Articles

Technical Sessions- Joint Meeting JULY 2022

GEOTECHINCAL INSTITUTE SESSION @ 9:00 AM

Topic: Remediation and Monitoring of US75 Frontage Road/Randell Lake Slope

Speaker: Anand J Puppala, PhD, P.E.

Dr. Anand J. Puppala currently serves as A. P. Wiley and Florence Chair of Zachry Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University and is an Associate Director of Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) since 2019. He served as Associate Dean - Research in College of Engineering for 7+ years and was a Distinguished Scholar Professor of the Civil Engineering department at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) in Texas, USA from Sept, 1996 to August 2019. Dr. Puppala was the chair of Soil Mechanics section (AFS00) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He also chaired American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’s Geotechnical Institute’s (GI) “Engineering Geology and Site Characterization” committee and TRB committee on ‘Soil and Rock Instrumentation’. Dr Puppala is the current chair of ISSMGE’s Technical Committee 307 on Sustainability in Geotechnical Engineering.

Dr Puppala has been conducting research on sustainable stabilization of expansive soils, combined sustainable and resiliency assessments of ground improvement works, use of recycled materials in geotechnical works, UAVs for infrastructure monitoring studies and proactive asset management studies, dam safety and embankments slope studies, and coastal infrastructure resilience studies. Dr. Puppala has been a recipient of several major research grants totaling over 25+ Millions of dollars from federal, state and local government agencies. Dr. Puppala is the director of NSF’s Industry University Co-operative Research Center (IUCRC) site on Composites in Civil Infrastructure (CICI) at TAMU and the focus of this center is to bring out sustainability aspects of the research studies performed at the center. Dr. Puppala’s research scholarly record included 500+ publications including 220+ Journals and he has also edited seven special publications. He has supervised 42 Doctoral and 52 Masters’ thesis students and is currently advising 9 doctoral students and three postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Puppala is an editorial member for several major journals in Civil Engineering including ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal and also edited several books including seven ASCE Special Publications. He has given several keynote and invited talks all over the World including a prestigious ASCE GI Peck talk at 2020 GeoCongress Meeting held at Minneapolis, Minnesota.

STRUCTURAL INSTITUTE SESSION @ 9:00 AM

Topic: DFW International Airport Retaining Wall Investigation, Design, and Construction of the Repair

Speaker: Harish Rao, Peter Kau, & Desi Maldonado

Harish Rao PE is the structures engineer for the Dallas Ft Worth International Airport.  He is charged with overseeing the airport’s structural assets to include assessments and performing maintenance.  He collaborates with other airport departments regarding future planning, design reviews, construction, and the final acceptance of work.  He relocated from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2014 where he received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a MBA from Penn State University.  His vast professional experiences includes positions with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Michael Baker International, and as a veteran of the United States Army.  Harish enjoys science fiction, gardening, sightseeing, and is devoted to his Pittsburgh professional sport teams.

Peter Kau serves as the regional bridge practice lead for CONSOR with home office in Dallas. With over 20 years of structural design experience, Peter specializes in various bridge design including signature bridges, the design for structural repairs and strengthening of existing structures, retaining wall design, structural inspection and forensic investigation of structural failure.  

Mr. Maldonado is an associate vice president for Atkins North America. A senior structural engineer by training, Mr. Maldonado serves as the Division Manager for the Ports division for Atkins North America, overseeing the ports and coastal structures practice.  Mr. Maldonado specializes in the design of retaining walls, seawalls, cofferdams, and environmental structures.  In his 16 years with Atkins, he has extensive experience in performing inspections and structural evaluations, including the design for structural repairs and retrofitting of existing structures.  Mr. Maldonado is also an instructor for the FEMA Building Science Branch, teaching courses on coastal construction, flood protection, and retaining walls.  He is a registered professional engineer in 5 states.

TD&I INSTITUTE SESSION @ 9:00 AM

Topic: How New Data Informs Decisions in Mobility

Speaker: Tim Cope, P.E, T.E, PTOE & Caren Chambers, P.E.

Tim has seven years of experience and contributes to the design of highway and road projects for state and local government agencies. His primary responsibilities include traffic analysis, transportation planning, traffic control and geometric design. Tim is skilled in software applications that support design and collaboration on transportation projects, including Synchro, PTV Vistro, PTV Vissim, Sidra and Highway Capacity Software. He has two publications in the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Record and detailed knowledge of the AASHTO Green Book, HCM, HSM, ITE Trip Generation and Parking Manuals, and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Tim lives in Carrollton with his wife, Nicole, and two kids. Outside of work, much of the Cope family time is spent at area parks, playdates, or enjoying food and soccer.

Caren Chambers has more than two decades of experience in the design and construction support of transportation related projects. Her project experience includes planning & schematic design, PS&E, and design-build projects for anything from municipal streets to major interstates in both urban and rural locations. Caren, a native Texan, graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. She currently works for Burns & McDonnell as a Transportation Project Manager in Dallas.  She is actively involved in TSPE Mid-Cities Chapter serving as State Director and WTS where she currently serves as the Greater DFW Chapter President. Caren lives in Carrollton with her partner, Eric, and their blended family of 5 kids and 3 dogs. Outside of work you will most likely find them at a concert, a Texas Rangers baseball game, or at the lake in their kayaks.

CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE SESSION @ 9:00 AM 

Topic: NTMWD Update- Bois D Arc Lake

Speaker: Aliza Caraballo

Aliza graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Puerto Rico. Started her career in heavy civil construction. Moved to Texas in 2001 to work in Consulting on water and wastewater treatment projects and later as Operations Manager for pipeline inspections projects. Aliza has worked for the NTMWD for the past 9 years; her experience in several projects at the Wylie WTP Complex allowed her to serve as the Design and Construction Project Manager for the Bois d’Arc Lake Leonard WTP, Raw Water pump station, High Service pump station, Lake Operations Center and Boat Ramps. Presenter at Texas Water, ASCE Pipelines, and NCTAWWA Water Seminar

EWRI & SI SESSION @ 9:00 AM

Topic: Integrated Transportation and Stormwater Infrastructure(TSI) Planning in North Texas

Speaker: Matt Lepinski, P.E.

Matt is a Lead Hydraulic Engineer in the Water Resources Branch at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Fort Worth District, where he is responsible for Hydraulic and Hydrologic engineering initiatives that serve as the basis for numerous flood risk awareness and resiliency projects. He has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of water resources, civil engineering, project management, GIS, and intelligence analysis, including positions with USACE, FEMA, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Matt is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and holds an engineering degree from New Mexico State University and a Strategic Intelligence Master’s degree from the National Intelligence University. Matt currently resides in the Fort Worth area with his wife Danielle, and daughters Aria and Viola.

GEOTECHNICAL INSTITUTE SESSION @ 10:00 AM

Topic: Probabilistic Slope Stability Analysis as a Supplement to Deterministic Study

Speaker: Nishant(Nick) Dayal

Nick is a Project Manager at HNTB’s Plano, Texas Office. He has over 20 years of experience, more than 16 of those on projects with geotechnical engineering & pavement design requirements in infrastructure, water, aviation, and transportation industries while consulting for governmental and semi-governmental agencies. Nick’s experience has been primarily attained in the United States (and 3 years in India) where he has supervised and performed construction inspections, testing, geotechnical explorations, instrumentation, investigations, analyses, and reporting for several major projects in multiple states and geologies.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE SESSION @ 10:00 AM

Topic: Spliced Prestressed Concrete Girder Design in Texas

Speaker: Peter Kau, Ruben Rivera & Hana Pronoto

Peter Kau serves as the regional bridge practice lead for CONSOR with home office in Dallas. With over 20 years of structural design experience, Peter specializes in various bridge design including signature bridges, the design for structural repairs and strengthening of existing structures, retaining wall design, structural inspection and forensic investigation of structural failure.  

Texas Professional Engineer

9 year experience at CONSOR in structural group

Graduated University of Texas at San Antonio 2013

Ms. Pranoto has more than 23 years of experience in structural engineering and bridge design. She has extensive knowledge of general civil structures such as junction box approaches for pedestrian bridges and an understanding of concrete bridge design in highway and transit structures. Ms. Pranoto also has experience in earth retaining structures (MSE walls, solider pile with tie-back anchor, cantilever wall, and T-wall) for highway and track structures and is skilled with using design software for developing calculations on bridge designs.

TRANSPORTATION & DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE SESSION @ 10:00 AM 

Topic: Progressive Design Build- Lake Ralph Hall

Speaker: Ed Motley, Josh Pfingst & Charlie Quade

Ed is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington with both a bachelors and masters degree in civil engineering.  He has practiced engineering for over 43 years taking on roles from construction engineer, design engineer, project manager to executive leadership.  Ed spent most of his career in the consulting engineering business and only recently joined the Upper Trinity Regional Water District as the Program Manager for the Lake Ralph Hall Project. 

Ed has been a member of ASCE since 1976.

On a personal note, Ed has been married to his wife, Linda, for forty two years and has two sons and five grandchildren.

Josh Pfingst serves as Project Manager at Flatiron Constructors, Inc. with 15 years of experience ranging from bid-build to progressive design-build. He has served in management roles in transportation, transit and industrial projects. He thrives in collaborative, efficient team environments with owners, designers and contractors while maintaining open lines of communication and a “Project First” attitude.

Located in Dallas, Charlie Quade serves as a Huitt-Zollars Project Manager for a wide variety of transportation projects throughout the State of Texas.  His 34 years of transportation experience includes a wide variety of highway, railroad, light rail and airport projects.  Charlie’s primary area of expertise is as a bridge engineer where he has preformed structural analysis, design and PS&E preparation for widenings, rehabilitations, new grade separations / direct connectors and signature bridges. 

CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE SESSION @ 10:00 AM

Topic: DFW Connector C4 Project

Speaker: Prapti Sharma & Debbie Naubert

Prapti Sharma is deputy project manager for the Southeast Connector
design-build project in the Texas Department of Transportation’s
(TxDOT) Fort Worth District.

A native of Nepal, Prapti earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and then began her TxDOT career in 2017 as an engineering assistant in the Fort Worth District Bridge Section. Then in 2018, she earned her master’s degree in structural engineering from UTA.
In 2020, Prapti transferred to the district construction office to help oversee the procurement and implementation of alternative delivery projects such as DFW Connector.

Debbie is a graduate of Texas A&M University (BS CE, 1982). Her experience ranges from alignment studies to design and construction support for complex highway projects. In April of 2012, Debbie joined the Jacobs GEC team supporting the TxDOT at the DFW Connector project.  She served as Project Manager during the final months of the base contract construction and the four major change orders which followed.

EWRI and SI SESSION @ 10:00 AM

Topic: Regional Flood Planning Update for the Trinity River Basin

Speaker: Glenn Clingenpeel

GLENN CLINGENPEEL is the Executive Manager of Technical Services and Basin Planning for the Trinity River Authority where he has worked for twenty-four years, serving in a variety of positions that cover everything from technical field jobs to the Executive Assistant to the General Manager.  He holds degrees in biology, ecology, environmental sciences, French language, and business administration.  Glenn leads a team of scientists and engineers that work on everything from ecological surveys and water quality analyses to open channel hydraulic modeling and water supply accounting.  He is also responsible for the Authority’s GIS group that directly supports water and wastewater operations.

Throughout his career, Glenn has been active in numerous organizations, including the Texas Water Conservation Association, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Galveston Bay Council and the Water Environment Association of Texas.  He currently serves as the chair for the Region 3 Trinity Flood Planning Group that is responsible for developing the first ever flood plan for the Trinity River basin.  

GI & SEI INSTITUTE SESSION @ 11:00 AM

Topic: The Future of Post-Installed Anchorage Design into Masonry

Speaker: Cara Green & Travis Pechacek

Cara Green works as Hilti North America’s Structural Engineering Trade Manager. Prior to her current role, she worked for five years as a Hilti Structural Field Engineer in Houston,Texas. Prior to her position in Texas, Cara worked for a consulting firm in Alabama. Cara has a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is a licensed professional engineer in the state Texas.

Travis Pechacek works as one of Hilti North America’s Anchor Approval Engineers. He is responsible for third party testing and technical data for Hilti anchors. Travis graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2015, and in 2018, Travis graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering while working as a consulting engineer. Travis is a licensed engineer in the state of Texas.

TD&I & CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE SESSION @ 11:00 AM

Topic: Southeast Connector

Speaker: Justin thomey & Prapti Sharma

Justin D. Thomey is a design build project manager for the District
Construction Office of the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Fort Worth District including the procurement and construction of alternative delivery projects.

Justin graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2011. After receiving a master’s degree in geotechnical civil engineering in 2013, he began his TxDOT career as an engineering assistant in Bridge Design and earned his license as a professional engineer in 2016.
Justin then transferred to the Fort Worth District Construction Office as the deputy project manager for the SH 360 South design build project, a public-public partnership with the North Texas Tollway Authority. In 2017, Justin was promoted to project manager and led the $340 million project to a successful completion. Justin now manages the $1.6 billion Southeast Connector design build project which is currently in the implementation phase.

Prapti Sharma is deputy project manager for the Southeast Connector
design-build project in the Texas Department of Transportation’s
(TxDOT) Fort Worth District.

A native of Nepal, Prapti earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and then began her TxDOT career in 2017 as an engineering assistant in the Fort Worth District Bridge Section. Then in 2018, she earned her master’s degree in structural engineering from UTA.
In 2020, Prapti transferred to the district construction office to help oversee the procurement and implementation of alternative delivery projects such as DFW Connector.

EWRI & SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE SESSION @ 11:00 AM

Topic: CECAP: Not Just Another Pretty Plan on the Shelf

Speaker: Susan Alvarez

Ms. Alvarez serves as the Assistant Director of the City of Dallas Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, with a minor in geology from Rice University, and postgraduate work in water resources.   She is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas and 5 other western states, and is a Certified Floodplain Manager, and Master Naturalist in Texas. She serves on the Southern Great Plains Author Team for the 5^th National Climate Assessment and is currently focused on implementing the Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan (CECAP), and other related efforts.