Bio

Dr. Stephen Ressler is Professor Emeritus from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. Prior to his retirement from full-time teaching in 2013, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at USMA. He holds a B.S. degree from USMA, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, and a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.

Dr. Ressler served for 34 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and retired at the rank of Brigadier General. His service included a variety of military engineering assignments in the U.S., Europe, and Central Asia, including service as Deputy Commander of the New York District, Corps of Engineers. He is a master parachutist and a registered professional engineer in Virginia. At West Point, he previously served as Civil Engineering Program Director, Vice Dean for Education, and USMA Chief of Staff. He taught courses in statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, structural analysis, advanced structural analysis, steel design, concrete design, construction management, design of structural systems, civil engineering history, and professional practice. As Department Head, he supervised 36 faculty members, two ABET-accredited engineering programs, and two research centers. He also established and served as founding director of the West Point Center for STEM Education.

Steve is extensively engaged in engineering education. He currently serves two national-level education committees of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)–the Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee and the Committee on Sustainable Infrastructure Education.  From 2011 to 2018, he served as one of ASCE’s representatives to governing boards of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). He is also a past-chair of the ASCE Educational Activities Committee, ASCE Committee on Curricula and Accreditation, ASCE Committee on Accreditation, and ASCE Committee on Faculty Development.  He has served as Chair, Vice Chair, and Director of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Civil Engineering Division. For two decades, he has served as an instructor for ASCE’s landmark faculty development program—the ExCEEd Teaching Workshop. From 2001 to 2016, he served as director of the  West Point Bridge Design Contest, a nationwide Internet-based competition that introduced engineering to over 100,000 middle school and high school students. He has written over seventy scholarly papers on engineering accreditation, educational policy, professionalism, curriculum assessment, faculty development, teaching techniques, K-12 engineering outreach, and information technology.

In 2007, he deployed to Afghanistan to develop a civil engineering program for the newly created National Military Academy of Afghanistan (NMAA) in Kabul.

Having retired from full-time teaching in 2013, he now develops on-line engineering lecture series for The Great Courses, engages in professional service and engineering outreach to kids, provides consulting services in engineering education, and delivers guest lectures at a variety of educational institutions, museums, and professional meetings.  He has served as an on-screen expert for several documentaries, including “The Real Trojan Horse” and “Secrets: The Tower of Babel,” which were produced by Blink Films (UK) and aired on PBS and Smithsonian, respectively.  In the fall of 2018, he taught as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lehigh University.  He also lectures frequently on cruises organized by Insight Cruises.  

Steve Ressler has won the following major awards and honors:

• Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers (PSPE) Lehigh Valley Engineer of the Year – 2021
• ASCE Presidents’ Award – 2019
• ASEE Fellow – 2017
• ASCE Parcel-Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award – 2017
• Army Engineer Association Silver de Fleury Medal – 2013
• ASCE Outstanding Projects and Leaders Award (ASCE’s highest award for distinguished service) – 2011
• ASEE Civil Engineering Division George K. Wadlin Distinguished Service Award – 2007
• ASCE Distinguished Member – 2005
• ASCE ExCEEd Leadership Award – 2004
• ASCE President’s Medal – 2002
• Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Bliss Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Engineering Education – 2002
• American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) Norman Augustine Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communications – 2002
• ASEE Distinguished Educator Award – 2000
• Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware – 2000
• ASEE Dow Outstanding New Faculty Award – 1997
• EDUCOM Medal for application of information technology in education – 1998
• One of Engineering News Record’s “Top 25 Newsmakers Who Served Construction” – 2000

He has also earned the following recognition for scholarly writing:

• Annual Best Paper Award, ASCE Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice – 2011
• Best Paper Award, ASEE Professional Interest Council I – 2007, 2010, 2011
• Glen L. Martin Best Paper Award, ASEE Civil Engineering Division – 1995, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2012
• Best Paper Award, ASEE Mechanics Division – 1993

Dr. Ressler’s ASEE Fellow History is available on the  Engineering and Technology History Wiki.