Acclaimed structural engineering professor inducted into Academy of Engineering in Poland
Published: Jun 24, 2022 8:00 AM
By Jeremy Henderson
Internationally preeminent structural engineer Andrzej S. Nowak, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been elected to the prestigious Academy of Engineering in Poland.
The nomination was approved by the Academy’s General Assembly earlier this year. Nowak attended the formal induction April 26 in Kraków during the Academy's ceremonial session.
"It's a fantastic honor to have my work recognized by such an esteemed body in my native country," Nowak said.
Established in 1992, Poland's Academy of Engineering supports the development of modern technologies and technology transfer promoting Polish innovation in the country and abroad.
The reliability concepts developed by Nowak have significantly enhanced the safety and structural integrity and economic efficiency of a wide variety of bridges and concrete buildings across the United States for more than a decade. His contributions created an entire new generation of structural design codes including the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) LRFD code for bridges and the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318 code for concrete structures.
"Dr. Nowak isn't just an world-renowned leader in applied structural reliability, risk analysis and bridge engineering — he's a pioneer," said Interim Dean of Engineering Steve Taylor. "Having his career celebrated at an international level is yet another reflection of the expertise anchoring our Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering."
Nowak’s current research focuses on calibration of the design specifications for bridges. Using the available weigh-in-motion database with more than 300 million vehicles collected across the nation, he developed the statistical parameters of bridge loads. His most recent research projects, conducted in conjunction with the transportation departments of several states including California, Florida, Rhode Island and Alabama, are in response to the need to reduce the damage to bridges caused by heavy vehicles.
Nowak's induction into the Academy of Engineering is far from his first Polish academic honor.
His efforts to restructure the Polish engineering education system through recruitment and facilitating research partnerships between Polish and U.S. universities earned him Poland's highest honor awarded to foreigners — the prestigious Officer’s Order of Polonia Restituta.
In 2017, he received an honorary doctorate from the Warsaw University of Technology.
Media Contact: , jdh0123@auburn.edu, 334-844-3591
The Academy of Engineering in Poland honors Andrzej S. Nowak, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
