Papers of Daryl B. Simons

With a professional career spanning 55 years, Daryl B. Simons was an internationally recognized expert in the fields of hydraulics, hydrology, geomorphology, river mechanics, sediment transport, and hydraulic modeling. His innovative teaching and research while professor of civil engineering at Colorado State University (CSU) and his supervision of hundreds of water-related projects around the world have contributed to this international reputation.

Daryl Baldwin Simons was born February 12, 1918, in Payson, Utah. He remained in Utah for the majority of his education, earning both a B.S. (1947) and an M.S. (1948) in civil engineering from Utah State University. Service in the U.S. Army interrupted his undergraduate education from April 1943 to September 1946 and included time as a unit commander in the Corps of Engineers.

Following his education in Utah, Simons became a professor of civil engineering at the University of Wyoming. During his time there, he earned a Ph.D. (1957) in civil and irrigation engineering from CSU. Upon completion, he took a position as project chief with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Fort Collins. The position involved conducting research in fluvial hydraulics with an emphasis on erosion and sedimentation, river mechanics, and resistance to flow in alluvial channels.

Simons left the USGS in 1963 when hired as a professor of civil engineering at CSU, where he taught classes on erosion and sedimentation, river mechanics, and hydraulic structures. He was also the head of the River Mechanics and Hydraulics Program and was in charge of all research in civil engineering. In 1965, his position changed to associate dean of engineering research, director of the Engineering Research Center (ERC), and associate director of the Experiment Station as well as professor of civil engineering. Simons retained all four positions until 1983 when he began a transitional retirement, continuing to conduct research at CSU. The period of Simons' leadership was marked by great growth and development for CSU's engineering college, largely due to Simons:

"In his dual capacity as associate dean and head of ERC, Simons organized the infrastructure of staff, accounting, purchasing, and maintenance facilities necessary to support a full-scale research operation. He also demonstrated an extraordinary ability to attract projects and carried a full load of graduate advisees during the next twenty years." (Ann Hilfinger, One Hundred Years of Engineering at Colorado State University, p. 52)

Simons began doing independent consulting following the completion of his Ph.D., becoming involved in consulting projects for the United Nations, the World Bank, other international groups, and many federal and state government agencies. His first project involved designing the Link Canals to redistribute water between India and Pakistan. Other locations for his work have included Egypt, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, many South American countries including Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador as well as much of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The projects have involved "hydrology, hydraulics, flood control, river geomorphology, sediment transport, mathematical modeling, expert systems, water quality, environmental analysis, navigation, routing pollutants, litigation, etc." ( Who's Who in Engineering, 1995, p. 687).

In 1979, Simons began his first consulting firm, Simons and Li Engineering, with Ruh-Ming Li. They changed the name in 1980 to Simons, Li and Associates, bringing in other people to work with them. By the time Simons left in October 1984, the firm employed approximately one hundred people. Much of the firm's work related to river mechanics, erosion and sedimentation, and mathematical modeling of alluvial systems. The firm did extensive work for the Corps of Engineers, mostly focusing on the Mississippi River, the Ohio River, the Missouri River, and the Colorado River. This included development of a short course on geomorphology and river mechanics, a two-dimensional mathematical model for the upper Mississippi River, and several short films illustrating the dynamics of the river.

Simons formed a new firm in October 1984, Simons and Associates, Inc., and worked there as principal engineer through December 1997. Starting in January 1998, he was the principal engineer at another new firm, D.B. Simons and Associates, Inc., from which he retired in June 2004.

Simons wrote or co-wrote over 445 papers, was the co-author of five textbooks, and contributed chapters to other books. He was a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nebraska. His society affiliations included the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), the International Association for Hydraulic Research (IAHR), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Simons also served on many committees for these groups. He was the recipient of the ASCE 1960 J.C. Stevens Award, the ASCE 1964 Croes Award, the ASCE 1991 Hunter Rouse Award, and co-recipient of the ASCE 1979 Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulic Prize. In 1973 he was named Outstanding Professional Engineer for Colorado.

Daryl Simons married Irene May Beck (1921-1984) in 1944 and they had three sons: Robert K., Paul R., and Stephen R. He married Mary Jo Ricker Bell in 1985. Dr. Simons died in Fort Collins on March 13, 2005. A detailed resume and a complete bibliography for Simons can be found in the collection file.