Dr. Richard L. Tucker has been selected as the recipient of ENR Texas & Louisiana’s fifth annual Legacy Award.

This program was added to our annual awards line up in order to recognize industry veterans with many years of experience and long lists of contributions to their profession and community. In choosing this year’s recipients, ENR’s editors weighed several criteria, including each nominee’s history of innovation, outstanding career highlights and an engagement within the industry and the surrounding community.

Tucker is professor emeritus at the Dept. of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and director of the Center for Construction Industry Studies.

After receiving his doctorate in civil engineering in 1963 from UT Austin, Tucker joined the faculty at Arlington State College, now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. As Associate Dean of Engineering at Arlington, Tucker developed the first graduate and research engineering programs for the university.

Upon returning to UT Austin in 1976, he created and led the Construction Engineering and Project Management Program, part of the university's topped ranked Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. This program has produced more than 100 PhDs and more than 900 master's degrees since its inception.

In 1983, Tucker founded The Construction Industry Institute (CII), the nation's premier construction research organization. Cll is supported by Fortune 500 companies, owners, engineers and contractors, and its research findings have advanced worldwide industry improvements in safety, productivity and quality.

Following his election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996, Tucker founded the National Academy of Construction in 1999. NAC, headquartered in the Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin, is an organization that recognizes and honors individuals for distinguished contributions to the industry by nomination and election by their peers to the Academy. Members include the leaders of construction from government, private industry and academia.

Among his many other contributions to the construction industry are participation and leadership in organizations including the National Association of Women in Construction, The National Research Council, The American Society of Civil Engineers, The Associated General Contractors, the National Society of Professional Engineers and The National Association of Cost Engineers.

Join us in honoring Tucker at ENR Texas & Louisiana’s 2018 Best Projects luncheon in Houston on October 18. Also, look for an in-depth profile highlighting his career and achievements that will be included in the February 4/11, 2019 issue of ENR Texas & Louisiana.