Former CEE professor Dr. Downey Brill died August 6, 2024 in Greenville, NC.
Brill earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and his PhD in environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He began his PhD as a student of CEE professor emeritus and former department head Jon C. Liebman, who left Johns Hopkins to join CEE at Illinois partway through Brill’s studies. The relationship they developed at Johns Hopkins would prove fruitful, as Brill joined Liebman on the CEE at Illinois faculty after completing his PhD. He worked his way up to the rank of professor in 1982.
Brill left Illinois in 1988 to join NC State University as professor and department head of civil engineering. He served in this role until 2005 and held additional appointments as director of the Center for Transportation and the Environment and interim director of the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at NC State before his retirement in 2019.
Some of Brill’s other career achievements include serving as a member of the U.S. Army Science Board from 1985-1991, serving on editorial boards for Water Resources Research and Engineering Optimization, and receiving numerous awards for his outstanding contributions to both teaching and research.