Editor’s Note

The 2010 Outstanding Reviewer Award for the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities is given to Richard Deschamps.

Richard J. Deschamps, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE

Richard Deschamps is vice president of engineering at Nicholson Construction Company, working in the corporate office near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received BSCE and MSCE degrees from the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Deschamps’s civil engineering experience has spanned consulting, academics, and construction, including: Dames and Moore, and FMSM Engineers; Purdue University; and now Nicholson. He is a registered professional engineer in several states and has over 40 technical publications.

Deschamps has broad geotechnical experience including soil behavior, soil-structure interaction, and ground improvement. His current efforts relate to leading Nicholson’s engineering group with emphasis in development of competitive design-build systems and value engineering alternatives for geoconstruction projects throughout the United States.

The Outstanding Reviewer Award was established in 2009 by the Journals Division of ASCE. Richard Deschamps is the first reviewer of this Journal to be recognized by the new award. His contributions as a volunteer peer reviewer are exemplary in every aspect the award is intended to recognize: timely, conscientious reviews that provide constructive comments. In addition, he has made extraordinary effort to ensure that manuscripts published in this journal are of practical value, as many of our readers are consultants in engineering practice. His background in both practice and academia is particularly useful in this regard.

As editor, I am sincerely gratified to see the establishment of this new award. The success of ASCE peer-reviewed publications has always been dependent on the altruistic contributions of dedicated reviewers. Of course, our reviewers know their efforts are appreciated and that they are integral to advances in theory and practice. But in my judgment, this formal recognition is long overdue. I congratulate Rick Deschamps, and look forward to recognizing other deserving colleagues in the future.