Dan M. Frangopol, the Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture, was selected by the Lehigh Valley section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (LVASCE) as the 2016 Civil Engineer of the Year.
According to the nomination form "Civil Engineer of the Year award is to recognize and distinguish, in a dignified public way, an outstanding civil engineer each year. The award does not focus primarily on work for and on behalf of ASCE, since other awards serve this purpose. Instead, this award focuses on civil engineers who have distinguished themselves by outstanding achievements and contributions to the civil engineering profession, to the education and support of younger engineers and future engineers, and to the community at large (referring to the local, regional, national, and international communities)."
Frangopol received the award at the LVASCE April 18, 2017, Student Dinner meeting held at the Fritz Engineering Laboratory, Lehigh University.
The award was given for Dr. Frangopol's "outstanding achievements and contributions to the profession, ASCE, and the community," according to John Caperilla, President of the LVASCE.
Frangopol's achievements and contributions to the three aspects mentioned previously are numerous. He has been a Distinguished Member of the ASCE since 2010, and over the course of his career, he has won many awards, including the 2016 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Award for a Lifetime Achievement in Civil Engineering Education. Last year, he also was named the inaugural recipient of the ASCE's Alfredo Ang Award on Risk Analysis and Management of Civil Infrastructure for exceptional efforts in advancing, advocating and persistently promoting the life-cycle cost analysis of structures and structural systems, and their integration into reliability-based structural analysis and design.
-John Gilpatrick is a freelance writer for Lehigh University's Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.
