In civil engineering, numbers are at the heart of our calculations, measurements and formulas. Equally, historical numbers are integral to detailing time, scope and magnitude of events — including Purdue's 150th year, a truly significant milestone that we are celebrating now. By the time the 2019 Homecoming weekend rolls around, Purdue will be officially 150 years old. However, we have no intention of waiting until the day-of to celebrate our sesquicentennial.

Two important elements of the Lyles School of Civil Engineering's vision are "amplifying our impact on society" and underpinning all our endeavors with an "unwavering commitment to ethics and diversity." Nancy Uridil (BSCE '74) and Francis (Frank) Bossu (PhD Chemistry '76) are supporting this vision by endowing a named professorship in the school, with a preference for using it to recruit or retain a female faculty member.

As the civil engineers who've designed our current infrastructure begin to retire from the workforce, the next generation of professionals faces a challenge: a knowledge gap. Purdue provides an answer to this problem with the Center for Aging Infrastructure (CAI). Robert Connor, professor of civil engineering, directs the 22-acre center and its current tenant, the Steel Bridge Research Inspection Training and Engineering Center (S-BRITE). The CAI is home to infrastructure components from all over the country that have been removed and replaced — including three full-scale bridges.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the 2018 Purdue Day of Giving! In just 24 hours, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering received 325 gifts totaling nearly $690,000. Overall, Purdue University raised more than $37.6 million — a record for the daylong fundraising event.

Purdue men's golf headed into the offseason after a spring with several strong showings: one tie for first place in the 2018 Big Ten Match Play Championship and a first-place finish in the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate outing in April. On the nine-man roster is Filippo Massobrio, a junior in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering. Just before he left for his summer internship at the geotechnical firm Hayward Baker Inc. in Chicago, he sat down with us for a Q&A.

Originally from Iran, Shahin Ariaey-Nejad (BSCE '82) says he had never heard of Purdue University until he met a few American expatriates who suggested the university after hearing he had an interest in engineering. Though the Midwestern university was certainly far from home, Ariaey-Nejad wanted to secure the best education possible and was quickly convinced that Purdue was where he would attain it.

Many Purdue alumni are part of a long and proud Boilermaker family tradition. And some alumni are the ones who actually start the Boilermaker tradition. Count Rodolfo Gedeon among them. In the 58 years since Gedeon graduated from Purdue's School of Civil Engineering, 14 members of his family have made the trip from Cartagena, Colombia, to become Purdue University students — and now alumni. All of them — his daughter, son, and 12 nieces and nephews — were strongly encouraged by Gedeon, who says it is thanks to Purdue that he was able to accomplish so much in his life.

In October 2017, the Purdue University Board of Trustees approved Darcy Bullock as the first Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering.

In March 2018, Purdue Civil Engineering alumnus William F. Brumund (BSCE '64, MSCE '65, PhD '69) received the Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The OPAL award recognizes a person's extraordinary contributions to the civil engineering industry throughout their career.

In October 2018, Purdue President Mitch Daniels presented the Pinnacle Award to CE alumnus Jack Hockema (BSCE '68, MS Management '70) and his wife, Kay Hockema.

Purdue Engineering mourns the loss of a beloved mentor, researcher and friend: Mete A. Sozen. He died on April 5, 2018, while visiting family in suburban London. He was 87 years old. Sozen's research revolutionized the field of earthquake engineering. Over the course of his 60-year academic career, he consulted and lectured around the world, earned dozens of honors, and was revered as a teacher and mentor. He taught at the University of Illinois until 1994, and then at Purdue University, where he was the Karl H. Kettelhut Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering. He advised 58 graduate students earning their PhDs — many of whom are now leaders in the field.

"To make each one think, to make him self-reliant, to feel the responsibility of his own effort is a constant aim and endeavor," wrote educator David Robert Lewis. The statement reveals the character of the man who was Purdue University's first black graduate. Lewis earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1894.

Welcome to the party! A rare moment is upon us at Purdue: a convergence in time that compels us to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and imagine what the future holds for our University and the Lyles School of Civil Engineering.