Robert L. “Bob” Bowen 

Robert L. “Bob” Bowen earned a master’s degree in civil engineering in 1962 and an honorary doctorate in 2007. He has pursued a remarkable career that has significantly advanced the construction industry and his alma mater. After graduating, Bowen honed his skills as a project manager at W.M. Lyles Construction Co. in Fresno, California, until 1967, when he returned to Indiana to establish the Bowen Engineering Company. For the next 42 years, Bowen served as CEO of his company, which specializes in traditional and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects in the water/wastewater, energy and industrial sectors. He continues as chairman. Employing more than 300 professionals, Bowen Engineering has built 700-plus water treatment plants in the U.S. The company maintains a strong connection with Purdue, consistently hiring its engineers and supporting the university's initiatives. Bowen's dedication to Purdue has extended beyond his professional endeavors, encompassing organizing an annual bike ride from Indianapolis to West Lafayette, Indiana, for Boilermaker home football games for more than two decades, as well as teaching classes as the Donn E. Hancher Distinguished Fellow in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering. Bowen has received numerous accolades, including the American Society of Civil Engineers' Mark Benjamin Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, induction into the Indiana Public Schools Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Indiana Heartland Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ernst & Young in 1998. Purdue presented Bowen with an Outstanding Civil Engineer Award in 1995 and a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award in 1999. Today, Bowen's name remains prominent at Purdue through the Robert L. and Terry L. Bowen Laboratory for Large-Scale Civil Engineering Research, as well as scholarships awarded to students in his honor.