October 16, 2003

Faculty honors

Charles H. Dowding, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has received the 2003 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award in Education from the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Dowding conducts research on construction vibrations using autonomous crack measurement, a cost effective digital system, to compare measured crack response to weather changes with that induced by vibration. He also works in the area of time domain reflectometry technology to conduct remote surveillance of structures and slopes susceptible to deformation.

Hamlin M. Jennings, professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering and professor of materials science and engineering, has been named the next recipient of the Copeland Award by the Cements Division of the American Ceramic Society (ACS).

The award recognizes an individual for “outstanding contributions to the development and understanding of cement and concrete science.” It will be presented at the organization’s annual meeting next May.

Jennings’ research focuses on determining both the nanometer structure of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and the chemical mechanisms that control the structure. C-S-H is the principal component of hardened Portland cement.

Ellen Shearer, assistant dean and professor of journalism at the Medill School of Journalism, has been appointed to the first William F. Thomas Professorship at Medill.

The professorship honors William F. Thomas, a graduate of Medill holding both bachelor’s (BSJ 50) and master’s degrees (MSJ 51) in journalism. Thomas is the former editor and executive vice president of The Los Angeles Times. The Times Mirror Foundation established an endowment in Thomas’ name upon his retirement in 1989.

Shearer, who co-directs the Medill News Service in Washington, D.C., teaches Washington Reporting, Politics and Government and other courses at Medill’s Washington facility.