Professor Lisa Spainhour, chair of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, was awarded the 2025 Outstanding Service to the Engineering Profession Award from the Florida Engineering Society. (Courtesy Florida Engineering Society)
Professor Lisa Spainhour honored by the Florida Engineering Society for exceptional contributions to field and $20+ million in research leadership
The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering proudly celebrates Lisa Spainhour, Ph.D., P.E., who recently received the Outstanding Service to the Engineering Profession Award from the Florida Engineering Society. This prestigious recognition highlights her three decades of leadership in civil engineering education and research.
Statewide Recognition at Annual Engineering Conference
The honor was presented during the awards luncheon at the Florida Engineering Society-American Council of Engineering Companies (FES-ACEC) Annual Conference, which celebrates individuals who have made significant and lasting impacts on the engineering profession. At the same ceremony, the FAMU-FSU Chapter of the ASCE-FES was recognized as the most active student chapter of its size.
Transformational Leadership in Civil Engineering Education
Spainhour, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been an influential educator and dedicated advocate for students throughout her 30-year tenure at the college. Since becoming department chair in 2019, her leadership has driven remarkable growth and innovation.
Under her guidance, the department has hired seven new faculty members and nearly doubled its graduate enrollment. Her strategic vision contributed to establishing the research center for Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response (RIDER) in 2019, where she serves on the executive board. Research revenues have doubled during her tenure, approaching $8 million in annual expenditures.
$20+ Million in Research Impact and Traffic Safety Innovation
Spainhour has served as principal investigator on more than $20 million in federal and state-funded research projects. Her primary research focuses on developing and supporting traffic records software systems directly impacting Florida’s public safety.
The crash reporting and query software developed and supported by her team is provided free of charge to law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Recently, Spainhour secured two new grants from the Florida Department of Transportation totaling over $2.2 million to advance these critical initiatives.
Supporting Law Enforcement and Public Safety Statewide
“This funding isn’t just for research; it comes from the State Safety Office,” Spainhour explains. “We use it to develop and maintain software that enables agencies to collect and share critical traffic data easily. Improving the timeliness and accuracy of crash and citation data ultimately benefits public safety and engineering decisions.”
Her work provides substantial value to both state government and local communities. These initiatives enhance traffic safety while reducing operational expenses by ensuring law enforcement agencies have access to sophisticated data collection tools at no cost.
“We save the State of Florida significant funds while helping local agencies operate more efficiently,” she adds. “Currently, we manage approximately 40 percent of the crashes in the state, which provides a tremendous impact, especially for small agencies that not have the resources to do the work independently. We take pride in ensuring our commitment to ensuring safety on the roads.”
Passion for Engineering Education and Student Development
Despite her research achievements and administrative responsibilities, Spainhour emphasizes that teaching remains her primary professional passion.
“I get to introduce the next generation of civil and environmental engineers to a field that benefits both the built and natural environments. It doesn’t get any better than that,” she says.
This recent statewide recognition builds on earlier honors, including recognition in February by the Big Bend Florida Engineering Society for Outstanding Service to the Engineering Profession. These accolades reflect her sustained commitment to excellence and innovation in civil engineering education and research.
Editor’s Note: This article was edited with a custom prompt for Claude Sonnet 4, an AI assistant created by Anthropic. The AI optimized the article for SEO discoverability, improved clarity, structure and readability while preserving the original reporting and factual content. All information and viewpoints remain those of the author and publication. This article was edited and fact-checked by college staff before being published. This disclosure is part of our commitment to transparency in our editorial process. Last edited: 08/20/2025.
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