Timm named as the next chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Published: Apr 17, 2024 8:00 AM
By Dustin Duncan
David Timm has been named the chair of the Auburn University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Timm, whose term is effective July 1, has been a civil and environmental engineering faculty member since 2001 when he joined the department as an assistant professor. Since then, he has held the department's Brasfield & Gorrie Professor and Associate Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering positions.
“There is a lot to be excited about in civil and environmental engineering at Auburn University,” Timm said. “Our department has experienced unprecedented growth and success over the past 10-plus years under Dr. Andrzej Nowak’s leadership, and we’re well-positioned to continue moving forward. I’m honored and humbled to be the next chair to serve our outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include asphalt pavements, full-scale pavement testing, flexible pavement structural modeling and pavement design and analysis.
Timm has worked extensively with the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) and the Auburn University Highway Research Center to execute research for a wide variety of research sponsors that include numerous state departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Asphalt Pavement Association and private industry. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 technical publications based on his research and has developed numerous computer programs for use by practicing pavement engineers.
Timm currently serves on the board of directors for NCAT and the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists. He is the past chairman of the Transportation Research Board’s committee on Asphalt Pavement Design & Rehabilitation. He was recently selected for the 2024 Eugene Skok Award for Contributions to Pavements in the United States by the National Road Research Alliance.
Timm’s teaching was recognized nationally in 2019 when he was selected to receive the Chi Epsilon James M. Robbins Excellence in Teaching Award, and he was chosen as an Outstanding Graduate Mentor by the Auburn University Graduate Student Council in 2016.
Timm succeeds Nowak, who will return to the department in the role of Brasfield & Gorrie Professor in the civil and environmental engineering department. When Timm’s term begins, he will hold the Elton and Lois G. Huff Eminent Scholar Chair.
“On behalf of the college and the university, we are extremely thankful to Dr. Nowak for his leadership of the department for the past decade, and I look forward to continuing to work with him into the future,” said Mario Eden, dean of engineering. “I am also thrilled for Dr. Timm, who is one of the most hard-working peers I’ve had the chance to work with in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, and to see him lead our civil and environmental engineering department and usher the college into an even brighter future.”
Media Contact: , dzd0065@auburn.edu, 334-844-2326
David Timm has been named the chair of Auburn University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His term is is effective July 1.
