News
June 30, 2021

SGH Technical Experts Jesse Beaver and Philip Hashimoto Named ASCE Fellow

SGH Technical Experts Jesse Beaver and Philip Hashimoto Named ASCE Fellow

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Board of Direction has elevated Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) Principal Jesse Beaver and Senior Principal Philip Hashimoto to ASCE Fellow within the organization. This prestigious honor recognizes ASCE members who “have made celebrated contributions and developed creative solutions that change lives around the world.”

Jesse Beaver, Principal

ASCE recognized Jesse for his leadership in the field of underground utility engineering and his expertise in soil-structure interaction with buried structures, structural materials, and bridge construction. He serves as Head of SGH’s Engineering Mechanics and Infrastructure Division in Boston, MA. Throughout his career, Jesse has conducted numerous soil-structure interaction studies; investigated structural failures; conducted national research for transportation infrastructure; and assisted manufacturers and contractors with analysis, testing, and design. Jesse has also written material, product, design, and installation standards; investigated and designed concrete for nuclear structures; evaluated corrosion-fatigue of offshore wind structures; and evaluated mechanical properties of structural materials in laboratory and instrumented field testing.

“I am honored to receive this distinction and humbled to join such a talented roster of ASCE Fellows,” said Jesse. “I look forward to continuing my involvement with ASCE and working with my colleagues and peers to address the issues confronting our industry today, while we advance the state of practice for underground utility engineering.”

Jesse is a longstanding member or ASCE and a charter member of its Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), and serves as an instructor for the ASCE Seminar on Design of Buried Pipes. He also leads and advises on several other professional organizations, including as chair of the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee AKB70 on Culverts, Buried Bridges, and Soil-Structure Interaction; and ASTM Committee F17.65 on Plastic Pipes for Land Drainage. He is a voting member of ASTM Committee A05 on Corrugated Metal Pipes for Land Drainage, ASTM Committee C13 on Reinforced Concrete Pipes, AWWA Committee on Polyolefin Pressure Pipes, and ACI Committee 345 on Concrete Bridge Construction.

Philip Hashimoto, Senior Principal

ASCE honored Phil for devoting his career to ensuring public safety by advancing seismic assessments of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) and other nuclear facilities, many of which were constructed well before the advent of modern seismic design criteria. These efforts, involving domestic and international NPPs and U.S. Department of Energy sites, require intensive evaluation to safeguard against damage from earthquakes. In particular, he has overseen seismic probabilistic risk assessment of NPPs for earthquakes well beyond their original design basis, starting from original studies in the late 1970s to the present time.

“It is an honor to be named an ASCE Fellow and to follow in the tradition of so many accomplished engineers and professionals,” said Phil. “I hope to continue giving back to ASCE and partnering with my colleagues and peers in the industry to share expertise and help assess the safety and performance of nuclear facilities around the world.”

Phil is a committed member of ASCE and SEI and served on the organization’s Dynamic Analysis of Nuclear Structures Committee for more than 30 years, helping to develop criteria for analysis and design of nuclear structures. He has reviewed, commented, and voted on updates to ASCE Standards 4 and 43 and is a co-author of “Stiffness of Low Rise Reinforced Concrete Shear Wall Structures,” published by the ASCE Working Group on Stiffness of Concrete Shear Wall Structures. He also serves on American Concrete Institute’s Committee 349 on Nuclear Structures as an Associate Member since 1985.

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