CEE at Illinois associate professor Larry Fahnestock has been selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) 21st annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) symposium. Engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of disciplines will come together for the 2½ day event. The participants—from industry, academia and government—were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations.
“The USFOE symposium brings together some of our nation’s brightest young engineering talents and gives them the opportunity to develop professional relationships that become critical their advancing our nation’s well-being throughout their careers,” said NAE President C.D. Mote Jr.
In September, eighty-nine of the nation's brightest young engineers will converge at the National Academies' Beckman Center in Irvine, Calif., to consider cutting-edge developments in four areas: cybersecurity, forecasting natural disasters, optical and mechanical materials, and engineering the search for earth-like exoplanets.
A CEE Excellence Faculty Fellow, Fahnestock has been on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 2006. His research interests include earthquake engineering, steel structures, seismic building design, connection behavior, bridge performance under service and extreme loading, progressive collapse mitigation, and large-scale testing of structural components and systems. At Illinois, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in behavior and design of steel structures.
Fahnestock has been recognized with awards for teaching and advising: the University of Illinois American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter Outstanding Instructor Award (2007), the University of Illinois College of Engineering Rose Award for Teaching Excellence (2010), the University of Illinois Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising (2010, 2013), the Chi Epsilon Central District Excellence in Teaching Award (2013), the CEE Faculty Advising Award (2013) and the CEE Excellence Award on Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring (2014).
During the 2013-2014 academic year, he served as an Education Innovation Fellow in the College of Engineering. From 1998 to 2000, Fahnestock worked as a structural engineer for KlingStubbins, an architectural and engineering firm located in Philadelphia, Pa.