By Peter Murphy
Published May 23, 2025
Andrew Whittaker, an internationally renowned scholar and engineer, is one of 11 civil engineers honored in 2025 as a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the highest honor the society bestows upon civil engineers.
According to ASCE, Whittaker, a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, was recognized for “a career that has focused on protecting lives and mission-critical infrastructure by advancing the practice of earthquake, blast, impact and performance-based engineering.”
Whittaker’s research and leadership has shaped guidelines and standards in civil engineering, including ASCE 4, ASCE 7, ASCE 41, ASCE 43, ASCE 59, FEMA 273/274, FEMA 356 and FEMA-P-58. He made significant contributions to the first generation of tools for performance-based earthquake engineering in the 1990s and led the structural engineering products team that helped write the second generation of these tools in the 2000s. His contributions have also been instrumental in developing seismic protective devices and systems, characterizing seismic hazard, performance-based seismic design, and other mission-critical critical systems and technologies.
Andrew S. Whittaker
This is the latest recognition Whittaker has received from ASCE in the last decade. He was elected a Fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE in 2016, and received the Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. Energy Award for his contributions to the energy sector in 2016, the 2017 Walter P. Moore, Jr. Award in recognition of his technical expertise in the development of structural codes and standards, and the prestigious Nathan M. Newmark Medal in 2023.
“This well-deserved recognition for Professor Whittaker reflects his may years of outstanding contributions to the field of structural engineering, as well as his leadership and service in UB’s highly ranked civil engineering program,” said Alan Rabideau, chair and professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.
Whittaker is internationally known for his work in the nuclear energy sector. He has chaired the ASCE Nuclear Standards Committee since 2015. He has prepared contractor reports and a topical report on seismic isolation for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He was a member of the 2024 White House working group on Nuclear Power Project Management and Delivery. Whittaker was the inaugural recipient of the Untermyer & Cisler Reactor Technology Medal from the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 2023 for his significant contributions to advancing nuclear reactor technology.
Whittaker is the director of UB's Institute of Bridge Engineering and serves as interim director of the Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics. He joined UB in 2001. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Federal Highway Administration, among others. He is a licensed civil and structural engineer in California. He received his graduate degrees in civil engineering from the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of California, Berkeley, and his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ of Melbourne in Australia.