POTSDAM – A Clarkson University engineer has been honored for his work on extending the life of bridges.

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Steven F. Wojtkiewicz has been selected as one of the 2015 recipients of the Collingwood Prize.

This prestigious national award is presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to recognize authors under 35 years of age for their engineering projects or contributions to engineering knowledge.

Wojtkiewicz co-authored the paper "Lifetime Extension of a Realistic Model of an In-Service Bridge through a Response Modification Approach" with University of Minnesota Professor Arturo E. Schultz and lead author Andrew J. Gastineau, a former doctoral student of Wojtkiewicz and Schultz at University of Minnesota.

The paper was published in the ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics in December 2013.

"The motivating problem is we have all of these bridges in this country that are in need of repair or eventual replacement," Wojtkiewicz said. "They're not in imminent danger of failing, but there is a large portion of the bridge inventory in the country that is approaching or has already exceeded its intended design life."