May/June 2022 - 79

Simone Avallone,
Student Leader in Rome
MEMBER PROF I LE
DFI inaugurated its international
Student Chapter program in 2009. The
first student chapter was founded at
the University of California, Berkeley.
There are currently chapters at
Aliraquia University, Baghdad, Iraq;
American University in Dubai; City
College of New York; Manhattan
College, New York; University of
California, Berkeley; University of
Illinois; University of Missouri; and
Sapienza University, Rome.
Simone Avallone is the president of
the newest chapter, at Sapienza
University in Rome. The chapter was
formed in 2019, has 10 members and is
growing. Avallone is representative of
a host of young geotechnical engineers
who are in the process of gaining, or
have recently completed, their degrees,
typically at the graduate level. His
involvement in DFI, knowing of its
chapter program and being a person
who " makes things happen, " led him to
the idea of forming a student chapter at
his university. He was impressed by
the mission of the DFI Student Chapter
program which states, " A DFI Student
Chapter is organized to serve as a
pr imary means through which
student members of DFI at a particular
college or university may participate
in the improvement of the planning,
design and construction aspects of
deep foundations and deep excavations. "
The program's mission
statement goes on to highlight the
interactions that students can develop
with practicing professionals in the
industries served by DFI with, in many
cases, DFI providing participant
funding for its chapters.
Avallone's Own Path
Aval lone's personal mission is
expressed in his desire to pursue a
career focused on deep foundations. He
feels that the profession represents a
very important sector of civil engineering
and is fundamentally linked to
large engineering works, which he finds
fascinating and challenging. He
highlights that, " I chose to pursue a
university career, and then a professional
career focused on deep foundations
as I immediately became passionate
about the world of geotechnics and
its importance in engineering. This
sector is always the subject of technological
innovation and therefore
constantly stimulates us to be at the
forefront of new designs and construction
methods. " To achieve his goals, he
earned an undergraduate degree in civil
and industrial engineering, and a
master 's degree in environmental
engineering for sustainable development
at Sapienza University.
Avallone credits his geotechnics
professor, Ignazio Paolo Marzano, with
inspiring him to reorient his studies
from purely structural to geotechnical
engineering. He notes, " Professor
Marzano made us experience the real
world of the profession, made us design
works and took us to construction sites
to see how the works we designed with
him were carried out. " He tells us that
Professor Marzano's teaching methods
and personal passion for the profession
were a major influence in his own " love
for the world of geotechnics and deep
foundations. " Professor Marzano was
the one who introduced Avallone to DFI,
inviting him to participate in the DFIEFFC
conference in Rome in 2018, where
Avallone puts it, " I met your world. "
AUTHOR S. Scot Litke, Hon. D.GE
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2022 * 79
A Plan for the Future
Avallone sees himself practicing in
both the academic and private sectors
of the profession. As he puts it, " My
character always leads me to share
everything I have and what I know,
which is why I would be comfortable in
the academic world. At the same time,
consulting is the area for which I have
the most passion. " As a registered
engineer he has already worked as a
design consultant on multiple projects.
As it relates to his participation in
DFI, he feels that being able to participate
in the organization's conferences
provides a wonderful opportunity to
interact with fellow professionals from
whom he can learn a great deal, and
with whom he can share his own ideas
and experiences. In specific reference to
the Sapienza Student Chapter, his
objective is to provide students with an
opportunity to " see " the real world of
geotechnical practice. In this effort he
credits his co-chapter leaders, Vice
President Giammarco Galetto, Secretary
Chiara Picozzi and Treasurer Matteo
Tessitori, as playing key roles in the
chapter's success.
May/June 2022

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