Dr. Alan M. Ebner

I decided to become a civil engineer after reading 'The Builders of the Bridge' by David B. Steinman. By coincidence, Steinman was an alum of CCNY and the new engineering building, which opened while I was a student, was named after him. At the time, CCNY was tuition-free and it was all I could afford. My brother and I were the first generation of our family to attend college. It was a long commute, as I lived in Brooklyn, but I loved the school. The students and the faculty of the Civil Engineering Department were a very friendly and close-knit group. I was a member and officer of the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and I was inducted into Omega Chi Epsilon Honor Society. I'm still a member of both of those organizations. I was also a member of a House Plan, Downer 60.5. After graduating in 1961, I enrolled in the part-time graduate program and was awarded a master's in engineering from CCNY in 1964. While pursuing that degree, I was asked to join the faculty as a full-time lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department. I truly enjoyed that teaching experience which led me to continue my studies. I went on and received my PhD in Civil Engineering at Princeton University. After a five-year academic career I was recruited by a large engineering and construction company to develop a structural analysis group. This led to a 40-year career with that company and its successors, where I retired as senior vice president of engineering. My wife, Rose, and I will be celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary in March 2021. For our first date in November of 1959, I took her to a dance at CCNY. Both my professional and personal success stories started at CCNY.