Christopher B. Burke selected to give UIC commencement

This year, the University of Illinois at Chicago selected Christopher B. Burke, to give the commencement address to the College of Engineering.

Burke, PhD, PE, D.WRE, Dist. M.ASCE, has been a Professor of Practice in the Department of Civil and Materials Engineering at UIC since 2002. He teaches courses related to water resources and design. He has funded UIC student scholarships, faculty teaching awards and a presentation of competition for doctoral students. In 2006, he and his wife, Susan, funded the rehabilitation of UIC’s Water Resources Lab.

“It was an honor to address these engineering students and their families,” Burke said. “I have the utmost respect for these students and their work ethic. They believe in hard work and are great representatives of UIC in the world of engineering.”

Commencement took place on May 10 at the UIC Pavilion. More than 750 engineering degrees were awarded

In his introductory remarks, Dean Peter Nelson pointed out that Burke agreed to teach one semester which has lead to 13 years of teaching at UIC. In addition he has chosen to not take a salary and instead has asked that those funds go toward a student scholarship.

“Not only has Chris been teaching but he also is one of our student’s favorite professors and receives the highest student review scores in his department,” Nelson said.

Burke holds Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Civil Engineering from Purdue University. He started Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL) in 1986 located in Rosemont.

This past year, Burke was awarded the Distinguished Member of American Society of Civil Engineers. He also was awarded ASCE’s Edmund Professional Recognition Award, President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Purdue Engineering Alumni Association and received APWA’s Top Ten Leader of the Year Award.