Local Engineer Named New Face of Civil Engineering
Rice University Professor Receives Honor from National Civil Engineering Society
Reston, Va. — While researching how to improve our nation’s infrastructure, Dr. Jamie Padgett also shares her knowledge in the classroom. In recognition of her accomplishments, this 28-year-old assistant professor at Rice University was recently named a New Face of Civil Engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). An integral part of ASCE’s 2009 National Engineers’ Week (Feb. 15-21) celebration, the program promotes the achievements of young civil engineers by highlighting their contributions and impact on society.
Padgett, who works in the university’s department of civil and environmental engineering, teaches structural analysis and bridge engineering in extreme events courses and conducts extensive research to assess the vulnerability of transportation infrastructure, studying how it can be protected against hazards like earthquakes and hurricanes. She strives to use her research for developing new models that will be able to predict coastal bridge reliability and identify improved design details. Tthe Federal Highway Administration and others have found Padgett’s research useful in providing tools to assess the reliability of transportation infrastructure in seismic events and select highly effective bridge rehabilitation techniques.
In addition to her professional work, Padgett mentors students and advises the university’s ASCE student chapter and its Engineers Without Borders chapter. She also serves on several national committees, including ASCE’s Seismic Effects Structural Control and Emerging Analysis Methods Committee.
Padgett earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and her doctorate in civil engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Originally from Melbourne, Fla., she resides in Houston.
ASCE’s top five New Faces of Civil Engineering were also submitted to the national New Faces of Engineering program run by the Engineers Week Foundation. This program includes representatives from the civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, industrial and manufacturing engineering professions. Selected New Faces profiles, including the top civil engineer chosen by the Engineers Week Foundation, will be featured in a USA Today ad during Engineers Week and will be profiled on the National Engineers Week Web site at www.eweek.org, as well as at www.discoverengineering.org.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 146,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.
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