Dr. Maria M. Szerszen (1954-2018)
Those of us in University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Civil Engineering are mourning the loss of Associate Professor Maria M. Szerszen on May 20, 2018, after a short battle with an aggressive cancer of the abdominal lining. She is survived by her sons, Karol and Jakub (“Kuba”) Szerszen, her mother, Wieslawa Kudyba, siblings Jolanta Tomasik and Ryszard Kudyba, and her ex-husband, Jerzy Szerszen. She was predeceased by her father, Jan Kudyba.
Dr. Maria Szerszen began her university teaching career in 1979 at Cracow University of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering. In 1996, she moved to the US with her two young sons to accept a research position at the University of Michigan’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In 2007, she joined the Civil Engineering faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dr. Szerszen’s research bridged two related fields--materials and structures, where she combined an understanding of structures design with reliability analysis and a deep knowledge of how fatigue affects materials and structures. Her specific research interests focused on modeling the deterioration of construction materials and structures, and developing calibration procedures for a new generation of reliability-based design codes. Dr. Szerszen was instrumental in the development of the new generation of reliability-based design codes for concrete structures, including the calibration of the American Concrete Institutue (ACI) Code for Concrete Structures (ACI 318-08). Moreover, the prediction of fatigue behavior and deterioration of concrete models she developed are currently used in the analysis of bridge structures.
Dr. Szerszen’s work was highly regarded by her peers. She received the prestigious University of Michigan (UM) Research Faculty Recognition Award in 2006 and the UM College of Engineering Outstanding Research Scientist Award in 2004. At the national level, Dr. Szerszen served as an editorial member of three international journals, Open Journal of Functional Material Research, Open Journal of Advanced Materials Research, and Research and Application of Material. She regularly contributed to national and international conferences and edited or co-edited eight books of conference proceedings. She was a key member of the ASCE Committee on Safety of Buildings and for three years she chaired the ASCE Technical Administration Committee on Structures Safety and Reliability.
Dr. Szerszen connected with her students beyond preparing them for careers in structural engineering. Based on students’ recommendations, she was delighted to receive UNL’s Olson and Associates Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2014. Current PhD student, Ali Al-Hajami and his family have been especially appreciative that she continued to support and mentor him right to the last week of her life.
In addition to her passion for teaching and research, Dr. Szerszen had both artistic and athletic sides. She was a connoisseur of fashion, especially shoes and handbags, and of interior design. In recent years, she had taken up painting. Although she traveled most often back to her native Poland to visit family and friends “back home,” she enjoyed travel for work and for opportunities to experience new cultures. When she wasn’t landlocked in Nebraska, friends may be surprised to learn that took every opportunity to go sailing. She was a licensed helmsman in Poland. In her earlier years she enjoyed competitive sailing in addition to running and tennis.
Dr. Szerszen never met a stranger. Her quiet strength, independent spirit, and her generous hospitality were appreciated not only by her friends and family members but also by her students, colleagues, staff, and neighbors. She was always grateful for opportunities to make a positive difference and will undoubtedly be remembered for the positive difference she made in the lives of those of us who were fortunate enough to know her.