March/April 2023 - 59

Bernie Hertlein - A Friend and Mentor
At nearly every DFI event that I
attended, at happy hour after the
technical sessions, there was a constant
variable: a white bearded gentleman,
often in a colorful shirt, sipping red
wine and holding court on a barstool.
He never had his own agenda, but
rather would pleasantly listen to your
professional conundrum, personal
struggle or random musings. He
responded with advice and words of
wisdom, and it was usually delivered
with a delightful tale from his past as an
example or lesson learned.
Bernie Hertlein was such a unique
and wonderful human. Although he had
numerous fantastic professional accomplishments,
such as writing a book
on nondestructive testing methods,
receiving the DFI Distinguished Service
Award in 2015 and bringing crosshole
sonic logging technology to the U.S., I
never heard him boasting. I actually
loved telling people who didn't know
about Bernie's esteemed professional
career, because there was always a
moment of mild surprise from them as
they reconciled it with their image of
this unassuming fellow.
Bernie was one of the founding
members of the Women in Deep
Foundations (WiDF) Committee. He
was a constant presence, supporting,
providing input and suggestions, or a
fresh perspective on things. He spoke
his mind openly and sometimes
critically, but it was always constructive
and thoughtful.
I served with Bernie as a trustee for
the DFI Educational Trust. He was
extremely passionate about bringing
young people into the profession, and
particularly into the trades that support
our profession such as drill rig operators,
welders, rig mechanics and
drafters. Bernie volunteered countless
hours to support industry education
Bernie in his jeff cap with the GEI team at DFI48
and reviewing scholarship applications
for the Trust. He was instrumental in
creating the Clyde N. Baker Jr. Foundation
Engineering Scholarship Fund
and in raising money to support it.
It used to be a running joke that
Bernie was on EVERY technical committee.
Only, it was hardly a joke. He
dedicated his time to the work of the
technical committees whether it was
writing new specifications and standards
or suggesting new topics and
areas of interest to explore.
I knew Bernie long before I joined
GEI Consultants 5 years ago, but until
then I hadn't had the pleasure of
working with him on a project. Soon I
experienced the great feeling of telling a
client that I had the perfect person to get
them out of a situation where another
party was incorrectly interpreting
thermal integrity profiling results. Or to
bring Bernie in to educate a client that
was struggling with all the nondestructive
testing options for foundation
verification.
In 2021, I had the pleasure of leading
a team that was shortlisted for a Federal
Highway Administration geotechnical
services contract. and one of the task
orders included the creation of videos to
educate the audience on five of the
A-GaME technologies: cone penetration
testing, optical and acoustic televiewers,
electrical resistivity, measurement
while drilling, and seismic
geophysical methods. The videos had a
secret agent theme and Bernie starred in
all five as the all-knowing British
spymaster, Phi, who educated the secret
agents on the A-GaME technologies and
how to use them. I later found out that
this was one of Bernie's favorite projects
of his career. At the DFI Annual Conference
in National Harbor, Maryland, he
wore Phi's signature black turtleneck
and jeff cap and happily made the rounds
through the exhibit hall. I am so glad that I
have those memories of Bernie as well as
the videos to watch anytime.
Bernie was a very important person
in my career. A friend and mentor, he
always brought a fresh perspective to a
situation and gave me honest advice.
This kind of counsel isn't always
welcome, but it is invaluable. Ultimately,
it can be the most powerful
factor in changing your mentality and
moving you forward in your career. I
will always remember Bernie with a
twinkle in his eye and ready to share a
Far Side comic. Rest in peace, my friend.
AUTHORS Helen Robinson, P.E., PMP, D.GE, of GEI Consultants and secretary of the DFI Educational Trust Board of Trustees
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAR/APR 2023 * 59

March/April 2023

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