2019 Marvin C. Nichols Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our 2019 Marvin C. Nichols Awards, who were announced at the Annual Dinner on March 30. Award amounts are split evenly among team members.

Freese and Nichols, Inc. has established the Marvin C. Nichols Award program to recognize those staff member “who go the extra mile,” and prepare technical papers and presentations. The Award program consists of two types of submittals – a written paper or article, or an oral presentation using PowerPoint or similar software. The program is for staff members and offers cash prizes. The written papers are judged by a panel of outside, independent evaluators. The oral presentations using PowerPoint or similar software are judged by a panel of FNI former senior management and outside Advisory directors.

The purpose of the award program is to:

  • Enhance the professional development of the members of the Freese and Nichols’ staff
  • Share the individual’s knowledge and experiences with others – both within Freese and Nichols and externally for the benefit of others in the profession
  • Provide a marketing tool to build and enhance the reputation of the individual and Freese and Nichols

Marvin C. Nichols Papers

First Place 

Measuring Six-Degree-of Freedom Movements of Buried Objects in Soil Using a Magnetometer
Hande Gerkus, Austin
Read the paper in the Geotechnical Testing Journal

Second Place 

A-Stage and High-Rate Contact-Stabilization Performance Comparison for Carbon and Nutrient Redirection from High-Strength Municipal Wastewater 
Arifur Rahman, Dallas
Read the paper in the Chemical Engineering Journal

Third Place 

The Effect of Shape on the Pull-Out Capacity of Shallow Plate Anchors in Sand
Hande Gerkus, Austin
Read the paper in Géotechnique

Honorable Mention 

  • David Bennett
  • Eric Engelskirchen
  • Drew Hardin
  • Clay Herndon
  • Nick Landes
  • Scott Maughn
  • Amanda Powers
  • Arifur Rahman
  • Jason Ward

Marvin C. Nichols Presentations

First Place 

Why Not WRRF? 
Murali Erat, Pearland

Second Place 

Harness the Power of 2D for Road Design
Todd Buckingham and Justin Oswald, Fort Worth

Third Place 

Case Study on TDS and IPR: Mass Balances to Determine Surface Water Augmentation Limitations
David Jackson, Dallas, and Nick Landes, Fort Worth

Honorable Mention 

  • ​Bryan Bastible
  • Alison Blake
  • Dwain Brown
  • Jessica Brown (2)
  • Todd Buckingham (2)
  • Kimberly Buckley
  • David Buzan
  • Somnath Chilukuri
  • Jason Crawley
  • Oliver Haugland
  • Clay Herndon
  • David Hunn
  • Stephen Johnson
  • Mazen Kawasmi (3)
  • Kayla Martin
  • Giancarlo Patino
  • Amanda Powers
  • Jeremy Rice
  • Chad Simmons