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The Lehigh Valley Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will honor Roger Ruggles, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, with the Engineer of the Year Award at its Feb. 23 meeting.
“Roger has a successful career as a professor at Lafayette College, and at the same time has a successful career as a professional engineer in private practice,” states the Lehigh Valley Section of the ASCE. “Roger also currently participates in local government, which is a main focus of ASCE. ASCE has stressed that it is imperative that engineers get more involved in the control of public policy. Roger is exemplifying this goal, while at the same time being a full-time professor, completing research, developing a GIS for the City of Easton, and operating a public practice.”
Ruggles often uses his engineering expertise to help improve the Easton community, as well as to provide educational opportunities for his students. As a member of the Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority, he advised the independent study project of civil engineering graduate Debra Gilkerson ’06, who presented her results at the 19th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research.Gilkerson completed a complex digital mapping system for 60 years’ worth of paper records at the Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority.
Ruggles is also a member of Easton’s Home Rule Committee and serves as a member of the steering committee, finance sub-committee, and legislative sub-committee. He is a board member of the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin, and has developed a GIS for Forks Township and is in the process of creating one for Easton. He also was a candidate for the city’s mayor in the last election.
A dedicated teacher and mentor, Ruggles regularly involves Lafayette undergraduates in his research. He received a Fulbright Grant to teach and conduct research in Uganda in 2000, and spent a year at Makerere University in Kampala teaching courses on water resources and researching the application of geographical information system technology in solving regional environmental problems.
He took his first group of Lafayette students to Uganda for related research in 2004, after the civil and environmental engineering department received a $366,354 National Science Foundation grant. Along with David Brandes, associate professor and acting head of civil and environmental engineering, Ruggles led a team that included civil engineering graduates Chad Yaindl ’06 and Rachael Oleski ’06, A.B. engineering and art graduate Jairo Amarillo ’05, and chemical engineering graduate Matt Root ’06. The initial visit helped the team establish a better understanding of the function of wetlands issues related to ethics in science and engineering.
This past summer, Ruggles took another team of five students to Uganda to collect data at Lake Victoria on how agricultural intrusion affects local wetlands through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
The student team consisted of Marquis Scholars and civil and environmental engineering majors David Kendall ’08 (Lebanon, Pa.), Christa Kelleher ’08 (Tigard, Ore.), and R.J. Sindelar ’08 (Houston, Texas); civil and environmental engineering major Bailey Simone ’08 (Westfield, Mass.); and English and art double major Karen Ruggles ’08 (Easton, Pa.).
They worked with a five-member team from Makerere made up of two faculty members and three students. In addition to learning about wetland issues, the students also had the chance to experience the Ugandan culture and education system in the unique collaboration.
Ruggles earned his Ph.D. from Clarkson University. His teaching interests include fluid mechanics, open channel hydraulics, water resources engineering, and surveying.