The Rossin College’s civil engineering program has been ranked among the top five in the world, according to the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU); it was also the highest ranked U.S. program on this year’s list.
In recent years, Lehigh has consistently placed among the most highly regarded institutions for civil engineering, says Panos Diplas, P.C. Rossin Professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering (CEE). A fourth place honor for 2019 confirms the strength of the CEE faculty, who are recognized year after year in this global ranking.
ARWU considers the number of published research in top journals and awards won by faculty, the impact of research, and the percentage of internationally-collaborated papers published. The organization is renowned for its rigorous methodology in evaluating the quality of research programs around the globe.
According to John Coulter, senior associate dean for research at Lehigh's P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the ARWU rankings validates Lehigh's commitment to research and innovation at the cutting-edge of civil engineering.
"It is gratifying to see the contributions of Lehigh's civil engineering community recognized in this manner," says Coulter. "The university's Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE) draws heavily upon our excellence in civil and structural engineering, and seeks to amplify this excellence through connections with complementary research endeavors on our campus and across Lehigh's network of partners and collaborators."
In all, some 1,800 top universities are ranked, of which 1,000 are published on the ARWU website. Within the context of these rankings, Lehigh is competing with departments many times its size, making its fourth place result even more noteworthy.
"One of Lehigh's former presidents was fond of saying that our university often excelled when 'wrestling above its weight class,'” says Diplas. "The analogy is certainly appropriate here. We are proud of our faculty's significant and sustained contributions in research and scholarly output, as well as the impact of this work in the profession through research and education."
Diplas also notes that program took the 25th spot in the latest rankings of undergraduate civil engineering programs released by US News & World Report.
"Our department has a long tradition of excellence in the field, reaching back to the discipline's very earliest days," he continues. "Through our current efforts in sustainable, smart, responsive infrastructure systems and resilient communities, we intend to lead the way for decades to come."
"We may not be the very largest," says Diplas, "but results like these certainly support our impact and claim of membership among the elite global research institutions in our field."