Bridge Engineer to Address College of Engineering

Tom Jenkins, Jr., a 1999 magna cum laude civil engineering graduate, is the featured speaker in the inaugural ODU Alumni Association Lecture Series. Jenkins will speak today at 12:30 p.m. in the Big Blue Room at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Jenkins, 37, is on the engineering team for a new bridge in place of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis which collapsed Aug. 1 of last year. Working for the Tallahassee, Florida-based FIGG Engineering Group, he is also responsible for the Victory Bridge in New Jersey, the Susquehanna River Bridge in Pennsylvania, a concept for an elevated US 280 in Birmingham, Ala., and the Lesner Bridge Replacement here in Virginia.

The theme of his lecture is "Bridging the gap between the current condition of our nation's infrastructure and the funding available for repairing, upgrading and replacing these vital facilities." A reception will follow the lecture.

Jenkins currently lives in Tallahassee with his wife and son. He credits the life-changing influences he received at ODU for his current successes. While a student, he was chapter president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) his senior year. He was also captain of the ODU Steel Bridge Team, leading his team to national competitions in successive years in Fairbanks, Alaska and Dallas. He was also recipient of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Award for Student Excellence in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and winner of the William J. Thompson Memorial Award for Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Student at Old Dominion University.

The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the 43rd Street Garage across from the Convocation Center. RSVP to engineer@odu.edu. For more information, contact the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology at 683-3789, or Scott M. Lowe, Jr. at 683-6394.