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Awards

USSD Awards & Recognitions

USSD's awards program recognizes individuals and organizations that make significant contributions to the dam and levee industry. The awards and recognitions are presented during the USSD Annual Conference.

Application deadlines extended to February 1, 2024 for all awards except the Ken Hansen Concrete Dam Paper Award! See that award for details.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Honors an individual whose lifetime of dedication and achievement has contributed significantly to the dam engineering profession.

2023 Recipient
Dr. Gonzalo Castro

Dr. Gonzalo Castro

Excellence in Constructed Project Award

Honors an individual or team that makes significant contributions through the construction, remediation, or removal of a dam or water resources structure.

Sponsored by:

2023 Recipient
Lake Isabella Dam Modification
Owner:	US Army Corps of Engineers
Contractors:	FDS JV (Flatiron, Dragados, and Sukut Joint Venture)

Isabella Dam Safety Modification Project
Owner: US Army Corps of Engineers

Contractors: FDS JV (Flatiron, Dragados, and Sukut Joint Venture)

Exceptional Young Professional of the Year

Recognizes an individual age 35 or under who, through both their career and community involvement, exemplify USSD’s four mission goals: advocate, educate, collaborate and cultivate.

Sponsored by:

2023 Recipient
Nicholas Contreras
Gannett Fleming

Nicholas Contreras
Gannett Fleming

President's Award

Bi-annual award selected by outgoing USSD President recogninzing a member who has provided exceptional service to USSD.

2023 Recipient
Marty Teal headshot

Martin Teal
WEST Consultants

Outstanding Paper

Recognizes the outstanding paper presented during each USSD Conference.

2023 Recipient

Christie Hale, Geosyntec Consultants, Inc.
Site Adjustment Factors Applied to Response Spectra for Hard Rock Dam Sites

Outstanding Young Professional Paper

Recognizes the outstanding paper presented during each USSD Conference.

2023 Recipient

Christian Armstrong, WSP Golder
Laboratory evaluation of residual shear strength for A filtered tailing dam

Outstanding Poster Presentation

Recognizes the outstanding poster presentation during each USSD Conference.

2023 Recipient

Not Awarded

Public Safety, Security, and Emergency Management for Dams Recognition

Recognizes organizations, specific projects, and individuals have taken the call to lead the dam industry in establishing public safety and security standards & guidelines, enhancing public safety and security and public safety controls, providing education and raising awareness, and staying situationally aware of changing and evolving threats and increased public safety risks.

Sponsored by:

2023 Recipient
James Demby headshot

James Demby
Dept. of the Army

Kenneth D. Hansen Concrete Dam Paper Award (NEW)

Submission Deadline extended to March 1, 2024

This award, which will be funded annually by Ken Hansen, will include a $10,000 prize for a paper focused on concrete dams, with the intent being to instill greater confidence for owners, engineers, and regulators in the benefits of innovative design and construction techniques of concrete dams. Ken identifies concrete dams as “First Class Dams,” meaning they do not erode when overtopped nor settle when shaken in a seismic event.

KDHansen (1)

About Kenneth D. Hansen

Ken Hansen was born in New York City in 1931 and moved with his family to Albuquerque when he was a teen. He graduated high school early and entered the University of New Mexico after receiving a half-tuition scholarship of $42.50 per semester. While at UNM he joined the New Mexico Air National Guard and was called to active duty in the Air Force for 18 months during the Korean War. After being discharged, Ken used the GI Bill to re-enroll at UNM and complete his B.S. degree in Architectural Engineering.

Read more in the Fall 2022 issue of The Bulletin.

The intentions of the prize include:

  • Recognize an original, unpublished paper that adheres to the tenants of the award as described. Papers submitted for the 2023 or 2024 USSD Annual Conference may be considered.
  • To instill greater confidence for owners, engineers, and regulators in the benefits of innovative design and construction techniques of concrete dams, which are also identified by Ken as “First Class Dams.” (Note: “First Class Dams,” as defined by Ken, are dams that do not erode when overtopped nor settle when shaken in a seismic event).
  • Focus on practical and innovative solutions that make concrete dams easier to design and construct. The prize is not intended to showcase advanced structural analyses, numerical analyses, or other similar analytical and/or computer- generated applications, means, and methods related to concrete dams.

Potential Topics Include: 

  • Conditions where only a concrete dam should be considered.
  • Design of concrete dams on non-rock foundations case studies.
  • Advantages of concrete dams over earth dams – a listing.
  • Did you consider all cost related items in your comparative dam type selection study.
  • Effect of duration of infrequent high intensity floods and earthquakes on dam types.
  • What are all the risks and costs associated when a concrete dams vs earth dams subjected to earthquakes with special emphasis of duration of strong shaking.
  • Why an owner may not want the estimated lowest first cost dam type.
  • Conditions where a concrete dam most likely will n=be the lowest total cost alternative.
  • Re-analysis of dam failure data concrete vs earth dam failures with greater emphasis on more recent failures.

Visit the award site for more information & to submit a paper.

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