Iowa State University Graduate Student Wins the 2008 Nevada Medal for Distinguished Graduate Student Paper

Thomas L. Vande Voort, a graduate student at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa is the recipient of the 2008 Nevada Medal for Distinguished Graduate Student Paper in Bridge Engineering," Professor Saiidi of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Nevada, Reno, announced recently. Mr. Vande Voort's research that led to the award winning paper was conducted under the direction of Professors Dr. Sri Sritharan and Muhannad Suleiman. 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 a $1,000 check. The funding for the award is provided by 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 the winning paper is: "A Precast UHPC Pile for Bridge Substructures."  Ultra high performance concrete H-shaped piles were developed and evaluated with superior properties to conventional steel and concrete piles.

"I am very excited and honored to receive the Nevada Medal for a Distinguished Graduate Student Paper in Bridge Engineering. I would like to thank my professors, Dr. Sri Sritharan and Dr. Muhannad Suleiman for their guidance and support throughout my research and the Iowa Highway Research Board for providing the funding for the project. I would also like to sincerely thank Mr. Simon Wong and Simon Wong Engineering for sponsoring this award and supporting the innovation of graduate students in the bridge engineering field. I am excited about the opportunities that materials like Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) are giving the next generation of designers and hope that UHPC can move us further toward extending the life of bridge substructures," said Mr. Vande Voort. Tom's future plans include a long term visit of East Asia to study language followed by working as a bridge engineer for a consulting firm and possibly pursuing a PhD degree.

Tom at Work Next to UHPC Pile Test Set Up