Alumni Brian Zelenko Reminisces

Prof. Dimitrios Zekkos caught up with alumnus Brian Zelenko (MSCE, 1985) in January 2026 at the Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering (COGGE) meeting at the National Academy of Sciences.

Brian provided these images, apologizing for the “quality of the photos, but it was 1984!” and noted that “most of the people in the pics were in my class.”

Engineering Geology class trip, Fall 1984, “to Juncal Dam on the Santa Ynez River just east (and over the coastal range) from Santa Barbara. We were there to map some faults. You can see Professor Sitar standing all the way on the right. I am standing fourth from the left in the back row with the “CAL Berkeley” shirt. Other alumni include Larry Goldfarb (back row, left) and Mary Hall (back row, 8th from the left)."

Geological Engineering of Underground Openings class trip, Spring 1985, “to the Southern California Edison Balsam Meadow Hydroelectric Project with Professor Tor Brekke. This underground powerhouse is located approximately 1000 ft underground south of Hwy 168 between Huntington and Shaver Lakes about 55 miles east of Fresno. This picture is of the group walking out of the tailrace tunnel after walking through the unreinforced granite rock chamber that would house the future power plant. Other alumni include Dan Louis and Michael LeGresley.”

Thank you, Brian, for these great memories!