March/April 2021 - 9

Executive Director
Theresa Engler
tengler@dfi.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE

Executive Editor
Barbra Rodriguez
mageditor@dfi.org

Managing Editor and
Advertising Manager
Karol Paltsios
magads@dfi.org

THERESA ENGLER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The DFI Message Travels

Graphic Design
Faye Klein

Staff Photographer
Herb Engler

DFI Executive Committee
President
Michael H. Wysockey, Ph.D., P.E.
Vice President
Gianfranco Di Cicco
Treasurer
James O. Johnson
Secretary
J. Erik Loehr, Ph.D., P.E.
Past President
Matthew Janes, MBA, P.Eng.

Other Trustees
John A. Anderson
Allen Cadden, P.E., D.GE
Peter Faust, Dipl.-Ing.
Conrad W. Felice, Ph.D., P.E.
Franz-Werner Gerressen, Dipl.-Ing.
Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E.
Dan MacLean, P.Eng.
Matthew E. Meyer, P.E., D. GE
Lucky Nagarajan
Morgan NeSmith, P.E.
Kwabena Ofori-Awuah, P.E., D.GE, ENV SP
David Paul, P.E.
Howard A. Perko, Ph.D., P.E.
Lori Simpson, P.E., G.E.
Martin G. Taube, P.E., P.G.
Stefano Valagussa

DFI

®

Deep Foundations
The Magazine of the Deep
Foundations Institute (DFI) is
published bimonthly by DFI.
326 Lafayette Avenue
Hawthorne, NJ 07506, USA
T: +1 (973) 423-4030
F: +1 (973) 423-4031
Email: staff@dfi.org

DFI's Traveling Lecture was an idea born at a winter planning meeting over three
years ago. The purpose? To annually have a prominent DFI member share their
career and industry knowledge, as well as information on DFI's activities, with
students interested in becoming geoprofessionals and members of the industry.
During that initial discussion, it was noted that students typically don't learn
about DFI until they intern at or are hired by a company or employer who belongs to
DFI. Similarly, many in the industry have not yet attended a DFI conference or
seminar, or read a DFI publication. Therefore, it seemed wise to have a DFI member
raise awareness about the organization while teaching and traveling to universities,
meetings of other industry associations and private geotechnical engineering or deep
foundation construction firms
I'm happy to report that the DFI Traveling Lecture series has been extremely
successful and well received. Each year since 2018, the lecturer (selected by a
committee of peers) offers several topics from which student chapters and other
groups can request presentations on a preferred date.
The inaugural lecturer, John Wolosick, P.E., D.GE, of Keller, did an amazing job of
representing DFI and our industry through fascinating case histories on the use of
micropiles and soil nails for new construction, foundation remediation,
underpinning and slope stabilization. In his usual jovial and humorous way, he
captivated national audiences and inspired a couple of Canadian audiences.
Wolosick's was a tough act to follow. But Willie NeSmith, P.E., of Berkel and
Company, aptly served as the second ambassador for DFI and enthusiastically
shared his 45 years of expertise on augered cast-in-place and drilled displacement
piles. NeSmith lectured across the country, first in person in the West and
Southwest, and then via online webinars that reached global audiences once travel
became restricted by the pandemic. This link is to one of the lectures on DFI's
YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzX0sfTsJW0.
This year's lecturer, Dave Paul, P.E., of Paul GeoTek Engineering, is now " zooming "
around the country via livestreams. Paul's presentations will wind down as this
issue is being published - fittingly, with his most requested presentation,
" Emergency Repairs to the Mosul Dam. " It displays his vast experience with
managing risk, learning from failures and implementing innovative techniques in
support of seepage control for dams and levees.
Our 2021-2022 Traveling Lecturer will be announced soon. Be ready to request
the lecturer to speak at your event by going to www.dfi.org and selecting 'Awards
and Lectures.' You can also submit nominations for future lecturers. I'm sure you
know a fellow DFI member who has lots of information and experiences to share.
After all, that's a mainstay of DFI - the exchange and transfer of knowledge - and
we're pleased to bring that to your doorstep via the Traveling Lecturer Series.
Contact Theresa Engler at tengler@dfi.org
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAR/APR 2021 * 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzX0sfTsJW0 http://www.dfi.org
March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2021
