Jack E. Davis

CEEAA Distinguished Alumni Award, 2023

For exemplary performance and dedication in the research civil engineering profession, as a Technical Director leading cutting-edge research for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the nation; for solving difficult environmental problems for the nation as the Acting Director and Deputy Director for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Environmental Laboratory; and for his dedication to mentoring, recruiting and new employee integration increasing employee retention and providing professional and personal guidance and support.

Biography

Jack E. Davis retired in August 2022 after a 42 year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Prior to retiring, he was the Deputy Director for the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center’s (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory. He oversaw the Laboratory’s operations supporting more than 300 employees, a $260 million portfolio of military and non-military research, $80 million in facilities and equipment, all product deliveries and communications.

Through the UIUC College of Engineering, Dr. Davis’s became a Co-op Student with the USACE in 1980 and never left. His work included studies of reservoir water quality, design of river control structures, ocean and coastal wind-wave generation and propagation, coastal wetland restoration engineering and protection, beneficial uses of dredged sediment, coastal sediment management, and the functional design of shore protection structures. He served as the ERDC’s Technical Director for Flood & Coastal-Storm Damage Reduction, Flood Risk Management, Emergency Management and Water Supply.

He received a Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from Texas A&M University; an M.S. in Civil Engineering - Hydraulics from The University of Texas at Austin; and, of course, a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the amazing University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.