Jonathan E. Upchurch, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a contributor to the civil engineering profession in variety of roles – educator, professional society leader, and in public policy with the U.S. House of Representatives – has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
As an educator, Upchurch served with distinction as a teacher and researcher for 20 years at Arizona State University and the University of Massachusetts.
His leadership in professional societies has included ASCE, the Transportation Research Board, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and other organizations. He served as international president of ITE, a professional society with over 13,000 members in more than 70 countries, in 1991.
Upchurch has served ASCE for 11 years as a member of the Transportation Policy Committee or the Public Policy Committee, and currently serves as Chair of the Public Policy Committee.
In terms of benefits to society and advancing the profession, his most far-reaching, impactful professional contribution has almost certainly been his service on Congressional staff from 2002 to 2004. He served for one year as a Congressional Fellow, sponsored by ASCE, and for a second year as a Professional Staff Member. Both assignments were on the staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He worked on a team of congressional staff who prepared a $375 billion legislative program for highways and transit, popularly known as SAFETEA-LU. As one of a very few staffers on Capitol Hill with a civil engineering background, he contributed importantly to this legislation.
Upchurch earned bachelor and master degrees in civil engineering at the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. degree at the University of Maryland.
