Global impact has long been a goal at Purdue University, and Amr Kandil, PhD, PE, has shown that his research is significantly contributing to the University’s progress in improving infrastructure quality internationally.

Kandil, associate professor in the Division of Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) and in the School of Civil Engineering, joined Purdue in fall 2009. About 30-40 percent of his time is spent in the classroom; the remainder is dedicated to research. Growing up in Dubai and earning degrees from the American University in Cairo (BSc  in Construction Engineering in 1999 and MSc  in Construction Engineering in 2001), he has extensive knowledge of Egypt and has easily identified needs there. Rounding out his expertise is his 2005 PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“When I first started at Purdue, Dr. Makarand Hastak (CEM division head) and I traveled to Egypt and established some ties with Cairo University and the American University in Cairo,” Kandil says.

Purdue has a long history of global partnerships, making the University a magnet for international collaborators. Helping to further advance Purdue’s reputation as a global go-to source, says Kandil, is the recent creation of Purdue’s Global Engineering Programs Council headed by Arvind Raman, the Robert V. Adams Professor of Mechanical Engineering .

Kandil recently completed a project in the State of Qatar in the Middle East.

“Although an oil-rich country, Qatar lists sustainability as one of the pillars of its strategic plan for 2020,” Kandil says. “Our study aimed to develop a policy analysis tool that enhances the positive impacts of building sustainability policies on the environment, society and the economy.”

Water poverty is one of Kandil’s current areas of study. A group of Purdue doctoral students is assisting on the project. “We are working right now to create a planning methodology for water and wastewater infrastructure that focuses on the sustainable development in countries suffering from water shortages. The project is focusing specifically on the Kingdom of Jordan,” he says.

The global partnerships being established by Kandil and his teams benefit both Purdue and the people of the countries being served. Purdue receives funding for research and projects and “very highly qualified graduate students, usually the top students of the top universities,” Kandil says. The countries being helped by Purdue benefit “by getting access to Purdue research expertise and a Purdue education for their students.”