Belinda Sturm appointed head of the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Belinda Sturm has been appointed department head of the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, effective July 25.
Sturm will come to Virginia Tech from the University of Kansas, where she serves as director of the Kansas National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and is the Ross McKinney Endowed Professor of Environmental Engineering.
“We are excited to welcome Belinda to Virginia Tech,” said David Knight, interim dean of the College of Engineering. “Her exceptional record leading complex organizations, building and supporting interdisciplinary teams, and engaging in research and education at the intersection of public health, infrastructure, and environmental stewardship positions her to lead a department known for its impact, partnerships, and focus on addressing society’s most pressing challenges.”
Sturm will replace Mark Widdowson, who has led the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since 2020. “We are grateful for Mark Widdowson’s service to the department," Knight said. “His leadership has sustained the excellence of our civil and environmental engineering department, which is consistently recognized among the top in the nation.”
During Widdowson’s tenure, the department’s undergraduate and graduate programs have been ranked in the top 10 nationally in both civil and environmental engineering. “These rankings are a testimony to the outstanding scholarship, innovation, and mentorship that define our department,” Widdowson said.
Sturm joins the department after a period in which the faculty’s combined research expenditures more than doubled.
“I could not be more optimistic about the future of this department under Belinda’s leadership,” said Widdowson, who will continue his role as co-director of the Potomac Aquifer Recharge Monitoring Laboratory.
Sturm brings two decades of experience in research leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, and faculty mentorship to the role. As director of the EPSCoR program, she serves as principal investigator and oversees all program operations, including strategic planning, external partnerships, and reporting. She works closely with the National Science Foundation and state and federal stakeholders to advocate for research funding.
Her long list of other accomplishments includes:
- Serving as interim vice chancellor for research at the University of Kansas, the university’s senior research officer role, overseeing more than $466 million in annual research expenditures
- Being elected to the board of directors for the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors and its foundation
- Securing more than $27 million in research funding as a principal investigator
- Mentoring dozens of graduate and undergraduate students
The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is one of the largest such programs in the United States, with 65 faculty members and more than 1,000 students across undergraduate and graduate levels. Building on this strong foundation, Sturm will focus on advancing initiatives such as preparing workforce-ready engineers equipped to design resilient infrastructure systems; integrating artificial intelligence into civil engineering education while maintaining rigorous fundamentals; strengthening partnerships with industry, utilities, and communities to accelerate real-world impact; and ensuring access to clean and sustainable environmental services across Virginia and beyond.
“Virginia Tech’s commitment to service through Ut Prosim aligns closely with my belief that engineering education and research translate into real outcomes that improve lives. That requires experiential learning, strong partnerships with industry and the communities we serve, and a continued commitment to rigorous engineering fundamentals,” Sturm said. “I am excited to join this outstanding department and to work together to educate engineers who will deliver meaningful impact across the commonwealth and beyond.”
Sturm earned her Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2005 and her Bachelor of Science in Public Health in environmental science and engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
