Daniel Linzell to lead the NSF Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation

The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected Daniel G. Linzell of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) to serve as division director for Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI). Linzell, who begins his NSF term on May 22, currently serves as the associate dean for graduate and international programs at the UNL college of engineering and as the Leslie D. Martin Professor in the college's department of civil and environmental engineering.

"I am delighted to welcome Dr. Linzell, whose outstanding leadership, partnership experience and technical expertise will help propel NSF's expanded impact on national priorities," said Susan Margulies, NSF assistant director for Engineering (ENG). "Dr. Linzell also has demonstrated the ability to establish and grow initiatives in faculty and student development and in diversity, equity and inclusion, which will strengthen our efforts to broaden participation in engineering across the nation."

Linzell joined UNL in 2013 to serve as the Voelte-Keegan Professor and chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering, which he held until becoming associate dean in 2018. Previously, he was the John A. and Harriette K. Shaw Professor of Civil Engineering and the director of the Protective Technology Center at Pennsylvania State University, where he began as an assistant professor in 1999. He is a licensed professional engineer and has worked as a structural engineering consultant.

Linzell's main research interests are in structural engineering, with a focus on structural health monitoring and resiliency, particularly as they relate to bridges. Often using large-scale models and field tests, he has developed methods that help identify bridge deficiencies and their effects on performance, along with methods that help steel and concrete structures withstand strong blasts and impacts.

Linzell is a fellow and active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as well as the ASCE Structural Engineering Institute. He chairs the Structural Stability Research Council and has served on numerous technical committees of the ASCE and the Transportation Research Board. He was a co-chair of the ASCE Education Summit in 2019. Linzell received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from The Ohio State University and his master's and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

CMMI advances the future of manufacturing, the design of innovative materials and building technologies, infrastructure resilience and sustainability and tools and systems for decision-making, robotics and controls.