Behzad Esmaeili, Ph.D., an associate professor with joint appointments in the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering and Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue, has been named the Dr. Rohan & Mrs. Merle Phillips Rising Star Associate Professor.

During the recent ASHRAE conference in Las Vegas, Thanos Tzempelikos, Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering and Herrick Labs Faculty, was named ASHRAE Fellow and received the award. Tzempelikos was recognized for his research contributions to daylighting control, integration of thermal and lighting systems operation, and indoor environmental quality and comfort.

Fred Mannering (MSCE 1979), former head of civil engineering at Purdue, and Milo Riverso (MSCE 1982, PhD 1984), CEAAA recipient in 2015, have been elected as members of the National Academy of Engineering, one of the most prestigious honors in engineering.

Rao "G.S." Govindaraju, Vice President for Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District and Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, was welcomed as the Distinguished speaker for the Gyan Ganga Distinguished Lecture Series on River Sustainability on January 8, 2026 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Purdue has grown a thriving forest of more than 2,000 geographic information systems (GIS) users across campus. The largest numbers come from the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Science. GIS and the Institute for Digital Forestry, among other Purdue academic disciplines, have grown together like trees with intertwined canopies. GIS enables users to create, manage, analyze and map data in fields such as the humanities; civil engineering; political science; and earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences.

Richard Ajagu, Masters student in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, was awarded the CCAT Student of the Year by the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC).

Purdue Research Foundation is launching a new series: National Academy of Inventors Fellows at Purdue. The series opens with Luna Lu, Indiana ACPA Professor in Concrete Paving and Materials Science and vice president of the Office of Industry Partnerships, whose work is redefining the future of infrastructure and energy through AI-powered Internet of Things sensor technology that enables communication with infrastructure to understand its condition. The NAI Fellows Program honors academic inventors whose collaborative, multidisciplinary research is translated into real-world technologies that benefit society.

The Lyles School of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering's Online Master's Program has been recognized as the #1 program in the country.

Daylight and window views positively affect health and well-being in many ways. However, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are hypersensitive to environmental stimulation, which leads many educational facilities to use windowless spaces or fully block natural light to avoid potential distractions. Professor Thanos Tzempelikos leads a $600K collaborative research project with Ball State University, sponsored by NSF, to solve this problem.

Samuel Labi, Professor of Civil Engineering, has been appointed chair of the International Road Federation (IRF) Committee on Alternative Financing.

Congratulations to Brandon Fulk and Rabita Rajkarnikar for being recognized as finalists for the 2025 College of Engineering Staff Awards of Excellence.

PhD student Bruno Cesar Krause Moras has been selected as an International Road Federation (IRF) Fellow for the Class of 2026. He was co-nominated for this prestigious award by Professor Nadia Gkritza and Professor Samuel Labi. This fellowship has been the cornerstone of the careers of many who are now leading figures in the realm of roads and transportation globally.

Aser Eissa, Ph.D. student in Geomatics, has been named a recipient of the Robert E. Altenhofen Memorial Scholarship from the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

Sang-Yeop Shin, Ph.D. student in Geomatics, has been named a recipient of the Paul R. Wolf Memorial Scholarship from the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

A Purdue team led by Professor Samuel Labi will participate in the 3rd Annual Artificial Intelligence Maritime Maneuver Indiana Collegiate Challenge (AIMM ICC) at the Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana, April 17-18, 2026.

Congratulations to CCE student athletes Hugh Jacobsmeyer, member of the Purdue men's cross country team, and Allie Shondell, member of the Purdue volleyball team, for earning Academic All-Big Ten accolades in the fall 2025 sports season. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten, students must carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Luna Lu, the Indiana ACPA Professor in Concrete Paving and Materials Science, has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Lu is the founder and CEO of the venture-backed startup company Wavelogix Inc., which was on Time magazine's list of best inventions in 2023.

Lyles faculty member and Purdue team advisor Samuel Labi, together with CCE students Kendrew Agbemadzo, Yuvraj Segal, Jiayu Zhu, Andres Moreno, and Richard Ajagu and ECE graduate student Sashank Modali will be hosting the 4th Annual international AKS competition at the Purdue Grand Prix Track in West Lafayette, IN, May 21, 2026.

Ayman Habib, Thomas A. Page Professor of Civil Engineering, has been elevated to the grade of IEEE Senior Member. IEEE Senior Membership is an honor bestowed only to those who have made significant contributions to the profession.

ASCE has honored Michael O. Falk, P.E., L.S., F.ASCE (BSCE 1983), with the 2025 Surveying and Mapping Award for significant contributions to the advancement of the ASCE Geomatics Division, including his service as chair, and for his key leadership that led to the creation of the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute.