Timothy H. Bedenis, P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, vice president and business group leader for SME’s Geotechnical Services division and a principal of a 300+ person consulting firm in the Midwest, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Bedenis has provided value-based geotechnical engineering and design services to various public and private clients for over 35 years. He has also provided mentoring and guidance on many technical and nontechnical issues and subjects, helping staff advance their civil engineering careers and contributions to the profession.
Major career accomplishments include the design of high-capacity drilled shafts (caissons) for major building projects in urban areas such as Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids, in Michigan. Using advanced technologies such as the pressuremeter and Osterberg Load Cell (O-Cell), he has been able to design solutions that increase the capacity of caissons by 50-100 percent, providing value-based designs and substantial savings to owners and the general public.
Bedenis is an also expert in the design of earth retention systems for construction in congested urban areas and for industrial building and processes. He has designed these systems for such major buildings as Premier Garage (formerly the iconic J.L. Hudson’s Department Store), 150 West Jefferson, One Detroit Center and the Monroe Block Development (under construction), in downtown Detroit. Other important earth retention projects are the Ford Rouge Engine Plant, Palace of Auburn Hills, University of Michigan Bio-Medical Building, and Foot Hospital in Jackson, Michigan.
Bedenis has been active in ASCE’s Michigan Section, Southeastern Branch, having served as board member and president. In 2000, he was named the Franklin D. Meyers Outstanding Civil Engineer of the Year. Additionally, he served on the ASCE Michigan District and District VII Boards. He has supported the ACEC/Michigan Scholarship Committee since 1990, and chaired the committee in 2002. Bedenis has recently been certified as a Diplomate, Geotechnical Engineering in the Academy of Geo-Professionals.
He was appointed to the State of Michigan Construction Safety Standards Commission for 2010 to 2012, reviewing and commenting on proposed changes to safety regulations by Michigan OHSA. As a member of the NCEES Exam Civil Engineering Development Committee since 2009, he develops geotechnical-based problems and reference materials for the NCESS Principles and Practice Section of the exam, which is a requirement for professional engineering licensure in the U.S. and many companies abroad.
Bedenis is a graduate of Michigan Technological University, having earned a BSCE in 1980 and an MSCE in 1982. His graduate studies included a fellowship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
