It has been a momentous year for the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering.

Most notably, the July 1 merger with the Division of Construction Engineering and Management ushered in a new era. Along with the name change to our school came many new and expanded opportunities for research, education and experiential learning for our students, faculty and staff.

Initial merger discussions began in 2023 when our two programs and the College of Engineering agreed that there was an opportunity to better serve our students with Purdue University in Indianapolis opening in July 2024. The merger has better positioned us to offer new programs and opportunities at both the West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses. It also has allowed us to better answer industry demands — both nationally and internationally — that call for graduates who have a greater understanding of both the civil and construction engineering fields.

Another primary goal of this merger is to gain stronger alignment and timing of student offerings (such as internships, co-ops, and study abroad opportunities) to minimize overlap of courses, while providing pathways to timely graduation. This move allows us to better deploy new options and opportunities — such as certificate programs, professional concentrations — at both the graduate and undergraduate levels more effectively and efficiently.

We look forward to supporting our civil and construction engineers of tomorrow as they take advantage of these new opportunities, and I cannot wait to share these stories with you in the future. In the meantime, I am equally excited to share with you a few stories of our ongoing programs and the outstanding Boilermaker engineers of today in this edition of Transitions.

These stories include a feature on the remarkable career of alumnus Glen Daigger (BSCE ’73, MSCE ’75, PhD ’79), a closer look at our school’s one-of-a-kind S-BRITE Center, profiles on our award-winning alumni of 2024 and a new course we plan to offer at the Purdue in Indianapolis campus.

There are, of course, many other great stories to share, some of which can be found on our website and social media platforms. I am always excited to share these details in person should you attend any of our upcoming events. I welcome the opportunity to speak with you all.

All the best,

Rao S. Govindaraju
Bowen Engineering Head of Civil and Construction Engineering
and the Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering