Dagher featured as Engineering News Record Top 25 Newsmaker 2016

Habib Dagher, executive director of the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, has been named one of 2016’s Top 25 Newsmakers by Engineering-News Record (ENR).

The award will be formally presented in April in New York City. At that time, ENR also will announce which one of the Top 25 Newsmakers will receive the highest honor, the Award of Excellence.

Dagher was selected based on achievements related to the New England Aqua Ventus I, offshore wind energy pilot innovations, the Bridge-in-a-BackpackTM technology and his work developing the UMaine Composites Center.

“This award truly belongs to the entire UMaine Composites Center students, faculty and staff, and is a tremendous global recognition for the research and development accomplishments we’ve achieved at UMaine,” said Dagher.

In its profile of Dagher, ENR cites his career-spanning achievements: “Engineering professor Dagher has set a high bar for R&D to propel his adopted state to new levels of achievement in clean energy and transportation technology.”

Under Dagher’s leadership, the UMaine Composites Center has grown to a 100,000-square-foot research and development laboratory, with 180 employees and more than 500 clients and partners across the world.

The center has gained a national and international reputation from major research and development projects such as: the VolturnUS 1:8, the first grid-connected floating offshore wind turbine in the U.S. and the first in the world made out of concrete and composite materials; the inflatable composite arch bridges Bridge-in-a-Backpack technology, now approved in the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials code; the first Modular Ballistic Protection System, approved by the U.S. Army to protect troops in tents from blast and ballistic threats; the longest composite bridge in the world; development of coated wood technology for blast- and hurricane-resistant wood buildings; and the longest carbon-fiber composite vessel built for the U.S. Navy.

From Engineering News Record:

Immigrant engineering professor has set a high bar for R&D to propel his adopted state to new levels of achievement in clean energy and transportation technology. Click here to read more the ENR Top 25 Newsmakers article on Dr. Habib Dagher.

To view the complete list of 25, visit: http://www.enr.com/top-25-newsmakers-2016

Contact: Meghan Collins, 207.581.2117