Civil Engineering Professor Sproule Honored

Professor William Sproule of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University is the 2008 recipient of the Robert Horonjeff Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

This is the society's most prestigious award in airport engineering, and it will be presented at a conference in the fall. Robert Horonjeff was a leader in development of the field of air transportation engineering. As an educator, Horonjeff taught countless professionals who have taken leading roles in aviation, and as a researcher he contributed significantly to the field.

Sproule has been active on airport technical committees in several professional organizations and is currently updating the classic airport textbook "Planning and Design of Airports." His courses in airport planning and design are popular electives, and many of his students have gone on to successful careers with airport consultants and airport organizations throughout the United States and Canada.

Among his other honors, Sproule is the recipient of Michigan Tech's 2002 Distinguished Teaching Award.

Sproule earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1970. Two other Tech alumni have also received the award: Bill Leder (BSCE '68) and Norm Witteveen (BSCE '61). Witteveen passed away in December 2006, while Leder is an adjunct professor at Michigan Tech.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.