Nicholson’s Deschamps Earns ASCE Award

Rick Deschamps, Vice President of Engineering at Nicholson Construction, was named as the 2014 recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineering’s Wallace Hayward Baker Award. The Wallace Hayward Baker Award was established in 2000 by the Geo-Institute in recognition of the creative and innovative contributions of Wallace Hayward Baker in the field of ground modification

Deschamps received this award for his contributions to geotechnical engineering. Throughout his career, Deschamps designed several innovative solutions for challenging geotechnical problems, advancing the state of practice in this field. Rick has been with Nicholson for the past 10 years, serving first as the Manager and then the Vice President of the company’s Engineering Department. His career experience is diverse and includes time spent as part of Purdue’s Civil Engineering Faculty, followed by a number of years at FMSM Engineers Inc., where he was heavily involved in design using advanced numerical models to address complex problems.

Deschamps was nominated for the Wallace Hayward Baker award by Dr. Antonio Bobet, President of the American Rock Mechanics Association and Professor of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. “Rick was an excellent colleague as part of our educational staff,” said Dr. Bobet. “While we at Purdue lost an exceptional educator, the profession gained an exceptional practitioner.”

“As both a former student and a colleague, I have learned a great deal from Rick,” said Chris Hynes, President of Nicholson Construction. “We have been fortunate to have Rick as part of our staff here at Nicholson for the last 10 years. Rick has made it possible to build some of our most challenging projects by designing innovative solutions to complex ground conditions. His work has advanced our company in this industry.”