Geotechnical News December 2010
45
ASFE NEWS
Dick Stehly, P.E.
Richard D. “Dick” Stehly, P.E., a
founder, senior vice president, and
principal engineer of American
Engineering Testing, Inc. andAmerican
Petrographic Services, Inc., passed
away suddenly on September 18, 2010.
Dick began his career at Twin City
Testing as a materials intern in 1971,
with a special interest in concrete de-
sign, batching, forensics, and failure
analysis. In 1974, he led research ef-
forts into the use of fly ash as a con-
crete additive, showing that the waste
material improved the strength and
durability of concrete while reducing
the amount of the material sequestered
in landfills and holding ponds. He also
led the research team that investigated
pavement-joint erosion and coined the
term “deicer distress.” His research
won the Consulting Engineers Council
Grand Award for the Minnesota and
Wisconsin Departments of Transpor-
tation. In 1997, Dick co-authored the
book
Cancer of Concrete
, which in-
cluded his deicer-distress research.
Dick was actively involved in a
number of organizations, the American
Concrete Institute (ACI) in particular,
and just last July testified on behalf of
ACI in Washington, DC on the contin-
ued use of fly ash as a concrete admix-
ture.
Dick served as the project manager
for the Metrodome as well as the new
Minnesota Twins Ballpark. He contrib-
uted to the rebuilding of the Pentagon
and was there to personally rededicate
the new structure.
A graduate of the University of
Minnesota Institute of Technology,
Dick was 60 years old at the time of his
death. He left behind a loving family
and countless friends worldwide who
mourn his passing.
Human Resources Management
Research shows that 86% of recruiters
look at social media sites like
Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to
learn more about job applicants and
44% turn down applicants based on
their findings.
According to
Pamela
Eyring, president of The Protocol
School of Washington (PSOW),
the
top
five social-media myths
are:
• Facebook is personal. (Businesses
from sole practitioners to Fortune
50 companies use Facebook.)
• Facebook is private. (Default pri-
vacy settings are minimal. Select
privacy settings manually.)
• Only my followers read my Twitter
posts. (The Library of Congress has
started collecting Twitter posts as a
way to record history.)
• Recruiters Don’t Look at MySpace
or YouTube. (Recruiters look ev-
erywhere.)
• My Facebook profile and pix can be
deleted. (Even deactivated content
remains on Facebook’s server.)
Engineers Leadership Foundation Launches Program
to Make Kids Better Readers and Better Students
The Engineers Leadership Foundation
is pilot-testing its new
Engineering
Better Readers
program, an initiative
designed to incentivize elementary-
school students to read more and to
propel participating engineers into
leadership roles in their respective
communities.
“Engineers solve problems and we
see a serious one that the Engineering
Better Readers program can address
– the diminishment of strong reading
skills among the nation’s children,”
says Foundation President (and ASFE
Past President) Gerald J. “Gerry” Sa-
lontai, P.E. “Studies show that kids
who do not master reading skills by the
third grade have learning difficulties
later and are far more likely to drop out
before high-school graduation. Noth-
ing much can be accomplished in any
field – including engineering – without
knowing how to read. This is a serious
national problem that, despite so many
well-intentioned efforts, is getting
worse. America now faces too much
international competition for us to treat
this issue as anything other than one of
our highest priorities. This program is a
great start in the right direction.”
According to Patty Bachner, En-
gineering Better Readers program
director, “Our research shows that
kid-friendly incentives not only work,
but also give kids a chance to experi-
ence achievements and empowerment
through reading skills.” She will be di-
recting the program’s three pilot efforts
in Newark, N.J., Houston, and Denver.
Bachner says the program is modeled
after a highly successful prototype op-
erated in Tuscaloosa, AL by TTL Inc.,
a local geotechnical-engineering firm.
“Two factors separate Engineering Bet-
ter Readers from other reading-incen-
