Arturo Ressi di Cervia, one of the preeminent constructors of slurry walls in the world, died of cancer at age 72 in New York City on Aug. 23.Ressi worked on signature projects in many countries, but the most famous may be the Italian engineer's first job in the U.S.: construction of the slurry-wall perimeter of the World Trade Center basement."The quality of the work became evident on Sept. 11, 2001, when the walls were re-exposed after three decades. The walls withstood the Sept. 11 attack and helped prevent the Hudson River from flooding parts of lower Manhattan," says George J.

Related Links: See who else is moving up, or moving on in the AEC sector Chell A. Roberts is named founding dean of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering at the University of San Diego (USD), Calif., which will be formally inaugurated on Sept. 26. He had been executive dean of the College of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University, Tempe, and also served as its engineering chair.RobertsThe school was launched last fall with a $20-million donation from Darlene Marcos Shiley. Her late husband, Donald Shiley, a hydraulic engineering graduate of the University of Portland, Oregon, was an entrepreneur and

Related Links: Cooper, Robertson & Partners website Karen K. Cooper, 54, president of New York City architect-planner Cooper, Robertson & Partners, died on Aug. 22 after a struggle with cancer, the company confirms.CooperShe joined the firm in 1979 and was named president in 2008, responsible for firm-wide strategic planning and business performance, the firm says.Cooper was also a marketing consultant to developers and an advisor to the New York City School Construction Authority on the reorganization of its design and construction department practices, according to Cooper, Robertson.The firm reported $9.1 million in total 2012 revenue; it was ranked at No.

Corps of Engineers Morris (far right in hardhat) observes recovery activities in Buffalo, N.Y. after 1977 blizzard. Related Links: Memoir of Lt. Gen. John W. Morris, December 2000 (Link to PDF) Family obituary and memorial donation details Lt. Gen. John W. “Jack” Morris II, who led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1970s through an agency revamping and a period of tough scrutiny from regulators and environmentalists, but also one in which the Corps managed two huge and politically charged construction programs, died on Aug. 20 in Wilmington, N.C.His son, Col. John W. Morris III (ret.) confirmed the

Related Links: See who else is moving up, or moving on, in the AEC sector Olmsted Lock and Dam Project: Submerging Bulky Dam Shells in the Ohio River Garry Higdem has joined Parsons Corp. as president of its new construction group, which the firm says will manage North HigdemAmerican infrastructure construction. Based in Denver, he was president and CEO of the EPC group at CH2M Hill Ltd. since 2007 and its principal-in-charge of the $5.3-billion Panama Canal expansion. Higdem also was CEO of APAC and served as a division vice president of Granite Construction.Barney T. Martin, president of bridge engineer

Related Links: Obituaries of other AEC sector leaders and innovators William G. "Bill" Scott, 69, a construction executive and project manager who helped complete schedule-challenged dams, among other projects, died on April 24 in Denver.ScottThe cause was cancer, according to former colleague Garth L. Wilson, chairman of consultant Engineering and Construction Insights.Scott, who began his career with contractor S.J. Groves & Sons, became a vice president at Green Construction Co. and later president of its mining unit in Guyana.Scott was a key participant in managing completion of the $217-million Merrill Creek Dam in western New Jersey in the mid 1980s,

Related Links: UC San Diego Names New Dean of Jacobs School of Engineering Possible quick fix to Bay Bridge broken rods Bridge Opening Delayed Until Broken Rods Are Fixed in December Cracks Delay Work at Floating Bridge Project in Washington State See who else is moving up, or moving on, in the AEC sector The University of California, San Diego, has named Albert P. "Al"Pisano dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering, effective Sept. 1. A professor of mechanical, electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, he also served Pisanoas engineering dean. Pisano will replace Juan C.

Related Links: See who else is moving up, or moving on, in the AEC sector firms Kier completes 221m ($337 million) deal for May Gurney Kier and FCC team confirmed for 600m ($900 millon) Mersey Gateway project Cooper Union Won't Be Free For 2014 Freshman Class Kier Group plc, the London-based construction and services firm, has named Stephen Bowcott as chief operating officer, a newly created position in the company. The appointment comes as the firm completes its July 1 acquisition of Norwich, England-based municipal infrastructure-maintenance contractor May Gurney. The $337-million transaction creates a firm with a total of 16,000

Related Links: DOE Nuclear Waste Cleanup Contracts Under Scrutiny Issues Mount at Hanford Site, Including Waste Plant Design Website for the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment Plant Bridge-in-a-Backpack Tech 'Blows Up' Next-Gen Bridges Pipeline Services Firm Aegion Buys California Contractor Brinderson See who else is moving up, or moving on, at AEC sector firms Bechtel National Inc. has named Margaret "Peggy" McCullough as project director for the estimated $12.2-billion nuclear-waste vitrification project at the U.S. Energy Dept.'s Hanford site in Washington state. A principal vice president, she replaces Frank Russo, who is taking on a new assignment for Bechtel in the

Related Links: History of STV Inc. Obituaries of other leaders and innovators in the AEC sector Ira Hooper, a former chief structural engineer at STV Inc., New York City, who worked on complex projects for NASA and the U.S. Energy Dept., among others, died on June 20, says the firm. He was 93.HOOPERHooper's expertise included multi-story frames, plastic design, composite construction and rapid design for steel and concrete.His projects included the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the world's largest structures, and the Enrico Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill.Hooper, also a vice