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John W. Morris Receives National Engineering Society Award for Lifetime Achievement

 

March 3, 2010

 

Reston, Va. — The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) has announced that John W. Morris, Lt. Gen. (ret.), P.E., F.ASCE, NAE, is the recipient the 2010 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) award for lifetime achievement in government. The award will presented at the annual OPAL gala on March 25, 2010.

After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1943, Morris served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In 1976, as a lieutenant general, Morris became the 44th Chief of Engineers in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). During his tenure as leader of USACE, he directed a $20 billion Saudi Arabian construction program, an effort to build two major airfields in Israel and he began the USACE’s clean up program following the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. He remained the chief of engineers until his retirement from the Army in 1980.

Morris now serves as CEO and chairman of J.W. Morris, Ltd., an engineering consulting firm he founded in 1981, following his retirement. He is also regularly called to serve as an expert on numerous engineering projects around the world, and he has served on presidential missions to Russia, Egypt and the People’s Republic of China.

In 1977, Morris was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1996 he received the organization’s prestigious Founder’s Award. In addition to his degree from West Point, Morris attended the Army War College and has a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Iowa. He resides in Wilmington, N.C.

Established in 1999, the OPAL awards recognize individuals for life-long contributions, accomplishments and achievements that have made significant differences in five areas of civil engineering: construction, design, education, government and management. Recipients in the four other categories include:

  • Construction—Terence E. (Ed) Richardson, P.E.
  • Design—Man-Chung Tang, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAE
  • Education—David E. Daniel, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAE
  • Management—Robert D. Nichol, P.E., F.ASCE

More information about the OPALs is available at: http://content.asce.org/handa/opal.html. For press passes, please contact ljohnson@asce.org.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 144,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.

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Media Contact:  Leikny Johnson, 703-295-6413, ljohnson@asce.org