Hueste now leading civil and environmental engineering department
Texas A&M University staple and dynamic leader Dr. Mary Beth Hueste has brought her plethora of skills to the department helm since assuming the role in January.
Dr. Mary Beth Hueste, the Truman R. Jones, Jr. ‘43 Professor, assumed the role of head of the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering on Jan. 1.
Dr. Mary Beth Hueste
“It is an honor to lead this outstanding department, and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in this new capacity,” Hueste said. “We have a long history of significant contributions in educating generations of civil engineers and conducting critical research with a direct impact on society. There are exciting opportunities ahead in both research and education for civil and environmental engineering. We are in an excellent position to further innovation and impact, and I look forward to supporting those efforts.”
Hueste has spent 28 years with the department in multiple leadership roles, including associate department head for undergraduate programs and head of the Construction, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Division. She also served as the division head of this group at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) for the last 15 years and managed the TTI Major Highways Structures Program from 2005–23.
Hueste is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and Kansas with over five years of experience in structural engineering practice. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on structural analysis and design. Her research concentrates on the use of innovative design methods and advanced materials — in combination with laboratory testing and computational analysis — to understand and improve the performance and safety of the built environment with a focus on concrete structures.
Her work is recognized globally, and she actively engages with the engineering community through professional organizations. She was named Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) in 2011. She also serves as a voting member on multiple ACI technical committees, including the ACI 318 Building Code Committee, where she collaborates with national and international colleagues to turn research into practice via design guidelines and code requirements for the structural engineering community.
Hueste succeeded Dr. Zachary Grasley, who stepped down as department head at the end of 2025 after four years of service.
“I am pleased to hand over department leadership to Dr. Hueste,” Grasley said. “I am confident she will be a fantastic department head and take our research, educational degree programs and the impact of our faculty and staff to another level in the coming years.”
During his tenure, Grasley oversaw the first accreditation of the environmental engineering undergraduate program and the development of the Aggie Doctorates (iGRAD) program to support domestic doctoral students. In addition, the department consistently ranked in the top 10 among public undergraduate and graduate civil engineering programs.
“I want to express my appreciation to Dr. Grasley for his leadership, which was exemplified by his dedicated service, a strong focus on the quality of our academic programs, and support of innovative academic and research initiatives,” Hueste said.
Hueste holds a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University, a master’s degree from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, all in civil engineering.
