Harold R. Sandberg Scholarship

Harold R. Sandberg (BS 42, MS 47) graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He served in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps during WW II; and was the first employee hired by the partners of Alfred Benesch & Company in 1947.  A licensed structural and professional engineer, he held many positions in his 60-years with the firm – and served as President and Chairman of the Board. Throughout his career, Harold worked on diverse infrastructure projects, involving numerous bridges, buildings, rail lines, roadways, and skyscrapers.  He had a passion for designing bridges, especially those crossing the Mississippi River (e.g. I-255 river crossing at Jefferson Barracks, MO).  Highly active and influential within many engineering industry organizations, Harold was deeply committed to innovation in the industry and leveraging research into structural engineering solutions.  He served as President of the UIUC Civil Engineering Alumni Association and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

In 1994, Benesch established this scholarship in his honor. In 2016, Harold and his wife, Alice, further endowed the scholarship.  Upon his death in 2020 at age 100, the Sandberg family augmented the scholarship for civil engineering students pursuing a primary specialization in structural engineering.

The scholarship is presented to the undergraduate student with the highest grade point average at the completion of the junior year.

The award is divided into two equal payments: one during the Fall semester, and one during the Spring semester.

Past recipients:

2024     Matthew Ross, Gavin Ursetta

2023     Aaron Marszewski, Yatri Sutaria

2022     Kevin Danner, Nicholas Marchak

2021     Emma Conroy, Pieter Svenson

2020     Andrew Conwell

2019     Jonathan Kothe

2018     Geordie Roscoe

2017     Hua Shao

2016     Qingjin Jill Fan

2015     Hannah Lohman

2014     Nicholas Lien

2013     Veronika Tomanova

2012     Veronika Tomanova

2011     Vincent J. Kania

2010     Kimberly M. Parker

2009     Peter A. Maraccini

2008     Manishkumar N. Kapatel

2007     Adam K. Janzen

2006     Wiryaputra Pramono