Dr. Shao has been recognized for his multidisciplinary professional accomplishments.

The Carnegie Mellon Civil and Environmental Engineering Awards Committee has selected Dr. Kan Shao to receive the 2021 CEE Recent Alumna/us Achievement Award. This award recognizes Civil and Environmental Engineering alumni who have accomplished noteworthy work within ten years of receiving their highest degree from the CEE Department.

"We are so pleased that Dr. Shao has been recognized for his impactful work in dose-response modeling for quantifying the influence of contaminants in the environment on human health," says Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Chair Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson. "We are proud to have Dr. Shao in our school and in our department."

In addition to a dual Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy, Dr. Shao earned both a Master of Science in Machine Learning and a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington in 2014 and is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

"I have long believed that engineers are the unsung heroes of public health. From Sir Humphrey Davy with the Davy Lamp, to George Warren Fuller and the chlorination of water, to modern engineers who design road barriers, air bags, seat belts, ventilation systems, medical devices, and so many other vital tools – engineers arguably save as many, or perhaps even more, lives than any other profession," says IU School of Public Health-Bloomington Dean David B. Allison. "We are grateful to have Dr. Shao in our school and thankful for his important public health contributions."

The 2021 CEE Alumni Awards were presented at a virtual Alumni Awards Reception on Thursday, April 15, 2021.