1994 Monie A. Ferst Award
University Distinguished Professor James M. Duncan, at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, has received numerous awards that attest to his stature in the field of soil science, and also has a reputation as an outstanding classroom instructor, having three times received awards for teaching excellence at Virginia Tech and the University of California at Berkeley. Duncan received his B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959 and 1962, respectively, and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He was on the faculty in civil engineering at U.C. Berkeley from 1965-70 as assistant professor, from 1970-73 as associate professor, and from 1973-84 as professor. He also served as a research engineer for the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute in Oslo from 1971-72. From 1984-87, Duncan was W. Thomas Rice Professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech. A fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Geotechnical Board, he has served numerous other professional societies. He has been a consultant to the United Nations, the World Bank, the Panama Canal Commission and other governmental organizations. His many honors include top ASCE awards, including the State-of-the-Art of Civil Engineering Award (1991), the Arthur M. Welington Prize (1989), the Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award (1980, 1987), the Walter L. Huber Research Prize (1973) and the Collingwood Prize (1972).