Civil Engineering welcomes our alumni and friends.
Since Purdue's opening in 1874, Purdue has spurred the advancement of the civil engineering profession, pioneering in transportation, materials, structures, land surveying, construction, and environmental engineering. The Lyles School of Civil Engineering continues to lead as we take up the challenges of the 21st century. New technology, industry's demand for design and team experiences in the curriculum, the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary research, along with other changes, affect how we educate our students and perform our mission of discovering new knowledge.
Getting involved is your opportunity to give back to the school in ways that further our mission and vision, connect with fellow alumni, enhance our communities, and reach out to students. Contact the Civil Engineering main office at (765) 494-2166 for information on how you can support your school. We look forward to hearing from you.
Alumni Spotlights
January 27, 2022
Dr. Matthew W. Witczak (Ph.D. 1969), Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Maryland, passed away at his home on Tuesday, January 18th.
January 12, 2022
CE alumnus Hani Mahmassani (MSCE '78) has been awarded the Transportation Research Board’s 2021 Roy W. Crum Award for outstanding achievement in transportation research.
January 7, 2022
Tim Gunn (BSCE '91), Vice President of Construction for Alberici Constructors, Inc., along with the SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital campus renewal project team, has been recognized by Engineering News-Record with the Health Care Award of Merit for their innovative approach to modular design and off-site construction.
November 29, 2021
Wentworth Institute of Technology Civil Engineering Professor and Lyles School of Civil Engineering alumnus James Lambrechts (MSCE 1976) was honored earlier this year by the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES) of the American Society of Civil Engineers with two recognitions of distinction: the BSCES Honorary Member Award and the BSCES College Educator Award.
September 30, 2021
CE alumnus Chris Burke (BSCE '77, MSCE '79, PhD '83, HDR 2010) has received the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago for his contributions to the field of civil engineering.
September 14, 2021
Paul Mlakar (PhD '75) is an ASCE distinguished member with more than 40 years of service with the United State Army Corps of Engineers, now in the role of Engineer Emeritus for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. And 20 years ago, he led the ASCE team investigating the damage done by the Sept. 11 attack at the Pentagon. In episode 85 of ASCE Plot Points, Mlakar looks back on that investigation, Sept. 11, and how the profession has changed.
September 8, 2021
Mariah Schroeder (BSCE '11, MSCE '15) has been recognized with the 2021 Rising Trendsetter Award from Central Exchange. This award is focused on a woman who has demonstrated significant achievement early in her career as an Influencer of women in STEMM.
September 1, 2021
Chih-Ping Lin (MSCE '95, PhD '99) has been named Dean of Engineering at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYTU) in Taiwan. Dr. Lin received the MS in Civil Engineering and the PhD degree at Purdue in Geotechnical Engineering. He completed the Ph.D. in three years and while doing so also obtained a MS degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue.
June 8, 2021
Brandon Hardin (BSCE'17, MSCE'19) is among six Purdue College of Engineering alumni that have been selected for the inaugural Conexus Rising 30 cohort. Presented by Conexus Indiana, Rising 30 honors advanced manufacturing and logistics' emerging leaders — building a prestigious community of young professionals celebrated for their extraordinary talent and innovative thinking early in their career.
May 20, 2021
Gary Fisk, P.E. (BSCE '80), Vice President at DLZ, has been named the 2021 Outstanding Civil Engineer of the Year by the ASCE Indiana Chapter.
May 20, 2021
Kyle L. Zak, P.E. (BSCE '13, MSCE '18), Group Manager at Terracon Consultants, Inc., has been named the 2021 Outstanding Young Civil Engineer of the Year by the ASCE Indiana Chapter.
April 16, 2021
CE alumni William Bailey, Jr., Thomas Chance, Timothy Jacobs, Carrie Warner, and Timothy Wilschetz were celebrated as the 2021 Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award recipients at a virtual award ceremony on April 15th.
March 15, 2021
Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. (BSCE '46) took over his family's global engineering and construction company, and was known for expanding the global footprint of the corporation through several of its international projects.
March 12, 2021
Congratulations to Benjamín Colucci-Ríos, PhD, PE, F.ASCE, F.ITE, for being selected by ASCE's Transportation and Development Institute to receive the 2021 Wilbur S. Smith Award. This award, which was instituted in 1984, recognizes Dr. Colucci-Ríos for his "unending leadership and dedication to action for the improvement of road safety in Puerto Rico and around the world." This prestigious award will be presented at the International Conference on Transportation & Development/ Pavements, June 8-10, 2021.
March 4, 2021
Dr. Dimitri Athanasiou Grivas (PhD 1976) died on February 27 at the age of 72. He was a PhD student under Milton Harr and collaborated with him in the development of probabilistic methods in Geotechnical Engineering. He then joined the faculty of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Albany (NY) where he spent his whole academic career.
February 23, 2021
Andrea Rinaldo (PhD 1983), Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources
and Director of the Laboratory of Ecohydrology at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, has been named a recipient of the 2021 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award by the College of Engineering.
February 10, 2021
CE alumnus Chris Burke (BSCE '77, MSCE '79, PhD '83, HDR 2010) has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
February 10, 2021
CE alumnus Hani Mahmassani (MSCE '78) has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
January 27, 2021
Delon Hampton, esteemed academic, founder of a firm bearing his name that has grown for 48 years, and at the outset of the 21st century, ASCE’s first Black president, has died. He was 87.
November 23, 2020
The White County Commission plans to rename the bridge that spans the Tippecanoe River near the Norway Dam on North Francis Street after Donald W. Ward (BSCE '58), who designed and worked on the structure in the early 1970s.
