Feniosky Peña-Mora, National Dean of the School of Engineering and Sciences at Tec de Monterrey, has been named the first Latino president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Founded in 1852, the ASCE is the nation’s oldest civil engineering society, representing over 160,000 civil engineers across 177 countries.
Peña-Mora, Executive Vice President of Research at Tec and an ASCE member since 1990, was elected president for the 2024-2025 term by the organization’s members through voting.
“From the moment I arrived in the United States, it became clear to me that this country offers opportunities for people like me—immigrants who have made it their home. Today, receiving the presidential pin and gavel reinforces that belief and inspires me to continue working for our communities and the future of civil engineering,” Peña-Mora shared on his social media platforms.
Before this appointment, Peña-Mora served as executive director of the ASCE Board of Directors from 2019 to 2022. He also led the development of the organization’s strategic plan as Chair of the Board’s Strategic Advisory Council.
Peña Mora said that ASCE has been working to project what urban environments will be like in the coming decades and how civil engineering can lead that transformation.
“We need to inspire the next generation of engineers. When people come, and you are trying to hire in this very competitive and difficult world, where you are fighting for talent, do you want to talk to young people about the possibility of joining your company because you are going to build the next bridge or do you want to talk about how you are going to build a city of the future?”
Feniosky Peña-Mora: Civil Engineer and Research Leader
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Peña-Mora has nearly 30 years of experience. His career highlights include serving as Executive Director of the Center for Buildings, Infrastructure, and Public Space at Columbia University in New York, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Design and Construction, Associate Provost, and Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Gilbert W. Winslow Professor of Professional Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among other key roles.
In July 2023, Peña-Mora joined Tec de Monterrey as Dean of the School of Engineering and Sciences, and this year, he also became Executive Vice President of Research at the institution.
He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering Systems and a Master’s in Civil Engineering from MIT. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña in the Dominican Republic.
Peña-Mora has authored or co-authored over 230 academic publications and holds six patents. His expertise spans Change Management, Conflict Resolution, Sustainable Construction, and Process Integration in designing and developing large-scale civil engineering systems.
