Civil engineering is widely regarded as a foundation of human society. While I certainly believe this to be true, I do not think it accurately portrays our study and practice.

Just as it has influenced our past and present, civil engineering has guided humanity into the future. And here at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, our students, faculty and staff are continually researching to find the next innovation, the next discovery that will drive our society, and our discipline, into the next century.

This attitude toward innovation is shared throughout Purdue University, so it is natural that we should make "Giant Leaps" the theme of our institution's 150th birthday. Established on May 6, 1869, Purdue has dedicated
itself to the pursuit of knowledge and to preparing the next generation of professionals and leaders.

Of those 150 years, Purdue's School of Civil Engineering has been integral to the University for 132 of them. Over the past 13 decades, our school has shared in Purdue's proud tradition of consistently making giant leaps, both scholastically and societally.

Purdue's first black engineering and female engineering graduates came from the School of Civil Engineering, and our alumni, staff, and faculty have made giant leaps around the globe with their involvement in key
international landmarks such as the Panama Canal, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Hoover Dam, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Today, our incredible students, faculty, staff and alumni continue to make strides in a huge variety of ways. From helping underdeveloped villages gain access to clean drinking water to researching how to colonize nearby planets, our studies and efforts ensure a brighter and better future for all of humanity.

In this edition of CE Impact magazine, you will learn about some of our latest leaps in research — and how our graduate students are a vital component to our faculty's and staff’s findings. Stories this season include
research into creating roads that charge electric vehicles while they are driven, gaining a greater understanding and responsiveness to natural disasters, harnessing energy from vibrations, and employing a robotic
baby to measure microbes kicked up while crawling along carpets.

These stories represent merely a handful of the projects underway here at the Lyles School. I encourage you to contact me next time you are on campus to learn (and see for yourself) all that we are striving to achieve.

All the best,

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