For his lifelong dedication to engineering, education, and excellence, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering Professor Robert Frosch has been awarded one of the civil engineering industry’s highest honors.

Over the summer, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) announced that Frosch, Professor and Vice Provost for Academic Facilities at Purdue University, will be awarded the Charles S. Whitney Medal for engineering development. The medal will be presented on Oct. 27 at ACI’s Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards and Gala.

“Words cannot express just how honored and grateful I am to receive this award,” Frosch said. “To be recognized in such a way for something you’re passionate about and have dedicated so much time and effort to feels so incredibly fulfilling.”

The Charles S. Whitney Medal is awarded, at most, once a year for noteworthy engineering development work in concrete design or construction. Frosch was nominated and selected for this honor due to his “lifelong contributions to the advancement of engineering knowledge that have impacted concrete practice and improved concrete design,” wrote the ACI Board of Direction in their announcement.

“It’s always been my passion to make a difference,” Frosch said. “In research, in education, and in professional service, I have always sought to prepare the next generation of engineers and to advance the field of civil engineering.”

Earning his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996, Frosch joined Purdue as a civil engineering professor and researcher in 1997. Over the course of his 28-year career, Frosch has served in multiple leadership roles at the university including Associate Dean of Engineering for Resource Planning & Management, Senior Associate Dean of Engineering for Facilities & Operations, and Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Executive Vice President of Research & Partnerships.

He has had wide ranging responsibilities on campus including developing master plans for facilities, leading major renovations and additions for numerous buildings, creating new buildings on campus including the Flex Lab, the Bechtel Innovation Design Center, and Dudley/Lambertus Halls, and delivering new cross-cutting research initiatives.  In his current position, he is working to advance facilities across campus to support the academic mission of the university.

His research, which focuses on the design and behavior of structural concrete, has resulted in changes to engineering practice and the building codes for both buildings and bridges.  He has also been advancing the profession by serving on the ACI Structural Concrete Building Code Committee (ACI 318) since 2002.  ACI 318 is the definitive standard for the design and construction of concrete buildings in the United States and many other countries across the world. His excellence in teaching, research, and service has been recognized by his students and colleagues through numerous awards, including the Harold Munson Teaching Award, the Edmund M. Burke Outstanding Professor Award, the Roy E. and Myrna Wansik Civil Engineering Research Award, and the Ross Judson Buck Outstanding Counselor Award.  He is also the recipient of multiple professional awards including the ACI 318 Structural Concrete Building Code Distinguished Service Award, the Concrete Research Council (CRC) Arthur Boase Award, and the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Joe Kelly Award.