For world-renowned contributions to the understanding of soil dynamics in geotechnical engineering, Kenneth H. Stokoe II, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, NAE, Dist.M.ASCE, has been elected to the Class of 2016 ASCE Distinguished Members.
Stokoe is the Jennie C. and Milton T. Graves chair in engineering at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering.
Engineers worldwide now use the resonant column apparatus Stokoe developed to assess soil properties. He also adopted and developed cross-hole seismic methods for measurement of in situ wave velocities in soil and rock that won worldwide acceptance. In addition, he developed the spectral-analysis-of-surface-waves method for geotechnical and earthquake engineering applications, now widely used around the world.
Stokoe was an early advocate of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation program at the National Science Foundation, and his team at the University of Texas developed a world-class, large-scale, mobile field capability for nonintrusive and nondestructive characterization of the ground. He was the first to measure modulus degradation of soil in situ using the large NEES Center shakers.
As an educator he has mentored many graduate and doctorate students and has played a key role in elevating the geotechnical engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin.
Stokoe was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997. He received ASCE’s H. Bolton Seed Medal, presented ASCE’s Karl Terzaghi Distinguished Lecture and received ASTM’s C.A. Hogentogler Award , among many other honors.
Distinguished Membership is the highest honor ASCE can bestow. It is reserved for civil engineers who have attained eminence in some branch of engineering or in related arts and sciences, including the fields of engineering education and construction.
The 2016 class of Distinguished Members will receive their honors at the ASCE 2016 Convention, Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, in Portland, OR.
Read about each of the 2016 Distinguished Members.
