News Detail

Remembering Dan Falconer

9/1/2015

Like many ACI members, I was deeply saddened to learn of Dan Falconer's passing following his battle with cancer. Dan was an ACI Fellow and he served with distinction as ACI's Managing Director of Engineering for over 17 years. I had the pleasure of working closely with Dan for 3 years while I was Chair of the Technical Activities Committee (TAC), but our interactions—and our friendship—grew over a much longer period of time.

I will always remember Dan's deep laugh. As he walked around during conventions, and especially during the Concrete Mixer, Dan would stop to talk with everyone. He would remember the details of the technical committee document that they were drafting, the challenges that they were facing in their job, or something about their family. He would always conclude the conversation with a positive statement—and a laugh.

Post-bike ride in San Antonio, TX, July 2013, from left: Randy Poston, Sharon Wood, Terry Holland, Dan Falconer, and Greg Zeisler

Dan was one of the driving forces behind the reorganization of ACI 318-14, Structural Concrete Building Code. Dan, and the members of the engineering team, fielded all the questions about 318 from the users of the Code. He knew that many of the users were confused by some of the provisions—as I remember, the provisions for minimum flexural reinforcement in footings was at the top of the list. It was Dan's belief that if each section of the Code addressed a single issue and if all chapters were organized in a similar manner, then designers and engineers would find ACI 318 much easier to use. Based on the feedback that we have received, Dan's instincts were correct. He certainly understood how people used the Code.

The reorganization of ACI 318-14 was not Dan's first attempt to simplify the Code, however. I served on a task force that updated the notation for ACI 318-05. In previous editions of the Code, the notation was defined in each chapter, and a term could have one meaning in one chapter, but something completely different in another. With Dan's help, we were able to achieve our goal of developing a single definition for each term used in ACI 318. However, there was an exception. We identified one term, "tie," which had two widely used definitions: the first refers to transverse reinforcement in columns and the second refers to tension elements in strut-and-tie models. I am sure that Dan spent many hours trying to resolve this issue, but in the end we accepted one exception to our goal.

I will also remember how Dan was willing to accommodate my off-the-wall ideas. Following the 2002 summer TAC meeting in Bar Harbor, ME, Nick Carino, Randy Poston, Julio Ramirez, and I rented bikes and rode around Acadia National Park. The first "Tour de TAC” was born. The next year, half the TAC members and all the ACI engineering staff joined for a ride along Lake Tahoe, and the following year, nearly everyone rode mountain bikes on the Olympic cross-country ski trails in Lake Placid, NY. Dan knew that TAC members spent a tremendous amount of time preparing for meetings, so these outings were a simple way to build the strong friendships and enjoy our surroundings. Dan's attempts to organize a bike tour of the Spanish missions in San Antonio, TX, following a 318 meeting did not draw as many participants, but it is a day that I will long remember.

It is difficult to say goodbye to a colleague who had such a strong influence on the technical activities within ACI. He was an outstanding engineer, a skilled manager, and most importantly, a close friend. If you have a moment, please let Dan's family know how much he meant to you. Send your thoughts, by mail or e-mail to ACI.Headquarters@concrete.org, and they will be forwarded to Dan's family.

Sharon L. Wood