January 31, 2017
Majdi Othman Named Co-Editor of ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal
Majdi Othman, Ph.D., P.E., (Georgia) has accepted an invitation to be co-editor of the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal starting in January 2018. A Senior Principal Engineer with more than 25 years of engineering experience focused on geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering projects, Majdi said "I am excited about serving in this role, as it will help me be more connected with geotechnical research and will give me and Geosyntec more interaction with our colleagues in…
January 30, 2017
Ravi Arulanantham to Present on Environmental Law for The Orange County Bar Association
Ravi Arulanantham (California) will present at the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) Environmental Law Meeting on February 2, 2017. Ravi will present alongside Norman A. Dupont, Esq. (Ring Bender LLLP) and Debbie Soukup, Ph.D. (Partner Engineering and Science, Inc.). The series, titled "You've Got the Lab Data, Now What?" will discuss how to navigate lab reports and increasingly diverse regulatory action levels. This program is useful for both experienced and newer environmental lawyers whose cases…
Logan Brant (Texas) was recently elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Houston Branch of the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT), and was promoted to Full Member status within the society's Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics (OSIG) Committee. Through his involvement with SUT Houston, Logan regularly volunteers with the School Touring Program as a presenter to Middle School Science Classes on the topics of "Geology Rocks" and "Seeing with Sound: Exploring Oceans and…
January 26, 2017
Geosyntec Awarded Geotechnical Instrumentation Monitoring and Data Management at Chickamauga Lock
Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. was awarded a 2-year contract for the Geotechnical Instrumentation Monitoring and Data Management as a subcontractor to the general contractor, Heeter Geotechnical Construction, for the US Army Corps of Engineers Chickamauga Lock Replacement project. Project background: Chickamauga Navigation Lock, seven miles upstream of Chattanooga, Tenn., at river mile 471, is owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Upstream of Chickamauga Lock are 318 miles…
Geosyntec's Thomas Bristol, Brandon Mogan, Melissa Setz, Robert Bachus, Glenn Rix, and Njoroge Wainaina were among the contributors to the report, entitled "The Hydraulic and Geotechnical Aspects of the South Carolina Floods of October 1-5, 2015 Related to Offshore Hurricane Joaquin." The other contributors to the report were Hermann M. Fritz (Team Leader), Ronald Andrus, Alejandro Martinez, Fikret Atalay, Barnabas Bwambale, and Jeremy Varner. The report presents the field observations the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance…
![Regulatory Update: U.S. EPA Updates Toxicity Values for Benzo[a]pyrene](/media/k2/items/cache/ca8a8af3931a821b4cde4c35f3194ee4_M.jpg)
On January 19, 2017 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program released its final assessment of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), the last step in process that required about six years to complete. BaP is a member of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) family of chemicals, which are naturally present in crude oil and other petroleum products and are also generated during the combustion of many common materials (e.g., wood, oil, and…
January 23, 2017
Geosyntec to Sponsor Minnesota State Bar Association Program Event
Geosyntec will sponsor a Minnesota State Bar Association program event entitled "Environmental and Energy Law and Policy under a Trump Administration," a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) event for the Minnesota State Bar Association at the Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on January 19, 2017. Change and uncertainty appear to be two of the outcomes of the recent presidential election. This may be especially true for the area…
Dan Bourdeau (New Hampshire) is presenting in Session 2, "Watershed Management," at the 2017 New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) Annual Conference and Exhibit at the Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts at 8:30-10:30 a.m. on January 23, 2017. His presentation is entitled "Use of a Nutrient Control Plan by the City of Rochester, New Hampshire to Develop a Long-term Plan to Reduce Nutrient Loads to Receiving Waters." Dan has extensive experience in…
Rula Deeb (California) will deliver a presentation on the Development and Testing of an Analytical Method for Real Time Measurements of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a webinar hosted by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) on February 1, 2017. Focused on educating remediation practitioners, this webinar will outline the latest developments and current efforts to detect, measure, and remove this emerging contaminant from the environment. Presentations will address new developments in field screening methods;…
January 17, 2017
Geosyntec Partners with Tooth Fairy for Innovative Help with Fluoride Contamination
Geosyntec, a thought leader among environmental science and engineering firms, recently devised an innovative approach to rescue a client from a long-standing site condition where dissolved fluoride impacted groundwater at high enough levels to impair water quality and require cleanup. Fluoride releases are uncommon, but when this does occur the solubility of fluoride often results in groundwater contamination. Led by Chris Herin, the Geosyntec project team recognized that soil excavation was too disruptive to site…
January 12, 2017
What Was Old is New Again: Monitoring and the Clean Air Act
In the early decades of Clean Air Act implementation, it was common for permitting agencies to require facilities seeking Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits to conduct pre-construction ambient air quality monitoring prior to permit issuance. While less common, it was not unprecedented to require facilities to conduct post-construction ambient air quality monitoring to confirm that the new or modified facility would not cause a violation of a National Ambient Air Quality Standard or consume…
January 10, 2017
Geosyntec Practitioners Publish Alternative Water Use Paper for Journal of American Water Works Association
Geosyntec practitioners Dr. Zita L.T. Yu, P.E., Dr. Mark Hanna, P.E., and Ken Susilo, P.E., DWRE, CPSWQ co-authored an article with Joan Oppenheimer, BCEE and Dr. Allegra Da Silva, P.E. from MWH-Stantec entitled "Capturing Alternative Water Resources in Supplement Drinking Water Supply." The article is featured in the Total Water Solutions Column in the Journal of American Water Works Association (AWWA) January 2017, Volume 109, Number 1. The article discusses the latest trends, opportunities, and…
January 9, 2017
Yazen Khasawneh Published in Computers and Geotechnics Journal
Yazen Khasawneh (Michigan) co-authored a paper entitled "A simple soil model for low frequency cyclic loading" that will appear in Science Direct's Computers and Geotechnics journal, Volume 84, April 2017, Pages 225-237. Abstract A three-dimensional elastoplastic soil constitutive model capable of capturing the response of granular soils under low-frequency cyclic loading is introduced and verified. The model is piecewise linear with a hyperbolic stress-strain relationship. The size of the hysteresis loop is controlled using different…
January 9, 2017
Geosyntec at the 2017 Gas Storage Outlook Conference
Anica Haynes and Mike Mckibben will attend the 15th Annual Gas Storage Outlook Conference at the Omni Houston Hotel in Houston, Texas on January 12-13, 2017. The conference features gas storage experts discussing liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas-electric integration, the outlook of Mexico's gas storage needs, and additional demand drivers. Gas storage developers, investors, end-users, and thought leaders will be in attendance. Anica Haynes is a Senior Environmental Engineer based in Louisiana with more than…
January 4, 2017
Green Harbor Energy Secures 2016 Energy STAR CHP Award for University of Massachusetts Medical School
The Green Harbor Energy team, including Darrell Sandlin, Tom Flynn, Paul MacGregor, and Tim Graham, working in partnership with U.S. EPA, secured the 2016 Energy STAR CHP Award for the University of Massachusetts Medical School. EPA presents the Energy STAR CHP Award to leaders who increase the nation's electric generation efficiency through the development of highly-efficient combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The Award recognizes the importance of CHP as a way to reduce emissions…
January 4, 2017
ENR New England Best Project Awarded to Geosyntec
The Sutton Brook Disposal Area Superfund Project in Tewksbury, Massachusetts was named 2016's Best Project in the Water/Environment Category by Engineering News-Record (ENR) New England on December 8, 2016. The award was presented at a breakfast banquet at the Hyatt Regency in Boston, Massachusetts. Geosyntec's Scott Luettich, Steven Poirier, and Michael Paonessa joined representatives from Charter to accept the award. This year's panel of industry judges reviewed and discussed 20 projects located throughout New England…
January 3, 2017
Man Zhang Published in Journal of Hazardous Materials
Man Zhang (Minnesota) co-authored a paper entitled, "Transport of stabilized iron nanoparticles in porous media: Effects of surface and solution chemistry and role of adsorption." The paper is published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials' Special Issue for Environmental Nanotechnology in Volume 322, Part A, pages 284-291 in January 2017. The paper discusses the results of a study to investigate the effects of iron oxide and aluminum oxide on retention and transport of carboxymethyl cellulose…
December 20, 2016
Tom Wurzinger Elected Vice Chair of AWMA Georgia Chapter
Tom Wurzinger (Georgia) was elected Vice Chair of the Air & Waste Management Association's (A&WMA) Georgia Chapter on December 9, 2016. The A&WMA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional organization that enhances knowledge and expertise by providing a neutral forum for information exchange, professional development, networking opportunities, and public education. A&WMA promotes environmental responsibility and increases the effectiveness of organizations to make critical decisions that benefit society. The A&WMA's Georgia Chapter's mission is to promote a…
December 19, 2016
Lee Mullon and Mike Hardin Present at Florida Stormwater Association Winter Conference
Lee Mullon and Mike Hardin (Florida) presented at the Florida Stormwater Association's (FSA) Winter 2016 conference in on December 7, 2016. Lee presented on a case study of a 2.5 year stormwater best management practice (BMP) monitoring project for Orange County, Florida and Mike presented on a street sweeping optimization project recently completed for the City of Lakeland, Florida. The Florida Stormwater Conference is a municipal stormwater conference which helps organize stormwater-related research, advocacy, and…
Melissa Grover, Jennifer Arblaster, and Jason Conder of California were part of the project team honored with Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) 2016 Project-of-the-Year Award for Environmental Restoration on November 28, 2016. Dr. Bart Chadwick from SPAWAR Systems Center led the project team for an ESTCP-funded project that aimed to demonstrate and validate the placement, stability, and performance of reactive amendments for treatment of contaminated sediments in active DOD harbor settings. The project was…
December 12, 2016
Morteza Khorshidi Published in Vadose Zone Journal
Morteza Khorshidi (North Carolina) co-authored an article entitled "Intrinsic Relationship Between Matric Potential and Cation Hydration," published in the Vadose Zone Journal on November 22, 2016. Vadose Zone Journal is a publication outlet for interdisciplinary research and assessment of the Critical Zone, which comprises the Earth's critical living surface down to groundwater. Vadose Zone Journal is a peer-reviewed, international journal that publishes reviews, original research, and special sections across a wide range of disciplines. Morteza…
Melissa Grover and Jason Conder of California will have two of their projects as the focal point of the next webinar hosted by SERDP and ESTCP. The webinar, entitled "Advances in the Assessment and In Situ Treatment of Contaminated Sediments," will take place at noon Eastern time, 9am Pacific, on December 15, 2016. The two projects to be highlighted during the webinar involve the effectiveness of reactive amendments at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in…
December 8, 2016
Rula Deeb Reappointed to Arab-American Frontiers of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Oversight Committee
Rula Deeb (California) has been reappointed to the Arab-American Frontiers of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Ad-Hoc Oversight Committee through 2017. This will be her third year as a member of the oversight committee after serving as the Arab American Frontiers Symposium co-chair for two years in Kuwait (2011) and Oman (2014). The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Frontiers of Engineering program of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering initiated the Arab-American Frontiers of…
December 7, 2016
AEES Presentation to Next Generation of Engineers at Georgia Tech
Shira Colsky, Amanda Kunkle, and Raphael Siebenmann of the Kennesaw Georgia office gave a lunchtime presentation on the profession of engineering to the Georgia Tech Chapter of Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AEES) on December 1, 2016. The team spoke to 19 students about the day-to-day life of a staff engineer and about Geosyntec's sell-manage-do culture. Amanda gave an in-depth look at the litigation support she provides as part of our sediments practice, and…
December 2, 2016
Geosyntec Announces New Location in Washington, D.C.
Geosyntec Consultants is pleased to celebrate our new Washington, D.C. location with an open house gathering on December 5, 2016. Our Washington D.C. office will be home to a number of professionals known internationally for their technology leadership, broad experience, and exceptional client service. Our practitioners are some of the most creative scientists and engineers from leading universities around the world. Lead Consultants in Washington, D.C. Neal Durant, Ph.D., Senior Principal Engineer Dr. Durant is…
December 1, 2016
Darrell Egarr Published in UK Water Projects
Darrell Egarr, Ph.D., (England) published an article entitled "Deephams STW Analysis of Mixing Chamber, Aeration Lanes and Final Settlement Tanks" in UK Water Projects 2016 Edition. Deephams Sewerage Treatment Works, located in East London, is the ninth largest works in the UK and serves a population equivalent of 891,000 (as of 2011). In order to accommodate population growth, meet new wastewater quality standards, prepare for weather variations, and replace an ageing plant; a major upgrade…
December 1, 2016
Juan Pestana Featured as Keynote Speaker at BSCES in Boston
Juan Pestana (Massachusetts) will deliver a keynote address at the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Dinner and Program entitled "Saving Venice" at the Wyndham Boston Beacon Hill in Boston, Massachusetts at 5:30pm on December 8, 2016. Juan's keynote will focus on the methodology used to estimate the consolidation settlements of the highly heterogeneous silty sandy clayey soils, accounting for the variability in the stratigraphic units.…
November 30, 2016
SiREM Launches a New Webinar Series
SiREM launched a new webinar series on November 17th, 2016. The webinars in this series will feature guest speakers who are subject matter experts to provide the latest information on technology advances in environmental remediation and site characterization. The webinars will combine recent research and development activities for new and emerging contaminants and technologies with real word applications to characterize and remediate contaminated sites. The first webinar titled "Looking inside microbial dechlorinating communities "featured Dr.…
November 30, 2016
David Espinoza Published in Financial Times
David Espinoza co-authored and article entitled "Infrastructure investing and the peril of discounted cash flow: Valuation techniques remain anchored in arcane ideas" in Financial Times on November 3, 2016. The article discusses infrastructure investing and the thoughts and risks behind Joel Dean's method. It goes on to talk about its theoretical flaws with cash flow problems and the unknowns of the discount rates. Finally, it examines how modern economists have not really solved the problems…
November 29, 2016
Juan Pestana Teaches Advanced Course on Computational Geotechnics
Juan Pestana (Massachusetts) taught a course entitled "Advanced Course on Computational Geotechnics," in Santiago, Chile on November 17-18, 2016. He lectured on Numerical Modeling Concepts for Performing Seismic Analysis of Ground Improvement, Soil Structure Interaction and advanced topics, including liquefaction and liquefaction mitigation. Juan has been lecturing on Numerical Modeling for over 20 years and has led or participated in over 30 professional courses worldwide. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Arthur…
November 29, 2016
Geosyntec to Present at A&WMA Specialty Conference on Vapor Intrusion, Remediation, and Site Closure
Geosyntec professionals will deliver a number of presentations at the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) Specialty Conference on Vapor Intrusion, Remediation, and Site Closure. The conference, entitled "Balancing Technical Defensibility, Risk, Sustainability, and Costs," will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego Mission Valley in San Diego, California on December 7-8, 2016. The Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA) organizes this specialty conference on important technical considerations involving the vapor intrusion (VI)…
November 18, 2016
Geosyntec Participation in Battelle Sediments Conference
As in previous years, Geosyntec will make a significant technical contribution to Battelle's Ninth International Conference on Remediation and Management of Contaminated Sediments in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 9-12, 2016. Geosyntec is scheduled to have 11 platform presentations, 16 poster presentations, and an instructor for a short course. The sediments conference series is a forum for sharing research results, practical experiences, and opportunities associated with remediating, restoring and managing the environmental and economic vitality…
November 17, 2016
Chris Robb Presents at the Local AHMP Chapter Meeting in Chicago
Chris Robb (Wisconsin) presents at the local chapter meeting of the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP) at the Metropolitan Building, in Chicago, Illinois at 6:00pm on November 17, 2016. His presentation, entitled "What's the big deal with coal ash?" will be an informative discussion of coal combustion residuals, their regulatory history, the debate over toxicity, and the long term outlook for coal-burning power plants. Chris has over 20 years of experience in environmental consulting,…
