Robert J. Frosch

Robert J. Frosch is Vice Provost of Academic Facilities and a Professor of Civil Engineering with an expertise in Structural Engineering.  He has served in a number of leadership roles at Purdue including Associate Dean of Engineering for Resource Planning & Management, Senior Associate Dean of Engineering for Facilities & Operations, and Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Executive Vice President of Research & Partnerships. He had wide ranging responsibilities including developing master plans for facilities, major renovation and additions of multiple buildings, and the development of several new buildings on campus including the Flex Lab, the Bechtel Innovation Design Center, and Dudley/Lambertus Halls. 

His research, which focuses on the design and behavior of structural concrete, has resulted in changes to engineering practice and the building codes for both buildings and bridges.  His excellence in teaching, research, and service has been recognized by his students and colleagues through numerous awards, including the Harold Munson Teaching Award, the Edmund M. Burke Outstanding Professor Award, the Roy E. and Myrna Wansik Civil Engineering Research Award, and the Ross Judson Buck Outstanding Counselor Award.  He is also the recipient of the Concrete Research Council (CRC) Arthur Boase Award and the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Joe Kelly Award.

He is a member and subcommittee chair of the ACI 318 Structural Concrete Building Code which is the model building code for all concrete construction in the US and numerous other countries in the world.  For this work, he received the ACI Building Code Distinguished Service Award.   He also serves on the ACI Technical Activities Committee (TAC) which oversees the technical operations of the Institute and is a Trustee of the ACI Foundation which focuses on building the future of the concrete industry.  He recently completed service as the editor-in-chief of the ACI Structural Journal.

A Fellow of the American Concrete Institute and American Society of Civil Engineers, he is a licensed Professional Engineer in Indiana and Louisiana. In 2019, he was named an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow.  He received his BSE from Tulane University and his MSE and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.