Marv Halling Named New Civil & Environmental Engineering Department Head

The College of Engineering is proud to announce that Professor Marv Halling will be Civil and Environmental Engineering’s new department head, effective July 1.

Halling joined USU’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department as a faculty member in 1994, where he has worked in numerous service and leadership roles. He served as associate director of the Utah Transportation Center from 2006 to 2011. Since 2015, he has been the co-advisor of Engineers Without Borders’ Peru Team. His longest leadership role has been as head of the department’s Structures Division, which he has held since 2001.

“As a faculty member, I have mostly interacted with those people who work in the same, or closely related, areas as me,” said Halling. “In my new position, I look forward to increased interaction with the great faculty, staff and students throughout the department and will work very hard to take a broader view of the needs of the department as a whole.”

Halling will replace Laurie McNeill, who has served as interim department head since 2019. He hopes to build on her work to continue improving the department’s visibility and recognition as a leader in civil and environmental engineering education.

“The department has a well-known and respected reputation within the state, the country and internationally,” Halling said. “Our graduate and undergraduate programs are very productive, and we regularly hear feedback on how our graduates are prepared for challenging careers and that they work productively in diverse teams. We are proud of our emphasis on undergraduate teaching as well as our excellent research opportunities available at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and through the Utah Transportation Center.”

Halling received a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Utah State and a master’s in structural engineering from Stanford University. He worked for several years as a civil engineer in California, before returning to school to complete a doctorate in applied mechanics at the California Institute of Technology. Halling also holds several professional engineering licenses in both California and Utah and is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is one of the largest departments in the College of Engineering, home to more than 30 full-time faculty. It boasts active research programs in water resources, environmental, transportation, structural, geotechnical, and irrigation engineering. Its graduate programs ranked among the top 100 programs across the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. The department is also home to the world-famous Utah Water Research Laboratory and the SMASH Lab.