Editor’s Note

John D. Hair, P.E., M.ASCE, ChairMohammad Najafi, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, P.E., Past ChairAhmad Habibian, Ph.D., P.E., ADCOM ChairMichael Stift, P.E., ADCOM Vice ChairTerry McArthur, P.E., M.ASCE, Vice ChairRalph Carpenter, M.ASCE, SecretaryJohn Galleher, P.E., M.ASCE, MemberJoe Castronovo, P.E., M.ASCE, Senior Advisor

It is very difficult to report loss of our associate editor. Dr. Henry Liu was a great mentor, colleague, pipeline engineer, and an active member of ASCE Pipeline Division. He was an emeritus professor of civil engineering and founder and past director of the Capsule Pipeline Research Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Liu passed away on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. A fatal one-car crash took his life but not his legacy. He will be remembered in the entire pipeline industry, especially among those of us who advocate underground freight transportation through research and development as a pioneer in the field.

Dr. Henry Liu

Dr. Liu had Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from the Colorado State University, and a B.S. in agricultural engineering (hydraulics) from the National Taiwan University. Dr. Liu had more than $37\text{years}$ of teaching, research, and development experience in civil engineering, specifically serving the pipeline and underground infrastructure industry. He was the founder and president of the Freight Pipeline Company in Columbia, Missouri. He was recognized as a pioneering, world-renowned authority and leader in the field of pipeline engineering. He had authored three recognized books, more than 50 journal (refereed) research papers, and more than 150 conference papers. He was a recipient of major research grants (totaling more than $6 million) from federal, state, and private agencies such as the U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. He was a patent holder for more than 13 inventions.

Dr. Liu was a recipient of many awards, including the prestigious Stephen D. Bechtel Pipeline Engineering Award in 1992. He organized and chaired many national and international conferences, short courses, and was a frequent invited and keynote speaker for professional events. He was founder and chair of the International Society for Underground Freight Transportation (ISUFT). Professor Liu was a tremendously creative and influential underground freight transportation (UFT) researcher. His dedication to UFT centered around developing the pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP) technology and to increasing our knowledge about UFT. Always interested in new insights, he communicated with scientists around the world and impressed us all tremendously with his UFT orientation and his foundational thinking.

Dr. Liu was a life member and fellow of ASCE, with his most notable work achieved as a member of the Pipeline Division. He was a frequent contributor to the annual Pipeline Division’s conferences and workshops serving as committee member, session chair, reviewer, and speaker. He was vice chair of the Pipeline Research Committee. He recently received the national Purpose Prize given to social entrepreneurs who use their Encore Careers to advance society. His fly ash brick (noted as one of the best inventions of 2007 by both Time Magazine and Popular Science) brought him the most acclaim, but his vision for using PCP in underground freight transportation was foremost on his mind at the time of the award. He had planned on creating a nonprofit organization to educate the public about this important technology—and to assist with its research and development. The nonprofit organization could not be realized due to his death but a memorial fund has been created. Anyone wanting to donate to the Citizens for Underground Freight Transportation can do so by writing a check to that organization and sending to Susie Liu (Dr. Liu’s wife) at 2601 Maguire Blvd., Columbia, MO 65201. Mrs. Liu will seek the guidance of leaders in the field to select the best place(s) for the donations. Our deepest sympathies go to the Liu family from the entire pipeline industry.