Incoming civil and construction engineering students will not have the opportunity to be given guidance and direction by one of the department’s long-time professors.

On July 23, T. Al Austin, professor of civil and construction engineering, died after a five-month battle with throat cancer. Austin taught at Iowa State for more than 30 years.

Loretta Austin said her husband would make time for students because students came first. Austin would tell his wife he was “here to be available to students,” she said.

He also had a strong belief in what was right and wrong, Loretta said.

Because of his beliefs, Austin was asked to teach an ethics class to all of Iowa’s county engineers, she said.

“He was very people-oriented and believed people were worth investing his time in,” she said.

Her husband was always thinking about the other person, Loretta added.

“He was an excellent husband and father,” she said.

Russ Dudley, ISU alumnus in civil engineering, worked with Austin in several classes and had Austin as an adviser.

He said his experiences with Austin helped prepare him for life after college.

“Dr. Austin was committed to preparing students for life after college,” he said.

Students in Austin’s classes were exposed to real-world problems that “forced students to examine economical and social issues, as well as technical issues,” Dudley said.

Austin would always take time to speak with his students, including putting away other work to make sure they were moving in the right direction, he said.

Dudley said he looked up to Austin professionally and was motivated by him to pursue a master’s degree in civil engineering.

Students were shocked when Austin announced to his class he had cancer and would be undergoing chemotherapy while he was still teaching, Dudley said.

“Teaching was what Dr. Austin loved, and his commitment to our success as students was evident numerous times throughout that final semester,” he said. “Beyond his technical expertise, Dr. Austin’s experiences were invaluable.”

Austin would suggest potential problems to his students and would then offer unique and innovative solutions to help point students in the right direction, Dudley said.

“What was originally inspirational about Dr. Austin was his professional integrity in the field of hydraulics,” Dudley said.

“What became more inspirational was his commitment to students in the civil engineering department.”

Steve Lekwa, director of the Story County Conservation Board, worked with Austin and his students. Austin served as a board member of the Story County Conservation Board from 1980—1984.

When Lekwa graduated from Iowa State in 1971, he said students seldom knew their major professors, especially tenured professors.

To his knowledge and experience, Lekwa said Austin was very approachable and took a personal interest in his students by knowing their names and projects on which they were working.

Austin gave his students real world experience by assigning them the kind of tasks students are expected to handle when they graduate, Lekwa said.

James Melsa, dean of engineering, said Austin carried forward in his career a set of ethics to his students unlike any other professor.

He said the engineering department is currently looking to fill Austin’s position.

“[It will be] difficult to replace him because he was an outstanding contributor,” Melsa said.

“Not only was Dr. Austin an outstanding researcher, but an outstanding teacher in the broad sense of the word.”