UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 39, Page 6
August 4, 1994
UD civil engineering professor receives two national awards

     Alexander H-D. Cheng, professor of civil engineering, is a 1994
recipient of the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize
awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The prize
will be presented at the ASCE annual convention in Atlanta on Oct. 12.
     One of the most prestigious awards in the field of civil
engineering research, the Huber Prize traces its roots to 1946, when
the ASCE Board of Directors authorized annual research awards to
stimulate research in civil engineering. It is awarded to ASCE members
for notable achievements in research related to civil engineering.
     Cheng was cited for his theoretical work in poroelasticity and
boundary element method and their applications in ground water and
rock mechanics/ petroleum engineering.
     Cheng also was honored recently by the U. S. National Committee
for Rock Mechanics, under the authorization of the National Research
Council, which presented him the 1994 Basic Research Award at the
North American Rock Mechanics Symposium in Austin, Texas, June 2.
     That award recognized his paper "Plane Strain Analysis of a
Stationary Hydraulic Fracture in a Poroelastic Medium," written with
Emmanuel Detourney of the University of Minnesota. Each year, three
professional awards-a basic research award, an applied research award
and a case history award-are presented for the best contributions in
the U.S. rock mechanics community.
     Cheng, who earned his Ph.D. from Cornell in 1981, came to the
University of Delaware as associate professor in 1985, after three
years as an assistant professor at Columbia University. He is the
editor of three books and the author of five book chapters and 42
refereed journal papers.
                                                            -Skip Cook