DFI Educational Trust Update Ted Zoli (photo by MacArthur Foundation) Ted Zoli to Speak at Gala Dinner We are honored and excited to announce that renowned bridge designer, Theodore P. Zoli, P.E., will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 DFI Educational Trust Annual Gala Dinner to be held on November 7 at the Liberty House, in Jersey City, N.J. Zoli, a vice president at HNTB, serves as the firm’s national bridge chief engineer and is in charge of technical aspects of the bridge practice firm-wide. During his 21-year career at HNTB, he has led the design of many bridge projects including the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in Boston, the Sixth Street Viaduct in Milwaukee, the Blennerhassett Island Bridge between West Virginia and Ohio, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge between Nebraska and Iowa and the Lake Champlain Bridge between New York and Vermont. In 2012, Zoli earned ENR magazine’s Award of Excellence honor. Proceeds from the Annual Gala Dinner benefit the Trust’s Stanley Merjan Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to students at City College of New York. Since 2010, this fund has awarded over $30,000 to students at that institution’s school of civil engineering. John E. O’Malley Scholarship Fund The DFI Educational Trust Board is working to establish a new scholarship fund in honor of industry leader John E. O’Malley, chairman of Case Foundation Company, who has enthusiastically agreed to lend his name and support to the effort. The fund will provide financial awards to deserving civil engineering students interested in pursuing a career in the deep foundations industry. Students attending any accredited U.S. university will be eligible to apply. DFI Trust vice-chair, M. Byrl Williams, is spearheading the initial fundraising drive for this project and has already obtained several financial com- mitments, including the entire DFI Trust Board of Trustees. Each board member has pledged $1,000 to kick off the drive. The board is planning to officially unveil the new fund at the 2013 DFI Annual Con- ference in Phoenix, Ariz., in September. Addressing Women in Engineering Recognizing the need to increase the number of women engaged in the civil engineering profession, the Trust is currently exploring the establishment of a new scholarship fund that will provide financial assistance to current and prospective female engineering students. The project, “Women in Engineering Scholarship Initiative,” will raise funds for scholarships. The initiative will also establish links among industry leaders, higher education institutions, and other stakeholders, to discuss strategies to improve the enrollment and retention rates of women in engineering programs. Finally, the initiative will develop avenues to facilitate the transition into employment once female students graduate. David Coleman, Chair [email protected] Trustees Attend Scholarship Ceremonies On April 6, Trustee Rudy Frizzi, represented the DFI Trust at a scholarship awards cere- mony held by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where one of the Trust’s Berkel & Company Contractors Scholarship was presented. A total award of $12,500 was shared among three student recipients. Similarly, on May 2, Trustee Dan Dragone attended the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering scholarship ceremony where another Berkel & Company Contractors $12,500 Scholar- ship was shared among seven students. The DFI Educational Trust-Berkel & Company Contractors Scholarship Fund awards a minimum of $50,000 in scholar- ships annually to deserving civil engineer- ing students at the two above-mentioned universities as well as the University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley and Auburn University. Daniel Dragone, DFI Ed Trust Trustee; recipient Yanhouide “Jeannot” Ahossin Guezo; Dr. Daniel Kaspar, Interim Chair, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering Upcoming Trust Fundraising Events Osterberg Memorial Lecture and Dinner- . . . . . . . July 11, 2013, Columbus, OH Pennsylvania Golf Outing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 22, 2013, Pittsburgh, PA The Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation. . . . . . . . August1, 2013, Seattle, WA Annual Conference Golf Outing . . . . . . . . . . . September 28, 2013, Phoenix AZ New Jersey Golf Outing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 7, 2013, Monroe Twp, NJ California Golf Outing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 28, 2013, Pleasanton, CA NY/NJ Annual Gala Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 7, 2013, Jersey City, NJ Check for details at www.dfi.org/conferences DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2013 • 41
