Ben Chie Yen Library and Maurice N. Quade Faculty Lounge

During 35 years on the CEE at Illinois faculty, Professor Ben Chie Yen educated and inspired students who became civil and environmental engineering leaders around the world. He worked with Ven Te Chow, pioneering the investigation of hydrologic problems from the perspective of fluid mechanics and the development of computer models in the holistic modeling of watersheds. Yen’s contributions also include being one of the first researchers to work on urban storm water drainage. A library in the new addition will be named in honor of Yen, and will house a number of rare and historical books currently stored in CEE’s Water Resources Engineering and Science office area. These writings do not enjoy wide use, due to the department not having a protected area in which to display them and grant access. This library space named for Ben Chie Yen will ensure that faculty and students gain secure access to these important hydraulic engineering texts as well as an appreciation for the contribution of one of the department’s most eminent educators.

Father and son John Conrad Quade (BS 1895) and Maurice Northrup Quade (BS 25, MS 27) are two of the department’s earliest and most notable alumni. As practicing engineers in the early years of the 20th century, they made fundamental contributions at a time when civil and environmental engineers were building our nation’s infrastructure and shaping modern society as we know it. They were students as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was building its international reputation for civil and environmental engineering innovation and leadership. Maurice N. Quade was described by his fellow partners at Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas as “an engineer’s engineer” and “the best structural engineer in the country.” He worked on some of the firm’s most important bridges in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. A colleague described him this way: “Maurice Quade was a father to me. ... I could always go into his office and discuss things in my brash way and would always come out with a friendly, well-thought-out answer. Sometimes he even made me believe it was my idea.”  (from “Parsons Brinckerhoff Through the Years: 1885-2012”)

Additional funding is needed to fully realize this space.