The American Concrete Institute has memorialised University of Illinois Prof. Clyde E. Kesler by renaming an annual award given to outstanding educators in concrete materials and structures.
The ACI Clyde E. Kesler Education Award is a renaming of the ACI Joe W. Kelly Award given annually since 1975 to a long list of ACI members.
Professor Emeritus Kesler (BS 43, MS 46) served on the faculty of the departments of both Civil Engineering and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the late 1940s until his retirement in 1982.
Nationally recognised as “The father of the concrete canoe,” Kesler started the phenomenon of concrete canoe racing in the 1970s with a class project. In 1967 he was elected president of the American Concrete Institute, the youngest individual to hold that post up to that time. In 1977, Kesler was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering; the highest honour accorded to an engineer. He died on 30 December 2011.
The ACI Clyde E. Kesler Education Award was established by the initiative and financial support of University of Illinois Professors David A. Lange, Neil Hawkins, and Frances Young. They fondly recall Clyde’s friendship, leadership, and impact on the Civil and Environmental Engineering department.
More information regarding the ACI Awards Program may be found at concrete.org.
