Kord Wissmann, Ph.D., P.E., BC.GE, founder of Intechnics, is the recipient of DFI’s highest award bestowed to an individual, the Distinguished Service Award (DSA). This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptionally valuable contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry. The award is being presented at the DFI 50th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations, being held October 20–23 in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Kord’s innovative vision and work has had a major impact on the geotechnical industry — specifically ground improvement,” says Theresa Engler, DFI executive director. “He has been an active member of DFI’s Ground Improvement Committee since its formation in 2008. A champion of collaboration, Kord was instrumental in fostering increased cooperation between DFI’s Ground Improvement Committee and Geo-Institutue’s (G-I) Soil Improvement Committee as well as between DFI and G-I. On behalf of DFI, I am excited to celebrate Kord and his service to the industry at our annual conference.”
Wissmann’s contributions to the profession are extensive, spanning foundation design and construction, marine structures, ground improvement, innovative solutions, entrepreneurial leadership, academia, and service to the geotechnical industry.
Early in his career, he worked on some of the nation’s largest infrastructure projects, including Olmsted Locks and Dam on the Ohio River and the “Big Dig” in Boston, and provided technical expertise in a large variety of technical areas. Later, he joined startup Geopier Foundations as its first chief engineer and then led the company as its second president to dynamic growth while introducing multiple new ground improvement solutions and expanding its footprint to more than 30 countries on six continents.
He is the author or co-author of more than 35 peer-reviewed papers, served as an adjunct faculty member at Southern Illinois University teaching foundation design, and has participated as an instructor or speaker at more than 100 workshops and seminars largely focused on ground improvement. Over the past 35 years, Wissmann has ideated and created more than 30 patented innovative ground improvement and geo-civil construction solutions.
He has served on DFI’s Ground Improvement, American Society of Civil Engineer’s (ASCE) Soil Improvement, and multiple Geoprofessional Business Association committees. He was instrumental in conceiving, forming and leading the Geo-Institute’s (G-I) Organizational Member Council, and later, as a board member and president, is noted for increasing the G-I’s emphasis on meeting the needs of practitioners and forming collaborative relationships with DFI and the International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC). He has served on the civil engineering industry advisory boards of both Virginia Tech and University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He is the recipient of Virginia Tech’s outstanding young alumni and alumni awards and is a past recipient of ASCE’s Wallace Hayward Baker award. More recently, Wissmann founded Intechnics, a North Carolina-based firm providing engineering, strategy and entrepreneurial startup services to the industry. He holds bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a board-certified geotechnical engineer.