March 30, 2011
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Champaign, Ill. — ERDC's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) Director Dr. Ilker Adiguzel has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). He was recently lauded by the CEE Alumni Association at its Regional Alumni Dinner in Chicago.
The award is presented annually to UIUC CEE graduates who have made outstanding contributions to the engineering profession. This year, Adiguzel was one of only four alumni selected to receive the award.
"I am touched and honored by this recognition, as coming from halfway around the world and getting my doctorate from the nation's number one civil engineering program was a major milestone in my career," Adiguzel said.
The award recognizes Adiguzel's major career contributions to the civil and environmental engineering profession. Over the past 22 years, both as a principal investigator and a research program manager at CERL, Adiguzel has significantly contributed to advancing the civil and environmental engineering profession in the areas of construction information and knowledge management, as well as sustainability and life-cycle management of the built and natural environments.
However, Adiguzel notes, "By this award I was recognized individually, but the true credit belongs to the many members of the ERDC team who accomplish amazing things every day."
His contributions to the engineering community also have been widely recognized through other prestigious awards and citations to include:
- Society of American Military Engineers Technology Advancement Medal
- U.S. Green Building Council Public Sector Leadership Award
- APEX Publication Excellence Award
- Federal Laboratory Consortium, Laboratory Director of the Year
- Army Engineer Association's Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal
Even with the accolades received for his technical achievements, Adiguzel is most proud of the many mentoring opportunities his career has afforded.
"Our successes should not be measured by our career or technical achievements, but by the difference and positive impact we make in others' lives," he said. "I was especially pleased by the university's explicit recognition of our outreach efforts and contributions to the personal and professional growth of young engineering and science students."