Hedy Alavi, Bus ’06 (MBA), teaching professor of environmental engineering in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, a joint department in the Whiting School of Engineering and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has been selected as the 2026 Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science Education Award recipient by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, in association with the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the Environmental Engineering and Science Foundation.The E4S Award recognizes an educator who has made a significant contribution to the profession in the area of educating practitioners.
Alavi is the associate dean for global partnerships at the Whiting School of Engineering, where he has established numerous academic collaborations with prominent institutions worldwide. He is the chair of Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals master’s degree programs in Environmental Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Science, Environmental Planning and Management, as well as Climate, Energy, and Environmental Sustainability. He has developed and implemented several graduate degrees, certificates, and post-master’s certificate programs, and has mentored hundreds of students.
He is a chief examiner and board-certified environmental engineer with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, as well as a life member of the American Society for Engineering Education. He serves on the Selection Committee for the Engineering Excellence Awards Competition of the American Council of Engineering Companies in Maryland. He was a member of the founding workgroup that established the “Fundamentals of Engineering” examination for the environmental engineering discipline at the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. Before joining Hopkins, Alavi served as the division chief of the Design and Certification Division at the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Alavi has received the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, presented “In recognition of extraordinary dedication to the University’s teaching mission, exceptional performance in the classroom, and a continuing commitment to tomorrow’s leaders.” He also earned an Excellence in Teaching Award from Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals and a Merit Award from the Maryland Department of the Environment.
He earned his MS and PhD in civil engineering, with a focus on environmental engineering, and minors in chemical engineering and applied mathematics from the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering at The Ohio State University. He also earned an MBA in management from Johns Hopkins University.
The award was presented at the 2026 Academy Convocation and Celebration of Excellence on Thursday, April 16, in Arlington, Virginia.