Related Links: Richard G. Weingardt Website Books by Richard Weingardt ENR Book Review: Engineering Legends, Great American Civil Engineers  WeingardtRichard G. Weingardt, 75, a structural engineer who, as a practitioner, author and industry association president, was a vocal advocate for stronger engineering leadership in government and business, died on Sept. 24 in Denver. The cause of death was complications of cancer, says his wife and business partner, Evelyn S. Weingardt."The lower we are moved down the food chain from leadership roles ... the easier [it is] to use 'low bid' to select us," Richard Weingardt said in 1995 as

ENR File Photo McGrath (right) chats with a field engineer at a California dam project site in 1966. Related Links: Obituary for David McGrath in The Newark Star Ledger David J. "Dave" McGrath, who served as the publisher of ENR for 23 years and was one of the first American business-publishing executives to link to the China marketplace, died on Sept. 26 in Palm City, Fla. He was 86.McGrath, ENR publisher from 1965 until 1988, was also a McGraw-Hill Cos. senior vice president. Working for the firm for 38 years, McGrath began his company career in advertising sales and later

Related Links: Gates Still Needed for Lake, Ex-Corps Head Says: Times-Picayune Letter to the Editor, June 2007 Corps Culpable for Flooding? Answers to the Accusations 2006 National Public Radio report: Why Did the 17th Street Canal Levee Fail? Dawson & Associates website tribute HeibergLt. Gen. Elvin R. "Vald" Heiberg III, who became, in 1984, the youngest U.S. Army officer to lead the Corps of Engineers since the 19th century but who also expressed some post-Hurricane Katrina regret over his role in the agency's earlier actions and decisions in construction of regional defenses, died on Sept. 27 in Arlington, Va., at

Related Links: Website of California State University, Chico Online obituary for Willard Warzyn WarzynWillard Warzyn, 95, a heavy-structural engineer who, in 1953, founded Warzyn Engineering Inc. to advance the emerging field of soil engineering, died on Sept. 19 in Madison, Wis.He consulted on numerous projects in Wisconsin and Illinois and made cost-saving innovations in bridge and marina design, says Clifford Lawson, the firm's former chief geotechnical engineer. "He was always noted for the energy he put into his work," says Lawson.Warzyn also was state chapter president of two engineers' groups. His firm, which ranked among the Top 500 Design Firms

Photo courtesy of ACCE Morley Builders Mark Benjamin (far left), with other former ACCE presidents at an undated association event, was a strong supporter of industry education. Related Links: Link to Tribute Info for Mark & Luke Benjamin on Morley Builders Website Mark Benjamin Speaks on Undergrad Construction Education Santa Monica Plane Crash Victim Remembered as Generous Community Supporter Morley Builders has named Charles Muttillo, a 28-year veteran of the Santa Monica, Calif., building firm and vice president of general contracting operations, as president to succeed President and CEO Mark Benjamin, who died Sept. 29 in the crash of his

Related Links: Jimmie W. Hinze Graduate Scholarship in Construction Safety - Univ. of Florida M.E. Rinker School of Building Construction Jimmie W. Hinze, 67, a well-known construction safety researcher and champion, died on Sept. 12 in College Station, Texas, of cancer. He served, most recently, as director of the Fluor Program for Construction Safety at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and previously led its M.E. Rinker School of Building Construction.HINZIEHinze's research "was groundbreaking and unprecedented and provided the technical foundation for significant aspects of contemporary approaches to construction safety," says Robert Ries, the current Rinker school director.In August, Hinze presented

Related Links: NAVFAC Facebook page (See Sept. 20 and Sept. 16 posts) A Naval Facilities Engineering Command employee and a NAVFAC contract security guard were among the 12 people killed in the Sept. 16 shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, according to NAVFAC statements on its Facebook page. Kenneth "Kenny" Proctor, 46, of Waldorf, Md., a NAVFAC utilities plant supervisor, was working in the central heating plant behind the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters (NAVSEA) and was shot in the alley between those buildings, NAVFAC said in a Sept. 17 Facebook posting.Proctor joined NAVFAC's Washington. D.C. region in 2003 as an

Jonathan E. "Jon" Pettit, a Seattle-based managing principal of architect-engineer DLR Group, Omaha, and a 36-year industry veteran, died on Aug. 19 of cancer, the company announced on Sept. 3. He was 61. PETTITPettit led Seattle operations and provided strategic direction for DLR's growth into a regional design leader in the corporate, justice and education sectors, says the firm.He also was key in building its retail and workplace practice nationally and, in the 1980s, led the firm's acquisition of architect John Graham & Associates.DLR ranks at No. 101 on ENR's list of Top 500 Design Firms, with $116.3 million in

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: 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.