Dr. R. Ilker Adiguzel
Director
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Construction Engineering Research Laboratory

Dr. Ilker Adiguzel

Dr. Ilker Adiguzel is director of the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Champaign, Ill.

CERL directs its research toward increasing the Army’s ability to more efficiently construct, operate and maintain its installations and forward bases, while ensuring environmental quality and safety at a reduced life-cycle cost. Excellent facilities and training lands support the Army’s training, readiness, mobilization and sustainability missions. Efficient forward bases, which minimize the use of external resources and the generation of waste while enhancing relations with local communities, are also critical for successful deployments in all contingencies –disaster response, humanitarian assistance, stability operations and conflicts.

Dr. Adiguzel holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in civil engineering (water resources) from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and a doctorate in civil engineering (systems/operations research) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He also has had extensive leadership and management training, including the Army Management Staff College Sustaining Base Leadership Program; an executive development assignment at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Pentagon; Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Senior Executive Fellows Program; and Federal Executive Institute, Leadership for a Democratic Society Program.

Dr. Adiguzel’s previous assignments at CERL included deputy director; branch chief, Environmental Processes Branch; division chief, Materials Science and Technology Division; project leader, Maintenance Management and Preservation Division; technology area program manager, Infrastructure Laboratory; division program manager, Engineering and Materials Division; and senior researcher, Facility Systems Division. Before joining CERL as a federal employee, Dr. Adiguzel was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Civil Engineering Department, UIUC, where he conducted infrastructure research and taught a number of courses.

Dr. Adiguzel is a founding associate editor and member of the Editorial Board for the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Infrastructure Systems. He is a member of the ASCE Construction Institute Owners Directorate Executive Committee, Construction Research Council, the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction, and the Society of American Military Engineers. He also serves on the UIUC College of Engineering Advisory Board.

His honors include Department of the Army Meritorious Service Medal; Federal Laboratory Consortium, Laboratory Director of the Year; Society of American Military Engineers Technology Advancement Medal; U.S. Green Building Council, Public Sector Leadership Award; University of Illinois, Distinguished Alumnus Award; the Army Engineer Association, the Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sustainability Hero Award.