Note from the Department Head: Greetings from Blacksburg!! I hope that your summer is going well. Once again, I have the pleasure to share this message with you as part of our summer newsletter. The newsletter provides a great way for us to share highlights of student activities and projects from the recently completed academic year, as well as give you just a snapshot of some of the many wonderful things with which your fellow alumni are involved. We also like to take the opportunity to share a few of the awards and honors that have been bestowed upon some of our faculty and staff. As you’ll appreciate when you read about these awards, our department is blessed with many dedicated and talented faculty members. Virginia Tech students, as well as members of the broader civil engineering profession, benefit from their talents and dedication on a daily basis. I hope you enjoy reading about some of their activities and successes.