Dr. Martin Lipinski, chairman of the civil engineering department at The University of Memphis, has been awarded the 2001 Outstanding Engineer Award in Memphis last week.
The award was given by the Memphis Joint Engineer's Council, which represents 18 different engineering organizations from Memphis.
The American Society of Civil Engineers nominated Lipinski because of the contributions he has made to the engineering profession.
"He (Lipinski) has always been very dedicated to his work," said Larry Moore, professor of civil engineering at The U of M. "He's very well-respected in his field and has been very successful directing this department."
Not only has Lipinski served the U of M engineering department for 25 years. He and seven other engineers from around the nation were selected in 1996 by the federal government to conduct a roadway safety audit in Australia and New Zealand.
"We basically looked at their highway systems and compared it to ours in the United States," said Lipinski.
Lipinski said the reason Australia and New Zealand were chosen for the project was because they both place a "higher premium on aspects of safety" in their highway systems.
For instance, the blood maximum alcohol level considered legal intoxication in much of the United States is .08, whereas in Australia it's only .05.
The two countries also have a more technically advanced transportation system.
"The video cameras mounted at intersections to catch speeders, which are still in debate here, are old hat over there," Lipinski said, "They are also very effective."
After participating in the roadway safety audit, Lipinski and a colleague gave a statewide workshop in Kentucky to suggest the transportation safety upgrades they found in Australia and New Zealand.
In several weeks, Lipinski said he will be returning to Kentucky to review how the state has applied the highway safety suggestions to their system.
If proven effective, Lipinski said he will continue the state workshops in order to promote more advanced highway safety around the country.
Lipinski has also served as chairman of the Highway Safety Committee under ASC, where he helped organize and sponsor national ASC meetings.
Lipinski prepares articles for national publications such as Civil Engineering and technical journals.
Currently, Lipinski is on a committee working towards building a light rail system in Memphis.
