The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) honored three Rice University civil and environmental engineering faculty members, Pedro Alvarez, Jamie Padgett and Lauren Stadler, with its highest membership distinction and two of its most competitive research prizes. The society's awards recognize civil engineers whose contributions to research, practice and professional leadership have had a significant and long-lasting impact on the profession, reflecting the caliber of scholarship the department has built.
“This recognition from the American Society of Civil Engineers reflects both the excellence and the impact of our faculty’s work,” said Luay Nakhleh, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering and Computing. “Pedro, Jamie and Lauren are developing solutions to critical challenges in water, infrastructure and public health, and their leadership continues to shape the future of civil and environmental engineering.”
Pedro Alvarez, George Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Rice WaTER Institute, was named a Distinguished Member, ASCE’s highest membership distinction reserved for engineers whose work has had a lasting impact on the profession. Alvarez has spent more than three decades reshaping practices in water quality engineering, antibiotic resistance control and environmental remediation, helping guide state and federal approaches to groundwater remediation following ethanol-blended fuel releases. His research in environmental nanotechnology and bioremediation has influenced both policy and practice worldwide.
Alvarez, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Medal and the Clarke Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology, will be honored at the ASCE OPAL Gala on October 15, 2026, in Reston, Virginia. His recognition follows that of Rice University President, Reginald DesRoches, who was named to ASCE's 2025 class of Distinguished Members, underscoring the depth of civil engineering leadership at Rice.
Jamie Padgett, the Stanley C. Moore Professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been selected to receive the 2026 Alfredo Ang Award on Risk Analysis and Management of Civil Infrastructure for her research on how infrastructure systems perform under multiple hazards and how risk and resilience can be measured and improved, particularly for complex infrastructure systems and structural portfolios.
Her research focuses on developing rigorous methods to quantify and improve the resilience of infrastructure exposed to natural hazards, with applications ranging from bridges and tanks to energy facilities and transportation systems. Padgett’s work goes beyond assessing how structures withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods to understanding how communities can plan, absorb, and recover from the damage they cause. The Ang Award adds to a significant year of ASCE recognition, as she was also named an ASCE Fellow in 2025, joining a group that represents fewer than 3% of ASCE members.
Lauren Stadler, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, will receive the 2026 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, the highest mid-career research award across all areas of civil engineering. She is recognized for establishing wastewater-based epidemiology as an early-warning system for infectious diseases, advancing a new model for safeguarding public health.
Working with the Houston Health Department and Houston Public Works, Stadler established and implemented a citywide wastewater surveillance system to monitor for infectious diseases, contributing to Houston’s designation as a National Wastewater Surveillance System Center of Excellence. Building on that work, her lab is developing real-time biosensors that use engineered microorganisms to detect pathogens directly within infrastructure, moving wastewater surveillance beyond centralized laboratories. The Huber Prize will be presented at the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute Leadership and Council Weekend, October 23–25, 2026, at ASCE headquarters.