Prof. Bažant bestowed Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art in Vienna

Prof. Zdeněk P. Bažant was selected to receive the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art of the 1st Class. On May 11th, 2016, he was bestowed this honor from the President of Austria, Heinz Fischer in Hofburg, the Imperial Palace of Austria.

The speech made by Prof. Bažant, as well as photos for the event, were made available to the public for this special occasion. 

Prof. Bažant is the 78th person to receive the honor since its inception in 1960. Karl Schiske, a composer, was the first to receive the honor. Prof. Bažant is the first engineer to be recognized with this award.

Bažant is the McCormick Institute Professor and Walter P. Murphy Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering. He is also part of the faculty that comprises the TAM program.

The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Council for scientific or artistic achievements by Federal Law of May 1955.  At the same time, the Austrian National Council also established the "Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art", which is awarded as "Cross of Honour, First Class" (German: Ehrenkreuz 1. Klasse) and "Cross of Honour" (German: Ehrenkreuz).