ERDC’s Marcuson wins award

Bill Marcuson

Dr. W. F. “Bill” Marcuson, the director emeritus to the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL) at the ERDC, has been selected as a recipient of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University (MSU).  Marcuson, a Winston-Salem, N.C., native, has a bachelor’s from The Citadel, a master’s from MSU and a doctorate from North Carolina State University, all in civil engineering. He began his ERDC career in 1970 and served as the director of GSL from 1981 until his retirement in 2000. He is a licensed professional engineer in Mississippi, Louisiana and South Carolina and a chartered engineer in the United Kingdom. He has authored more than 100 publications.

Marcuson is a member of numerous professional and technical societies and is most active in the American Society of Engineers (ASCE), where he served as served as the 2007 president.  Past awards and honors for the researcher include the Walter L. Huber Research Prize, the ASCE Government Civil Engineer of the Year and Norman Medal, the Federal Government Engineer of the Year award from the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive and the Silver de Fleury Medal. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996 for his contributions to the design and analysis of embankment dams.

Marcuson is the only engineer to be named the Corps of Engineers’ Engineer of the Year twice (in 1981 and 1995) and he was recognized by the Corps as Civilian of the Year in 1997.