Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 25 March 23, 1995 - Knocke to lead CE department

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Knocke to lead CE department

By Liz Crumbley

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 25 - March 23, 1995

William R. Knocke has been selected as the new department head for the Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil Engineering, (CE) according to College of Engineering Dean F. William Stephenson. Knocke, the W. Curtis English professor of civil engineering, served as interim head after former department head David F. Kibler resumed his duties as a professor in August 1994.

Since joining the Tech faculty in 1979, Knocke has received several national awards, including the NALCO Dissertation Award for Significant Chemical Research in Industrial Waste Treatment, and the American Society of Chemical Engineers' Huber Research Prize.

In 1984, he became Tech's first recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and in 1987 he was one of the first Tech faculty members to receive the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Virginia State Council for Higher Education.

Knocke's research focus is the treatment and residual management of drinking water, and he is an internationally recognized expert in the removal of iron and magnanese from drinking water.

"Bill Knocke received overwhelming support from across the department and impressed us all with his clear, well-articulated vision for civil engineering," Stephenson said. "He brings with him exceptional credentials, a fine record of scholarship, and a strong commitment to lead this department to new levels of achievement."