Try as I might to avoid the low-hanging, narrative fruit, I cannot help but find myself focused on our school's vision for 2020 and beyond.

At the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, our vision is to remain a preeminent program — by building on our existing strengths and outstanding reputation and by amplifying our impact on society.

I am proud to confidently say that our school’s vision continues to be realized — and it is entirely thanks to the inspiring work done each and every day by our incredible students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends.

While impacting the world for the better is a wonderful goal, it is completely due to the collective efforts and achievements by Purdue civil engineers — past, present and future — that our vision comes into focus and becomes real.

That said, with a new year — and a new decade — come new (and renewed) objectives and benchmarks to achieve. That revitalized passion to reach new heights and pursue a greater understanding can easily be felt throughout the halls — from our students, faculty and staff — and I find myself inspired almost daily from my interactions with them.

It is this consistent pursuit of excellence at Purdue University that makes it such a joy to be here on campus. And it is my honor, as both an educator and an administrator, to foster that sense of innovation and exploration.

In this edition of Civil Engineering Impact magazine, our readers will gain a greater sense of the passion and drive that those in our school have for civil engineering. Whether it be through ensuring that our undergraduates are given every opportunity available to take what they have learned in class and apply them in real-world applications or through current student-assisted research in areas such as infrastructure improvements, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering remains on track to uphold our vision as a world leader in both education and innovation.

Our educational efforts are not limited to our currently enrolled students. In this issue, we have an article about our latest efforts to encourage the civil engineering students of tomorrow. We also have a story about a new program that gives our undergraduates a head start on their master’s degree.

The decade has only begun, but here in the Lyles School we are already taking the small steps required for achieving giant leaps in our profession. As always, we aim to lead, to inspire and — most importantly — to learn. And I look forward to sharing our results with you all in the years to come.

All the best,

Rao S. Govindaraju
Bowen Engineering Head of Civil Engineering and
The Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor of Civil Engineering