2013

Continuing its series of workshops on the best practices for seepage cut-off projects, the DFI Seepage Control Working Group is hosting a 2.5-day Levee and Coastal Rehabilitation workshop at the Hyatt Regency Miami, in Miami, Florida on February 12-13, 2014. Focusing on ground improvement and foundation strengthening for levee and coastal restoration, the workshop will […]

The Helical Piles and Tiebacks Committee of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) has developed an educational PowerPoint presentation on helical pile and tieback solutions. The presentation provides an overview of the history, materials, design, construction, and quality control and assurance of helical piles and tiebacks. The committee prepared this presentation as an educational tool for […]

The DFI Educational Trust announces the establishment of three new scholarship programs: the Manual Fine Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund, John O’Malley Scholarship Fund and Francis Gularte Scholarship Fund. The Manuel Fine Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund was established through a $25,000 donation from the Heavy Construction Association of Ontario. The fund honors Manuel Fine, who served […]

Charles J. Berkel, 88, Chairman of the Board and Founder of Berkel & Company, one of the largest piling contractors in the U.S., passed away November 4, 2013. A Charter Member of Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), Berkel was the recipient of the 2007 DFI Distinguished Service Award, and a major donor to the DFI Educational […]

Four of the 15 DFI Technical Committees have new committee chairs. It is the role of the Technical Committees to focus on the unique issues of major methods and technologies within deep foundations and excavation, and to keep DFI members and the industry up to date with the state of practice through publications, guidance documents, […]

Hessam Yazdani, Ph.D., candidate in geotechnical engineering at the University of Oklahoma is the winner of the DFI Educational Trust 2013 Student Paper Competition. His winning paper is titled, “Optimization of Piled-Raft Foundations Considering Soil-Pile Raft Interaction.” Yazdani received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Kerman, Iran, and moved […]

Armin Stuedlein, Ph.D., P.E., of Oregon State University (OSU) is the winner of this year’s DFI Educational Trust Young Professor Paper Competition for his paper, “Factors Affecting Reliability-Based Serviceability Limit State Design of Augered Cast-in-Place Piles in Cohesionless Soil.” He was assisted with the paper by graduate student Seth Reddy. Dr. Armin W. Stuedlein, P.E., […]

DFI Trustee Arturo L. Ressi di Cervia died in New York on August 23, 2013 at the age of 72. Ressi became a member of DFI in 1990 and a trustee in 2010. As a trustee he offered his experience and intellect in the Institute’s governance. He was recently named the recipient of DFI’s highest […]

The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) announces that the Thermal Integrity Profiler (TIP) is the winner of the 2013 C. William Bermingham Award for Innovation. The award will be presented at DFI’s 38th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations, September 25-28, Phoenix, Ariz. The Thermal Integrity Profiler (TIP) was developed by Foundations and Geotechnical Engineering LLC, and […]

Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) announces that Bengt H. Fellenius, Dr.Tech., P.Eng., former Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa, will be the tenth John Mitchell Lecturer. He will speak at the DFI-EFFC International Conference on Deep Foundations & Piling, May 21-23, 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden at Stockholmsmässan. Bengt is an internationally active geotechnical […]