When the U.S. Dept. of State decided to upgrade its embassy in Dakar, Senegal, to meet modern security standards, the agency decided to build a fresh facility.

Related Links: Opus Group Website: Gerald Rauenhorst obituary Saga of Opus East, a Failed Rockville-based Real Estate Titan, Continues in Court Gerald A. “Gerry” Rauenhorst, 86, a design-build pioneer and founder of The Opus Group, which became one of the largest U.S. builder-developers before being hit by financial troubles in the recession, died on April 24 in Edina, Minn., after a long illness.Rauenhorst, a civil engineer, launched an eponymous construction company in 1953 that later become The Opus Group, a Minneapolis-based commercial real estate developer that provides turnkey A/E/C services through three subsidiaries in nine U.S. offices.Opus has completed 2,300

Related Links: See who else is moving up, or moving on, in the AEC sector The New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, has named Moshe Kam dean of its Newark College of Engineering, effective Sept. 1. He heads the electrical and computer engineering department at Drexel University, Philadelphia, and is a former CEO of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional technical association, with about 400,000 members.KAMKam is a director of the engineering accreditation agency ABET Inc. and of the United Engineering Foundation. The college has about 2,500 undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students.Larry Mufson

AP Rep. James Oberstar, elected to 18 terms in Congress, chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Related Links: Au Revoir, Mr. Oberstar (ENR blog on his 2010 farewell press conference) 11/19/2010 ENR Q&A with Oberstar on the stimulus, one year after enactment (enr.com 2/12/2010) [subscription] Former House Transportation Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar, who built a record over more than 30 years as one of the staunchest congressional advocates of highways, transit and other public works, died on May 3 in Potomac, Md. He was 79.A statement from Oberstar's family said he died in his sleep but gave no

Related Links: Questions for Peter Hoffmann: A Hydrogen Advocate Whose Time May Have Come Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet A longtime chronicler of hydrogen energy and fuel cells, Peter Hoffmann died of a heart attack on April 18 at 78 years old. Hoffmann operated the longest-running news enterprise covering hydrogen energy, wrote books on the subject and was a long-time ENR and McGraw Hill contributor and overseas bureau chief.HOFFMANNEarly in his career, German-born Hoffmann worked in the Ford Motor Co.'s PR department, where he expanded his interests in automobiles, energy and photography, says

TempleMaj. Gen. (ret.) Merdith W. "Bo" Temple has been awarded the U. S. Army Engineer Association's 2014 Gold Order of the de Fleury Medal for contributions that “exemplify boldness, courage and commitment to a strong national defense,” says the association that represents the service's active-duty and retired engineers.

Related Links: Former Columbia University Dean to Head NYC Dept of Design and Construction (expanded) See Who Else is Moving Up, or Moving On, in the AEC Sector Feniosky Peña-Mora, a civil-environmental engineering professor at Columbia Peña-MoraUniversity, New York City, is named commissioner of the city's Dept. of Design and Construction, Mayor Bill De Blasio said on April 7. He will run the city's capital construction project-management agency, which its website says has about 1,200 employees and a $10-billion project portfolio. Peña-Mora will take a leave of absence from Columbia, which he joined in 2009 as its Fu Foundation School

Related Links: The Miller Hull Partnership Architect Robert Hull, a co-founder of the Miller Hull Partnership LLC, died April 7 from complications related to a stroke suffered while he was on sabbatical in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He was 69 years old.  Robert HullAt his death, Hull was involved in several projects, including a private residence in the San Juan Islands in Washington state; a wastewater treatment plant in Vancouver, B.C.; and a mixed-use development in the mountains of China. He was also leading the design of both a girls' school and a health clinic in Herat, Afghanistan, where he had

Related Links: DRBC's Outgoing Director Says Delaware River Basin Needs Strong Regulator Natural Gas Now website blog: DRBC Gets New Leader, Can He Turn It Around? See Who Else is Moving Up, on Moving On, in the AEC sector Steven J. Tambini, vice president of utility Pennsylvania American Water, is named executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission, an interstate-federal water resource management agency, as of Aug. 1. He will succeed Carol R. Collier, now a Tambinisenior adviser to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Commission chief administrative officer Richard C. Gore is interim head. Tambini is a

OPAC Engineers Mark Ketchum lectures at site of innovative Third Carquinez Strait Bridge in California, built in 2004. I-80 pedestrian bypass bridge in Berkeley, Calif. is "an enduring example of civic infrastructure that excels in both function and form," says Mayor Tom Bates. Related Links: Structural Engineers of Northern Calif. April 2014 News-Link to Mark Ketchum tribute by engineer Reinhard Ludke Online obituary and link to tributes Advancing Civil Engineering Design, Online Tools for Design, Analysis and Professional Development OPAC Engineers website VIDEO: Mark Ketchum presentation at 2013 ASCE Structures Congress on The Third Carquinez Bridge: A Modern Interpretation of