Civil engineering alumnus Ralph Haas (Civil '61, MSc '63) received an honorary degree in Science today, in the same auditorium in which he received his undergraduate degree, in 1961.
(Edmonton) If you live in a city like ours you know there are two seasons: winter, and road construction.
Our northern town has its charms, but the beating that winter lays on our roads isn't one of them. The freeze-thaw cycle rips the fabric of our streets apart, turning smooth asphalt into a moonscape of jarring pot holes.
This is where Ralph Haas comes in. A University of Alberta engineering alumnus (Civil '61, MSc '63), Haas is regarded as the "Father of Pavement Management" for his ground-breaking (pun intended) research into road building and maintenance.
Haas's achievements have had a profound impact on civil infrastructure engineering. Pavement management is what you might guess it is: monitoring, maintaining and improving pavement.
In our modern transportation system, pavement is the highest asset value and highest-cost asset. Rigorous research is needed not only to improve the ways we build roads, but also to schedule maintenance when it's needed.
Due in part to Haas's work, the pavement field is remarkably green, recycling 90 per cent of materials used.
Haas has published more than 400 academic papers and 12 books. The achievements he is most proud of are the textbooks and manuals he has written, which are used by engineering professionals around the world. His most recent book leverages the management principles he developed for pavement and applies them to other civil assets, such as water, sewers and buildings.
Haas has also paved the way for early-career engineering professors at the U of A to advance the field. In 2012, he joined forces with the U of A and Stantec Engineering to create the Ralph Haas / Stantec Fellow in Civil Engineering, a one-of-a-kind award for promising young professors in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Today, it was the U of A's turn to thank Haas for his contributions as a professor and researcher, by awarding him with an honorary degree in Science.
From the podium in the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium-where he received his undergraduate degree in 1961-Haas told the Engineering Class of 2018 about the importance of seizing opportunities.
Haas grew up in northern Alberta and his first job was unloading box cars of farm and construction materials in Peace River, Alberta.
"One night in the town pool hall a buddy of mine told me they had fired a guy from the survey crew," Haas recalled. "The next day I had a new job."
As opportunities presented themselves, Haas took them, eventually studying engineering at the U of A, taking a job as an academic at Carleton University and later going to Waterloo, where he is the Norman W. McLeod Engineering Professor and Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering.
As well as encouraging the next generation of engineers to recognize opportunities and take risks, Haas added a personal twist to his address.
"If one has any kind of legacy it should be based on being, above all, a decent person," he said. "All the better if you add generosity, integrity, courtesy and contributions to your community and society."