NJIT in the News

Three New Jersey Institute of Technology experts are available to discuss levee rebuilding, sewer and underground utilities and waste water management -all issues facing rescuers and future reconstruction efforts in areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

John Schuring, PhD and PE, is professor of civil and environmental engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He holds several U.S. patents for developing methods of treating polluted soil. He is an expert in pile foundations, differential settlement of structures, and landslides. He has worked on engineering projects for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Four New Jersey Institute of Technology experts are available to discuss levee rebuilding, sewer and underground utilities and waste water management—all issues facing rescuers and future reconstruction efforts in areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

“It appears that the levee failures in New Orleans were induced by subsurface seepage through the soils, not by overtopping,” said John Schuring, PhD and PE, professor of civil and environmental engineering at NJIT. “Given the fact that the levees were built and retrofitted many times over the years, and also given the fact that other weaknesses in the soil may exist, care must be taken when the city is dewatered to avoid another failure.”

John Schuring, PhD (at right), chairman of the civil and environmental engineering department at NJIT, was one of four individuals who were recognized for their work with the ACE Mentor Program at its fifth annual scholarship breakfast on June 9 at the Newark Club. The ACE Mentor Program is designed to help high school students become aware of college and career opportunities in the design and construction field.

“During construction, pieces are still coming together, so there is definitely some vulnerability,” says John Schuring, in response to the parking deck collapse in Atlantic City. “Also, the loading on the structure is unpredictable during construction.” A multi-story structure such as a parking deck also relies on the strength of concrete cured just days earlier. “Sometimes,” he adds, those strengths may be overestimated because the concrete is not fully cured.”