June 7, 2021
Two civil engineering professors selected for regional awards by the American Society of Civil Engineers
The Region 7 Board of Governors of the American Society of Civil Engineers has announced the selection of Mustaque Hossain, department head and professor of civil engineering at Kansas State University, as the recipient of the ASCE Region 7 2021 Award for Lifetime Achievement; and Hani Melhem, K-State professor of civil engineering, as the recipient of the ASCE Region 7 Outstanding Faculty Award.
Hossain, who holds the named positions of the Civil Engineering Alumni Professorship Honoring Dr. Robert Snell and the Munger Professorship in Civil Engineering, joined the K-State civil engineering faculty in 1991. In 2003 he was named a Fulbright scholar and was attached to the Universiti Putra Malaysia. From 2005 to 2008 he served as the graduate program director for civil engineering at K-State. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Kansas and an ASCE fellow. He was named the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member of the K-State civil engineering department in 2002, and in 2007 he won the ASCE Student Chapter Undergraduate Advising Excellence Award. In 2011 and 2012 he was named the Outstanding Faculty Member by the ASCE student chapter. Hossain was also named the Dwight D. Eisenhower Faculty Fellow by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1995, 2000 and 2003.
As a faculty member at K-State, Melhem, a Richard B. and Mary Jo Myers — Carl and Mary Ice Cornerstone teaching scholar, has taught 18 different undergraduate and graduate engineering courses. From 2000 to 2019 he was the professor-in-charge for the senior design capstone project course in civil engineering. The student chapter of ASCE selected him for the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2006 and 2013, Advisor of the Year Award in 2008 and Outstanding Teaching Award in 2013. In 2006 he received a Certificate of Commendation from the ASCE National Committee on Student Activities for exceptional service as faculty advisor to the K-State Student Chapter. Melhem has served as both vice president and president of the Kansas Section of ASCE. In 2009 he became an ASCE fellow.
ASCE Region 7 consists of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.