InTrans / Mar 28, 2011
Lavrenz Named Outstanding Member of Engineering Student Council
Steve Lavrenz (r) receives award from John Solomon
Steven M. Lavrenz, graduate student in civil engineering supported through the Midwest Transportation Consortium, was honored in February 2011 by ISU’s Engineering Student Council as Outstanding Member 2010–2011. This award recognized his extensive contributions to the Transportation Student Association, not only as vice president of TSA but also, as stated in the nomination submitted by student Teng (“Alex”) Wang, for being a “great spokesman and all-round go-to person.”
In addition, Steve was recently selected as a 2011 Dwight David Eisenhower Graduate Fellow and will receive a $5,000 award.
These are just the most recent in a string of awards and prominent activities Lavrenz has under his belt at ISU. As an undergraduate majoring in civil engineering, Spanish, and economics, he received a National Merit Scholarship at ISU and four sponsored scholarships through the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He served on the civil engineering undergraduate advisory council and curriculum committee as well as the Engineering Student Council. He also held offices in Freshman Leaders in Engineering and helped organize events related to ISU’s 2009 Leadership Workshop Series. He is a member of the Chi Epsilon Honor Society, in which he has held various offices, and the Mortar Board Honor Society of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Lavrenz has been equally busy off campus. Through summer internships with the city engineering departments of Urbandale and Cedar Rapids, he participated in a variety of hands-on projects, including assisting in emergency roadway and structure damage mitigation activities after the 2008 floods in Cedar Rapids.
Lavrenz is finishing his thesis, an economic analysis of an electrified, automated guideway for passenger and freight vehicles, and will graduate in December 2011 with an MS in civil engineering (transportation). His academic advisor is Dr. Nadia Gkritza, assistant professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering and transportation engineer at InTrans.