Clarkson’s Spencer Thew wins the ASCE-CI Roebling Award
Clarkson University’s very own Distinguished Service of Civil Engineering, Professor Spencer Thew, has been selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to receive the 2026 Roebling Award (https://www.asce.org/career-growth/awards-and-honors/roebling-award). This prestigious national award was created in memory of 3 outstanding constructors: John A. Roebling – the visionary designer and builder of suspension bridges, Washington Roebling – John’s son, who translated the visions into the “Brooklyn Bridge.”, and Emily Warren Roebling – Washington’s wife, who, in effect, became the field superintendent in support of her crippled husband’s effort. The Roebling Award recognizes and honors an individual who has made an outstanding contribution toward the advancement of construction engineering. Spence will be honored at a ceremony as part of ASCE’s Construction Institute (CI) & Construction Research Council (CRC) Joint Conference (https://cisummit-crc.asce.org/) in San Antonio, TX, March 18-21, 2026.
Spencer F. Thew completed his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree at Clarkson in 1963. He went on to serve in the US Army and then return to the north country to begin teaching at Clarkson in 1966. Transitioning to part time instruction in 1969, while leading Atlantic Testing Laboratories, Mr. Thew simultaneously continued his studies and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1971. Spence has continually taught at Clarkson the construction focused courses up to the present day. These courses, for those that took them, are among the most memorable and favorite course taken by Clarkson civil engineering and related graduates. Often nicknamed “story time with Spence” they were anything other than an “easy A”. Rather, his ability to teach through story, hold students to a high level of accountability, and assuring they learned the covered material well and with rigor, is a rare gift that the Clarkson students past and present have been given. In 2012, he was named the inaugural Construction Engineering Management Program Director, which he relinquished in 2014, but was later (in 2017) designated as one of exceptionally few Distinguished Service Professors at the institution. The 2025-26 academic year will represent his 60th year of teaching and service to the institution.
As was foreshadowed above, Mr. Thew was also the founder and CEO of Atlantic Testing Laboratories (ATL) and Thew Associates Surveying, Inc. for well over 40 years. In 2012 he began the transition into retirement as he engaged in an employee buyout of ATL and passed on ownership of the surveying firm to his son Jim. He has been a noted business leader in the north country of NYS, but also a national leader in special inspections, construction materials, and served as ASTM chair of several committees in his time. He is an author of texts, manuals, and standards still in use by the construction industry and by many construction engineers. As a Clarkson alumnus he has served in leadership roles here in the north country, and nationally, as well as being a Golden Knight award winner. He also remains active in numerous professional organizations, including as an active member of ASCE, and a mentor to literally thousands of professionals around the globe.
Spence’s influence has often extended into local communities in many other ways, especially when it comes to leadership and service. Spence famously was the owner of Call of the Wild, a sled dog enterprise built on his 1992 run of the Iditarod run, which he completed successfully. This has led him to provide motivational, teamwork focused, and leadership talks to groups as young as second graders to as senior as leadership in various fraternal and related organizations throughout New York State. And his service to the profession of engineering, especially in the development of future engineers, where he has been a critical part of accreditation efforts, professional development programs, and a participant on other institution advisory boards. Mr. Thew, in so many ways, is a model for how one lives a life of service, dedication and professionalism in all of what they do.