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Austin X. Huang - featured in GeoStrata of Geo Institute of ASCE April/May 2022 Issue

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 18:31:23 GMT

Look Who's a D.GE
Austin X. Huang, Ph.D., P.E., L.G., D.GE, F.ASCE

Austin Huang is a principal with Merit Engineering, Inc. in Seattle, Wash. With expertise and extensive research and consulting experience in geotechnical and geological engineering, he’s responsible for geotechnical and hydrogeology investigations, and design of foundations, soil and rock slopes, retaining walls, roadways, and underground structures. During his 30-year professional career, Huang has authored nearly 800 consulting engineering reports for projects located in western Washington State, California, Oregon, and Arizona.

He is a co-inventor of the patented Buoyancy Compensated Erosion Control Module for USDA’s NRCS LA-16 Non-rock Alternatives for Louisiana Shoreline Protection. The modules feature an EPS foam core that’s fully encased in concrete. When placed side-by-side, the modules form a continuous unit that runs parallel to shorelines to prevent wind and wave action from reaching and eroding shorelines.

Among his 17 publications, Huang has authored papers on topics related to bearing capacity of rock-socketed drilled shafts, a general poro-elastic model for in-situ stress measurements by hydraulic fracturing, and the analysis and design of remedial measures for a failed 60-ft-high slope along the Pacific coast shoreline.

Huang was recognized as the 2018 Engineer of the Year for ASCE Region 8 and the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Washington State Gold Award in 2004 for special contributions to civil engineering. He earned both a master’s and a doctorate degree in rock mechanics from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.

What class did you enjoy the most while in school?

Mathematics!

What was your favorite project?

USDA NRCS LA-16 non-rock alternatives for Louisiana shoreline protection. This work began by reviewing previous research work by others. Our proposal was selected from 17 submittals for final design, construction, and three years of field testing of 500 ft of the protection system. Our design was ranked the best result among five selected systems, and our design received a U.S. patent.

What is your favorite song and artist?

"Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh.

What is your favorite movie or television show?

The James Bond 007 series.

What are some of your personal hobbies and interests?

In my leisure time, I love to compose music for symphony orchestra performance and promote diversified culture and cultural exchange.

Where did you spend most of your childhood, and what was it like for you growing up there?

I grew up in a rural, beautiful countryside area in northeast China. I’ll never forget the happiness and enjoyable experience I had there during one of my teenage years when I was hanging out with the boys from the adjacent farm. We rode cows every day in the morning and took a herd of cows to the pastures on the mountain. While the cows were chewing the grasses, we explored the wild fields for birds and fruits.

When did you realize that you wanted to study civil engineering, and what were the key factors in your decision to become a civil engineer?

I was admitted to university through the first national exam after the Cultural Revolution in China. I wanted to study math, but was selected by the mining department. I then just followed the force and began loving soil and rock mechanics.

How do you feel about the state of civil engineering and the profession as it is today?

While human beings can do a lot, we still have a lot of challenges ahead. And as geotechnical engineers, we need to have broad knowledge in civil engineering, geology, and soil/rock mechanics. In my opinion, we need geotechnical engineers with integrated knowledge in civil design, surveying, geology (especially structural geology and hydrology), as well as laboratory testing. I’ve observed that some geotechnical engineers do not have rock mechanics knowledge. I’ve also noticed in some federal government projects that geotechnical engineering services have become commoditized via construction bid contracts.

What are the biggest challenges on the horizon for the profession?

Geotechnical engineers seem to face ever-increasing liability exposure that takes a lot of time and energy.

Do you have a message about specialty certification that you’d like to share with other professional engineers?

Specialty certification is important because it demonstrates the need our profession has for additional education and special knowledge. Certification encourages more knowledgeable and experienced engineers to take the lead in the geotechnical specialty field of civil engineering.

Was the effort to get the D.GE worth it?

Yes. Geotechnical engineering is a specialty and unique field in civil engineering because it requires broad and in-depth knowledge and experience in civil and environmental engineering, geology, hydrology, and soil/rock mechanics. Most of these fields are beyond bachelor’s degree curriculums and require an advanced degree in graduate school. I’m thrilled to see the AGP Board has been promoting the board-certified Diplomate in the civil engineering industry, which has gained many more professional engineers’ attention and recognition of the benefits of D.GE board certification.

For the complete article, please visit: geoprofessionals.org.

Link to Original Publishing Article:

https://www.readgeo.com/geostrata/april_may_2022/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1779867#articleId1779867

Portage Bay Park - Construction Timelapse

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 21:36:53 GMT

Between November 2018 and October 2020, Seattle created a new public park - Portage Bay Park (also known as Fritz Hedges Waterway Park) from land that formerly belonged to the University of Washington. This video documents its construction. Construction of UW''s new Population Health can also be observed.

FRITZ HEDGES WATERWAY PARK

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 21:29:32 GMT

Seattle's newest park offers new vantage, peaceful waterfront views

Merit Engineering, Inc. is proud to be the Geotechnical Engineer for the Project

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 17:53:28 GMT

Seattle opens new waterfront park on Portage Bay in ‘spectacular spot’ where police station once stood

Seattle Times By Daniel Beekman

Seattle Times staff reporter
Oct. 17, 2020 at 6:00 am Updated Oct. 19, 2020 at 10:24 am

There’s a new waterfront park with a rocky beach in Seattle, squeezed below the University of Washington, along Portage Bay. The 3.5-acre space opened discreetly Wednesday without an on-site celebration.

Visitors can walk the beach, check out a pier that juts into the water, launch kayaks and canoes, or rest on yellow chairs arranged across the grassy, terraced park. There are smooth boulders for kids to climb on, too.

The view to the west includes the University Bridge and Interstate 5’s Ship Canal Bridge, which span the skyline. Straight ahead, across the slate-colored bay, clusters of houseboats are moored.

The low-slung vantage on Northeast Boat Street is unique among the city’s public spaces, placid compared to the hustle and bustle on the bridges in the distance. “It’s a pretty spectacular spot,” said David Graves, a Seattle Parks and Recreation planner who worked on the project.

Most of the city’s waterfront parks face east or west, receiving sun (on sunny days) in the morning or afternoon, Graves noted. The new space, named Fritz Hedges Waterway Park after a longtime Parks Department employee, faces south and should receive sun all day long, he said.

Several people with jobs in the neighborhood stopped by the park around lunchtime Thursday, as did some mallard ducks. UW Medical Center is located nearby, as are UW buildings devoted to marine and genetic research.

Research associate Michael Tieu, 29, strolled through the park with graduate student Eliza Barkan, 27. They gave the space positive reviews, aside from some goose poop that’s begun to accumulate.

“I’ve been driving by, waiting for it to open,” Tieu said. “It’s a great spot. Her mom has a kayak we could bring.”

There also are kayaks for rent at Agua Verde Cafe, just down Boat Street. Retirees Diana Kruis, 65, and Charlie Barbour, 73, brought lunch from the cafe to the park.

“It sure turned out nice,” Kruis said about the project, which took two years to create. “This is an expensive piece of real estate. I’m glad it became a park.”

Larry Gallagher, a 52-year-old biologist taking a break in the park, was pleasantly surprised when a preschool class showed up at the same time. He waved to his young son, who raced over.

“The kids just want to throw rocks and run around,” preschool teacher Martha Breslauer said, laughing. “We’ll be here every day.”

The space was at one point the starting point for a trail between Portage Bay and Lake Washington, Graves said. The site later became a lumber mill, then Bryant’s Marina — the first Chris-Craft Boats dealership on the West Coast, Graves added. The university bought the property in the 1970s, using a large building on the site most recently as a campus police station and recycling center.

The Washington State Department of Transportation gave the city about $14 million to buy the space. The state was required to provide Seattle with a new waterfront park in exchange for public space on Lake Washington taken over recently to widen Highway 520, Graves said.

The state also gave the city $9 million to build out Fritz Hedges Waterway Park, and the university paid more than $2.4 million to conduct environmental remediation at the site.

The building that housed the UW police station and recycling center was demolished, and the project involved shoreline-restoration work meant to support juvenile salmon. Timbers salvaged from the building were used to construct a special wooden slide for kayaks and canoes; paddlers can use the slide to bring their boats down to the water, rather than carry them down steps.

Hedges “dedicated his life to the idea that parks and recreation are vital” for all city residents, the Parks Department said in a news release. Described as an irreverent trickster by former City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, he embedded jokes in his departmental reports and lived for many years in a houseboat on Portage Bay.

“To understand why Frederick ‘Fritz’ Hedges took his job at Seattle Parks and Recreation so seriously, one need only grasp two things,” his 2004 obituary in The Seattle Times began . “Mr. Hedges was one of the park system’s best customers; and he loved the socializing that recreation enabled.”

Fritz Hedges Waterway Park is the only new park that Seattle has opened this year; there will be a celebration next spring “in conjunction with boating season,” the Parks Department said.

Two new parks opened last year, both much smaller than Fritz Hedges Waterway Park: Alice Ball Park in Greenwood and Urban Triangle Park in South Lake Union. Planning is underway for new parks in Little Saigon and Rainier Valley.

Daniel Beekman: 206-464-2164 or dbeekman@seattletimes.com ; on Twitter: @dbeekman . Seattle Times staff reporter Daniel Beekman covers Seattle city government and local politics.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-opens-new-waterfront-park-on-portage-bay-in-specta...