Microtunneling Short Course Celebrates 25 Years, Reaches New Heights
The Microtunneling Short Course celebrated its 25th anniversary in style by attracting a record turnout Feb. 6-8 in Boulder, Colorado. A total of 159 participants, including contractors, engineers, owners, suppliers and others, attended the course, held at the Byron R. White Blub at the University of Colorado Boulder, surpassing the previous high of 147 set last year.
Since 1993, the Microtunneling Short Course has been the premier educational venue for the microtunneling market. The educational program covers all aspects of microtunneling from basic concepts to advanced techniques and the latest developments, making it ideal for beginners and experts alike.
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The size of the event allows for networking, interactive discussion and Q&A following the presentations, something that can be lacking at large conferences.Other activities associated with the annual Microtunneling Short Course are the one-day Pilot Tube Seminar, held at the University’s Rec Center, a meeting of the North American Microtunneling Association (NAMA), a Networking Reception hosted by Akkerman Inc., and the annual Banquet Dinner. The Banquet Dinner includes the presentation of the Microtunneling Achievement Awards.
Microtunneling Achievement Award Winners
One of the highlights of the annual Microtunneling Short Course is the presentation of the Microtunneling Achievement Awards, presented to individuals who have worked to advance the industry. This year the awards were bestowed upon Lee Abramson, Kleinfelder, Steve Caneen, Huxted Tunneling, Mike Ellis, TEC, and Ingo Justen, Tunnel Services Group.
Tim Coss with Mike Ellis, TEC
Tim Coss with Steve Caneen, Huxted Tunneling
Tim Coss with Ingo Justen, Tunnel Services Group
Tim Coss with Lee Abramson, Kleinfelder
Past Microtunneling Achievement Awards winners are:
- Northwest Boring (2002)
- Franco Coluccio, Frank Coluccio Construction Co. (2004)
- Glenn Boyce, Jacobs Associates (2006)
- Dr. James Kwong, Yogi Kwong Engineers (2007, 2013)
- Stefan Trumpi-Althaus, Jack Control Inc. (2008)
- Matt Roberts, Kiewit (2009)
- Dennis Molvik, Northwest Boring (2011)
- Gary Huber, Permalok (2012)
- Rick Turkopp, Hobas (2012)
- James W. Fowler Co. (2014)
- Rene Inosanto, Frank Coluccio Construction Co. (2015)
- Greg Raines, MWH (2015)
- John Grennan, Ward and Burke (2015)
- Julian O’Connell, Herrenknecht (2016)
- Dan Schitea, Vadnais Trenchless Services (2016)
- Troy Stokes, Akkerman Inc. (2016)
- Grahame Turnbull, Consultant (2016)
- Paul Vadnais, Vadnais Trenchless Services (2017)
- Andreas Thiele, mts (2017)
- Lester Bradshaw, Bradshaw Construction (2017)
- Paul Nicholas, AECOM (2017)
Microtunneling Short Course founders and course organizers Levent Ozdemir, Ozdemir & Associates, Tim Coss, Microtunneling Inc. and Bernie Krzys, Benjamin Media.
The Microtunneling Short Course was founded in 1993 by Tim Coss, Microtunneling Inc., Levent Ozdemir, Ozdemir & Associates, and Bernie Krzys, Benjamin Media.
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“It’s amazing to see the longevity and continued growth of the Microtunneling Short Course,” said Coss. “When we started the course in 1993, there was no other way of sharing information and learning about what was then an emerging field. Since then, we have seen tremendous advancements in the field of microtunneling that no one would have thought possible 25 years ago.”
Planning is underway for the 26th annual Microtunneling Short Course, which will be returning to Boulder from Feb. 5-7, 2019. Information will be posted to the course website as it becomes available.
Jim Rush is editor of Trenchless Technology.
