Chen’s robotic bridge inspection system wins ASCE’s 2025 Pankow Award
Posted by Kimber Crull
Dr. Genda Chen stands beside a Rolla, Missouri, bridge, while an unmanned aerial vehicle that is part of his BIRDS invention hovers in the sky behind him. Photo by Blaine Falkena/Missouri S&T.
Dr. Genda Chen, the Robert W. Abbett Distinguished Chair in Civil Engineering and director of the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure and the INSPIRE University Transportation Center, has developed a robotic system to make bridge inspections faster, more comprehensive and safer. His invention, called the Bridge Inspection Robot Deployment System, or BIRDS, has been selected for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2025 Charles Pankow Award for Innovation.
According to the ASCE website, the Pankow Award “recognizes the contributions of organizations working collaboratively to advance the design and construction industry by introducing innovation into practice.”
Posted by Kimber Crull
