On March 5, the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University hosted Kristina Swallow, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). 
During her visit, Swallow had the opportunity to tour the Center for Infrastructure Renewal (CIR) and RELLIS Campus with Dr. Zachary Grasley, CIR director, professor and Presidential Impact Fellow; Dr. Stuart Anderson, assistant vice chancellor for facilities planning and management and Zachry Chair in Construction Integration; Dr. Peter Keating, director of operations; and Dr. Robin Autenrieth, department head and A.P. and Florence Wiley Professor II. The CIR is a state-of-the-art research center that will house researchers who are developing advanced and sustainable materials and structural systems that will reduce cost and extend infrastructure life, safety, resiliency and durability. The RELLIS campus fosters collaboration of advanced research, technology development, testing and evaluation, higher education and hands-on career training.
Later in the day, Autenrieth and Stephen Franklin, executive director for facilities and planning and management, gave Swallow a tour of the newly redesigned Zachry Engineering Education Complex set to open fall 2018.
"It was a pleasure to host Ms. Swallow and show her our new research and education facilities at Texas A&M," Autenrieth said. "For our students, it was also a wonderful opportunity for them to engage with an engineer who is an inspiring role model in the field and promotes the exciting future of civil engineering."
That evening, Swallow gave a presentation at a well-attended meeting with the ASCE student chapter at Texas A&M. Her presentation addressed how relevant civil engineering is to society and our world. She also offered students practical advice on how to achieve great things in their career and make a difference in the field.
"I think the presentation showed the abundant amount of resources and networking opportunities that ASCE has to offer," said Alyssa Ornelas, civil engineering senior and president of the Texas A&M chapter of ASCE. "This was a great opportunity for our students to get to see what kind of role they can have in the future."
Swallow is a professional engineer, envision sustainability professional and an ASCE Fellow. In addition to her role as ASCE president, Swallow serves as program manager for the city of Las Vegas, where she oversees a team of engineers responsible for public works projects. Prior to her current appointment, she worked alongside Senator Tom Udall as the lead on transportation policy. Since 1995, she has been an active member of ASCE and has served on several committees within the organization.
Honors include receiving the alumna of the year award from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2013; the ASCE Resident engineer award and Edmund Friedman young engineer award for professional achievement in 2008; the outstanding young alumni award from the University of Arizona Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in 2005; and the ASCE young engineer of the year in 2000 and 1998 for the western region and southern Nevada.