2019 Outstanding Student Thesis Awards

TMS Awards 2 Outstanding Thesis and 2 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards at 2019 Annual Meeting

During the Awards Banquet at the The Masonry Society on November 7, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Research Committee of The Masonry Society (TMS) presented the following awards:

2019 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Awards

  • Shady Hesham Abdel-Mohaimen Bakr Salem, McMaster University for “Resilience-Based Blast Design of Reinforced Concrete Masonry Systems” under the direction of Dr. Wael El-Dakhakhni and Michael Trait
  • Daniele Malomo, University of Pavia for “Discrete Element Models for the Seismic Assessment of Unreinforced Masonry Structures” under the direction of Andrea Penna and Matthew J. DeJong

2019 Outstanding Master’s Thesis

  • Sarah Elizabeth Jemison, Missouri University of Science and Technology for her work “Compressive Behavior of Masonry Columns Confined with Steel Reinforced Grout (SRG) Composite” under the direction of Lesley Sneed
  • Amir Rezaeivahdati, University of Saskatchewan for his work “Towards the Reconciliation of The Empirical and Rational Design Provisions of CSA S304-14” under the direction of Lisa R. Feldman

The Masonry Society’s (TMS) Student Thesis Awards are presented annually by TMS’s Research Committee to the best doctoral dissertation and master’s thesis on masonry topics.

Masters theses or reports will be considered that were submitted for degree requirements between May 16, 2019 and June 1, 2020.  Masters reports must be publicly available (referenceable) to be eligible.

Ph.D. dissertations that are submitted for degree requirements between June 1, 2018 and May 31st, 2020 are eligible for this award. Ph.D. dissertations previously sent to TMS for award selection and that meet the current Ph.D. completion date requirements, are still eligible and will be automatically considered without the need for resubmittal.

Theses must be submitted to the TMS office no later than June 1st of the award year. Electronic submission of theses in PDF format is strongly encouraged.