Fridley Receives UA Engineering’s Hackney Leadership Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —The University of Alabama College of Engineering announced Dr. Kenneth J. Fridley, professor and head of civil, construction and environmental engineering, as the 2010 T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership award recipient.

The award honors a faculty member who exemplifies the constant guidance and leadership necessary to make UA’s College of Engineering exceptional.

Fridley began working at the Capstone in 2003 as professor and head of the civil, construction and environmental engineering department. Under his leadership, the department has experienced remarkable growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment as well as research activity.

In 2006, he served as an administrative fellow for the office of the executive vice president and provost of the University. He was instrumental in leading the effort to establish the Capstone’s construction engineering and management program, which is one of 10 such programs throughout the country.

Fridley has gained a variety of experience in structural wood engineering through his studies of the creep-rupture of wood, the vibrations, durability and deflection of wood structures, and the response and protection of wood-frame buildings to natural hazards, such as wind and earthquakes.

He has been active in various areas of research and has been awarded numerous externally-funded research grants. In addition, Fridley has more than 70 reviewed publications and more than 100 conference presentations.

In addition to teaching and research, Fridley is involved in numerous professional activities and organizations. Since 1990, he has been a member of the American Society for Engineering Education. In 2008, he was named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and he has held numerous leadership positions in the organization.

He has served on committees of the Forest Products Society, and he recently served as a resource member on the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying’s Engineering Education Task Force.

Prior to joining the University, Fridley served as the associate dean of research and information technology at the Howard Hughes College of Engineering at the University of Nevada. He also served in various faculty positions at Washington State University, the University of Oklahoma and Purdue University.

Fridley received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Washington State University in 1985. He continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his master’s degree in structural and architectural engineering in 1986. He received his doctorate in structural engineering from Auburn University in 1990.

This award was created as a tribute to T. Morris Hackney and was made possible by the contributions from John H. Josey and his son, Howard Josey.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,700 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.