FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
Contact: Karen Whitney
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 22–01
FHWA Research Engineer Wins
Arthur S. Flemming Award
Promoted Advanced Bridge
Inspection Technologies
Glenn A. Washer, a research
structural engineer at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), has been named a recipient of the prestigious Arthur S.
Flemming award. He received the
award in the category of applied science from The George Washington University
in Washington, D.C.
“I commend Glenn for earning this award and for advancing
America’s ability to ensure the safety of bridges,” U.S. Transportation
Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. “This
is what good government is about, and it underscores our commitment to improving
transportation.”
Washer was cited for
achievement in establishing the Nondestructive Evaluation Validation Center (NDEVC),
the first national center for the development and testing of nondestructive
evaluation (NDE) technologies for inspecting bridges. The center is housed
at FHWA's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Va.
Examples of NDE
technologies include instruments that "see" through paint and the
development of a special vehicle that can travel at highway speeds while
gathering internal images of bridge conditions using instruments similar to
sonograms.
“Glenn’s award is a
tremendous honor that highlights our results-oriented approach to research and
development," FHWA Deputy Executive Director Vincent F. Schimmoller said.
“His keen vision and outstanding leadership have resulted in the development
of this unique center which provides an essential service to our customers and
partners and is helping to revolutionize the bridge evaluation process.”
The objective of the NDEVC
is to improve the state-of-the-practice for highway bridge inspection.
The center encourages use of NDE technologies that allow the internal
condition of structures and pavements to be quickly and accurately analyzed with
the least possible disruption of traffic. The center serves as a national
resource for state transportation agencies, industry, and academia concerned
with the development and testing of NDE technologies.
These technologies surpass current
methods for evaluating bridges, which include inspecting the deck condition
visually, sounding a bare deck with a chain or hammer, or taking cores and
removing paint. These traditional methods often require lane closures, are
limited in their ability to determine the internal condition of the bridge, and
are difficult to apply rapidly to a large number of bridges.
NDE technologies reveal internal conditions at the early stages before
they are visually observable, allowing for lower-cost repairs and improving the
ability of inspectors to accurately assess the condition of a bridge.
The NDEVC provides state
highway agencies with independent evaluation and validation of NDE technologies,
develops new NDE technologies, and provides technical assistance to states
exploring the use of these advanced technologies.
Washer joined the FHWA in
1990. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia and recently earned a
doctorate in materials science and engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
He is the second FHWA researcher to receive the Flemming award in the
last four years. FHWA research
engineer Carol Tan Esse received the award in 1997 for developing a prototype
software called the Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT) and a
CD-ROM for computer visualization of pedestrian and bicycle roadway
improvements.
The Flemming program, now
in its 52nd year, honors outstanding men and women in the federal government.
The award is named after Dr. Arthur Sherwood Flemming, whose seven-decade career
included service as president of three universities, secretary of the former
Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and chairman of the U.S. Commission
on Aging and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Past recipients of the
Flemming award include U.S. Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan, former Transportation
Secretary Elizabeth Dole, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National
Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
Additional information on
the NDE program is at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center website at www.tfhrc.gov.
###