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GSI honors Scalia with Landreth award

Awards | November 9, 2021 | By:

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) established the Robert and Mitchell Landreth “Steward of the Environment” award in honor of Robert E. Landreth (1939–2021) and his wife, Mitchell. The award is bestowed in recognition of “distinguished engineering achievement” by a young faculty member, graduate student or post-doctorate working with geosynthetics. Only one such award is given annually by GSI.

Robert Landreth rose to the rank of captain in the U.S. Department of Public Health. As the research director at the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he advocated for research funding, which made it possible to spearhead efforts in geosynthetics during the 1980s and 1990s. The pioneering research that transpired changed regulations and the way that waste is managed throughout the world. Landreth’s guidance, determination and hard work are a testament to the very best of our nation’s public servants. His critical leadership role at the EPA changed the world for the better, and he will not be forgotten.

This year’s award recipient is Joseph Scalia IV, Ph.D. He is an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins. Scalia specializes in geoenvironmental and geotechnical engineering. His research and teaching centers on the convergences of soil mechanics with contaminant hydrology, geology, environmental engineering, hydrology, mechanical engineering and hydraulics. Prior to joining CSU, Scalia was a senior associate at Exponent (formerly Failure Analysis Associates) in their environmental and earth sciences practice in Bellevue, Wash., and Natick, Mass. Scalia received his B.S. in civil and environmental engineering from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and his M.S. and Ph.D. in geological engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Visit http://geosynthetic-insitute/gsilandreth.htm to learn more about Scalia and the award.

Mitchell (left) and Robert Landreth (2003). Photograph courtesy of GSI
2021 award recipient Joseph Scalia IV, Ph.D. Photograph courtesy of GSI

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