />
completion. I think he feels more at home in the laboratory than the office or<br />
classroom. Sometimes he would linger at a test setup looking at it very closely. He might<br />
ask the grad student what they are doing. This was back in the day when he smoked, so<br />
he might light up a cigarette and take a few thoughtful puffs while the grad student waited<br />
in a terrified state for the verdict. He would then make some off hand comment regarding<br />
the setup like, “It'll never work because..." Of course, this would ruin the graduate student's<br />
entire day and sometimes send him back to the drawing board. But <strong>Karl</strong> was right on the<br />
mark with his assessment and his advice would lead to an improvement in design or safety.<br />
- H. R. (Trey) Hamilton<br />
Provided<br />
by Catherine Hovell<br />
Memorable Moments 17
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
A few months after arriving at UT, our<br />
project group poured concrete for the base<br />
of one of the two piers for the big bridge<br />
outside. Unfortunately, we hadn’t properly<br />
accounted for the amount of pressure three<br />
feet of concrete would create, and the forms<br />
began to bulge out and split down the<br />
middle. While we three masters students<br />
were lost about what to do, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> simply<br />
had Blake get the forklifts and position them<br />
to hold up the forms until the concrete had<br />
set. I still wish we’d convinced him to use<br />
his truck on one side, however.<br />
- Catherine Hovell<br />
Provided by<br />
Catherine Hov<br />
vell<br />
Provided by James Sutton<br />
Prov<br />
ided by Catherine Hove ell<br />
Provided by Catherine e Hovell<br />
by James Sutton<br />
During the pour of the concrete slab for<br />
the bridge at FSEL, seeing Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
pour test cylinders and rod them was<br />
classic.<br />
- Omar Espinoza<br />
Provided<br />
Memorable Moments 18
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by Bryce Neuman<br />
My most memorable experience with Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> was when we spent a cold<br />
December Sunday to finish the<br />
reinforcement mat of the foundation pad,<br />
which would support the jack system. It<br />
was amazing to see Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> in action<br />
and how he was arguing with Bryce<br />
Neuman for who would get the best rebar<br />
tying tool. By the end of the day (after<br />
sunset) the reinforcement mat was ready,<br />
and all of us with low back pain.<br />
- Vasilis Samaras<br />
My first semester at the <strong>Ferguson</strong> lab<br />
working under Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> we<br />
performed a test on a full scale twin<br />
box girder bridge, intending to<br />
simulate a sudden fracture event in<br />
one girder. <strong>To</strong> simulate the fracture<br />
we were using an explosive attached<br />
to the underside of one girder, which<br />
was intended to trigger a failure up<br />
the entire box girder. We prepared<br />
for months, instrumenting the bridge<br />
and building the apparatus to attach<br />
the explosives, and then invited<br />
numerous people from the supporting<br />
organizations to watch the test live at<br />
the lab. After setting up and installing<br />
the explosives everyone gathered in<br />
the lab to watch the test via camera<br />
(for safety). Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was<br />
commenting over the speakers, and<br />
after a count-down he triggered the<br />
explosives. We watched as a cloud<br />
of dust filled the screen, then<br />
resolved into an image of the bridge,<br />
intact, oscillating on the camera. Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> (and the rest of us) was so<br />
surprised by the outcome that all he<br />
could say was “It didn’t fracture the<br />
web!” The test did yield useful data,<br />
but certainly didn’t go as anyone had<br />
expected.<br />
- Joshua Mouras<br />
Provided by Bryc ce Neuman<br />
Provided by Vasilis Sa amaras<br />
Memorable Moments 19
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by Amy<br />
Barrett<br />
field·test·er:<br />
one who monitors structures t for analysis<br />
My most memorable experience with Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> was instrumenting the bridge in<br />
Dallas that was the subject of my<br />
research. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> joined me and three<br />
other students for two, very long, hot<br />
days as we instrumented and tested the<br />
bridge.<br />
- Amy Barrett<br />
Provided by Amy<br />
Barrett<br />
Any field experience with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was<br />
memorable. During the erection of the<br />
US 71/SH 130 director connector, Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> ridiculed us for bringing fold-out<br />
chairs and an ice chest to watch the<br />
process. A couple of hours after<br />
accusing us of “tailgating the bridge<br />
erection,” he was comfortably enjoying<br />
a seat with the rest of us.<br />
- Andrew Schuh<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, Dr. Helwig, Jeremiah Fasl,<br />
Andrew Schuh, Seong Yeong Yang, and<br />
myself spent the day at a bridge<br />
construction site just east of Austin-<br />
Bergstrom International ti lAirport. They<br />
were constructing the direct connector<br />
form eastbound SH71 to northbound<br />
SH130. We made the event something<br />
like a tailgate with easy chairs and<br />
cameras. We watched and took notes<br />
of events while the girders were being<br />
lifted. We had “lovely” conversations<br />
with the ironworkers. Quite the day!<br />
- Jason Stith<br />
by Andrew Schuh<br />
Provided<br />
Memorable Moments 20
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Another interesting trip was one to Dallas for Amy Barrett’s research project. We<br />
left on Sunday afternoon and were scheduled to come home on Wednesday. I<br />
drove with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> in the lab truck while the other three students rode in another<br />
car. On the drive to Dallas, it took us over 8 hours to get to the hotel due to an<br />
accident along the way. Though it was a stressful situation, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> remained<br />
calm and lighthearted. It also gave me a chance to talk to him (which I thoroughly<br />
enjoyed) about my research interests and possible topics for a PhD. Due to the<br />
traffic that night, we got into the hotel well after 1am, yet we were off to the jobsite<br />
by 8am the next morning. We worked all day putting up gages and did the live<br />
load tests t at night. On the second night of tests, t we inadvertently tl put one of our<br />
string pots (to measure deflection) on a cardboard (due to the flat surface) below<br />
the bridge. In the middle of the test, a homeless guy pulled out the cardboard, his<br />
“bed,” and ruined the string pot. Both Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> and I were shocked. Some<br />
“intriguing” comments were made, but we later shared a laugh due to the comedy<br />
of the situation. But an important lesson was learned: “You cannot plan for<br />
everything at a field study, so you must be flexible”… or maybe it was: “Don’t<br />
disturb a person’s habitat!”<br />
- Jeremiah Fasl<br />
Prov vided by Amy Barrett<br />
I recall being on the inside of a half-completed steel box-girder 80 feet in the<br />
air on a Houston overpass, attaching strain gages with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, Reagan<br />
Herman, and <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig. It was in the middle of the night on what had to be<br />
one of the colder nights in Houston history (or so it seemed). In spite of my<br />
fear of heights and the loss of feeling in my feet and hands due to the cold, I<br />
remember it fondly. Not sure why exactly.<br />
- Chris Gilchrist<br />
Memorable Moments 21
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
trav·el·er:<br />
one who wanders the world<br />
The Curved Girder Hirschfeld field trip was a fun one. On our way to San Angelo, Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> explained to Andrew Schuh and me some of the significant sites along the way<br />
(such as the bald eagles nest). Though, as we noticed more and more “historical”<br />
markers, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> mentioned that many of those signs along Texas highways were due<br />
to massacres between settlers and the native Indians. He concocted a (very funny)<br />
story that put us on alert for incoming attacks. We spent a good portion of the trip<br />
discussing possible attack strategies, while always being on the watch for smoke<br />
signals. Then, each subsequent time I traveled to Hirschfeld, he made sure I was<br />
observant and watchful for smoke signals. But back to the Curved Girder trip, when we<br />
arrived at Hirschfeld, the original plan was to be there for two long days. However,<br />
because Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> had heard rumors about how fast we were at field studies, he<br />
challenged us to finish in a day and half. If we did, then he promised to have us over to<br />
his house once we got back to Austin to celebrate a successful field study. So, when<br />
Andrew and I explained the contest to the other students (Jason Stith, Jamie Farris, and<br />
Craig Quadrato), they quickly jumped on board to the challenge and we were easily<br />
able to install all of the sensors and perform the tests within the time limit. When we<br />
made it back to Austin, we enjoyed a trip to Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s house where a variety of<br />
beverages and snacks were prepared for us!<br />
- Jeremiah Fasl<br />
During the 1999 International Scanning <strong>To</strong>ur, sponsored by FHWA, our 18 member<br />
American blue blazer team visited Japan and Europe to see how steel bridges are<br />
fabricated over there. Highlights:<br />
- Riding in the back of the bus with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, Alex Wilson (Mittal Steel), John Fisher<br />
(Lehigh University), Dennis Mertz (University of Delaware) and others talking steel,<br />
cars, and beer (except that Dr. Fisher offered no beer comments). This was before<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> learned that his great grandfather was a saloon keeper in old San<br />
Francisco.<br />
- Lunch with the team in Venice on<br />
the Grand Canal in view of the Rialto<br />
Bridge, with Il Papa (Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>) at<br />
the head of the table, toasting our<br />
success in our limited Italian<br />
vocabulary: “Brutto! Brutto!”<br />
- In England, trying to be gracious<br />
guests to our host at Cambridge, the<br />
local pubs, the hotel bar, and our<br />
colleague from British Steel (we<br />
probably outlasted him).<br />
- Ronnie Medlock<br />
Provid ded by Micah Florea<br />
Memorable Moments 22
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
card·shark:<br />
a card player that gives you the false<br />
feeling you have a chance to win<br />
Fasl<br />
Provided by Jeremiah<br />
Because I am still working for Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, there are still<br />
many experiences that are memorable, and they range<br />
widely: from playing spades over the summer and<br />
listening to stories about classic rock and great blues<br />
musicians, to observing Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s attention to safety<br />
and accuracy while not getting bogged down in overly<br />
detailed scenarios and solutions.<br />
- James Kleineck<br />
I also remember scintillating games of Spades out at<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> during lunch. I had quite a nice winning streak<br />
going at one point.<br />
- <strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
Over the last few years, I have<br />
had a lot of memorable<br />
experiences with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>.<br />
From deciding whether rockers<br />
or rollers were more appropriate<br />
for a fatigue setup to playing<br />
spades (and finally winning<br />
once!) to project meetings,<br />
there are quite a few to choose<br />
from.<br />
- Jeremiah Fasl<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, Dr. Helwig, & Blake during the 2009 Welcome BBQ<br />
Provided by FSEL<br />
In addition to similar taste in music, we also have had a lot of fun over the years playing<br />
cards at lunch. One great memory from our card playing is that time when he beat me at<br />
Spades. It was so great seeing the elation on his face after achieving something that he<br />
had worked so hard at for so many years. Ever since that one time, I have noticed a<br />
gleam in his eye when we play Spades and I can tell that it is the hope that one day he<br />
might be able to beat me again. I think that hope has been a driving force that has<br />
helped make him so successful in so many aspects of his life – and I’m Im justgladthatI<br />
that was able to provide that spark.<br />
- <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Memorable Moments 23
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
ref·er·ee:<br />
one who always ensures a<br />
competitive game<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s ridiculous twoheaded<br />
coin toss in the annual<br />
2nd year vs. 1st year flag<br />
football game.<br />
- Omar Espinoza<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> with stripes and a<br />
whistle acting as referee for the<br />
annual flag football game at<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab.<br />
- Ben Cheplak<br />
mar Espinoza<br />
Provided by O<br />
2006 Football Challenge<br />
ovided by FSEL<br />
Pro<br />
1994 Football Challenge<br />
Pro ovided by FSEL<br />
2007 Football Challenge<br />
1910 Football Challenge<br />
Prov vided by <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Memorable Moments 24
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
cook:<br />
one who prepares a meal<br />
I attended Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s<br />
Thanksgiving Day feast on two<br />
occasions. It was so generous<br />
of him to open his house for<br />
people who did not have family<br />
in the area to celebrate.<br />
- <strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
BBQ’s on the veranda at Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>’s house.<br />
- Immin Chung Poser<br />
rovided by Vasilis Sam maras<br />
Pr<br />
Another memorable experience with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was when he invited his research<br />
students to his house for Thanksgiving dinner in 2008. He and his wife opened their<br />
home to about 6 grad students and cooked a delicious meal.<br />
- Amy Barrett<br />
by Dave Lubitz<br />
Provided<br />
Some other good memories<br />
took place during the holidays<br />
when Dr. and Mrs. <strong>Frank</strong> were<br />
kind enough to open up their<br />
home to grad students in need<br />
of a friendly place to hang out. I<br />
remember a wonderful<br />
Thanksgiving dinner and some<br />
great Halloween pumpkin<br />
carving too.<br />
- Andrew Stam<br />
Memorable Moments 25
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
golf·er:<br />
one who attempts t to play golf<br />
During one of the golf tournaments, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig, myself, and a fellow<br />
named Brian were a team. Brian had rated himself as a category “1” player, i.e.,<br />
someone very skilled at golf. Supposedly being our team champion, we let Brian hit<br />
first off the first tee. On his first drive, he severely sliced the ball into the trees. I will<br />
always remember Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> slowly shaking his head and saying that it was going to be<br />
a long day. Our team came in over ten strokes behind the second worst team. After<br />
that, it seemed as though Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was a little harder on Brian in our Fracture<br />
Mechanics class.<br />
- Erik Soderberg<br />
At the FSEL golf tournament in<br />
2008 we were in a group behind<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>. We would consistently<br />
hit our shots so they would roll up<br />
on his group. I guess he got tired<br />
of this so on one hole he moved<br />
the pin into some bushes where<br />
we could see it, but not see the<br />
green. So we all shot at the pin<br />
and ended up in the bushes. And<br />
don’t you know that was my<br />
closest shot to the pin all day!<br />
- Craig Quadrato<br />
Provid ded by Punchet Thamm mark<br />
My most fun experience<br />
was playing golf with Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> in the annual<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab golf<br />
tournament.<br />
- Mitch Currah<br />
Provide ed by FSEL<br />
Memorable Moments 26
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
dri·ver:<br />
one who maneuvers a vehicle, often at<br />
high speeds<br />
Provide ed by Anthony Battistin ni<br />
Racing my truck against his Ford F-<br />
150 Lightning to get downtown to<br />
TXDOT. Ok, so he didn’t actually<br />
acknowledge that we were racing…But<br />
once we got there, he suggested that I<br />
had “one heck of a heavy foot” (with a<br />
grin of course).<br />
- Joe Spadea<br />
Provided by Anthony Battistini<br />
There is also one other memorable and somewhat more recent experience.<br />
<strong>Karl</strong> and I went to dinner one evening when he was in College Station to<br />
participate in a TxDOT short course. Afterwards he took me for a ride in his<br />
Ford Lightning which he had just recently purchased. I must say it was an<br />
unexpectedly exciting ride!<br />
- Terry Kohutek<br />
Someone was taking his name in vain on a construction project, so I called him<br />
for clarification, and he showed up on site and set everyone straight. I think they<br />
mostly listened to him because his truck was bigger than everyone else’s.<br />
- Heather Gilmer<br />
Memorable Moments 27
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
The Thing! Driving it to<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> with the top<br />
down – or maybe the top<br />
was permanently down<br />
by then!<br />
- Susanne Gealy<br />
I worked on the Fred Hartman Bridge cable-stay fatigue project with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> and<br />
others. I always enjoyed working around <strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab with him. He is never afraid to<br />
get dirty with his grad students. I really enjoyed traveling with him on the trips down to<br />
instrument the Fred Hartman Bridge. I recall one instance where he had his fire engine<br />
red Ford F-150 Lightning parked on the side of the bridge, and the two of us needed to<br />
go to the local convenience store for a snack or a restroom break. Under the guise of<br />
“needing to get into the flow of traffic quickly,” Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> floored it - engaging full use of<br />
the truck’s 360hp. The grin on his face, though, revealed that he was just having fun<br />
showing off his toy.<br />
- Joseph Dowd<br />
Provided<br />
by Joseph Dowd<br />
Provided d by Joseph Dowd<br />
Memorable Moments 28
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
friend:<br />
one who is there for you when<br />
you need him<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has got to be one of the most affable and friendly professors I’ve ever had. My<br />
most memorable experiences with him joined two of my (and apparently, his) favorite<br />
pastimes: good conversation and good beer. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has excellent taste in beer, and I<br />
can think of numerous occasions where we sat around together waxing philosophic on<br />
music, sports, and (of course) engineering while enjoying some great pints of brew. And<br />
as a sort of surrogate dad, he was always giving us much-needed advice too:<br />
academics, careers, cars, you name it.<br />
- Andrew Stam<br />
Although I have had the<br />
pleasure of working with <strong>Karl</strong> on<br />
a number of research projects<br />
over the years, my best<br />
memories are probably<br />
spending time with him away<br />
from work. We’ve had several<br />
great experiences that revolved<br />
around music. Listening to<br />
Doyle Bramhall at Symphony<br />
Square the night of my PhD<br />
defense with <strong>Karl</strong>, Jeanne, and<br />
my wife Karen is a great<br />
memory. Being one of (what<br />
seemed like) four people along<br />
with <strong>Karl</strong> and Jeanne that<br />
stayed around to watch Doyle’s<br />
show at “Beams, BBQ and<br />
Blues” 15 years later was fitting<br />
– there’s nothing like a personal<br />
show. Organizing the music for<br />
the event with <strong>Karl</strong> was a lot of<br />
fun. Another great music<br />
memory was shooting pool at<br />
Buddy Guy’s Legend’s Club in<br />
Chicago with <strong>Karl</strong> and Robert<br />
Dexter.<br />
- <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Provided by Omar Espinoza<br />
Provided by FSEL<br />
Memorable Moments 29
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was always very supportive of his students at FSEL. Prior to my<br />
leaving Austin to work in Raleigh, NC, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> and his wife came out to<br />
cheer me on (a sign included!) at the 2005 Capitol of Texas Triathlon.<br />
- Dave Lubitz<br />
h Florea<br />
Provided by Micah<br />
I studied as a Ph.D. student under Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s supervising from 2001 to 2006.<br />
These five years gave me a lot of memorable experiences. When I close my<br />
eyes, I can still see the days when we drove around Austin suburbs to<br />
investigate the off-system bridges, when we built the first high temperature<br />
steel connect test rig, when we bought the digital camera and programmed in<br />
LabVIEW to track target, and when we stood on 183 mounting accelerometers<br />
and strain gages to the overhead sign bridge. I know these memories will stay<br />
with me all my life and they will be passed on to my kids as stories.<br />
What I got from Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> in these 5 years is not only his advice on my study,<br />
but also his support to my life. When we did not get the funding for the study of<br />
bolted connections under fire in 2003, I lost my way to support myself in the<br />
school. It is Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> who helped me get TA, grader, and computer lab<br />
technician positions, which covered my tuition. I have to say without his help, I<br />
could not finish my degree.<br />
- Liang Yu<br />
Memorable Moments 30
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
life·of·the·par·ty:<br />
the one who makes any event memorable<br />
One of the most memorable experiences I had with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was one of the first<br />
moments I had with him. It was at the Welcome BBQ and we were standing outside<br />
near the shade. I was talking with his wife when he walked over and proudly<br />
introduced me as a fellow Lehigh alum. Next thing I know, he was giving g me a hard<br />
time because I was drinking a bottle of water and not beer. When I told him that I<br />
am not a big fan of beer, he asked me if I was sure I had gone to Lehigh… so much<br />
for a good start.<br />
- Anthony Battistini<br />
Samaras<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> always hogging<br />
the kegs at social functions.<br />
- Omar Espinoza<br />
Provided by Vasilis<br />
Provided by Vasilis Samaras<br />
I planned a raging kegger<br />
at my place for, among<br />
other things, a<br />
celebration of the second<br />
big test on our bridge. Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> and Mrs. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
joined us for a good hour<br />
plus on their way home<br />
from a show downtown.<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> made that<br />
party for a lot of our<br />
friends. I hope he and<br />
Mrs. <strong>Frank</strong> had fun too!<br />
- Bryce Neuman<br />
Memorable Moments 31
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
There is one memory that, for whatever reason, really stuck with me. I was attending the<br />
fall barbeque at the lab where the new graduate students were being introduced, and I<br />
brought along my girlfriend, Anna. I introduced Anna to Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, and really did not<br />
expect much more than a, “It’s nice to meet you,” and perhaps a bit of pedestrian small<br />
talk. Instead, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, perhaps after hearing me talk about her so frequently over the<br />
summer, showed a real interest in what she was studying and carried on a nice<br />
conversation with her. I was shocked to see that he cared to spend that much time talking<br />
with the girlfriend of a graduate student who really had not spent much time doing<br />
research with him at this point. In many ways, despite my work at <strong>Ferguson</strong> as an<br />
undergraduate student, I still felt new to the program in many ways, and certainly not<br />
important enough to warrant such attention to that aspect of my life.<br />
This moment characterizes much about the way Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has managed his graduate<br />
students, and a reason why I respect him so much. He has always encouraged us to do<br />
what is necessary for research, and to do it well, but also to develop as a whole, taking<br />
interest in our lives apart from academics. Working for someone who cares for his<br />
employees in this way has been a great joy and privilege.<br />
- James Kleineck<br />
Provided by Omar Espin noza<br />
When I look back at my time at UT, some of my fondest memories are not from the<br />
classroom or lab floor, but rather the BBQs at the lab, the flag football and softball games,<br />
and just hanging out with the other graduate students and faculty members in a nonacademic<br />
atmosphere. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was not only hands on when it came to research, but he<br />
also ran many of the social events at FSEL. I certainly cannot imagine my time at UT<br />
without those things, and I cannot imagine what my time at UT would have been like<br />
without Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>.<br />
- James Sutton<br />
Memorable Moments 32
Chapter 3: Most Memorable Project<br />
What is the most memorable project<br />
you have worked on
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
“There are too many [memorable projects] to<br />
mention, extending to six continents.”<br />
Sports Arenas<br />
-Nicolas Cocavessis<br />
A testimony to Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s obvious impact on the world<br />
Provided<br />
by Blake Marvin<br />
Dallas Cowboy Stadium<br />
The most memorable project I have had the privilege to be a part of since graduating<br />
from UT is the new Cowboys Stadium. I was a primary design engineer for the roof<br />
structure that includes twin quarter-mile long arch trusses, making it the longest roof<br />
span in the world.<br />
- Joseph Dowd<br />
The Sprint Center Arena is<br />
a multipurpose arena in<br />
downtown Kansas City<br />
featuring 333ft-long steel<br />
trusses.<br />
- Ben Cheplak<br />
ed by Ben Cheplak<br />
Sprint Center Arena<br />
Provid<br />
Most Memorable Project 34
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Bridges<br />
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas<br />
by Santiago Calatrava.<br />
- Heather Gilmer<br />
Provided by He eather Gilmer<br />
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas<br />
vided by Marcel Poser<br />
Prov<br />
Construction of Serreria Bridge in Valencia<br />
(Spain), designed by engineer and architect<br />
Santiago Calatrava.<br />
- Marcel Poser<br />
I-70 Mississippi River Bridge in St. Louis<br />
Provide ed by Joseph Spadea<br />
Following graduation from UT Austin, I sought employment at Modjeski and Masters. Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> also used to work there (a long, long time ago). Nearly a month after starting as a<br />
green engineer, I was assigned to assist in the design of the First Proposed I-70<br />
Mississippi River Bridge in St. Louis – a 12-lane cable-stayed bridge design featuring a<br />
2000-ft main span.<br />
- Joe Spadea<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
35
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
My most memorable project is probably a TxDOT research implementation project we<br />
did a few years ago on lean-on bracing. There were a number of reasons it was<br />
memorable.<br />
Getting to spend a lot of quality time with an excellent group of students<br />
t<br />
instrumenting the bridge in Lubbock was a great experience (mainly due to the company<br />
and not the location). However, the main reason the project was memorable was the<br />
anxiety associated with wondering what would happen to my career if the bridge<br />
collapsed during concrete placement because we had removed too many braces.<br />
- <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
19 th Street Bridge in Lubbock, Texas<br />
Fracture Critical Tub Girder Project<br />
I left Texas / TxDOT before the Fracture critical tub girder project was complete, but it<br />
was a remarkably unique and definitive work demonstrating the robustness of steel<br />
girder bridges. The original plan was to blow the bottom flange in the field (Interstate 10<br />
in Houston just north of the Galleria, average daily traffic in that area is about 250k), but<br />
the contractor told me that he, “didn’t want some crazy professor and his students<br />
blowing up bridges on his project.” So we brought the girders back and Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> blew<br />
them at FSEL.<br />
- Ronnie Medlock<br />
Offshore Applications<br />
My most memorable project involved being the Liftech project engineer overseeing the<br />
structural review of ten container cranes for the Port of Oakland. On a concurrent<br />
project, I was the design engineer for the 3000 ft long wharf that the cranes operate on.<br />
<strong>To</strong> be involved with the Port on the two projects made the whole experience more<br />
rewarding.<br />
Continued on next page<br />
Provided by <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
36
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Continued from previous page<br />
For me, the crane project was more memorable because I travelled to Shanghai on<br />
multiple occasions to perform fabrication and seafastening review of the cranes, and I<br />
made several boat rides out to the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate the arrival of multiple<br />
crane deliveries. I enjoyed my trips to China because I was able to experience a very<br />
different land, see amazing construction facilities, and to interact with people of a very<br />
interesting culture. After the initial crane deliveries, I visited the wharf as construction<br />
progressed, which gave me the opportunity to spend time on the wharf and the cranes.<br />
- Erik Soderberg<br />
Provided by Andrew Sc chuh<br />
Crane working on 3000’ long warf<br />
Crane working on 3000’ long warf<br />
rberg<br />
Provided by Erik Sode<br />
Chevron’s Tahiti offshore platform in the Gulf of<br />
Mexico. Floating spar hull supporting a 20,000<br />
ton topsides facility and the capability to produce<br />
125,000 barrels of oil and 70 million cubic feet of<br />
natural gas per day.<br />
- Andrew Schuh<br />
Prov vided by Farrel Zwerne eman<br />
Deck for drilling and production spar<br />
My most memorable post-graduation project is<br />
the design of a deck for a drilling and production<br />
offshore spar.<br />
I was project manager for the<br />
structural portion of the work. The multiple deck<br />
lifts were among the biggest in the Gulf of<br />
Mexico. The engineering and design staff for the<br />
deck structure peaked at about 30, but there<br />
were hundreds of people at multiple companies<br />
involved in the design of the overall facility.<br />
- Farrel Zwerneman<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
37
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Office Buildings<br />
ngs<br />
Provided by <strong>Karl</strong> Penni<br />
Trump <strong>To</strong>wer in Chicago<br />
While working at SOM, I was<br />
responsible for the design of<br />
the lateral system for the<br />
Trump <strong>To</strong>wer in Chicago.<br />
The building is a 92-story<br />
reinforced concrete structure<br />
with a core and outrigger<br />
lateral system.<br />
- <strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
A five-story concrete and<br />
steel office-retail building<br />
in Ft. Worth, TX was my<br />
most memorable project.<br />
It was my first major<br />
project that I completed<br />
with little assistance<br />
including design,<br />
construction<br />
administration and<br />
project management.<br />
- Omar Espinoza<br />
Provided by Om mar Espinoza<br />
Other Applications<br />
Six Story Concrete and Steel Office-Retail Building<br />
In my engineering career – it was the post-Northridge earthquake building<br />
inspections (days immediately after the initial quake). This was real transmission of<br />
engineering knowledge to people who were afraid and in need of information from<br />
the assessment of their residences / offices.<br />
- Susanne Gealy<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
38
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
One unique and memorable project<br />
involved the installation of driven<br />
steel sheet piles to protect the<br />
foundations of a self-supporting steel<br />
lattice transmission line tower that<br />
was being compromised by the<br />
Guadalupe River near Seguin,<br />
Texas. Floating barges were<br />
installed across the river to provide<br />
equipment and personnel access to<br />
the tower site.<br />
- Mitch Currah<br />
Foundation of Steel Lattice Transmission Line<br />
Provided by Mitc ch Currah<br />
Provid ded by Chris Gilchrist<br />
Green Eggs and Ham<br />
After graduating, one of my first<br />
projects at Walter P. Moore was<br />
working on Seuss Landing, the Dr.<br />
Seuss-themed park at Universal<br />
Orlando. There isn’t a straight column<br />
or beam in the entire place. The first<br />
structure I helped design was the ham<br />
from Green Eggs and Ham.<br />
Eventually, I switched to studying<br />
mechanics at much smaller length<br />
scales (i.e. within living cells and<br />
tissues).<br />
- Chris Gilchrist<br />
Pro ovided by Chris Gilchris st<br />
Second Helping<br />
Living Cells and Tissues<br />
ided by Chris Gilchrist<br />
Provi<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
39
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by Liang<br />
Yu<br />
Flexible Reinforced Pipe<br />
After I graduated in 2006,<br />
I joined the oil and gas<br />
industry in Houston. I<br />
started as a structural<br />
engineer, analyzing and<br />
monitoring deepwater riser<br />
systems in multi offshore<br />
areas including Gulf of<br />
Mexico, West Africa and<br />
South East tAsia. Then I<br />
moved into the design and<br />
manufacture of flexible<br />
fiber reinforced pipes for<br />
offshore oil and gas<br />
transportation.<br />
- Liang Yu<br />
Lightbox<br />
My most memorable project to date has been designing the lightbox superstructure<br />
surmounting the City Creek project in Salt Lake City, Utah. The steel superstructure<br />
was extremely intricate, perched on top of a 30-story tower in a high seismic zone, and<br />
it supported a large, mobile roof crane for exterior building access. The unique<br />
geometry and supported equipment required numerous custom-designed connections<br />
and a detailed account of the load path. I drew heavily upon knowledge gained from my<br />
research under Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> to design the structure.<br />
- Joshua Mouras<br />
oser<br />
Provid ded by Immin Chung P<br />
“Muse de Piano”<br />
My most memorable<br />
project was the<br />
concert tour in<br />
Europe with “Muse de<br />
Piano;” a group of<br />
four pianists, playing<br />
on two pianos with<br />
eight hands.<br />
- Immin Chung Poser<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
40
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Union Square Ice Skating Rink<br />
ce Neuman<br />
Provided by Bryc<br />
This winter was only the second since the ice skating rink was put in Union Square.<br />
The rink requires some heavy refrigeration equipment, which they need to park on<br />
the ramp into the five level parking garage beneath the plaza. Last year, someone<br />
improvised spreaders beneath the load. This year, they hired us to check it out. It was<br />
a quick and unremarkable evaluation, but we decided we agreed: the spreaders were<br />
a good idea.<br />
- Bryce Neuman<br />
Most Memorable Project<br />
41
Chapter 4: Career Influence<br />
How has Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> influenced<br />
your career
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
He taught me a lot about steel design as well as good research practice. He helped me<br />
to see the value in interpersonal relationships as well as number crunching. He also<br />
helped me to realize that someone with the first name of <strong>Karl</strong> could be a successful<br />
structural engineer.<br />
- <strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
My time spent working with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
provided me with a much better<br />
understanding of the serious<br />
responsibilities that come with being a<br />
Civil Engineer. His guidance during my<br />
college days gave me the ability and<br />
confidence to address these<br />
responsibilities. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, to this day, is<br />
always available to provide his expert<br />
advice whenever I need it.<br />
- Mitch Currah<br />
by Mitch Currah<br />
Provided<br />
<strong>Karl</strong> was my adviser for both my MS and PhD. He<br />
was the professor in three courses I completed<br />
while at UT. Most of what I do now is based on<br />
what I learned then. Immediately after graduation,<br />
the research I conducted at Oklahoma State was a<br />
continuation of my graduate research.<br />
- Farrel Zwerneman<br />
Provided by FSE EL<br />
He’s provided me with invaluable perspective p on<br />
the industry. How it operates. What to expect.<br />
Real world applications – the type of stuff that can’t<br />
be taught from a textbook.<br />
- Joe Spadea<br />
In many important ways: He set<br />
demanding and high expectations that I<br />
strive to live up to. He is readily available<br />
to discuss and help with steel bridge<br />
performance, manufacturing, or material<br />
problems. As he grew from professor to<br />
mentor and friend, he helped me see that<br />
you could work well and effectively and<br />
also have fun along the way.<br />
- Ronnie Medlock<br />
Provided d by Ronnie Medlock<br />
Career Influence 43
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
I remember one Friday afternoon at<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab when Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> sought out<br />
Marcel Poser (my research partner) and<br />
me to check on our progress. Being two<br />
young motivated graduate students eager<br />
to impress our superior, we outlined what<br />
we had done and what we were going to<br />
do over the weekend to have ready for the<br />
following Monday. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> took it all in,<br />
said it sounded d like a good plan, but that<br />
t<br />
we should remember to “take it easy” over<br />
the weekend and take time for ourselves.<br />
Basically, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> taught me to take it<br />
easy. Regardless of how much there is to<br />
do professionally, take some time to enjoy<br />
other activities.<br />
-Joseph Dowd<br />
Dave Lubitz and Travis Richards at the Gates Project<br />
(New York City)<br />
Provided by Mic cah Florea<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> challenged me to take the more difficult path, no matter the consequences.<br />
It is something I practice and likewise urge colleagues and my children, students at<br />
UT, to do.<br />
- Nicolas Cocavessis<br />
“Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s success in the<br />
steel industry has encouraged<br />
me to follow a similar path.”<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has been an excellent<br />
testament to the old saying, “In<br />
engineering, the simplest solution is<br />
the best solution.” He has been quick<br />
to take my sometimes overly<br />
complicated ideas and help me<br />
narrow them down to a much more<br />
appropriate and practical way of<br />
approaching a problem—be that in<br />
presentations or applications. This is<br />
a lesson that I will carry forward into<br />
practice (and I expect that many other<br />
engineers will be happy for me to<br />
have learned it prior to the start of my<br />
career).<br />
- James Kleineck<br />
I hope to teach and influence<br />
other students as he has, and<br />
conduct useful research to benefit<br />
the structural engineering field.<br />
- Anthony Battistini<br />
rovided by James Klein neck<br />
Pr<br />
Career Influence 44
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
The thing I remember most<br />
about Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was his interest<br />
in, and dedication to, his<br />
profession and field of study.<br />
His interest in solving real<br />
problems facing the profession<br />
and to making a difference in<br />
the field have always been an<br />
example for me, regardless of<br />
changes in my career path.<br />
- Chris Gilchrist<br />
Provided by<br />
Chris Gilchrist<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> provided me the opportunity to work on the I-35W bridge collapse. I<br />
completed a 3-D finite element model of the structure at the time of collapse and<br />
varied the boundary conditions and possible failure mechanisms to determine the<br />
immediate behavior after collapse. This was an exciting project to work on and I<br />
greatly appreciated the opportunity.<br />
- Jason Stith<br />
He demanded from me a higher level of thinking and quality of<br />
work that others in my career prior to my studies at UT had<br />
not. There is no doubt I am a better engineer and classroom<br />
instructor because of him. The most notable example of <strong>Karl</strong>’s<br />
non-compromising attitude about quality of work is my<br />
dissertation. After working on my PhD at UT for five years I<br />
had prepared what I thought was an acceptable dissertation<br />
based on the research I had conducted the previous three<br />
years. <strong>Karl</strong> disagreed completely – he thought I had prepared<br />
a satisfactory final report for our project but it was certainly not<br />
up to the standards of a UT dissertation. He told me that I had<br />
at least three to six months of work ahead of me to produce<br />
work worthy of publishing in a PhD dissertation. This was the<br />
last thing I wanted to hear and left without finishing my<br />
dissertation to go to work. After two years of being angry I<br />
decided there was no way I was going to waste five years of<br />
work and decided I would do whatever was necessary to finish<br />
my dissertation. I spent the next year doing just that and<br />
produced a dissertation that I am proud of and that met <strong>Karl</strong>’s<br />
expectations. I am not ashamed to admit that <strong>Karl</strong> was<br />
absolutely right in doing what he did.<br />
- Terry Kohutek<br />
“There is no<br />
question that<br />
<strong>Karl</strong><br />
influenced my<br />
career by<br />
changing the<br />
way I<br />
approach and<br />
evaluate<br />
problems as<br />
an engineer<br />
and faculty<br />
member.”<br />
Career Influence 45
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Immin likes fast cars even en more<br />
after having been to Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s<br />
garage - the picture with Immin<br />
driving the Ferrari speaks for<br />
itself…<br />
He got me into stay cables when I<br />
started grad school and ever since<br />
I remained with these cables…<br />
-Marcel Poser<br />
Now let’s race Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>…Ready, set, go!<br />
Provided by Imm min Chung Poser<br />
He has certainly convinced me to take more steel than concrete classes.<br />
- Stephen Pool<br />
During my master’s degree, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> provided a tremendous amount of help on my<br />
research, despite not specifically being on my project. This impressed me a lot,<br />
highlighting the team environment that makes FSEL so successful and a fun place to<br />
work, and has influenced me to help out on many projects around the lab. His technical<br />
knowledge is so vast that he could help out on almost any project (even those silly<br />
concrete projects!). Yet another key quality was his ability to create an upbeat, relaxed<br />
environment, in which complex work could be performed and enjoyed. I have found this<br />
type of environment to be the most productive and hope to take this quality into the next<br />
phase of my career, as I develop my technical knowledge.<br />
- Jeremiah Fasl<br />
Provided d by Amy Barrett<br />
My career has been very short, but<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> definitely helped to start it<br />
by giving me the opportunity to work<br />
on a research project. Employers<br />
showed a lot of interest t in the project<br />
when I was interviewing for a job.<br />
When I needed references, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
was happy to speak with employers<br />
and I think his recommendation went<br />
a long way in helping me find a job.<br />
- Amy Barrett<br />
Career Influence 46
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by Joshua Mouras<br />
I was hired by my project<br />
director, so my thesis<br />
project with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> led<br />
directly to the career I have<br />
now, and why I am on the<br />
materials/fabrication/<br />
construction side of things<br />
rather than the design side<br />
of things. I continue to rely<br />
on his technical knowledge,<br />
but it’s his practical side<br />
and grip on reality beyond<br />
the theory that most<br />
influence the kind of<br />
engineer I am trying to be.<br />
- Heather Gilmer<br />
Countless ways: I started out as an undergraduate research assistant on the “charpy<br />
project” – how many thousands did I produce! Then onward to master’s graduate<br />
student on the charpy project working for Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> - 1990. Loma Prieta gave me the<br />
opportunity to apply UT’s leadership in seismic earthquake design research and<br />
coursework to career opportunities in San Francisco. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> helped me personally by<br />
getting me set up temporarily in his mother’s home outside of San Francisco until I could<br />
find a place to rent and get on my feet living in a new state at the beginning of my career.<br />
Thank you!<br />
When a lifetime career in engineering didn’t seem to be my calling, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> wrote<br />
references for me for business school. I’ve had a career in New York since graduating<br />
from the University of Chicago and moved back to Austin just a year ago. I appreciate his<br />
support in this transition, the switch was right for me. And now it seems that I am<br />
responsible for Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s pension as a portfolio manager with the Teacher Retirement<br />
System of Texas. So I am back to working for Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> again!<br />
- Susanne Gealy<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> gave me a relatively free hand for my research, helping me to develop<br />
independent management skills to assemble the tools I needed and get my work done<br />
on time. He also encouraged pro-active problem solving; whenever I came to him with a<br />
question he would turn it around and ask me what ideas I had to answer the question.<br />
“He always encouraged his students to find their own<br />
solutions, which he would build upon, rather than<br />
simply doling out answers to us. ”<br />
- Joshua Mouras<br />
Career Influence 47
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by Ronnie Medlock<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> taught me so much about figuring things<br />
out. In my experiences with his classes and our<br />
research I was always pushed to go do the research<br />
myself. It has been a valuable tool in industry where<br />
there are so many things to learn, both related and<br />
unrelated to my discipline. I hit the ground running on<br />
my research project, in fact the project had already<br />
started before I arrived in Austin, so I had to learn as I<br />
went. That really helped me prepare p for a job in<br />
consulting where it is rare that you take a project from<br />
start to finish.<br />
- Geoff McDonald<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> taught me how to quickly break down complex engineering problems and to<br />
determine effective ways of communicating their results.<br />
- Ben Cheplak<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> saved me countless hours in the lab by offering great<br />
advice based on his experience. His recommendations on<br />
experimental methods and laboratory operations were<br />
invaluable. Also, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> met with me each week in our<br />
weekly research meeting highlighting how accessible he made<br />
himself to students. What a great example he has been for<br />
those of us who hope to continue their careers in academia.<br />
- Craig Quadrato<br />
“Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
saved me<br />
countless<br />
hours in the<br />
lab.”<br />
Provided by<br />
FSEL<br />
Before I left UT this<br />
past summer, Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong> was my career.<br />
That hasn't entirely<br />
faded, yet.<br />
- Bryce Neuman<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> taught me the value of questioning and rationalizing solutions. This continues<br />
to help me learn and develop the technical side of my career.<br />
- Andrew Schuh<br />
Career Influence 48
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provide ed by <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
<strong>Karl</strong>’s influence on my career goes well beyond supervising my PhD work. His influence<br />
on me actually started before my doctoral studies when I went through a period of my life<br />
where I was confused and worked for the Dark Side on ‘the material that must not be<br />
named.’ The research included cyclic loading of post-tensioned beams. We had lengthy<br />
delays on the project due to problems with the closed loop hydraulic system. Even<br />
though he had no ties to the project, <strong>Karl</strong> spent several hours working to solve the<br />
problems with the closed loop system. Being somewhat of a self-centered graduate<br />
student, my initial focus in working with <strong>Karl</strong> (actually all I did was stand around and<br />
watch him work) was simply py to get the system fixed so I could get on with my research .<br />
The more we worked on getting the problem solved, the more I appreciated his<br />
dedication and unselfish nature. Over the months that followed I began to notice that<br />
<strong>Karl</strong> provided assistance on several projects of which he was not one of the supervisors.<br />
“While it didn’t catch on at the time, I think he is still<br />
holding out hope that pink socks and a pink shirt will<br />
begin to make its way into football fashion.”<br />
Since I wanted to get experience in the steel area<br />
for my PhD, I was very pleased to get the<br />
opportunity to work with <strong>Karl</strong> when he had a<br />
research project focused on bracing of steel bridge<br />
girders by metal deck forms. <strong>Karl</strong> is the strongest<br />
and most well-rounded researcher that I have<br />
encountered and I was pleased to have the<br />
opportunity to learn from him. During my PhD<br />
work, <strong>Karl</strong> generously allowed me the opportunity<br />
to work on a number of side studies that exposed<br />
me to a wide variety of problems. The exposure to<br />
these problems made me much more well-rounded<br />
and better prepared me for entering my first<br />
academic position.<br />
I also find that I try to emulate <strong>Karl</strong>’s approach to<br />
student supervision. <strong>Karl</strong> has a very “hands-on”<br />
approach towards research. He really enjoys<br />
getting out in the lab or going out in the field to<br />
work with students and I find that I have adopted<br />
that same approach.<br />
While <strong>Karl</strong>’s unselfish nature and approach towards research have had a dramatic effect<br />
on my career, his approach towards fashion has also impacted me deeply. Perhaps it<br />
isn’t really his approach towards fashion, insomuch as his bold attitude and lack of fear<br />
of fbeing a fashion pioneer.<br />
- <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Career Influence 49
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
In addition to being very supportive while<br />
I was attending the University of Texas,<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has helped me throughout my<br />
career by providing me with technical<br />
advice on a variety of topics. The most<br />
significant influence was the advice on<br />
what job to take coming out of school.<br />
- Erik Soderberg<br />
Provided by Erik Soderberg<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> influenced my career in pushing and teaching the boundaries of practical<br />
engineering. He did an excellent job at providing a theoretical understanding of<br />
engineering, but then turning that information in practical real-world applications. His<br />
guidance on my research project was a major influence on my strong problem-solving<br />
li<br />
and time management skills.<br />
- Omar Espinoza<br />
therine Hovell<br />
Provided by Cat<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has had a great influence<br />
on my engineering career. It was<br />
during my time working with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
at UT that I realized I wanted to<br />
branch off into bridge engineering,<br />
and it was Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> that encouraged<br />
me to apply for and accept my current<br />
job at Modjeski and Masters.<br />
Modjeski and Masters has been a<br />
wonderful fit for me, and although I<br />
only have a few years of experience<br />
under my belt, I have already worked<br />
on many interesting projects that<br />
have allowed me to apply the skills<br />
that I learned at UT.<br />
- James Sutton<br />
An important skill I learned (and am still learning) from Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> is the great value of<br />
engineering intuition. Engineers call it “getting a feel for things.” Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has worked<br />
long enough in the fields of structural engineering and academic research that he just<br />
knows when something doesn’t look right, be it a loading frame in a test setup or the<br />
complex output from an FE model. I want to come to the point where I can do that too.<br />
Just the same, I’m learning more and more how important it is to trust my own gut<br />
intuition, even if it is relatively undeveloped. In our day, with major advances in computeraided<br />
analysis and design, it is all the more important that engineers make use of their<br />
intuition to judge and examine the design output from computers.<br />
-Andrew Stam<br />
Career Influence 50
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided d by Liang Yu<br />
The most valuable knowledge that I<br />
learned from Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> during the five<br />
years work and study at <strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab is<br />
how to apply basic engineering principles<br />
to solve problems in reality. That is build<br />
up the model, design the test, analyze<br />
test results, and calibrate the model. I<br />
found this to be the most useful guidance<br />
when I entered the oil and gas industry,<br />
which is quite different from traditional<br />
civil engineering. With the experiences in<br />
<strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, I found<br />
myself very confident in facing the challenges that I have not seen from textbooks<br />
before. Thanks to the advice from Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, I had a quite good start on my career.<br />
- Liang Yu<br />
Provided d by Vasilis Samaras<br />
y Vasilis Samaras<br />
Provided by<br />
Career Influence 51
Chapter 5: Useful or Funny Advice<br />
What is the most useful/funny advice<br />
that Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has given you
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Encouraging me (at 5’-6”, 135lb) to join the<br />
UT-Austin Rugby team.<br />
- Ben Cheplak<br />
<strong>To</strong> sum up my experience with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, I<br />
just really enjoyed working with him on a<br />
personal level. I never told him this, but he<br />
was like a “cool uncle” to me during my time<br />
at UT. “Cool Uncle <strong>Karl</strong>” taught me a lot<br />
about structural engineering, but also a lot of<br />
other random things that I consider just as<br />
valuable.<br />
- Joseph Dowd<br />
rovided by Ronnie Med dlock<br />
Pr<br />
Provided by Oma ar Espinoza<br />
Students tailgating before UT football game (2006)<br />
Most useful advice given by Dr.<br />
<strong>Frank</strong>: don’t bet against UT<br />
athletics.<br />
- Omar Espinoza<br />
“I don’t like Orlando. I think Disney<br />
World is just kiddie Vegas.”<br />
- Jason Stith<br />
In a research meeting, we were discussing an upcoming trip to Lubbock and the<br />
excitement that generally entails adventuring to a new place. All of the grad students<br />
were eager for the chance to get out of the lab, work in the field, and visit an exciting<br />
place. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> ruined that for us when he started smirking and reminded us of the<br />
lyrics from a Mac Davis song: “happiness is<br />
Lubbock in your rearview mirror.” Though<br />
the first few trips were fun, the words developed<br />
into true sentiment after months of 6-hour road<br />
trips, dealing with unpredictable weather (i.e.<br />
storms that dropped 18-in. of water/hail into the<br />
jobsite in a two hour period), and the general lull<br />
of the city (though the food and company was<br />
always nice).<br />
- Jeremiah Fasl<br />
Pro ovided by Jeremiah Fas sl<br />
Postcard for Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> after he “skipped” out on<br />
Lubbock field study<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 53
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
The most useful advice that Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has given me was on how to choose a future<br />
employer – something I’m still very much grateful for to this day. Nothing funny (well,<br />
maybe the pink socks that he used to wear for the annual senior/freshman lab football<br />
game).<br />
- Joe Spadea<br />
Provided by FSEL<br />
Provided by Ronnie Medlock<br />
1993 First-years vs. Old-timers Football Challenge<br />
I do not remember any advice <strong>Karl</strong> may have offered me – it’s just been too many years<br />
ago. However, the way he conducted himself as a faculty member set some examples I<br />
try to follow. These include:<br />
• Take your work seriously and always conduct<br />
yourself in a professional manner.<br />
• Be confident in your abilities and speak up when you<br />
disagree with others.<br />
• Know when to stop talking.<br />
• Do not use “weasel” words in verbal or written<br />
communications.<br />
• If you are going to teach at the highest level you<br />
must have the same level of understanding of the<br />
fundamental principles of those who write the codes<br />
and specifications.<br />
• Some of the most significant results in research<br />
come from what might at first seem to be a failed<br />
experiment.<br />
- Terry Kohutek<br />
If at first you don’t succeed, use a bigger explosive.<br />
- Joshua Mouras<br />
Neatness is a sign of a sick mind.<br />
- Nicolas Cocavessis<br />
Don't post too much information about yourself on Facebook.<br />
- Bryce Neuman<br />
Provided d by Joshua Mouras<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 54
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Project meeting with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> and Dr.<br />
Wood:<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>: “Do you already have a<br />
girlfriend in Austin”<br />
Marcel Poser: “Yes, a girl doing her<br />
doctoral in Piano performance at<br />
UT.”<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>: “A pianist, are you really<br />
sure about this… we need to talk<br />
about this…”<br />
Dr. Wood: “How do you meet a<br />
pianist”<br />
Marcel Poser: “Well, socializing…”<br />
One year later, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was on Immin’s<br />
committee for her doctoral degree in piano<br />
performance.<br />
- Marcel Poser<br />
r<br />
r & Immin-Chung Poser<br />
Pro ovided by Marcel Poser<br />
Provide ed by Micah Florea<br />
Dave Lubitz, Micah Florea, & Travis Richards<br />
During one of our weekly Maglev<br />
guideway project meetings, I was in the<br />
process of going through a rather<br />
extensive list of detailed questions I had<br />
for Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> when he politely interrupted<br />
to say, “Travis, you need to start thinking<br />
for yourself.” The feedback was simple<br />
and well deserved. Five years later, it is<br />
still the most honest and helpful<br />
constructive criticism I have ever received.<br />
Thanks Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>.<br />
- Travis Richards<br />
Through all these years Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> gave me a lot of<br />
advice. The funniest one is when he was trying to<br />
correct my accent of the word “garden-hut.” Coming<br />
from Greece, it didn’t make any difference to me the<br />
pronunciation of the words hat and hut. So, his advice<br />
to correct the way I was pronouncing the word “hut” was<br />
to try to “bring” the first syllable deep from my throat like<br />
I was angry. That was very funny for me, because I was<br />
never able to pronounce it correctly, and he was always<br />
trying to correct me.<br />
- Vasilis Samaras<br />
by Vasilis Samaras<br />
Provided<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 55
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
When deciding where to work, I had several<br />
offers including a very strong offer from a<br />
company in Houston and a very good offer<br />
from Liftech Consultants, in Oakland<br />
California. Due to the cost of housing, taking<br />
the offer in Houston would have allowed me<br />
to immediately buy a house and was<br />
favorable in some other ways. However I<br />
wasn’t sure I would like Houston, while I knew<br />
I would like the Bay Area. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> advised<br />
that working for a good company for good pay<br />
in a place I may not like may result in a<br />
difficult dilemma, so I accepted the offer in<br />
California. In hindsight, I believe this was a<br />
great decision for me as I am happy with my<br />
career and life.<br />
- Erik Soderberg<br />
Due to the 2007 “incident,” Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> must be<br />
closely watched during the annual golf<br />
tournament, as evident in two tournament<br />
directors playing with him in 2009.<br />
Provided by Jeremia ah Fasl<br />
Never rely only on computer output. Be able to explain the results that it gives you.<br />
- <strong>Karl</strong> Pennings<br />
“This isn’t a high school literature<br />
paper. Cut out the hand waving<br />
and present the results.”<br />
I’ve used this advice in all<br />
of my technical writing and<br />
design reports since.<br />
- Andrew Schuh<br />
Finish your dissertation before you start a job. I didn’t quite make it, but it’s still<br />
excellent advice.<br />
- Farrel Zwerneman<br />
Provide ed by Jeremiah Fasl<br />
When playing spades, do not try to<br />
save the spade King to the last<br />
hand, because the spade Ace will<br />
very likely be there too.<br />
-Liang Yu<br />
Don’t jump to the conclusion that<br />
the most obvious solution to a<br />
problem is the correct one. Be<br />
sure to consider all of the evidence<br />
available and keep an open mind.<br />
- Mitch Currah<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 56
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Whenever the goal for a project was clear, but maybe nobody knew<br />
yet how to get there, the meetings were closed with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s<br />
statement “ok then, make it so. ” Now I am in the comfortable<br />
situation to end meetings with the “make it so” statement towards<br />
my staff and surprisingly, people do make it work or with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s<br />
words, “make it so.”<br />
- Marcel Poser<br />
“Ok then,<br />
make it<br />
so.”<br />
Provided by FSEL<br />
ASCE Structures Congress 2009 Conference Dinner at FSEL<br />
The most useful has been his advice on Austin’s various “bests” such as best burger,<br />
best music venues, best bands, best place to drink a beer…this guy could seriously<br />
write a book. Our meetings rarely lasted under an hour and a half, though we usually<br />
only talked about project related topics for 15 minutes.<br />
- Stephen Pool<br />
Provided d by Amy Barrett<br />
Ican’t think of any specific bits of wisdom I gleaned<br />
from Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, but that isn’t to say I learned little<br />
from him. I think the most important thing I took<br />
from my time with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was how to approach<br />
problems, be them engineering, or for that matter,<br />
life problems.<br />
When presented with any sort of dilemma or<br />
obstacle in the laboratory, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s tried-and-true<br />
method of analysis was to take a step back, gulp a<br />
swig of coffee, and get a big picture view of the<br />
whole situation. He was rarely hasty or narrowsighted<br />
in his thought-process, and usually devised<br />
an out-of-the-box solution that we hadn’t even<br />
remotely considered. <strong>To</strong> this day, I try to emulate his<br />
thoughtfulness and calm deliberation when<br />
presented with whatever problems I face.<br />
- Andrew Stam<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 57
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Any student that has come through the lab is aware of <strong>Karl</strong>’s skills at fixing cars.<br />
Because of this mechanical knowledge, he is always a good person to ask for advice on<br />
how to fix an automotive problem. Early on in my PhD studies, I was experiencing some<br />
difficulties with our 1986 Honda Accord. In the spring of 1991, the car developed a<br />
major water leak causing the floorboard to be covered with standing water in even a<br />
relatively minor rain storm. Since the lab is such a large open space, one evening I<br />
pulled the Honda in and started to remove the interior of the car including the seats,<br />
carpet, and center console to dry out the car and to facilitate finding the leak. As I was<br />
removing the interior, <strong>Karl</strong> came by and imparted his sage advice on how to fix the<br />
problem. Years earlier, his father had the same problem with his car, so <strong>Karl</strong> was familiar<br />
with the difficulties in locating and fixing leaks. While his advice was highly technical and<br />
required significant specialty tools, I thought there was probably a more efficient way to<br />
locate the leak and to fix the problem.<br />
Provided by <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
<strong>To</strong>dd Helwig, <strong>Karl</strong> <strong>Frank</strong>, and Erik <strong>Frank</strong><br />
Therefore I proceeded to remove the interior of<br />
the car and to stand on my head while my wife<br />
held a water hose on the windshield of the car<br />
so that I could locate the source of the water<br />
leak. After spending 1.5 weeks and maybe 60<br />
hours trying to locate the leak, I decided to<br />
follow <strong>Karl</strong>’s advice. I spent 5 minutes drilling<br />
a few small holes in the floor board to allow<br />
water than leaked into the car to drain out.<br />
After reinstalling the interior, i we drove that t car<br />
for 9 more years without any more water<br />
problems.<br />
I was pleased to be able to share some of my<br />
own expertise with <strong>Karl</strong> and his son Erik when<br />
they visited Houston to see the Houston Grand<br />
Prix. I’m Im confident that they have probably<br />
tripled the design life of their stereo speakers<br />
with the advice and training that I gave them<br />
on how to fix speaker woofers with packing<br />
tape. With good technique and high quality<br />
tape, outstanding sound can be maintained<br />
with little-to-none of the original connection<br />
between the woofer and the surrounding<br />
speaker.<br />
- <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Some of the best advice Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has given me stems from discussions about<br />
restaurants. Now don’t get me wrong: he gives some excellent advice about steel<br />
structures as well, but so far, I have been very pleased with the food at Iron Works and<br />
the Elite Grill in Waco. I’m Im really going to have to try some of his other<br />
recommendations.<br />
- James Kleineck<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 58
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by FS SEL<br />
ASCE Structures Congress 2009 Conference Dinner at FSEL<br />
Words of wisdom as I was faxing off my<br />
insurance claim after my fiddle got run<br />
over by a bus.<br />
- Heather Gilmer<br />
I recall Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> admonishing<br />
me for giving up playing the<br />
saxophone and instead liking<br />
The Derailers (an Austin country<br />
band at the time) and twangy<br />
country music. In the years<br />
since, I’ve sold my saxophone<br />
and bought an electric guitar to<br />
play in a country band. So I<br />
didn’t really listen to him, but I<br />
always knew he’d give me his<br />
honest opinion.<br />
- Chris Gilchrist<br />
“You shouldn’t throw<br />
your fiddle under a bus”<br />
Provided by<br />
Ronnie Medlock<br />
He taught me to be precise – to consider a broader spectrum of input to get the most<br />
correct answer to problems instead of going with a quick, less informed solution.<br />
- Ronnie Medlock<br />
“Don’t<br />
build<br />
an ugly<br />
bridge.”<br />
In our steel bridge class, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> spent a few lectures on bridge<br />
aesthetics and how including certain details can greatly improve the<br />
appeal of the structure without significantly increasing the cost. These<br />
lectures have stayed with me and I now critique all the bridges I<br />
encounter and think of ways the designer could have made the bridge<br />
compliment its environment.<br />
- Anthony Battistini<br />
Useful or Funny Advice 59
Chapter 6: Additional Comments
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
I have been very fortunate to have worked with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> during both my master’s and<br />
PhD degrees. His passion for research has inspired me and his help on the projects is<br />
outstanding. It always seems that he has neat little ideas that really help to clarify<br />
certain aspects of the research. I also associate him with being able to quickly<br />
determine whether or not an idea will be successful. The amount of experience he has<br />
is amazing, and whenever he gives one of these tidbits, I am sure to write it down.<br />
Most important of all, he has been very kind to me and I could not ask for a nicer<br />
advisor. Lucky for me, I am still working with him.<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> is also known for his excellent flag football refereeing, complete with the ever<br />
fair coin toss.<br />
- Anthony Battistini<br />
Provided by FSEL<br />
During the 2009 Football Challenge<br />
1992 Football Challenge<br />
Provide ed by FSEL<br />
Provide ed by FSEL<br />
2003 Football Challenge<br />
2009 Football Challenge<br />
Provide ed by FSEL<br />
Additional Comments 61
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
I returned to UT after 20 years of “real world” experience as a “nontypical”<br />
student, which means my previous UT transcript was in the<br />
basement of the <strong>To</strong>wer and I was older than many of my professors.<br />
I was fortunate to have Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> for a steel design class and he<br />
invited me to work on one of his research projects at <strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab<br />
while I was completing my Master degree. I would even get paid –<br />
is this a great University or what<br />
Is this<br />
a great<br />
University<br />
or what<br />
Day One at<br />
the Lab<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> showed me around the lab and introduced me to my<br />
graduate student leader, <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig and the regular lunch spades<br />
game – is this a great deal or what<br />
The research project that I would be working on would require a test setup<br />
on the large reaction slab. The tunnels under the slab would need to<br />
be cleaned out and lucky for us, <strong>To</strong>dd and I were just small enough to fit<br />
into the tunnels. The tunnels were full of dust, equipment, dust, debris,<br />
dust and spiders – fortunately no snakes. We finished the clean out on<br />
day six and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be able to get the<br />
dust out of my nose. Anyway, we were done and things were looking up.<br />
Day Two<br />
through<br />
Day Six<br />
Day Seven,<br />
Eight, and<br />
Nine<br />
And beyond…<br />
Turns out that the steel test frame we were to use needed to be<br />
sandblasted and painted. The lab had a painter to do the<br />
painting, however, <strong>To</strong>dd and I would have the enviable task of<br />
sandblasting the frame. Since neither <strong>To</strong>dd nor I had ever done<br />
this before, it sounded like great fun. Of course the work had to<br />
be done outside and we had to wear this heavy suit, not to<br />
mention that it was about 98 degrees and we had to sandblast in<br />
the open, in other words no shade – good grief, what have I<br />
gotten myself into Turns out the three days of sweating bullets<br />
was just what I needed – all of the dust in my nose was now gone.<br />
The next few semesters consisted of classes,<br />
running many tests, collecting and evaluating the<br />
data and writing my thesis. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was<br />
always there to assist with any problems and I<br />
have never met a man who could recall so much<br />
knowledge from his undergraduate student<br />
years. I was and continue to be thoroughly<br />
impressed with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> as a mentor. My<br />
experiences at <strong>Ferguson</strong> Lab are some of my<br />
fondest, even the first nine days. It was great fun<br />
thanks to <strong>To</strong>dd and Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>.<br />
- Mitch Currah<br />
ASCE Structures Congress 2009 Conference<br />
Dinner at FSEL<br />
Pro ovided by FSEL<br />
Additional Comments 62
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Provided by J<br />
Provided by Joseph Dowd<br />
oseph Dowd<br />
Joseph Dowd at the Fred Hartman Bridge<br />
Dowd<br />
Provided by Joseph<br />
rovided by Susanne Ge ealy<br />
Pr<br />
Bid Bridge cable stay fatigue project at<br />
Fred Hartman Bridge<br />
Susanne and her daughter in a restaurant in China<br />
(2009)<br />
Pumpkin carving party at Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s house (2004)<br />
Provide ed by Dave Lubitz<br />
While I am not a practicing engineer today,<br />
I can honestly say that the critical analysis<br />
and thinking skills of an engineer are used<br />
every day to invest the TRS pension.<br />
Engineers understand the difference<br />
between precision and accuracy. This is a<br />
crucial difference, whose nuance is lost on<br />
many an investment professional.<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, about 3 years ago I adopted a<br />
little girl from China. She’s 4 years old and<br />
we visited China last October.<br />
- Susanne Gealy<br />
Additional Comments 63
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Happy with the results<br />
As his graduate ate student I worked with <strong>Karl</strong> on a couple of consulting job. For one of<br />
them, I was sent to Chicago to take data and photographs of two railway tank cars. This<br />
was back in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s well before the time of digital photography.<br />
On this trip I took two film cameras – one to take black and white photos and the other<br />
to take color slides. When <strong>Karl</strong> was preparing for a deposition he wanted to have some<br />
of the color slides from my trip made into 8 x 10” color photos. This was not something<br />
that could be easily done and would require special equipment at a photography p shop, if<br />
it could be done at all. As a resourceful graduate student I perused the yellow pages of<br />
the phone book (this is well before PCs and the internet) and found a listing on Manor<br />
Road of a business operating as: “Austin Prints from Slides.” This seemed like the<br />
perfect solution and most importantly it should please <strong>Karl</strong>.<br />
It was my job to deliver the slides and meet with those doing<br />
the work to tell them exactly what was needed. <strong>Karl</strong> would<br />
pick up everything when completed in a week or so and pay<br />
the bill. As it turns out and very much to my surprise, this<br />
business was located in a gated, “clothing-optional” apartment<br />
complex! I must say it was a surreal experience when I arrived<br />
and discovered what I had gotten myself into (and yes, there<br />
were people everywhere wearing nothing but a smile).<br />
“He’s an<br />
adult so let<br />
him find out<br />
for himself<br />
about all the<br />
other<br />
things!”<br />
“People<br />
everywhere<br />
were wearing<br />
nothing but a<br />
smile”<br />
Fortunately, the people running the business were clothed and<br />
conducted themselves professionally and seemed to know what<br />
they were doing. I decided to leave the slides with them. When I<br />
told my wife of this experience I expressed how concerned I<br />
was about it and wondered how could I possibly tell <strong>Karl</strong> about<br />
this place I was also concerned that if these guys didn’t<br />
produce the quality of work expected by <strong>Karl</strong> that my days as a<br />
UT graduate student were over. I mean how much more<br />
irresponsible could I be by leaving these extremely important<br />
slides with people who don’t wear clothes My wife in a very<br />
calm tone said: “Tell him nothing about the place other than the<br />
directions to get there. He’s an adult so let him find out for<br />
himself about all the other things!” This is exactly what I did.<br />
I must say <strong>Karl</strong> had quite an interesting look on his face when I asked him about his<br />
experience at “Austin Prints from Slides.” Fortunately for me they did excellent work so<br />
<strong>Karl</strong> was pleased with the results. In fact, for many years other FSEL personnel used<br />
them when they needed prints made from their slides. I guess you don’t judge a<br />
business by the clothes they do, or do not, wear. <strong>To</strong> this day I am still not sure how <strong>Karl</strong><br />
felt about doing business with these folks. I would have loved to have seen his<br />
expression as he entered their “shop” on that first trip. I do know he seemed happy with<br />
the results and that’s all that was important to me.<br />
- Terry Kohutek<br />
Additional Comments 64
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
A picture is worth a thousand words<br />
Provided by<br />
Omar Espinoza<br />
Thomas Anderson<br />
Provided by Bryc ce Neuman<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> lending a<br />
hand to celebrate<br />
Vasilis Samaras’<br />
Birthday (2009)<br />
[BELOW]<br />
Provided d by<br />
James Sutton<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s hands on approach to research<br />
Tying rebar and making<br />
cylinders… does Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
have a secret love for<br />
concrete<br />
Provided by Vasilis Samaras<br />
How engineering logic allows for safe eating choices (as related<br />
to street food in China):<br />
I estimated that anything pulled out of a vat of boiling oil wasn’t<br />
going to make me sick – no matter what it tasted like. These are<br />
WHOLE crabs (including shell) on a stick. [RIGHT]<br />
by Susanne Gealy<br />
Provided<br />
Additional Comments 65
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
<strong>Karl</strong> is perhaps the best research engineer that I’ve ever met. He is able to quickly see<br />
the most simple and effective way to measure or capture the structural behavior either<br />
in the laboratory or the field. <strong>Karl</strong> has played a huge role in the success and capabilities<br />
of <strong>Ferguson</strong> <strong>Structural</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong> Laboratory over the past 30+ years. I think he sets<br />
the standard that we should strive towards in terms of dedication and sharing our<br />
expertise with our colleagues. While we have agreed to let him retire from official<br />
campus duties, I am glad that he has a 20 year contract to officiate at the fall old-timers<br />
versus new-timers football game – be sure to resurrect the (pink) socks.<br />
- <strong>To</strong>dd Helwig<br />
Prov vided by James Sutton<br />
2005 Football Challenge<br />
Greatest Achievement<br />
One of Professor <strong>Frank</strong>’s greatest achievements was being<br />
a member of the winning team of the 2007 J. Neils<br />
Thompson Golf <strong>To</strong>urnament. There is mixed speculation<br />
as to the meaning of the asterisk next to his name. While<br />
some have suggested it was the use of performance<br />
enhancing drugs, allegations also surfaced of the illegal use<br />
of an arm wedge. Still others point to the donning of attire<br />
unbefitting the sport of golf – pink socks<br />
by FSEL<br />
Provided<br />
Additional Comments 66
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
More than a mentor<br />
Working with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> during my graduate studies has been a life experience. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
has guided me and supported me throughout the past few years. His personal interest in<br />
my progress within and beyond research encourages me to improve myself. I remember<br />
the first day that I met Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> at his office to discuss possible research opportunities. I<br />
was feeling anxious because his picture on the department’s website made me think that<br />
he was a very strict and arrogant person. However, from the very first moment, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong><br />
tried to make me feel comfortable. In fact, to make me feel better, he showed me a<br />
piece of rock from his recent trip to Greece and he started describing his summer<br />
vacations. At that point, I realized that his picture didn’t illustrate his true character.<br />
Thank goodness he recently changed the profile picture for a better one.<br />
Test Day: Redundancy of twin-box girder bridges (6/6/2008)<br />
ras<br />
Pro ovided by Vasilis Samar<br />
Project Team: Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, Bryce Neuman, Vasilis<br />
Samaras, Amy Barrett, Dr. Williamson, & Janghwan Kim<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> inspecting the explosives<br />
maras<br />
Provided by Vasilis Sa<br />
Beyond research projects and<br />
coursework, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has always tried<br />
to advise his students about life<br />
through h the many stories from his own<br />
experiences. He is more than glad to<br />
host crazy pumpkin carving parties or<br />
formal Thanksgiving dinners, and he<br />
will be the “soul” of the party when<br />
invited to birthday and half-birthday<br />
parties.<br />
Pumpkin carving party at Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s house (2007)<br />
Further evidence of Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s great personality was showcased when I saw him being<br />
very emotional at an intimate gathering that was held at <strong>Ferguson</strong> Laboratory to express<br />
thanks to the family of Robert L. "Bob" Reed for their generosity and support to FSEL.<br />
My graduate years have been full of a lot of experiences, many of which Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> has<br />
contributed greatly and they will definitely be an unforgettable part of my life. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> is<br />
more than a mentor to me. Thanks for everything Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>!<br />
- Vasilis Samaras<br />
Additional Comments 67
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
Happy Retirement (for he is a jolly good fellow)!<br />
<strong>To</strong> a Great Professor, Dr. <strong>Karl</strong> <strong>Frank</strong>. We were delighted to have had the opportunity to<br />
study under your guidance, and we recognize the impact your work has had in the<br />
design and behavior of steel structures. For our industry to move forward, we rely on<br />
professors such as yourself to teach, mentor and motivate the next generation of<br />
engineers in this fascinating field and we wanted to take this opportunity to<br />
acknowledge your distinguished career.<br />
With best wishes for a long and healthy retirement!<br />
- Paul Summers & Guzhao Li<br />
Pro ovided by James Kleine eck<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> showing James how to hold the flame<br />
It has been a great pleasure getting to work<br />
with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>. He has shaped the way that I<br />
look at engineering from not just a technical,<br />
but also from a personal perspective, and<br />
beyond that, in the process I have gained a<br />
mentor and a friend. I am most grateful to<br />
have worked with and learned from him. I<br />
wish him the best in his retirement, and that<br />
he finds as much happiness and fulfillment as<br />
he has imparted on the lives of those with<br />
whom he has worked through the years.<br />
- James Kleineck<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, thanks again for making<br />
structural engineering research so much<br />
fun. I think I’ve told you this before, but<br />
I was pretty lukewarm towards research<br />
when I started out. Unsure of whether I<br />
would like it, and afraid that I might be<br />
doing it wrong, I started off pretty<br />
intimidated. You put my fears at ease<br />
very early on, and I thank you for that.<br />
Now I’ve just got to figure out if I can cut<br />
it in the design world…<br />
- Andrew Stam<br />
Happy, healthy and fun retirement<br />
Wishes!<br />
- Joe Spadea<br />
Nick Richman & Andrew Stam helping out on other<br />
projects<br />
ded by Andrew Stam<br />
Provi<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> is a great guy, and I am grateful that he has been, and continues to be a part<br />
of my life. I am sad that he is retiring, but I wish him the best in his next stage in life.<br />
- Erik Soderberg<br />
Additional Comments 68
STructural <strong>Engineering</strong> Education Reunion 2010<br />
I truly believe that working with Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> at UT has helped me to become a better<br />
engineer. While I was at UT, I always tried to keep my ears open around him because I<br />
felt that I learned something new everyday. In fact the lessons that I learned from<br />
listening to his many stories and past experiences perhaps taught me as much as any<br />
lesson I learned in the classroom. Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> taught me how to use what I learned in the<br />
classroom to solve real world problems, and he taught me that complex problems do<br />
not always require a complex computer program or analysis. Rather I learned how to<br />
break down complex problems and solve them using a simplified approach. This ability<br />
has already served me well in my career.<br />
Thanks, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>, for everything you taught me…it was a privilege to work with you.<br />
- James Sutton<br />
Even though it has been almost<br />
25 years since I finished my<br />
graduate work at UT,<br />
sometimes it seems like<br />
yesterday. I have visited ECJ<br />
and the lab several times since<br />
graduate school and they have<br />
changed, but not much. I have<br />
very fond memories of my<br />
classmates, professors,<br />
studying in my office, digging<br />
through the journals in the<br />
library, and playing cards in the<br />
break room at the lab. <strong>Karl</strong> has<br />
had a positive impact on my life<br />
and undoubtedly many others.<br />
I hope that he enjoyed his time<br />
at UT and will enjoy even more<br />
his time after UT.<br />
- Farrel Zwerneman<br />
Dr. <strong>Frank</strong>’s during the 2007 J. Neils Thompson <strong>To</strong>urnament<br />
Pro ovided by Punchet Tham mmarak<br />
by Catherine Hovell<br />
Provided<br />
Despite stories I have heard about how Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> was<br />
once a very stern, unforgiving advisor, he always<br />
seemed to take our errors in stride. While building the<br />
fracture specimen (big bridge) outside, it seemed like<br />
every other day something went terribly wrong. Tim, Jim,<br />
and I would walk into team meetings with our tails<br />
between our legs, ready for and expecting some kind of<br />
tongue-lashing or at least a “how could you” or two.<br />
Instead, Dr. <strong>Frank</strong> seemed to respond with a shrug, a<br />
smile, and a plan for how to move forward regardless of<br />
whatever er hadn’t gone as desired.<br />
- Catherine Hovell<br />
Additional Comments 69