Kyle L. Zak, P.E. (BSCE '13, MSCE '18), Group Manager at Terracon Consultants, Inc., has been named the 2021 Outstanding Young Civil Engineer of the Year by the ASCE Indiana Chapter.

Kyle started with the Earth Exploration, Inc., now Terracon Consultants, Inc., as a cooperative education student in May 2009. As a co-op student, Kyle immediately evolved as a model employee for our exploratory  field services department. In his successive co-op sessions, Kyle showed enthusiasm and a work-hard, proactive attitude in the lab and in the office assisting our engineering staff. While at Purdue, he received the  Nellie Muson Teaching Assistant Award, Leonard and Margaret Wood Academic and Leadership Award and was the Charles C. Chappelle Fellowship Recipient. During this time, he also served on an internship with Geosuelos Cía. Ltda. in Quito, Ecuador through AMPED (Adventure Minded People Exploring Diversity) Abroad to gain experience in another culture. Through the co-op experience, Kyle realized the value in a technically strong education that includes a graduate-level mix of geotechnical and structural engineering. Kyle completed his master’s level education at Purdue and the University of Illinois and has been on staff full-time since January 2015.

Kyle is currently a Geotechnical Engineer and the Transportation Group Leader with about ten years of experience in the field of Geotechnical Engineering, seven of which as a full-time geotechnical engineer. He currently manages seven employees. Kyle’s geotechnical experience has included services for landslides, earth retention systems, bridge foundations, dams, levees, and roadway subgrade considerations, and Kyle’s structural engineering knowledge is beneficial particularly for landslide and earth retention projects. He has experience performing in-situ testing such as vane shear and Menard pressure meter on several projects Kyle also has a thorough understanding and has led the installation and monitoring of remote data collection systems. He has created various in-house spreadsheets to facilitate ease of various design calculations and report preparation and improve quality processes. Kyle is a licensed engineer in the State of Indiana. He is currently working on one of the largest design build projects in the state of Indiana, INDOT’s I-69, Section 6.5.

Kyle has been an active member of ASCE starting in the student chapter at Purdue and continuing through today. His leadership roles in the industry have included all of the board positions of the Younger Members Group and is currently a Region 4 Younger Member Advisory Council Representative. In addition, Kyle is currently enrolled in the ACEC of Indiana Leadership program and attends many forums and other events. Kyle genuinely cares about others through his leadership in the office and in the industry and takes the time to lead by example and teach. We look forward to what Kyle will continue to bring to our profession. We are proud to have Kyle as part of the Civil Engineering community.