DFI Announces New Co-Chairs of International Grouting Committee Kathleen Bensko and Raffaella Granata

September 1, 2021, Hawthorne N.J.:

Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) announces Kathleen Bensko, P.G., Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC], U.S., and Raffaella Granata, Trevi, Italy, as the new co-chairs of its International Grouting Committee. They take the helm in October from inaugural chairs Paolo Gazzarrini, P.Eng., Sea to Sky Geotech, Canada, and Piero Roberti, Bauer Foundation Corp., Germany. 

Bensko is the senior geologist at FERC’s Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, Office of Energy Projects in Washington, D.C. In her nearly 7 years with FERC and 30 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), she has developed a strong construction background through work on numerous high-profile dam and grouting projects, with an emphasis on risk-informed decision making. She was the project delivery team lead for the revision of the USACE Grouting Technology manual published in 2017. She is also a member of ASCE and ASDSO, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and is a professional geologist in Pennsylvania.

Granata graduated from the University of Milan, Italy, with a specialization in geotechnique and hydrogeology. She is a technical advisor in design, research and development, and has been involved with construction-design and technical supervision in a number of projects including tunnels, dams and levees, and confinement of polluted areas. A member of the EFFC-DFI task groups on tremie concrete and support fluids for deep foundations, Granata has authored and co-authored more than 50 technical papers. 

DFI’s International Grouting Committee was formed following ongoing discussions and clarifications on the sometimes controversial differences in the international grouting industry. The primary initiative of the committee is to prepare general guidelines and specific documents summarizing the different international approaches and procedures existing in the industry.