Categories: General
Date: Jun 15, 2009
Title: Dr. Leroy Emkin Named 2009 Engineer of the Year in Education
By the GSPE.
Dr. Leroy Z. Emkin, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was named 2009 Engineer of the Year in Education by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers (GSPE). The award was recently presented at GSPE’s annual luncheon on Friday June 12, 2009 during the Georgia Engineers Summer Conference at Callaway Gardens, Georgia.
Professor Emkin has more than 40 years experience in structural engineering and design, structural optimization, advanced computer programming, computer applications, and large-scale software development. An undisclosed nominator recommended Dr. Emkin for this honor. In a letter to the GSPE awards committee, Dr. Emkin is recognized for the tremendous impact he has had “as an academic educator and researcher on the worldwide practicing structural engineering profession through the CASE (Computer Aided Structural Engineering) Center which he founded in 1975, and its GTSTRUDL software.” Dr. Emkin is the founder and co-director of the CASE Center, an advanced structural engineering computer software R&D center which develops and supports GTSTRUDL (a CAE system for finite element analysis and structural design). “The CASE Center brings enormous visibility to Georgia Tech's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Its research and development activities are transferred into the civil engineering profession through GTSTRUDL software which has had, and continues to have, a tangible, measurable, and enormous impact on the practice of civil/structural engineering on a worldwide scale. Each and every working day, thousands of structural engineers in over 37 countries use GTSTRUDL, and these engineers are aware that the beneficial technology they are using through GTSTRUDL has been delivered by Georgia Tech's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The quantity of technology that has been developed and transferred into the civil engineering profession is reflected by the current edition of the GTSTRUDL User Manuals and related documentation which consists of 20 volumes and more than 10,000 pages. The CASE Center will celebrate its 34th anniversary in September 2009.”
Dr. Emkin earned a BSCE (1965) and MSCE (1966) from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a PhD (1970) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His primary research interests are in the areas of structural engineering, matrix structural analysis, numerical methods, design of steel structures, structural optimization, advanced computer programming, computer applications, and large-scale software development. He is also a well-known consultant and lecturer, speaking worldwide on topics related to the issues of quality, reliability, and cost effective use/misuse of computers, engineering ethics of using computers in civil engineering practice, advanced uses of computers in structural engineering practice, and advanced structural modeling, analysis, and design of complex structural systems. Dr. Emkin is a registered professional engineer in the State of Georgia, a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the American Society for Engineering Education. He is the recipient of the ASCE Leon S. Moisseiff Award (1973), the ASCE Computing in Civil Engineering Award (1996), the Honorary Professor Award "for contributions enhancing higher education in China," conferred by Shaanxi Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Xian, People's Republic of China (1989), and a Nominee for the ASCE State_of_the_Art of Civil Engineering Award, Structural Division (1977). In addition, he actively engaged in numerous professional societies and committees. Dr. Emkin has given more than 25 keynote and guest lectures at various professional conferences and universities worldwide, and he has been a speaker at more than 370 conferences and seminars worldwide.
Formed in 1944, GSPE is comprised of engineering professionals from all disciplines of engineering. The organization has chapters statewide. Its core objectives include the protection of the public through professional registration and adherence to the Code of Ethics, supporting education and training for engineering professionals, monitoring and influencing engineering legislation, recognizing engineering achievement, advancing the public image of engineers, and maintaining member awareness of issues affecting engineers. GSPE’s many programs include the Professional Engineer Recognition Reception, a legislative forum, MATHCOUNTS, E-Week, and Engineer of the Year awards. For additional information about the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers, visit http://www. www.gspe.org.