11/5/2026
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and The Grainger College of Engineering celebrated the investitures of CEE professors Larry Fahnestock and John Popovics on October 28, 2026 with a ceremony held at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The evening brought together leaders from across the University of Illinois, as well as colleagues, friends, and family to see the naming of Fahnestock as Alfredo H. Ang Family Professor in Civil Engineering and Popovics as Arthur C. Nauman Endowed Professor in Civil Engineering.
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The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and The Grainger College of Engineering celebrated the investitures of CEE professors Larry Fahnestock and John Popovics on October 28, 2026 with a ceremony held at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
The evening brought together leaders from across the University of Illinois, as well as colleagues, friends, and family to see the naming of Fahnestock as Alfredo H. Ang Family Professor in Civil Engineering and Popovics as Arthur C. Nauman Endowed Professor in Civil Engineering.
“These appointments empower faculty to open new worlds of discovery through innovative scholarship and meaningful impact,” said Grainger Engineering Dean Rashid Bashir in his opening remarks. “Each investiture marks not only an extraordinary achievement, but also the beginning of a new chapter; one that anticipates future breakthroughs made possible through the generosity of donors and the enduring strength of this institution.”
Alongside Bashir, University of Illinois Senior Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Amy Santos also took to the podium to express the impact of named professorships. Other speakers included Jerome F. Hajjar, Interim Dean of the College of Engineering at Northeastern University, and Dr. Surendra P. Shah, Walter P. Murphy Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University, as well as CEE Department Head Jeremy Guest.
The Alfredo H. Ang Family Endowed Professorship in Civil Engineering honors the legacy of Alfredo Hua-Sing Ang, an internationally recognized scholar and pioneer in the application of probability and reliability methods to civil and structural engineering. Ang earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at U of I and joined the faculty in 1959, building a distinguished career in research, teaching and mentorship. His work advanced the understanding of structural safety, risk assessment, and engineering reliability, helping shape approaches to designing safer, more resilient infrastructure.
Fahnestock joined CEE at Illinois faculty in 2006 after earning his PhD from Lehigh University and spending two years as a practicing structural engineer in Philadelphia. In his time here, he has grown to take on leadership roles within the department and across the college, including serving as the director of the Newmark Structural Engineering Laboratory and most recently assuming the role of Associate Dean for Facilities and Capital Planning, where he helps shape the physical spaces where students learn and research discoveries are made possible. His research focuses on the behavior and design of steel structures and building systems, including how they perform during earthquakes, and his leadership in this field has made an impact far beyond the college.
“Larry brings together qualities we deeply value in CEE: scholarship that advances safer, more resilient infrastructure, a commitment to teaching and mentorship, and generous service to our community,” Guest said. “This appointment is so fitting for Larry because it recognizes his contributions and carries forward a tradition at Illinois of connecting fundamental understanding with engineering practice to improve people’s lives.”
The Arthur C. Nauman Endowed Professorship in Civil Engineering supports excellence in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The professorship recognizes the importance of outstanding faculty in advancing the department’s mission of education, research and service. Through its support of faculty achievement, the endowment helps sustain Illinois’ tradition of engineering excellence and its commitment to addressing complex challenges in civil and environmental engineering.
Popovics came to CEE at Illinois in 2002 after spending time on faculty at Northwestern University and Drexel University. His work centers on construction materials and nondestructive testing, advancing, giving engineers a way to find hidden problems in bridges, buildings, and other critical infrastructure before those problems become failures. In CEE, he is known as a leader and educator that has impacted students in every stage of their careers, previously serving as Associate Head and Director of Undergraduate Programs and recently transitioning to the role of Associate Head and Director of Graduate Studies.
“John’s pioneering work in assessing the condition of infrastructure is matched by his dedication to our students and his thoughtful leadership in undergraduate – and now graduate – education,” said Guest. “This appointment honors a colleague whose contributions strengthen both the science of his field and the education we provide to the next generation scholars, engineers, and leaders.”
After the ceremony, the evening concluded with a reception and dinner on the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge.