Ronald J. Hensen, a Colorado and Wyoming transportation engineer who transitioned to teaching at the University of Denver and at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and became an esteemed expert witness into his 80s, has died. He was 88.
In 1979, Hensen, Ph.D., F.ASCE, founded TransPlans Inc., a Boulder-based transportation engineering consulting firm, and became its president in 1984. As a licensed professional engineer in Colorado and several other states, he helped design many of the roads in the Denver Tech Center as well as other places throughout Colorado and Wyoming. But he soon realized a passion for teaching, and became a professor at Fort Lewis before moving on to DU.
Hensen next served as Lakewood, Colorado, director of transportation, returning to a city he had worked for a number of years previous.
Discovering an interest in performing accident reconstruction and other forensic engineering work became an expertise that led to recognition in many courts as an expert witness. Even following retirement, Hensen still enjoyed the work with attorneys, and continued testifying in numerous court proceedings into his early 80s. He created a detailed history of the Denver Tech Center.
Hensen began pursuing a bachelor’s in civil engineering at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, before transferring to the University of Denver, where he received his degree in 1960. Later attending Purdue University, he received a master’s degree followed by a doctorate in civil engineering in 1968.
In addition to his ASCE Fellow status, Hensen was active in other professional engineering organizations, including the Institute of Transportation Engineers, which gave him its lifetime achievement award in 2005.
Hensen was happiest in his workshop or working in the yard. He played basketball, including in the Senior Olympics, enjoyed country music, and traveling with his wife and with book-club friends. He and his dog Katie could be found circling the neighborhood while he was still able and kept up with her. He became invested in the future of his local elementary school and advocated for the students and the community. In his last three years, he battled ALS.
