2021 Honorary Members

Anne M. Ellis

“for her lifetime dedication to local and global outreach for the concrete industry, and her passionate efforts to inspire women to pursue careers in engineering and construction as well as membership in ACI”

Anne M. Ellis, FACI, is the Executive Director of the Charles Pankow Foundation, McLean, VA, USA. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors of GEI Consultants, Inc., a technical consulting services firm, and Alpha Corporation, a woman-owned multidisciplinary construction consulting firm. Ellis began her career in structural engineering at a four-person office, followed by project management positions with consulting engineering companies and program management positions at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and Portland Cement Association. Over the next 15 years, she held enterprise-wide positions addressing growth and business transformation at Earth Tech, Inc. and AECOM, both of which are publicly traded, global companies.

Ellis served as ACI President in 2013-2014. In recognition of her industry leadership, she was named one of the Most Influential People in Concrete Construction in 2013 by Concrete Construction magazine and received the ACI Strategic Advancement Award in 2020. Currently, she serves on ACI Committee 375, Performance-Based Design of Concrete Buildings for Wind Loads, and the ACI Foundation Concrete Research Council. She formerly served on the ACI Executive Committee, Board of Direction, Financial Advisory Committee, Honors and Awards Committee, Marketing Committee, Membership Committee, International Project Awards Committee, ISO-TC 71 Advisory Committee, and Standards Board. Additionally, she is a past member of ACI Committees 332, Residential Concrete Work; 551, Tilt-Up Concrete Construction; and C650, Tilt-Up Constructor Certification. She moderates the ACI Innovation in Concrete Construction Webinar series on ACI University. Ellis also co-authored the “Concrete Design and Construction” section of the Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers, fifth edition.

An advocate for industry advancement, Ellis served by appointment of five different U.S. cabinet secretaries to their federal advisory committees on matters of energy and trade policy. She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences, Building Seismic Safety Council, Structural Engineering Institute Futures Fund, and the Challenger Center. Ellis also serves on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Industry Leaders Council and is a Fellow of ASCE. She served as ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition judge in 2004, 2005, and 2012. Ellis is a frequent speaker at universities, professional societies, and industry forums. She has appeared on the History Channel and has been profiled in print and digital media.

Ellis received her BS in civil engineering in 1980 from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA, and was inducted into the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 2007 and the Virginia Tech Academy of Engineering Excellence in 2013. In 2019, she was inducted into the National Academy of Construction. She has been a licensed professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1984.

William L. Gamble

“for lifetime achievements in teaching, structural engineering, and contributions to ACI, particularly in the analysis and design of buildings, bridges, and tunnel systems”

William L. Gamble, FACI, is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA, serving from 1963 until 2003. He is a current member and past Chair of the following: Joint ACI-TMS Committee 216, Fire Resistance and Fire Protection of Structures; Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 421, Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs; and ACI Committee 543, Concrete Piles. He is also a member of Joint ACI-ASCE Committee 423, Prestressed Concrete, and ASTM International Subcommittee A01.05, Steel Reinforcement. Gamble is a past member of the Awards for Papers Committee, Fellows Nominating Committee, and the Committee on Nominations, as well as ACI Subcommittees 318-C, Safety, Serviceability, and Analysis; 318-DR, Flexure and Axial Loads; and 318-F, Foundations.

Gamble is a licensed structural engineer in the State of Illinois. He has taught five different undergraduate and graduate courses in reinforced and prestressed concrete, plus a course on the fire resistance of structures. He is co-author (with Robert Park of New Zealand) of Reinforced Concrete Slabs, second edition. He is a Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, and he is a member of ASTM International. Gamble was a Fulbright Fellow in Australia in 1962-1963.

Gamble received his BS from Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA, in 1959; and his MS and PhD in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1961 and 1962, respectively.

Kenneth D. Hansen

“for lifetime achievements and contributions to ACI and the concrete industry, particularly in the area of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam design and dam rehabilitation”

Kenneth D. Hansen, FACI, is an individual consultant, specializing in roller-compacted concrete (RCC), concrete, and soil-cement applications in dams. He has been a member of ACI since 1960 and currently serves on ACI Committees 207, Mass and Thermally Controlled Concrete (past Chair), and 230, Soil Cement. He is an internationally recognized author, lecturer, and consultant on the use of RCC for new dams and the rehabilitation of existing dams. Prior to establishing his private practice in early 2009, he worked for Schnabel Engineering for nearly 12 years and, prior to that, for the Portland Cement Association for nearly 37 years. His consulting assignments on RCC, concrete, and soil cement for dams total more than 100 projects in 11 countries.

Hansen’s honors include being selected as one of the 60 Most Influential People in the Global Hydro and Dams business over the last 60 years by International Water Power and Dam Construction Magazine in 2009, being conferred Honorary Membership in the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, and being selected as a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus by the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. He was recognized by the U.S. Society on Dams with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award for 50 years as arguably the most widely recognized author, lecturer, and consultant on RCC in the United States for new dam construction and dam rehabilitation. Hansen is the primary author of the book Roller Compacted Concrete Dams and of ICOLD Bulletin 54, “Soil-Cement for Embankment Dams,” and he has given approximately 650 talks on RCC and soil cement throughout the United States and internationally.

Hansen received his MS in civil engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA, in 1961 and his BS in architectural engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, in 1955.

Venkataswamy Ramakrishnan

“for contributions to both structural and materials engineering through teaching and research for more than 65 years, for extraordinary service to ACI, and for guiding the research of more than 300 MS and PhD students”

Venkataswamy Ramakrishnan, FACI, is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD, USA. Ramakrishnan was a Founding Member of the ACI Certification Programs Committee. He also founded the ACI Dakota Chapter and served continuously for 30 years as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and President of the chapter. He is a current member of ACI Committee 544, Fiber Reinforced Concrete, and ACI Subcommittees 544-A, FRC-Production & Applications, and 544-B, FRC-Education. He is a past member of ACI Committee 123, Research and Current Developments, and past Chair of ACI Committees 214, Evaluation of Results of Tests Used to Determine the Strength of Concrete; 318, Structural Concrete Building Code; 506, Shotcreting; and 522, Pervious Concrete; as well as ACI Subcommittee 318-A, General, Concrete, and Construction.

Ramakrishnan has been involved in extensive research and applications using concrete fiber composites for the past 40 years. He has been a consultant for all major fiber producers (both steel and synthetic). He has authored or co-authored three books and more than 400 papers, of which more than 50 papers were on fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) and construction with FRC. He has performed numerous FRC research projects and has field experience in construction of FRC structural components. Ramakrishnan also received the ACI Foundation’s Robert E. Philleo Award in 2000.

For his substantive contributions to South Dakota School of Mines and Technology research activities in concrete technology and other areas, a new materials laboratory at the university was dedicated as Rama Materials Laboratory in 2002. To recognize the tremendous impact that he has made in advancing higher education and materials research and for his contributions to the state, the governor of South Dakota proclaimed September 29, 2002, to be “Dr. Venkataswamy Ramakrishnan Day.”

Ramakrishnan received his BE in civil engineering and his DSS in social sciences from the University of Madras, Chennai, India, in 1952 and 1954, respectively. He received his Diploma of Imperial College (DIC) in hydropower engineering in 1956 and concrete technology in 1957 from Imperial College, London, UK. In 1960, he received his PhD in civil engineering from the University of London, London, UK.

Sami Rizkalla

“for lifetime achievements and contributions to ACI and the concrete industry, particularly in the area of floor tolerances and constructability”

Sami Rizkalla, FACI, is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering and Construction, past Director of the Constructed Facilities Laboratory (CFL), and past Director of the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (NSF I/UCRC) Center for the Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.

He is a current member and past Chair of ACI Committee 440, Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Reinforcement, and a member of ACI Subcommittees 440-F, FRP-Repair-Strengthening; 440-H, FRP-Reinforced Concrete; and 440-I, FRP-Prestressed Concrete. He is also a current member of Joint ACI-ASCE Committees 423, Prestressed Concrete, and 550, Precast Concrete Structures; and ACI Subcommittee 423-D, Bond and Development in Pretensioned Members. Rizkalla has received numerous awards, including the ACI Foundation Arthur J. Boase Award, the ACI Joe W. Kelly Award, the ACI Chester Paul Siess Award for Excellence in Structural Research, and the ACI Delmar L. Bloem Distinguished Service Award.

He is a past member of the Chapter Activities Committee as well as ACI Committees 318, Structural Concrete Building Code, and 533, Precast Panels; and ACI Subcommittees 318-1P, Precast and Prestressed Concrete, and 440-F, FRP-Repair-Strengthening. He is also the past Director of the ACI Manitoba Chapter.

Rizkalla’s research interests include the design, construction, and behavior of reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete structures and bridges. During the last 40 years, his research interests have focused on the use of higher-performance concrete and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials for the construction, repair, and strengthening of structures and bridges. His current research interests include diagnosis and prognosis of structures and bridges using nondestructive monitoring systems. In addition, he has published and presented hundreds of technical papers on the use of FRP for new construction and strengthening of structures and bridges.

He received his BSc from Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt, in 1965, and his MS and PhD from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, in 1974 and 1976, respectively.

Gajanan Mahadeo Sabnis

“for lifetime achievements as an educator, researcher, and consultant working around the world, and his service to ACI through his international work”

Gajanan Mahadeo Sabnis, FACI, is Emeritus Professor at Howard University, Washington, DC. He owned KC Engineering, PC, Construction Management Firm from 1983-1999 and has served as Principal Founder and CEO of a consulting firm, Sabnis, Inc., since 1983. Sabnis, Inc., helps companies procure concrete technologies through exports and imports, with an emphasis on improving access to concrete and infrastructure technologies in India. The strategy is to encourage, help, and connect small- to medium-size companies to develop business, with an emphasis on infrastructure and manufacturing with high-tech support.

Sabnis is a Distinguished (Honorary) Member of the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE), the ACI National Capital Chapter, the Indian Concrete Institute, the Institution of Engineers (India), and Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India). He was an active member of several societies, including ASCE, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the International Concrete Repair Institute before retiring with four decades of service in several important committees. He was also active locally in Washington, DC, and in his native Mumbai, India, where he served the industry at various levels. He expanded his professional activities at the international level by developing sections and chapters of ASCE and ACI and by helping increase their international membership.

His service to ACI includes positions as Chair/Secretary/member of many committees, including the Chapter Activities Committee, Educational Activities Committee, International Activities Committee, and Membership Committee; ACI Committees 121, Quality Assurance Systems for Concrete; 369, Seismic Repair and Rehabilitation; 435, Deflection of Concrete Building Structures; 444, Structural Health Monitoring and Instrumentation; and 549, Thin Reinforced Cementitious Products and Ferrocement; Joint ACI-ASCE Committees 335, Composite and Hybrid Structures, and 445, Shear and Torsion; and ACI Subcommittee 318-C, Safety, Serviceability, and Analysis. Sabnis has the special distinction of having served as Chair/Co-Chair on three local convention committees for ACI Concrete Conventions 75 and 100, and 87 years of ACI, held in Washington, DC.

With a passion for concrete, Sabnis built his energy-efficient, award-winning concrete home with recycled construction materials in Silver Spring, MD, USA. The house received national recognition from WJLA-ABC TV. He has published more than 20 books and 100 research papers and is a licensed professional engineer in California and other states.

Sabnis received his BE in civil engineering from the University of Bombay, Mumbai, India, with the James Berkeley Gold Medal in 1961; his MTech from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India, in 1963; and his PhD from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, in 1967.