ULLICO Inc. Related Links: AFL-CIO statement on Death of Mark Ayers Electrical Workers' Union Shows Muscle In Choice for New Building-Trades Chief Laborers Returning to Trades But Total Harmony Still Elusive Trades Vow To Keep Political Status Quo Mark H. Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Dept. (BCTD), died suddenly early on April 8 in Washington, D.C., a department spokesman has confirmed. Ayers, who had been in the role since 2007, was 63 years old.No details were released on the cause or circumstances of his death, but according to an industry group official with ties to the

  ORIENTMark Orient has joined Tishman Construction Corp. as senior vice president, based in Washington, D.C. He formerly held the same title at Tompkins Builders Inc., a Washington-based unit of Turner Construction Corp. Tishman, acquired by AECOM in 2010, also promoted Steve Dimond and Ken Harris to first vice president and Vince Giganti to vice president of mechanical-electrical-plumbing services.CNH Global N.V., a Netherlands-based global construction and agricultural equipment manufacturer and distributor, has enamed Mario Gasparri to be president of its U.S. construction equipment unit in Burr Ridge, Ill., effective April 1. He replaces James McCullough, who retires March 31. Gasparri

Ivan Viest Ivan M. Viest, an immigrant Slovak engineer who pioneered research in composite construction, earthquake resistance and load and resistance factor design (LRFD) of buildings and bridges, died on Feb. 11 in Bethlehem, Pa. He was 89. The cause of death was not released.Viest's research at the University of Illinois in the 1950s led to acceptance of composite design criteria for steel bridges. Research he then championed for the National Academy of Sciences expanded the knowledge of fatigue and fracture and led to advances in LRFD use.Viest added to his body of work while a manager for Bethlehem Steel

  VAN EEBertrand van Ee and Erik Oostwegel have been named chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of Royal Haskoning DHV, a Netherlands-based engineer set to be formed this summer in a merger of Dutch firms DHV Group, Amersfoort, and Royal Haskoning, Nijmegen, according to executives on Feb. 29. Van Ee and Oostwegel are the respective chairmen of those companies. Royal Haskoning DHV, to be based in Amersfoort, would be one of Europe's largest, independently owned consultants, with about $925 million in 2011 revenue, it reported. Van Ee will be located in Amersfoort, and Oostwegel will work primarily in Rotterdam, says

Brian P. Reed has been elevated to CEO of Jacksonville, Fla.-based engineering firm RS&H as part of a company succession that takes effect on July 31. Formerly senior vice president and director of the firm's aviation program, he will replace Leerie T. Jenkins in the new role. Jenkins remains chairman. David Robertson, the firm's chief operating officer, takes on the added role of president, effective immediately. RS&H ranks at No. 79 on ENR's list of the Top 500 Design Firms, with $143 million in 2010 revenue.Steve Townes has been named CEO of Louis Berger Services Inc., a new corporate unit

Gerard G. "Gerry" Gilmore, a former principal and senior vice president of architect-engineer HOK Inc., St. Louis, who helped guide its global growth over a 40-year career there, died Feb. 7 in Chesterfield, Mo., following surgery. He was 75. A former U.S. Navy officer who helped run construction operations at the Charleston, S.C., naval shipyard, Gilmore was hired by HOK co-founder Gyo Obata in 1963 and served in top marketing and business development roles and on the firm's board until 2001. He retired in 2004, but remained a consultant until 2010. "Gerry did as much as any individual to take

Stephen M. Levin was a physician, noted construction occupational illness researcher and co-director of the pioneering Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  LevinBut as a carpenter's son, he also could communicate with craft workers and warned of on-site health risks they faced after the 9/11 attack and for decades before. Some 32 years of research and advocacy ended on Feb. 7 with Levin's death from cancer in Rockland County, N.Y. He was 70."To be very honest, I think Dr. Levin was the first one to identify or suspect

HDR Inc., Omaha, has announced executive changes resulting from a company succession.

Dutch international engineer ARCADIS has named Neil McArthur chairman and CEO, replacing Harrie Noy, who has been in the roles since 2000 and will retire. ARCADIS also named to its executive board Stephanie Hottenhuis, who had been the firm's Europe director. The changes take effect on May 16. McArthur, who joined the firm last year and was an executive board member, also manages the firm's Asia and Middle East strategy and led the integration process after the firm's 2011 acquisition of London-based EC Harris LLP. McArthur is formerly Europe managing director at business consultant Booz & Co. Zachary A. Smith

Photo by Henry Cabala Best Higher Education/Research Project: Kravis Center at Claremont McKenna College Related Links: See all of the Best of the Best Projects 2011 Winners Kravis Center at Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont, Calif.  Region ENR California Project Team Owner Claremont McKenna CollegeArchitect Rafael Viñoly Architects PC, New York CityGeneral Contractor Bernards, San Fernando, Calif.Engineers Andreasen Engineering, Pomona, Calif.; Nabih Youssef & Assoc., Los Angeles; IBE Consulting Engineers, Sherman Oaks, Calif.Using a striking design by prominent architect Rafael Viñoly, the $56-million, 169,000-sq-ft academic and administration complex on the campus of a private liberal-arts college in eastern Los Angeles has remastered