Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Kifle G. Gebremedhin was born in Adi-Ugri, Eritrea (on the African continent) to parents Tsegeweini Habtu and Gebremedhin Andemariam. Prior to his arrival at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Gebremedhin received an engineering diploma with honors in May of 1970 from Building College in Addis-Abeba, Ethiopia. After obtaining the degree, he served as district engineer for the Ethio-Swedish Building Unit in Awassa, Ethiopia, during which time he oversaw the building of elementary schools in two states. Gebremedhin attended UWP upon the insistence of his uncle, who was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time and recommended UWP's engineering programming to him for completion of his B.S. degree. To his delight, he was accepted into the university and attended with the help of a scholarship for foreign students. In December of 1973, Gebremedhin received a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, graduating with honors. Coming to UWP fulfilled a life long dream of his to study in the United States.

From January of 1974 to August of 1979, Gebremedhin served as a graduate research associate for the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while also earning a M.S. and Ph.D. from UW-Madison in 1975 and 1978, respectively. Afterwards, he returned to Platteville, this time in the role of educator, serving as assistant professor in the department of civil engineering. In 1982, he took up a position at Cornell University, again serving as assistant professor.

By the late 1980s, Gebremedhin had been promoted to Associate Professor and was appointed professor in 1995. As an associate professor, Gebremedhin also undertook two sabbaticals to participate as a visiting engineer at the Timber Research and Development Association in the United Kingdom and as visiting professor at the Universidad Politecnica De Madrid in Madrid, Spain.

Throughout his career to date, he has received numerous awards and recognition for his contributions to engineering and education and is considered a preeminent leader in both fields. Gebremedhin is a five-time winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award, he has won the Outstanding Educator award for his work advising students three times, and has been recognized with seven engineering research awards, including the Henry Giese Structures and Environment Award in 1999 and several ASAE Superior Paper Awards, which are given to only eight (2.5 percent) of all engineering papers published in a given year.

Gebremedhin's written work has been published more than 65 times in various peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, he has received prizes for his work in software development, leadership and service. In 2007, he was named an American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Fellow, a distinction given to "an engineer of unusual professional distinction..." Gebremedhin has been a member of several professional and honor societies, and is still active in National Frame Builders Association and Alpha Epsilon. He has also served as a board member for the Eritrean Development Fund.

Gebremedhin retains strong ties to UWP, a place where he feels many of the most defining moments in his life have taken place. He attributes much of the success in his career to the strong engineering educational background he feels he received at the school and states that UWP is where his resume starts. He also has many fond memories of his years at UWP, including his advantageous arrival and having to adjust to Wisconsin winters, specifically walking on snow.

The professor and his wife of 27 years, Tsedal Yeshak, to whom he was married during his time at Platteville, have two children: a daughter, Shigei, who holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a son, Lilai, who has a chemical engineering degree from Northwestern University. In his spare time, Gebremedhin enjoys reading novels; news magazines, in particular "The Economist," which is his favorite; and, the autobiographies of those who he feels have made some positive, even if small, change in the world.

Written by: Sunshine Street, UWP Public Relations Office, (608) 342-1194,streetsu@uwplatt.edu