ASCE has honored Nora El-Gohary, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE, with the 2025 Computing in Civil Engineering Award for her contributions to the advancement of the science and application of data analytics and artificial intelligence for sustainable, resilient, and value-adding buildings and infrastructure systems.
El-Gohary has demonstrated truly outstanding contributions to the field of computing in civil engineering, in terms of scholarship, education, and service. She is currently a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
She is one of the most recognized national and international leaders in her field. El-Gohary’s research achievements are numerous, including producing foundational theories, innovative models, and transformative methods that have significantly advanced the field of computing and AI in civil engineering. She has developed novel models and methods for the extraction, fusion, and analysis of structured and unstructured data to support improved civil infrastructure systems decision-making. These models and methods have enabled new modes of data-driven discovery by advancing our ability to fully harness the data revolution and establishing a new paradigm in which isolated data can, for the first time, be transformed into forms that enable integrative data analytics across traditionally siloed data sources. This work has been a catalyst, driving innovation and leading to a wave of knowledge-powered AI research and applications in the civil engineering domain. El-Gohary’s research in automated compliance checking was also pioneering in introducing natural language processing and generative AI to the field and in developing novel models that have surpassed the state of the art, enabling unprecedented levels of intelligence and automation in code representation and analytics and shaping the future of research in the domain.
Beyond her research contributions, El-Gohary has demonstrated exceptional service and professional leadership. She currently serves as the co-editor-in-chief of the ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering. She also held several prominent leadership roles within ASCE, including chair of the Data Sensing and Analysis Committee, chair of the Executive Committee of the Construction Research Council, and chair of the Executive Committee of the Computing Division.
The Computing in Civil Engineering Award recognizes outstanding achievement and contribution in the use of computers in the practice of civil engineering.
