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View this video in the Pratt Screening Room.

Duke Engineering Alum Heads Purdue's Civil Engineering School

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. M. Katherine Banks, who received her Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from Duke University in 1989, has been named head of Purdue University's School of Civil Engineering.

Banks, a Purdue civil engineering professor, assumed her new post on Aug. 1.

"Kathy's vision, creativity and energy, combined with a stellar research record, set her apart from the rest of the candidates," said Leah Jamieson, interim dean for the Purdue College of Engineering and Ransburg Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "She is an individual who has made important contributions to her field, has led major multidisciplinary research projects, is passionate about education and has demonstrated very strong leadership abilities."

Banks has been at Purdue since 1997 and is an internationally recognized expert in the area of biological treatment systems for pollution remediation. She currently is the director of the EPA Midwest Hazardous Substance Research Center and serves as the associate director of the NASA Specialized Center for Research and Training for Advanced Life Support, both headquartered at Purdue. She served as co-director for the 21st Century Center for Phytoremediation Research and Development at Purdue, a multidisciplinary center composed of plant biochemists, physiologists, ecologists, microbiologists, soil scientists and engineers. She also is involved with the new Intelligent Infrastructure Initiative at Purdue and serves as chair of the Intelligent Environmental Systems cluster hiring committee within that initiative.

Banks earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Florida, a master's degree in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina before moving to Duke's engineering school to earn her doctorate.