Leslie Brunell, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a teaching professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Brunell coordinates all the Civil Engineering senior design projects and one section of Multidiscipline Engineering senior design. These projects are the culmination of the undergraduate engineering experience, where students use the knowledge they have gained during their undergraduate studies to design an innovative solution to a complex engineering problem. The projects Brunell introduces to her students are sponsored by industry, many through contacts with her former students. This ensures that each graduating senior gains firsthand design experience that is guided by professional mentors.
In addition to Senior Design, Brunell is the director of the Water Resources graduate program at Stevens. This program offers classes at Stevens and online. She also teaches Surveying, Fluid Mechanics and Water Resources along with some graduate-level Water Resources courses.
After receiving her BE she worked as a Water Resources Engineer for The RBA Group, Buck Seifert and Jost and Medina Consultants. She began her academic career full-time in 2000.
Brunell is the faculty advisor for the Stevens student chapters of ASCE and the Society of Women Engineers. She is a member of ASCE (since 1986), SWEE and ASEE, and serves on the student council for ASCE-EWRI. She is also a member of the Academic Committee for the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). This committee works to increase the Envision resources for academic uses at universities and colleges.
She has been honored as Educator of the Year twice by the North Jersey Chapter of ASCE (2007 and 2018) and was recognized by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014 for Advancement of Invention and Process. Brunell stresses the importance of licensure to all her students, requiring civil engineering seniors to complete the FE exam prior to their graduation.
Brunell is a registered professional engineer in the state of New Jersey. She received her BE, ME and Ph.D. from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1986,1990 and 1996, respectively.
