Truax selected for leadership roles in two orgs
The head of civil and environmental engineering in the Bagley College of Engineering now sits on the executive boards of two engineering organizations.
Dennis D. Truax was installed as assistant treasurer of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) at an October meeting. He became secretary of the Mississippi Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Surveyors in July.
“For Mississippi State faculty, a focus on professional service is part of our mission,” Truax said. “These appointments provide opportunities to serve my profession and the pubic, and I welcome the challenge they will present.”
An active member of ASCE, Truax was named a Fellow of the organization in 1999. He is a licensed professional engineer in Mississippi and a nationally certified environmental engineer.
Truax joined Mississippi State’s faculty in 1980 as an instructor and moved up the faculty ranks, earning full professorship in 1996. He became the James T. White Chair and department head in 2006.
As a researcher, Truax’s work is focused on environmental and water resources engineering. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in the design of more than 500 wastewater treatment plants including projects in Argentina, Canada, China, Mexico, Romania, Tanzania, Turkey and Venezuela, as well as the United States.
Truax holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in the same field from Mississippi State University. In addition to ASCE, he is an active member of Water Environment Federation, the American Water Works Association and the American Academy of Environmental Engineering. He also holds membership in numerous honor societies, including Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon, Golden Key and Phi Kappa Phi.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers currently represents more than 140,000 members worldwide. Recognized as the oldest national engineering society, it strives to advance technology, encourage lifelong learning, promote professionalism, develop leaders and advocate infrastructure and environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.asce.org.
The Mississippi Board of Licensure of Professional Engineers and Surveyors was established in 1928 to safeguard life, health and property, and to promote the public welfare by providing a complete and thorough registration process for professional engineers and surveyors to ensure that each is properly qualified to practice. The board also ensures the integrity of practitioners in Mississippi through investigation and disciplinary authority as granted by the Mississippi Code.
The department of civil and environmental engineering is housed in Walker Hall on Mississippi State’s Starkville campus. It currently enrolls more than 450 students in its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs and operates with a more than $6 million budget. More information can be found at www.cee.msstate.edu.
Susan Lassetter | Bagley College of Engineering
