Civil Engineering Professor Emeritus Don J. Wood has received the prestigious 2004 Simon Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lectureship from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).   The award honors outstanding contributions in the field of water supply engineering.

The award and lectureship were established in 1975 by ASCE’s Environmental Engineering Division and endowed by the firm of Freese and Nichols in honor of their partner Simon Wilke Freese.  

The lecturer receives a certificate and a cash prize determined annually by and subject to the approval of the Society Awards Committee based on income from the award endowment.

“Dr. Wood is internationally known for his contributions to the KYPIPE and SURGE computer programs,” said Issam Harik, professor and chair of civil engineering. “These programs continue to benefit thousands of water and wastewater utilities around the world.”

Working with NASA in the mid-1960s, Harik said, Wood developed a simple and intuitive technique called the wave plan method for solving complex pipeline transient problems — sudden changes in pressure that could damage a system.

“This unique method is the basis for the SURGE computer program that is being used by hundreds of users around the world dealing with pipeline transients,” Harik said.

Wood was also an outstanding teacher, Harik noted.  

“Our students have constantly nominated him to teaching awards.   He directed the research of a number of M.S. and Ph.D. students.   His students have gone on to hold high level positions at companies and institutes world wide.”

Wood, a past recipient of the UK Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award, now serves as manager of the civil engineering software center.