Louis Bowman

BS 1951, Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

For his expertise as a leader in major engineering projects and corporate management as well as business development, and for service and generous support of the Department.

Louis Bowman, P.E., P.L.S., (BSCE ’51) is Chairman of Bowman, Barrett & Associates Inc., the firm he founded in 1989 with his onetime University of Illinois lab partner, John E. Barrett, P.E., S.E. Over the course of his 55-year career, Bowman has worked on numerous major highway, rail, and airport projects throughout the Midwest, including major interstates in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.

Bowman’s accomplishments include project management for design and construction of the Illinois Center infrastructure in downtown Chicago, the C&NW Intermodal Rail Yard at 24th and Western, the relocation of the portion of Lake Shore Drive from the Chicago River to Monroe Street, and the ongoing $6.6 billion O’Hare Modernization Program.

Notable affiliations include being a Fellow and Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); a member of the Board of Directors and Past President of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s Planning and Design Division; Past Chairman of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association’s Planning and Design Division; and member of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois (ACEC-IL)

Bowman’s recent awards include ASCE-IL 2006 Civil Engineer of the Year, the 2008 March of Dimes Transportation Award, and the 2008 ARTBA Leadership Award. He was also recently inducted into the Ottawa Township High School Hall of Fame.