Mirian Velay-Lizancos, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, has been named the Bowen Scholar of Excellence and also the Associate Director of the Pankow Materials Laboratory in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering.

Dr. Mirian Velay-Lizancos' research focuses on formulating sustainable durable construction materials, and understanding the underlying mechanisms that govern their interactions with the environment.  Her work has resulted in novel low-carbon cementitious materials with proactive abilities during their service life, such as CO2 capture & photoreduction, self-cleaning, thermal energy storage, and bio-receptive ability. Her research has been supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), with notable research collaborations with Minority Serving Institutions. She received the CoE Outstanding Engineering Teacher recognition 5 times. She was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Engineering Graduate Students, and received the 2020 Roy E. & Myrna G. Wansik Teaching Award in the School.  Some of her work has resulted in direct translation with the filing of 7 patents (two optioned by Venture Capitalists). Three of her PhD students have secured tenure-track positions. Her students have received CE Best Dissertation Award (2021 & 2022), CoE Outstanding Graduate Research Award (2022), and CE Best Master Thesis Award (2024). She was recently selected as an Associate Editor of the Materials and Structures journal (Springer), the flagship journal of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems, and Structures (RILEM).