Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Kimberly E. Kurtis Ph.D., P.E.
Inducted to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni on
Kim Kurtis received her M.S. (1995) and Ph.D. (1998) degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Her graduate school focus was on the synchrotron-based characterization of damaging reactions in concrete, within the Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials (SEMM) program. She also received a B.S.E. (1994) in Civil and Environmental (CEE) Engineering from Tulane University. Professor Kurtis attended Berkeley as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow. Upon graduation, she joined the CEE School at the Georgia Institute of Technology, starting as an Assistant Professor and rising through the ranks to Full Professor, the position she holds today. She presently also serves as the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Scholarship within Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering.
Professor Kurtis has had a distinguished career as a teacher, researcher, and administrator. As Associate Dean, she is an advocate for underrepresented faculty and students. As a researcher and scholar, she has advanced the state-of-the-art in understanding the fundamental relationships linking chemistry, multi-scale structure, and performance of cement-based materials. She seeks to address the global challenge of equitably meeting societal needs in the most sustainable and economical ways possible, using emerging methods and novel approaches to provide new fundamental insights into the behavior of cement pastes, mortars, and concretes necessary for improving their early age behavior and long-term durability. Professor Kurtis has authored more than 200 highly cited technical publications on these topics and is co-inventor on four patents.
In service to the profession, Professor Kurtis has Chaired ACI Committee 236 on the Material Science of Concrete and has been a member of ACI’s ACI Technical Activities Committee, Educational Activities Committee, and Board of Direction. She has also Chaired the Cements Division of the American Ceramics Society (ACerS. She is Fellow of ACerS and ACI. Professor Kurtis is an Editor for Cement and Concrete Research (Elsevier).
In recognition of her accomplishments, Professor Kurtis received the prestigious Arthur R. Anderson Medal from the American Concrete Institute (ACI). She is only the second woman to receive the medal in its 50-year history. Her medal citation reads "for outstanding, innovative and impactful contributions to the science, characterization, design and implementation of cement-based materials." She has also received the AASHTO High Value Project Research Award (2016), ASCE Biot Lecture Award (2016), ASCE Walter L. Huber Research Award (2013), and others.
With Berkeley CEE and Michigan faculty, Professor Kurtis co-organizes the annual NextProf Nexus future faculty workshops. She has also led Georgia Tech’s participation in the University of California Office of the President’s postdoctoral fellowship program (PPFP). Both programs are aimed at diversifying the professorate. Dr. Kurtis has also given periodic lectures to the Berkeley SEMM program.