Civil engineering alumnus with lead role in EU Heritage project

By Peter Murphy

Published June 15, 2022

The archaeological site at Ancient Nemea in Greece received the European Union’s  (EU) European Heritage Label earlier this month. Nicos Makris (PhD ’92, MS ’90), civil engineering alumnus was instrumental in reconstruction at the site. 

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Makris, Addy Family Centennial Professor in Civil Engineering in the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU), served as director of reconstruction at the 2,300-year-old Temple of Zeus at Nemea from 2003 – 2009.

The European Heritage Label recognizes sites as milestones in the creation of today’s Europe. The designation is awarded by the European Commission, and the sites “have been selected for their symbolic value, the role they have played in European history and activities they offer,” According to the Commission. “These sites bring the European Union and its citizens closer together.”

Nicos Makris.

Nicos Makris (PhD '92, MS '90)

Makris worked with SUNY Distinguished Professor Michael Constantinou as a graduate student at UB. His current research focuses on the design and protection of structures against natural and man-made hazards in association with the development and testing of response-modification devices, and the analysis and design of seismically isolated and rocking structures.

Makris is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and has received multiple awards from the organization over the course of his career, including the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (2001) and the James R. Croes Medal (2020).

Learn more about the Heritage label and the site in this Greece Is article