The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $3.6 million NEES Grand Challenge grant to ten multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research teams for a five-year study to mitigate collapse risk of older nonductile concrete buildings during earthquakes. The Purdue University team led by co-PI Professor Julio Ramirez, will study shear and axial failures of older-type reinforced concrete columns, as well as simple retrofitting techniques for delaying axial failure in poorly reinforced columns.

The Second Annual Joint Conference of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and Midwest Crossroads Alliance for Graduate Education for the Professorate (AGEP) honored the top undergraduate and graduate oral and poster presentations. Graduate student Julia Clarke received second place in the graduate competition for her poster on "The Micro-Structural Breakdown and Recovery of Bentonite Suspensions Modified by Sodium Pyrophosphate."

Civil Engineering extends congratulations to Cecelia (Cindy) D. Lawley recently promoted to Director of External Relations

It was recently announced that the 2007 Fred Burggraf award will be given to Gaurav Sant, undergraduate student, Pietro Lura, post-doc, and Associate Professor Jason Weiss, for their paper titled "Measurement of volume change in cementitious materials at early ages: review of testing protocols and interpretation of results".

Professor Vincent P. Drnevich was recently recognized at Purdue for U.S. Patent No. 7,040,145 issued on May 9, 2006 for "Method and Apparatus for Measuring Density and Water Content of Soil." He is co-inventor with Xiong Yu, a former doctoral student who is now an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jeff Hagerman, BSCEM '93, president of GDH and executive vice president of Hagerman Construction, was named to Indy's Best & Brightest Under 40 list at a luncheon benefiting Junior Achievement of Central Indiana.

Engineering News Record announces Bowen Engineering Corporation ranking 367th in the top 400 U.S. construction firms. Robert L. Bowen, BSCE '62, Chairman and CEO of Bowen Engineering, continues to be an inspiration within the engineering profession and in education with leadership in the Bowen Foundation, Science Bound and the Robert L. and Terry L. Bowen Laboratory for Research in Civil Engineering.

Researchers at Purdue University have created a mathematical simulation that could be used in a new national strategy to ease airport congestion and improve the overall transportation system.

"Good Morning America" interviews Professor Fred L. Mannering to gather more information on his study of how human behavior reacts to cars that are made with safety airbags, antilock brakes and electronic stability packages. "Good Morning America" asks the question, "Do safer cars make worse drivers?"

Professor Jan Olek has been honored with the title of the Distinguished Alumnus by his alma mater, Cracow University of Technology in Krakow, Poland.

The Purdue University board of trustees approved the appointment of Professor "G.S." Govindaraju as the Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor of Civil Engineering, effective September 29, 2006. Professor Govindaraju specializes in the hydraulics and hydrology area.

WLFI, News Channel 18, announced Daniel Salazar, senior in Civil Engineering, as one of the recipients for the Big Brother of the Year award. This youth-mentoring organization recognized the ''big'' contributions of its volunteers at the Big Brother and Big Sister Appreciation Banquet held October 4, 2006.

The study results could be useful in shaping security procedures and providing ways to improve customer satisfaction as the airline industry struggles to maintain profitability amid economic factors such as high fuel costs and labor-management disputes, Fred L. Mannering, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, said. A paper detailing these important findings will appear September 25th in the Journal of Air Transportation Management.

Kevin Saka, BSCE '89, Senior Research Engineer for HVAC Eningeer in Des Plaines, Illinois, is in training for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon held each June in San Francisco.

Joan Miller, BSCE'79, senior vice president of client development and marketing for CH2M HILL's Industrial Client Group in Denver, Colorado, was recognized as the Women's Vision Foundation's Corporate Woman of the Year on Oct. 20, 2005.

Kettelhut Distinguished Professor of Structural Engineering, Mete Sozen, along with other Purdue researchers have created a simulation that uses scientific principles to study in detail what likely happened when a commercial airliner crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

Purdue University hosted the third symposium and workshop on time domain reflectometry (TDR) for innovative soils applications. This two and one-half day cross-disciplinary event was held September 17th-20th, 2006 and featured five plenary lectures by world leaders in this technology, 35 technical presentations, and equipment exhibits.

Michael Grimaldi becomes President and CEO of GM Daewoo.

Purdue University's School of Civil Engineering undergraduate program is among the best in the country, according to U.S.News & World Report magazine rankings.

Engineering News Record, a weekly news magazine for the engineering and construction industry, features Purdue's School of Civil Engineering in this nationally-based article titled "Industry Demand Produces Banner Year for Class of 2006."