ASCE has honored A. Jacob Odgaard, Ph.D., D.WRE, F.ASCE, with the 2019 Hans Albert Einstein Award for his leadership and tireless effort in the field of sediment transport and river erosion control.
Many people work their entire career striving to make a difference in their field, but Odgaard has produced groundbreaking achievements in three key areas in civil engineering. First, he designed and patented a double-cured sediment control for rivers. His famous “Iowa vanes” stabilize rivers and reduce scour along riverbanks. Second, in the area of fish passage, he helped develop alternative fish diversion schemes for hydropower projects, resulting in significant reductions in fish mortality at hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest. Third, he optimized drop structures for transfer of storm- and wastewater to deep underground tunnels.
Odgaard has had an illustrious career and continues to serve his profession. He has recently been appointed dean of the School of Architecture and Design at Southwest Jiatong University, in China, where he is involved with the development and implementation of an internationalization strategy.
The Hans Albert Einstein Award is given to a member who has made a significant contribution to the engineering profession in the area of erosion control, sedimentation, and/or waterway development in teaching, research, planning, design, or management.
