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Technical Sessions - November 2018

MORNING SESSION @ 11:00 AM

Topic: Mechanistic Pavement Foundation Construction Quality Assurance and Process Control

Speakers: Pavana Vennapusa, Ph.D., P.E. (TX, IA, NM, AZ)

Dr. Vennapusa is currently the Lead Engineer for Ingios Geotechnics, Inc., which develops a complimentary set of measurement and analysis technologies to aid pavement engineering and contractors in building quality pavement systems. Previously, he was a Research Faculty at Iowa State University for 6 years. In that role, Dr. Vennapusa served as a principal or co-principal investigator on several research projects with sponsorship from FHWA, DOTs, and industry sponsors. Dr. Vennapusa has authored over 60 peer-reviewed technical publications and completed research and consulting projects covering topics of earthwork construction, soil stabilization, geosynthetics, in-ground instrumentation, evaluation and development of in situ technologies and intelligent compaction, and writing construction specifications. Dr. Vennapusa is a registered professional engineer in TX, IA, NM, and AZ.

AFTERNOON TECHNICAL SESSION @ 1:10 PM

Topic: Behavior and Rehabilitation of Industrial Steel Stacks (Chimneys)

Speaker: Roman Okelo, Ph.D., PE

Dr. Okelo is currently a Senior Structural Engineer with BR Architects and Engineers, Ins (BRAE), where he is involved with the design and review of residential, commercial and industrial projects. This includes the review of 

school projects built to meet the ICC 500 code requirements for Storm Shelters. Previously, he has performed consulting work for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, (DART), and for Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Furthermore, Dr. Okelo was on the faculty at: The University of Stuttgart, Germany; UT Arlington, and Lamar University in TX. He is the author of several, peer-reviewed technical publications in structural engineering, as well as a reviewer for some technical journals.