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Profesor Bilal Ayyub, winner of a 2024 Lifetime Achievement OPAL Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), says the engineering community continues to innovate in the face of mounting climate-related hazards and risks.
Ayyub was one of five highly accomplished engineers to receive the 2024 awards, which are bestowed in the categories of construction, design, education, government, and management. Ayyub’s award was in the education category.
The UMD professor, who first joined the faculty in 1983, directs the Center for Technology and Systems Management, which utilizes advanced tools and technologies for intelligent decisions for sustainable complex systems, including infrastructure. A pioneer in the area of climate-resilient design, he has co-authored an ASCE Manual of Practice that serves as a standard reference on the topic. It was followed in 2022 by a second Manual of Practice, Hazard-Resilient Infrastructure: Analysis and Design, leading to co-authoring the ASCE-73-23 Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure.
Ayyub also led a team to forge an agreement between ASCE and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which resulted into forming a joint ASCE-NOAA task force on climate adaptation. In 2024, he was named project leader for a federally funded initiative aimed at creating online climate projection methods and tools that can help decision-makers plan for future conditions.
Regarding the OPAL Award, Ayyub said that it reflects not only his own efforts, but those of his students and collaborators.
“It’s a lifetime achievement award, and of course I’m very happy about that,” he said. “But the recognition also belongs to my team, because all that I’ve done is connected with my students, colleagues and associates. It’s an honor for me, for the team, and for UMD.”
The commitment to preparing for emerging conditions remains strong within the engineering community, nationally and internationally, Ayyub said.
“The environment is changing and the risks are real,” he said. “We see them in wildfires, extreme weather, and flooding. Such events are increasing both in frequency and severity. The engineering community is responding to the challenge and building it into the standards and codes. It’s a joint effort involving not only ASCE but also researchers across many universities, nationally and internationally.”
“We have a good understanding of the risks to the built environment, as well as the natural environment that supports human communities, and we’re continuing to find ways to design for these hazards for a sustainable future with economic efficiency,” Ayyub said.
May 2, 2025
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