Civil engineering faculty members honored for foundational impact

The American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, recently honored three faculty members from the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Enrique Vivoni, a Fulton Schools professor of hydrosystems engineering, is receiving the Arid Lands Hydraulic Engineering Award for his work advancing the integration of land surface models, sensor networks and remote sensing to study coupled processes during the North American monsoon in the arid Southwest.

Claudia Zapata, an associate professor of engineering, is being honored with the Carl L. Monismith Lecture on Pavement Engineering for her outstanding research contributions to pavement engineering.

Ram Pendyala, director of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment and a Fulton Schools professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering, is receiving the Frank M. Master’s Award for outstanding professional accomplishments.

“Having three of us in the school recognized by ASCE with national awards in the same year is a remarkable honor and a powerful testament to the impactful work taking place across the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment,” Pendyala says. “These distinctions reflect the deep expertise, innovation and leadership that our faculty bring to advancing infrastructure, sustainability and resilience in communities around the world.”

Ram Pendyala

Ram Pendyala

The Frank M. Masters Transportation Engineering Award is bestowed upon an ASCE member who exemplifies innovative planning, design or construction of transportation facilities. Pendyala’s contributions to transportation analysis, his leadership of ​the TOMNET University Transportation Center, and his extensive publication record made Pendyala an ideal recipient for the award.

Pendyala has made significant and sustained contributions to the field of transportation systems analysis, particularly in the areas of travel behavior modeling, activity-based forecasting and sustainable transportation policy analysis. His work has advanced the theoretical foundations and practical implementation of agent-based models for transportation demand forecasting, supporting long-range transportation planning. These models are now used widely by planning agencies to assess the impacts of new mobility options, infrastructure investments and pricing strategies. He has also led the evaluation of the impact of emerging transportation technologies such as automated vehicles and ride-hailing services on cities.

Pendyala has authored more than 200 journal and conference papers in prestigious venues, organized major national and international conferences and held numerous leadership positions in the Transportation Research Board, or TRB, of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the International Association for Travel Behavior Research.

Kumares Sinha, a distinguished professor of civil engineering at Purdue University and one of Pendyala’s nominators, says Pendyala’s contributions have yielded significant impact in the field.

“Ram Pendyala has a stellar record of contributing to the advancement of transportation planning and engineering,” Sinha says. “He is undoubtedly a leader in this field whose work has introduced innovation in practice, and he richly deserves this honor.”

Enrique Vivoni

Enrique Vivoni

Vivoni’s work integrating land surface models, sensor networks and remote sensing has earned him the Arid Lands Hydraulic Engineering Award, which recognizes noteworthy contributions to water and energy optimization in arid climates.

He has transformed the way Arizona researchers understand and manage water. As the director of the Center for Hydrologic Innovations and executive committee member of the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative, or AWII, at ASU, he leads groundbreaking research to address critical challenges in the local arid and semi-arid landscapes.

Vivoni is known for creating innovative modeling tools that predict how water moves through landscapes and helping communities make smarter water management decisions. His work with the North American monsoon has revealed how rainfall patterns affect ecosystems and water supplies across the U.S.-Mexico border. Vivoni hosts hands-on workshops that bring together scientists, students and local stakeholders to tackle tough questions about water use. His work is used by experts worldwide to improve water management and protect vital resources.

Faith Kearns, the director of research communications at AWII and collaborator with Vivoni, is proud to see her colleague acknowledged for his contributions.

“Enrique is a generous colleague and well-respected water expert who is committed to doing work that is directly of use to a wide range of partners and communities,” Kearns says. “Not only is his research in arid and semi-arid landscapes particularly crucial right now but his mentorship and leadership also help ensure that science-based water solutions are available now and will continue.”

Claudia Zapata

Claudia Zapata

The Geo-Institute Board of Governors selected Zapata to deliver the 2025 Carl L. Monismith Lecture. This honor recognizes her outstanding research contributions to geotechnical and pavement engineering fields, particularly in advancing mechanistic-empirical pavement design and modeling pavement foundations under climatic variability.

The Monismith lecture is a distinguished platform within the Geo-Institute community, celebrating individuals whose work has significantly shaped the profession. The lecture presentation was held as part of ASCE’s International Airfield and Highway Pavements Conference in Glendale, Arizona, on June 10, 2025.

Zapata is a leading expert in unsaturated soil behavior and environmental effects on pavement engineering, with more than 90 technical publications. She contributed to the U.S. Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide and developed a national unsaturated soil properties database. Her work has earned numerous honors and recognition for mentoring, teaching and broadening participation in engineering. Zapata has served on several technical committees for ASCE and TRB.

Zapata is the associate director of the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation under the U.S. Department of Transportation and a former deputy director of the Engineering Research Center for Bio-Mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics at ASU.

“I am deeply grateful to the mentors who have shaped my journey and continue to inspire the way I teach, lead and grow in this profession,” Zapata says, “and to the extraordinary students whose curiosity and dedication fuel every step forward.”