RESTON, Va. — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced the 2026 New Faces of Civil Engineering in the Collegiate category. The New Faces of Civil Engineering program highlights and celebrates up-and-coming civil engineering students' academic and professional achievements. The New Faces honorees will be recognized during ASCE’s Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala on October 15, 2026, in Reston, Virginia.

“These standout civil engineering students are well prepared to lead our profession into a very bright future, bringing fresh ideas and innovative technologies to the table to address emerging challenges in our industry,” said ASCE President ASCE President Marsha Anderson Bomar, Ph.D. “They have already demonstrated leadership and dedication to the profession, and I know ASCE’s 2026 Collegiate New Faces of Civil Engineering are ready to improve communities around the world. I am excited to see what they achieve in their careers.”

The 2026 New Faces of Civil Engineering in the Collegiate category are:

  • Emilio Castellanos: A fourth-year student at Florida International University, Emilio was born and raised in Honduras before moving to the United States for college to pursue opportunities for academic and professional growth. He has been actively involved with ASCE FIU since his freshman year and served as the chapter’s President, participating in many ASCE student competitions including the society’s flagship Concrete Canoe competition, as well as Timber Strong Design Build and Steel Bridge. He has also attended four ASCE symposiums and multiple regional and national conferences and serves in the society’s Student Presidential Group as the SEI representative. Emilio has held executive board roles across several professional organizations, including SEI FIU, AISC FIU, Chi Epsilon FIU, and the ASCE Miami Dade Branch, where he serves as Vice Chair for Field Day, the branch’s primary fundraising event. Since May 2024, he has worked part time as a structural engineering intern at CHA Consulting, supporting bridge design and structural calculations. Through his academic, leadership, and professional experiences, Emilio plans to pursue a career as a structural engineer.
  • Rania Gomaa-Mersal: A second-year transfer student at the University of California, Los Angeles, Rania says being part of ASCE has been one of the most impactful parts of her college experience. She is project director for UCLA’s Student Surveying team and is also a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at UCLA. She decided to pursue civil engineering because she wanted a challenging academic experience and a career where she could create a tangible impact. Rania has interned at the Port of Los Angeles and is currently a civil engineering student worker the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
  • Kelvin Hutchinson: A fourth-year student at the University of Alabama, Kelvin is a first-generation college student from a military family background. He says participating in ASCE has introduced him to students he may have not otherwise met and allowed him to make valuable industry connections. Kelvin says STEM related competitions in elementary school helped build the foundation that led him on a path to civil engineering, a career he says serves the people, public, and society for the greater good. He has interned at Burns & McDonnell as a structural engineer in their oil, gas, and chemical global practice.
  • Iaya Kamber: A fifth-year student at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, Iaya grew up in several countries in the Middle East and saw how critical infrastructure is to the stability and recovery of communities. She has served as president of the Lipscomb student chapter of ASCE and has presented research on hydraulics to ASCE’s Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) congress. Iaya has also served on projects in Iraq and Guatemala to improve water systems and infrastructure.
  • Farooq Azam Khanzada: Farooq is a recent Ph.D. graduate (December 2025) of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He grew up in Pakistan and has a passion for making transportation systems safer, smarter, and more equitable. He says his father inspired him to pursue a career in engineering, and losing a friend in a preventable crash made him realize engineering is about both building for and protecting people. Farooq served as a research assistant on projects that aim to improve road safety. He is now an Engineer II (Traffic Operations and Design) at HNTB, serving as embedded staff with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) District 1 Traffic Operations team in Gainesville, Georgia. He looks forward to a civil engineering career where he designs systems grounded in compassion, safety, and saving lives.
  • Suvekshya Niroula: A senior at Texas State University, San Marcos, Suvekshya grew up in Nepal and witnessed the devastating impact of an earthquake while she was in high school. She says the rebuilding process exposed her to sustainable and resilient engineering and how infrastructure provides stability for people and communities. Suvekshya is vice president of the Texas State University ASCE Student Chapter and is a project manager for the concrete canoe team. Her internships at UES Engineering and AtkinsRealis have provided her with valuable practical and technical experience for her future career.
  • Garret Phipps: A fourth-year student at the University of Pittsburgh, Garret says a pick-up game of soccer changed his life by introducing him to ASCE and the community of civil engineering. He has served as president and vice president of his school’s ASCE student chapter, represented Region 2 in the Student Presidential Group of ASCE, and is the co-founder of Complete Street at Pitt, which advocates for improvements in safety and access for all forms of transportation. Garret has interned twice at Hensel Phelps in heavy civil construction and will be returning full-time to deploy innovative technology on major construction sites. He looks forward to pursuing research, development, and deployment of innovative construction methods in his career.
  • Sarah Saadeh: A graduating civil engineering student at the University of California, Berkeley, Sarah Saadeh credits ASCE with providing a community that shaped both her academic and professional growth. She serves as vice president of the UC Berkeley student chapter and is a member of the concrete canoe team. Through internships with Amazon and Secretariat Advisors, she has developed experience in construction management and project analysis. Sarah plans to continue advancing innovative, data-driven solutions in the construction and infrastructure industry.
  • Robert Serrano: A fifth-year student at Arizona State University, Tempe, Robert took an unconventional path to a civil engineering education after completing his GED. He is involved with ASCE at ASU’s Transportation Project and is the ASCE chapter’s vice president of events and recruitment and has helped the chapter more than double in size. Robert wants to make sure all communities are represented and have their voices heard as projects are designed and built.
  • Athena Zapandis: A third-year student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Athena aims to create sustainable solutions and design equitable infrastructure for everyone. She is team captain and project manager for the JHU Sustainable Solutions team and co-lead for the school’s Engineers Without Borders program, working on a project to install culverts in Ecuador. She has also worked as a Transportation Engineering Intern at AECOM and Bay Area Rapid Transit.

For media availability and interviews with the 2026 New Faces of Civil Engineering, please contact ASCE Media Relations.

About the American Society of Civil Engineers

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 160,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. ASCE works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation's infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency. For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on X (Formerly Twitter), @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.