Max L. Porter presented the following 2008 Outstanding Theses Awards on behalf of TMS’s Research Committee.

The PhD Dissertation Award was presented to Jennifer R. B. Popehn, for her paper, “Mechanics and Behavior of Slender, Post-Tensioned Masonry Walls Subjected to Transverse Loading” which was conducted under the direction of Dr. Arturo E. Schultz at the University of Minnesota. Reviewers noted that her experimental and analytical work related to practical applications for both concrete and clay masonry. Additionally her findings answer some basic questions on prestressed masonry providing revised design equations for possible inclusion in masonry codes.

The MS Thesis Award was presented to Jon Z. Mjelde for the thesis entitled “Performance of Lap Splices in Concrete Masonry Shear Walls” which was conducted under the direction of Dr. David I. McLean at Washington State University. This thesis was selected out of several very good nominations and one of the reviewers commented that it was a pleasure to read all of the nominations.  Specific comments about Mjelde’s thesis included that the thesis was well written and produced timely and needed research results on lap splices.