MEMBER PROFILE Professor Vernon Schaefer, P.E.: Hard Working Teacher And Effective Practical Researcher Professor Vernon Schaefer’s curriculum vita is a veritable bible of research endeavors, technical papers, presented lectures and articles, but even a brief conversation reveals a humble and good natured person with a love for his work. Friend and colleague Ryan Berg of Ryan R. Berg & Associates reports, “Vern Schaefer is a consummate professional engineer and a passionate teacher with a good work ethic. He is a very effective researcher and produces clear, practical results for use by practitioners.” Schaefer grew up the son of a carpenter in South Dakota, and helped his father build houses starting at age 12. This background got him interested in civil engineering, and construction site work continues to be one of his favorite aspects of the profession. Schaefer got his B.S. in Civil Engineering from South Dakota State University (SDSU) in 1978. He spent his summers working as an inspector in heavy bridge construction, and became interested in geotechnical engineering because he liked the uncertainty; as opposed to design of structures which he felt lacked creativity. Following his undergraduate work, Schaefer received his M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering from Iowa State University (ISU) in 1981. He worked as a consultant for three years for Hoskins-Western- Sonderegger, Inc., in Lincoln, Neb., and had various responsibilities including designing small earth dams, overseeing drilling crews and lab testing, and designing foundations. He obtained his professional engineering license in South Dakota. Love for Learning Always interested in expanding his knowledge, and with a desire to be a university teacher, Schaefer researched doctoral programs at top schools and finally settled on Virginia Tech. Never before had he and his wife Ruth been east of the Mississippi River, and they experienced and enjoyed some culture shock. At Virginia Tech his advisor was Professor Michael Duncan, and the focus of his research was finite element analysis of reinforced embankments and foundations. This included evaluation of various reinforcing materials from geogrids to rebar steel mesh as well as time rate pore pressure dissipation effects. It also enhanced his interest in slope stability analyses, which continues today. Schaefer completed his Ph.D. in 1987 and accepted a position as assistant professor of Civil Engineering at the University of New Mexico for a year and a half. When his wife had the opportunity to return to her nurse practitioner position at SDSU, Schaefer returned to the school as well. From 1988 to 2002, he held positions of assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, and head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. During this time, he conducted many studies on agricultural waste storage lagoons as well as landslides in Pierre shale, a challenge when the shale gets wet and disintegrates. He also became involved as chairman of the Soil Improvement Committee of Geo-Institute (GI), and this effort led to involvement and teaching of the ground improvement course for National Highway Institute (NHI). Research Endeavors In 2003, Schaefer returned to ISU as a professor of Civil Engineering, and currently serves as focus group leader of Geotechnical & Materials Engineering in the Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department. While at ISU, he developed a team to work on a SHRP 2 (Strategic Highway Research Program) project that addresses pressing needs to the nation’s highway system in the areas of safety, reliability, renewal and capacity. Schaefer led a large research team which included many contacts from the GI Soil Improvement Committee. The research encompassed his main areas of interest, including slope stabilization, ground improvement and pavement foundations. The culmination of his work came in the form of the SHPR2 R02 project, “Geotechnical Solut ions for Soi l Improvement, Rapid Embankment Construction, and Stabilization of the Pavement Working Platform,” and resulted in the development of an information and guidance system for geoconstruction t e c h n o l o g i e s a v a i l a b l e a t www.GeoTechTools.org. This is a web- based system containing 46 technologies that provide guidance for geotechnical, structural and pavement engineers. The system includes case histories and design guidance on each technology as well as an interactive selection tool to identify potential technologies for a defined set of project conditions. Putting together GeoTechTools was a four-year undertaking, and Schaefer led a prestigious team of 12 researchers — 6 university professors and 6 practitioners, which he paired into teams with 1 academician and 1 consultant. The endeavor also engaged over 30 grad- uate students from three universities as the teams sifted through 80 technologies and selected those applicable to roadway construction over unstable soils, roadway widening, and working platforms for temporary and permanent construction. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUN 2014 • 55
