Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering doctoral students Ben Cohen and Liam Hendricken are recent recipients of The Steven E. Giegerich Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded annually to one or more graduate students in the Department. In 1984, John Giegerich established this scholarship to honor his son Steven. While a student at Drexel, Steven passed away in a motorcycle accident. Since its founding, more than 40 Drexel students have benefited from the scholarship. In addition to this generous gift, Mr. Giegerich hosts an annual luncheon that provides the opportunity for current and past scholarship recipients to meet.
Ben Cohen, originally from Havertown, Pennsylvania, graduated from Drexel in 2010 with a BS/MS in Civil Engineering, structural concentration. Upon graduation, Ben worked for Boeing Commercial Airplanes before he was offered the opportunity to return to Drexel to pursue a PhD in Civil Engineering. Ben is currently a teaching fellow for the College of Engineering. He helped create a new civil engineering teaching module that introduces bridge engineering to freshman engineering students. Ben’s current research interests are: Asset Management of Infrastructure; Complex, Large-scale, Interconnected, Open, Sociotechnical (CLIOS) Systems; and Bridge Performance. Ben is advised by Dr. A. Emin Aktan and Dr. Sabrina Spatari.
Liam Hendricken obtained his BS in Architectural Engineering and his MS in Civil Engineering both at Drexel. Liam is from Ashton, Maryland. For his undergraduate senior design project, he and his team competed in the 2010 Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) Design Competition, and won first place in the structural engineering and mechanical engineering categories, and second place in the building integration category. As a Civil Engineering PhD student, Liam’s current research is funded through the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster (GPIC), where his work in building energy modeling contributes to the Policy,
Markets, and Behavior (PMB) macro-modeling effort. His research interests are focused on the costs and benefits of energy efficiency upgrades in buildings coupled with understanding the impact of public policy on the energy efficiency market. Liam is advised by Dr. Jin Wen.
Department Head, Charles N Haas, noted “we are delighted to honor two students who exemplify excellence to their studies and to their professions, and who have the potential to be true leaders. The legacy of Steven Giegerich truly lives on in the generations of students that his memorial fund has supported. Both Ben and Liam expressed the desire of giving back to Drexel when they graduate, and all of the department wishes them success in their studies and their future success.”