CCEE Hall of Fame

International expertise in concrete formwork design and construction, authoring a landmark publication used nationally and internationally, and contributions to construction education

Inducted 2021

Mary Hurd was the only woman to graduate in her class at Iowa State College with a degree in civil engineering in 1947. She would have qualified for the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, but at that time, they did not allow women to join.

She started her career as a writer and concrete engineer at the American Concrete Institute. Hurd wrote and edited several industry magazines and is best known as the author of ACI’s publication, Formwork for Concrete. Her publication is in its eighth edition and has sold over 125,000 copies. Practitioners and students in construction use the Formwork for Concrete to this day.

Hurd is known as an expert engineer, writer and consultant, and her engineering interests were particularly strong in the area of concrete. She was the first woman to receive the Anson Marston Medal, the highest award by the Iowa State College of Engineering. Many awards have been given to Hurd for her work in publications and dedication to civil engineering. She was both the Concrete Improvement Board of Detroit president and the president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Concrete Institute.

She was scheduled to receive the Iowa State Alumni Merit Award, but she passed away before she could accept it—the award is to honor an alumnus who demonstrates outstanding contributions to human welfare that transcend professional accomplishments. She was a female engineering pioneer.