(Photo reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record, © The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., April 12, 2010. All rights reserved.)
John R. Hillman, Engineering News-Record’s 2010 Award of Excellence recipient, presented this year’s Vecellio Lecture at Virginia Tech. Hillman holds three patents for his invention of the Hybrid-Composite Beam (HCB) used in bridge construction. The beams weigh less and last far longer than conventional beams, providing substantial cost savings.
The annual fall lecture is sponsored by the Vecellio Family Foundation and individual family members through an endowment to the school’s Vecellio Construction Engineering and Management Program. The endowment also supports scholarships, fellowships and a full professorship at the school.
Three family members — the late Leo Vecellio, Sr. (class of 1938), Leo Vecellio, Jr. (1968) and Michael Vecellio (2001) — are alumni of Virginia Tech, more formally known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.