Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) announces that Robert Mast, P.E., S.E., senior principal, BergerABAM, and Arthur R. Anderson, ScD, Concrete Technology Corporation (posthumous), were awarded the 2019 Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in the Design and Construction of Marine Foundations at DFI’s SuperPile ’19 held May 1-3, 2019, in Seattle.
Mast and Anderson were recognized for the development and use of precast concrete piles for marine foundations. Mast was at the event to receive the award. A presentation on the innovative work was made by M. Lee Marsh, Ph.D., president and CEO of BergerABAM.
From 1950-1980 Mast and Anderson worked diligently to overcome skepticism regarding the viability of their concepts and to document analysis and design procedures that were made accessible to the industry via published articles and contributions to design codes.
In particular, Mast is credited for his role in the development of mostly precast structural systems for the Port of Seattle in the early 1960s; for contributions on laterally loaded energy absorption piles and early demonstration on capabilities and cost efficiency of concrete piles compared to steel and timber pile alternatives; and for the patented method for casting of hollow concrete piles, per US Patent 3,159,428 dated 9/29/1964 for “Apparatus for the continuous casting of hollow concrete bodies.”
Anderson is credited for his role in the establishment and development of Concrete Technology Corporation, the nation’s first precast plant in Tacoma, Wash., with his brother Tom Anderson; and for his role as co-author, with Saad Moustfa, in the widely-recognized publication of “Ultimate Strength of Prestressed Concrete Piles and Columns,” ACI Journal, 1970.
The Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in the Design and Construction of Marine Foundations was established in 2008 to recognize the innovative spirit of Ben C. Gerwick and his phenomenal contribution to the marine foundation industry over his 62-year professional career as a contractor, educator and construction engineer. The award encourages and recognizes innovation in the marine foundation industry. Recipients are selected by the DFI Marine Foundations Committee.
Contact: Theresa Engler, DFI Executive Director, (973) 423-4030, tengler@dfi.org
