Martha Rees (BSCE '73) has never been one to back down from a challenge — and she spends much of her time encouraging others to adopt the same attitude.

In the 40-plus years since graduating from Purdue University, Rees established an impressive career at DuPont. She retired as the company's vice president and assistant general counsel in 2015.

As a result of her accomplishments, Rees has been honored by her alma mater twice — with the Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award in 2003 and the Purdue College of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Alumna Award in 2009.

Rees says she is proud to be a Boilermaker and part of the continuing legacy of Purdue Civil Engineering.

"I always love coming back to the school when I'm on campus, especially when I get to interact with students," she says. "Civil engineering is the foundation of the quality of life we have today — and the next generation of civil engineers are needed now more than ever."

After graduating from Purdue in 1973, Rees started working for DuPont as an environmental engineer; her research focused on wastewater treatment processes using DuPont products. She then moved to manufacturing, where her concentration shifted to plant environmental regulatory compliance, an area that involved increased interaction with attorneys. Though Rees jokes that "Perry Mason" episodes constituted the extent of her legal knowledge before this time, this position proved to be a pivotal one in her career, ultimately piquing her interest in attending law school.

In the summer of 1980, Rees moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for DuPont as a lobbyist by day and attended Georgetown University Law School by night.

"Working as a lobbyist was probably the most developmental experience I have had — on a professional as well as personal level," Rees says. "I really learned how to connect with and influence people during this time."

After receiving her law degree, Rees worked on a broad range of assignments in the DuPont legal department, and in 1998 was appointed associate general counsel and chief environmental counsel. In October 2006, Rees assumed the position of vice president and assistant general counsel of DuPont Legal, where her duties included international managerial responsibilities for DuPont’s law departments outside the U.S., in addition to the commercial, environment/real estate, corporate/securities, and merger and acquisitions practices for worldwide function. She also served as the chief antitrust counsel and chief environment counsel for DuPont.

She served in that position until her retirement in 2015.

In 2008, Rees was selected as a Purdue Old Master, which she says was a terrific experience and a great honor. Currently, Rees is a member of the board and executive committee of the Purdue Alumni Association. She has served on the Civil Engineering Advisory Council and is a chapter honor member of Chi Epsilon.

In October 2017, alumna Martha Rees returned to campus to speak with CE students and faculty about the impact civil engineering has on the quality of life around the world.