Purdue University’s Lyles School of Civil Engineering recognized six passionate, influential and visionary graduates during the 22nd Annual Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Awards banquet on April 16, 2015.

These prestigious awards have only been given to 121 others in more than a century-and-a-quarter of bold ideas, remarkable achievements and world-changing ingenuity. According to Rao (GS) Govindaraju, Bowen Engineering Head of the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor, "The key criterion for selecting recipients is excellence in their achievements and contributions to the civil engineering profession."  The entire CE faculty considers nominating graduates (civil engineering has over 12,000 living alums).  After discussion and consideration by the committee, a short list is presented to the faculty for a confirming vote.

Recipients represent large corporations, family owned businesses, foreign governments and consulting firms.  Their accomplishments encompass groundbreaking research in structural engineering, agricultural irrigation, engineering management of mega-sized construction projects, specialized materials and one of the largest public transportation projects in the world. These are only a few of the accomplishments of the people honored – click the links below to learn more about the recipients:

- KEVIN J. FITZPATRICK (BSCE 1985), Executive Vice President, Alfred Benesch & Co., Naperville, Illinois

- GERALD V. LYLES (BSCE 1964, MSIA 1971), Senior Vice President, Lyles Diversified, Inc. and President, Lyles United, LLC, Fresno, California

- DONALD F. MEINHEIT (BSCE 1966), Principal, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. and Consultant, DFMSE Consulting, Chicago, Illinois

- JALAL A. NAFAKH (BSCE 1983, MSCE 1984, PHD 1987), Chief Transportation Planner, Arriyadh Development Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

- MILO E. RIVERSO (MSCE 1982, PHD 1984), CEO and President, STV Group, Inc., New York City, New York

- ROBERT N. SCHROCK (BSCE 1976, MSCE 1977), Chief Executive Officer, DJ Construction Company, Inc., Goshen, Indiana

"Celebration of these awards" Govindaraju continued, "reaffirms our commitment to be the nation’s preeminent civil engineering program and to amplify our impact on society."

More information is available at:  http://purdue.edu/CE/People/Alumni/CEAAA