Not since when I first became an educator had I looked more forward to the beginning of a semester.

The fall semester is well upon us, and the infusion of life back on campus is certainly a welcome one. Students, faculty and staff have returned. Classrooms, laboratories and offices are buzzing with activity. While  the pandemic remains at the forefront of our safety concern, the grace and maturity everyone exemplified has been encouraging and admirable. Our Boilermakers continue to demonstrate incredible focus and  determination to Protect Purdue — and it fills me with a sense of optimism as we move forward, together.

Of course, this past year-and-a-half has not been just about waiting and holding on. It has been about perseverance, adaptability and innovation. Despite the pandemic, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering  continued to provide its students with the same world-renowned education that has come to be expected for more than a century. Our cutting-edge research continued and progressed to new heights. We greatly expanded upon our online education opportunities — and we intend to progress even further in all of these aspects in the semesters to come.

Civil engineers have shaped the world to how we know it today and they are the ones who will determine its future. No matter the state of the world, we are always looking ahead in search of new ways to improve the lives of our fellow humans and to preserve this planet we all share.

In this edition of IMPACT, you will learn about the continued excellence our students, faculty and staff have achieved and their goals moving forward — particularly, in the realm of infrastructure. Stories include research into generating greater access and use of public transportation, development of smart intersections, using unmanned aerial vehicles to map out challenging environments, the creation of lower-cost commercial sensors to monitor soil conditions and innovations in 3D printing for structural applications and shape-memory alloys.

The world is moving forward and civil engineers must continue to look even further ahead as we strive to not only educate and improve the lives of others today, but prepare the engineers of tomorrow and create a future where they can take humanity to even greater heights.

All the best,

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