"Jose Turmo, a former doctoral student in the Civil Engineering Department at the Technical University of Catalonia (now an assistant professor of civil engineering at UCLM, Spain) is the recipient of the 2004 Nevada Medal for Distinguished Graduate Student Paper in Bridge Engineering," Professor Saiidi of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno announced recently. Mr. Turmo's research that led to the award winning paper was conducted under the direction of Prof. Dr. Ángel Carlos Aparicio Bengoechea and Prof. Dr. GonzaloRamos Schneider. Evaluators were from a group of internationally-recognized authorities in bridge research and design. The award includes a plaque, an engraved 14-K gold pin, and US$1,000. The funding for the award is provided through an endowment established by Simon Wong Engineering of San Diego, California. Mr. Wong completed a BSCE ('79) and an MSCE ('84) degree in civil engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The title of Mr. Turmo's paper was: "Study on Shear Behaviour of Segmental Concrete Bridges with External Prestressing and Dry Joints." The shear behavior of externally prestressed precast concrete bridges with dry joints is not well understood. Mr. Turmo tested six large-scale segmental beam models to study the development of shear cracks and crack patterns. He also conducted extensive finite element modeling of the beams and calibrated the models based on the test results. He found that stirrups were not mobilized in the tests and that strut-and-tie models could explain the load path. Mr. Turmo's academic goal is to continue teaching design of steel and concrete structures and bridge construction and design in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Spain. He also plans to study high-speed train bridges and other topics related to bridge design and construction.