The Brendan S. Beck Fund for Sustainable Infrastructure has been created in memory of Brendan S. Beck, P.E. (BSCE ’98) who lost his life in the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake when he was trapped in the Hotel Montana. The earthquake occurred shortly after Brendan arrived in Haiti as a USAID consultant regarding sustainable infrastructure for eco-tourism to provide long-term benefit to the Haitian economy.

Brendan had planned to return to the University of Florida to pursue an advanced engineering degree. In his graduate application, Brendan stated, “Throughout the United States and the world, there are aging infrastructure systems that are in need of repair and replacement. A thorough comprehension of the interrelation of infrastructure and environment can pay dividends in this field by minimizing costs, increasing lifecycle and decreasing environmental impacts.” He felt that the University of Florida faculty has a vast amount of expertise in diverse fields that he wanted to draw from in his studies.

For this reason, the family of Brendan S. Beck has created this fund so that others might have the opportunity to pursue this knowledge and research.