Department Head's Perspective
We have just ended the semester at Bozeman with me shaking the hands of another group of energetic, optimistic and talented new graduates. Many of these graduates will be coming to work with you now. It is an exciting time and the demand for graduates from our programs is extremely strong. So for those of you who are employers, the name of the game is to start the search early. The end of the semester also marks the completion of my 4th year as Department Head. The past year was an exciting and productive one for us. It was one during which we were able to obtain funding for some significant new projects. As with consulting engineers and contractors, the real work begins after the work procurement, thus the 2006-2007 year promises to be very busy.
The first of these projects is the renovation of the geotechnical engineering laboratory. The laboratory has been moved to second floor. We are very excited about updating this laboratory as it is currently much the same as it was when Cobleigh hall was built in the 1970s. Often laboratory design is generic in nature, whereas we were able to design this lab to specifically serve as an instructional laboratory.
This move was necessary to make room for our new subzero science and engineering laboratory. For over 3 generations, MSU has been a leader in snow and ice mechanics research. Now we will have a world class laboratory facility to match the world class scholars that do subzero science and engineering research. The lab construction is being funded by grants from the NSF ($1,200,000) and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust ($600,000). Ed Adams and John Priscu led the effort to solicit these funds. We are in the process of selecting the Architect/Engineer for this project right now.
My final bit of good news for the year is to announce that we are finalizing the details on the gift agreement for the department’s first named professorship. A very generous gift from Joel T. Long is allowing us to establish the Joel T. Long Professor Endowment. Many thanks to Joel and the Long family for their continuing help in sustaining and improving our programs.
Finally, we like visitors. So if you're in Bozeman, please stop by and say hello. I’ll give you a tour and you can see the progress on our new laboratories.
Employment History
| Professor and Department Head, Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman Montana, Department of Civil Engineering, Aug 2002- Present. |
| Associate Chair. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri , Feb 1999-Aug 2002. |
| Associate Professor. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, Sep 1994-Aug 2002. |
| Doctoral Faculty. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, Jan 1991-Aug 2002. |
| Assistant Professor. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, Nov 1987-Aug 1994 |
| Instructor/Research Associate. Department of Civil & Construction Engineering , Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, Aug 1986-Oct 1987. |
| Teaching/Research Assistant. Department of Civil & Construction Engineering , Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, Aug 1984-Jul 1986. |
| Research Assistant. Department of Civil & Construction Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa , Aug 1981-Aug 1983. |
| Geotechnical Engineer. W.G. Jaques Co., Des Moines, Iowa, Sep 1983-Jul 1984. |
Publications
| Najafi, M, G. Davis, and B. Gunnink, Stability Analysis of Road Crossings for Trenchless Technology, Proceedings of No Dig International 2003, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 31-April 2, 2003, 12 pages. |
| Najafi, M, B. W. Gunnink and G. Davis, Field Testing of Major Road Crossing Methods, Proceedings of ASCE 2003 Construction Research Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 19-21, 2003, 9 pages. |
| Najafi, M, and B.W. Gunnink, Ground Displacement Monitoring During Horizontal Directional Drilling & Other Trenchless Installations, Proceedings of ASCE Pipeline Conference, Cleveland, Ohio, August 6-8, 2002, CD-ROM, 5 pages. |
| Najafi, M, and Gunnink, B.W., Stability Analysis of Boreholes in Innovative Horizontal Directional drilling (HDD) Applications, Proceedings of 2002 Underground Construction Technology International Conference, Houston, Texas, January 15-17, 2002, CD-ROM, Article 47, 6 pages. |
| Gunnink, B., and K.L. Sanford Bernhardt, “Writing, Critical Thinking and Engineering Curricula”, Frontiers in Education 2002 Conference, Session F3H, FIE Abstract 1386, November 6-9, 2002, Boston, Massachusetts. |
| Gunnink, B.W., J. Kanunar*, and Z. Liang*, "Process for Forming Coal Compacts and Product Thereof," United States Letters Patent No. 6,375, 690, April 23, 2002. |
| Najafi, M, and Gunnink, B.W., Stability Analysis of Boreholes in Innovative Horizontal Directional drilling (HDD) Applications, Proceedings of 2002 Underground Construction Technology International Conference, Houston, Texas, January 15-17, 2002, CD-ROM, Atricle 47, 6 pages. |
| Sanford Bernhardt, K.L., and B. Gunnink, “A Revised Civil Engineering Curriculum”, Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, ASEE, Albuquerque NM, June 24-27, 2001, CD-ROM, 11 pages. |
| Gunnink, B.W., and Wei Li*, “Optimal Moisture for Rapid Compaction of Coal Logs for Freight Pipelines,” Powder Technology, September, 107: 273-281, 2000. |
| Gunnink, B.W., “Measurement of the Pore Size Distribution of Geomaterials using Conductometric Phase Transition Porosimetry”, Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering: Putting Research into Practice, ASCE, 665-676, 1999. |
| Gunnink, B.W., and W. Li*, "Rapidly Compacted Coal Logs for Pipelines: Binder and Pressure Effects", accepted for the 24th International Technical Conference on Coal Utilization & Fuel Systems, Clearwater, Florida, March 8-11, 1999, 841-850. |
Professional Activities and Service
| Professional Societies and Registration |
| Member, American Society of Civil Engineers |
| Professional Engineer: Montana, License No. 15611PE; Missouri, License No. 24175 (inactive). |
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| Service to Profession |
| Reviewer, Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, China, April, 2002. |
| Invited Speaker for Helical Anchor &Foundation Seminar sponsored by A.B. Chance Company, Centralia MO, April 30-May 2, 2002, October 2-5, 2001, May 15-16, 1996. |
| Reviewer, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 1999. |
| Served as peer reviewer for six refereed journal articles. |
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| Department, College, and University Committees |
| College – Budget Committee (Chair) |
| Department – Class Scheduling Committee |
| Department - Transfer Student Advisor |
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Courses Taught
| CET 303 |
Hwy Technology |
3 cr |
Spring 2003 |
| EM 253 |
Mechanics of Materials |
3 cr |
Fall 2002 |
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