American Concrete Institute Honors UW Professor Charles Dolan

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has elected University of Wyoming Professor Charles Dolan as an honorary member of the institute.

According to ACI, honorary membership began in 1926 to recognize “a person of eminence in the field of the institute's interest, or one who has performed extraordinary meritorious service to the institute.” The award will be presented at ACI’s convention next April in Kansas City, Mo. ACI membership totals about 20,000, and fewer than 300 honorary members have been selected in the past 50 years.

A professor emeritus in the UW Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Dolan has been an ACI member for 47 years and active at the national level for 44 years. He was cited for his “tireless pursuit of excellence in building codes based on your sound and innovative research and broad industrial experience, your ability to lead and collaborate for mutual success, and your lasting legacy as an inspiring educator and author.”

Dolan’s nomination notes that he is an ACI Fellow and has been a member and officer on numerous ACI committees, served on its board of directors and was chair for symposia and conferences. He also was cited as an industry leader in promoting of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) for concrete structures and led a Federal Highway Administration investigation of FRPs for highway structures.

Additionally, Dolan has designed and managed projects totaling more than $100 million, including the Detroit downtown people mover guideway; Walt Disney World monorail; Dallas-Fort Worth Airport people mover and guideway; and the Canadian Advanced Light Rail Transit System.

Among his awards are the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Martin P. Korn award for contributions to the design and research advancements of prestressed concrete; the Arthur R. Anderson Award for “outstanding contributions to reinforced prestressed concrete”; Tau Beta Pi Wyoming Eminent Engineer Award; and UW Ellbogen Lifetime Teaching Award.

Dolan joined the UW faculty in 1991. He received a Bachelor of Science degree (1965) at the University of Massachusetts and earned a Master of Science (1967) and a Ph.D. (1985), both from Cornell University.