The Precast/Prestessed Concrete Institute has awarded several individuals for their accomplishments in the precast concrete industry. The announcements were made at PCI’s Committee Days and Technical Conference, which was held virtually this year because of the pandemic.

PCI’s committee meetings took place throughout September, culminating in the virtual Awards program on September 23, and the board of directors meeting two days later. “Despite all the challenges facing us this year, it is important to continue to honor and celebrate the achievements of individuals and companies who have contributed to the precast concrete industry,” said PCI President and CEO Bob Risser. “They have done this through commitment to safety and quality, education, adding to the industry Body of Knowledge, being examples as industry leaders, and production of outstanding precast concrete structures.”

This year’s winners are:

• The Educator of the Year was presented to Dana K. Gulling, associate professor and the director of graduate programs at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Design; and Gregory Lucier, a research associate professor and the constructed facilities laboratory manager in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NCSU. Both developed a unique graduate-level studio course, Creations in Concrete, for architectural and engineering students.
• The Distinguished Educator of the Year was presented to Michael Carlos Barrios, associate professor of architecture at Clemson University, for playing a vital role in advancing PCI’s educational mission. He was been a creative force and leader in PCI Foundation’s Precast Concrete Studio Program and was a founder and active professor in Clemson’s successful pilot studio.
• Suzanne Aultman, PE, FPCI, is the first recipient of the Irwin J. Speyer Young Professional Award, recognizing a PCI member serving on at least one committee and is a registered professional engineer or structural engineer for less than 15 years. Aultman, chief engineer with Metromont Corp in Greenville, S.C., was selected because of her extensive work with PCI and the American Concrete Institute.
• Mike Malsom, former president of Consulting Engineers Group (CEG) Illinois, received the Norman L. Scott Professional Engineer Award. Malsom has distinguished himself as a dedicated member of PCI, having served on several committees. He is a past member of the board of directors, past trustee of the PCI Foundation, and was named a PCI Fellow in 2016.
• Members of the task group for ANSI/PCI 128-19: Specification for Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Panels received the Leslie D. Martin Certificate of Merit. The award recognizes a PCI-published document judged to be technically outstanding and worthy of special commendation for its contribution in advancing precast concrete. The task group members were Edward S. Knowles, PE, FPCI (chair); Sidney Freedman, FPCI, FACI; John Jones, PEng., FACI; James A Lee; Ray A. McCann, SE, FPCI, FACI (deceased); Edwin A. McDougle, PE, FPCI (deceased); W. Michael Paris, PE; and Bradley G. Williams, PE.
• The Martin P. Korn Award honors the best design or research paper appearing in PCI Journal during a single year. This year’s award is presented to Omar M. Alawad, research assistant; Matthew J. Gombeda, research assistant, ATLSS Engineering Center; Clay J. Nato, professor; and Spencer E. Quiel, professor, all of Lehigh University. Their paper, “Simplified methodologies for preliminary blast-resistant design of precast concrete wall panels,” was published in the July-August 2019 PCI Journal.
• The Robert J. Lyman Award is presented to the PCI Journal paper offering the greatest contribution to the advancement of plant production, site erection, or general construction of precast concrete structures in a single year. This year’s recipients are Richard Brice, bridge software engineer, Washington State Department of Transportation; Stephen J. Seguirant, vice president and director of engineering, Concrete Technology Corp.; Anthony Mizumori and Bijan Khaleghi, bridge engineers, Washington State Department of Transportation.
• The George D. Nasser Award recognizes PCI Journal papers relating to the design, research, production, or construction of precast concrete structures from authors who are 40 years old or younger. This year’s award is given to Vidya Sagar Ronanki, bridge designer, T. Y. Lin International; Sriram Aaleti, professor, University of Alabama; and J.P. Binard, owner, Precast Systems Engineering.
• The Charles C. Zollman Award is given to meritorious papers in PCI Journal that advance the general understanding and knowledge of precast, prestressed concrete by bringing together all available knowledge of a specific topic in a single report. This year’s award is given to Puneet Kumar, student, Michigan State University; and Venkatesh K.R. Kodur, professor, Center on Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics, Michigan State University.