“I never knew I was being considered — I was just doing what needed to be done.”
By Wei Liao
On February 17, 2026, the Underground Construction Association (UCA) of SME announced that Dr. Tom Iseley, Beavers Heavy Construction Distinguished Fellow and Professor of Engineering Practice at Purdue University, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 UCA Outstanding Educator Award. The award will be presented on June 16, 2026, at the North American Tunneling Conference (NAT) in Anaheim, California.
“I Just Focus on Doing the Work”
When Dr. Iseley received the notification letter from UCA Awards Committee Chair Mike Bruen, his first reaction was surprise. “I had no idea I was even nominated,” he said. But he quickly added that this is nothing new — every award he has ever received came without his knowledge. From Trenchless Technology Person of the Year (1993), to the ASCE John O. Bickel Award (1995), to ASCE Distinguished Member (2015), to induction into the National Academy of Construction (2016) and the NASTT Hall of Fame (2017) — none were sought or expected.
“I have never thought about winning awards,” he said. “I just focus on doing the work. Serving students is both my responsibility and my calling.”
Building Purdue’s Underground Infrastructure Program
Since joining Purdue in 2020, Dr. Iseley has built one of the nation’s most active undergraduate programs in underground infrastructure. He established the UCA of SME Student Chapter at Purdue — the third in the world after the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — and serves as its Faculty Advisor. The chapter has grown to more than 60 student members.
The program is anchored by two flagship courses. The Development of Underground Space (DUS) course covers tunneling, microtunneling, trenchless methods, and subsurface construction, bringing in industry leaders from Stantec, Mott MacDonald, Keller, AECOM, COWI, and other leading firms to lecture and guide real-world project simulations. The Asset Management of Underground Infrastructure (AMUI) course covers the full asset management life-cycle — condition assessment, level of service, criticality, life-cycle cost, and funding — connecting students directly with real utility projects.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Iseley founded the Underground Infrastructure Team (UIT) and the Future Underground Construction Leaders (FUCL) Development Program, with a singular mission: to give students maximum exposure to the industry through hands-on workshops, tunnel tours, site visits, and sponsored conference participation.
Five Years of Taking Students into the Field
The numbers tell the story of Dr. Iseley’s relentless commitment:
- 2022: 25 students attended the UCT Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. 22 students visited the 3RPORT CSO Tunnel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A delegation represented Purdue at NAT in Philadelphia.
- 2023: 32 students attended UCT in Orlando, Florida. 33 students visited the $5.7 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge construction site in Detroit, Michigan. A team attended RETC in Boston.
- 2024: 11 students attended the Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC) in Oklahoma City. The DUS course entered its fourth year. 8 students attended Global Buried Asset management Congress in Indianapolis
- 2025: 14 students attended UIC in Houston, Texas.
The annual 3RPORT CSO deep tunnel tour — descending 220 feet below ground — has become a signature experience. Over the course of the program, students have produced over 70 reports, interviews, workshops, and company engagements, with consistent positive feedback from students, sponsors, and employers.
The fundraising and logistics behind each trip are grueling — coordinating sponsors, arranging travel, navigating university administration. “Every year after I finish, I say, ‘That’s the last time. I’m not doing this again,'” Dr. Iseley admits. “But then the next year comes, and I start all over again. Because when I see what these students gain — the excitement the first time they walk onto a tunnel construction site, the way their eyes change after talking with an industry leader — it makes everything worth it.”
Gratitude to the Industry
Dr. Iseley is quick to emphasize that this award does not belong to him alone. “Without the support of this industry, I could not have accomplished any of this,” he said. “Every trip, every student opportunity, every classroom visit from an industry leader — none of it happens without their generosity.”
He expressed deep gratitude to The Beavers, whose funding supports his Distinguished Fellow position at Purdue and whose leadership — Executive Director Dave Woods and Board President John Bollier — have personally visited campus to connect with students. He also acknowledged the collective support of industry partners including CPM Pipelines, Midwest Mole, SAK, Bowen Engineering, Herrenknecht AG, Danby PVC Lining, SAERTEX multiCom, Waterline Renewal Technologies, QuakeWrap, InfoSense, US Hydrovac,Ace Pipe Cleaning, PICA Corp, National Water Main Cleaning, PVC Pipe Association, Plastics Pipe Institute, UCA of SME, NASTT, and ASCE — as well as individual professionals such as Mike Vitale (Mott MacDonald), Mike Traylor (Traylor Construction Group), Paul Schmall (Keller), and Steven Kramer (COWI), who have volunteered as guest lecturers, site tour hosts, and student mentors. He also recognized his colleague Wei Liao and Saleh Behbahani, whose tireless coordination has been essential to every student initiative.
“The people in this industry genuinely care about the future,” Dr. Iseley reflected. “They don’t just talk about workforce development — they invest in it. They show up. They give their time. This award belongs to all of them as much as it does to me.”
The 2026 UCA Outstanding Educator Award will be presented at NAT 2026, June 15–18, Anaheim, California. The achievement will be promoted on the UCA website and in Tunneling & Underground Construction magazine.
Contact: Dr. Tom Iseley, diseley(at)purdue.edu | Purdue University, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907
