Dr. George M. Filz first came to Virginia Tech in 1988 as one of the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s first Via Scholars. He arrived following eight years of industry experience, an M.S. degree in civil engineering, and B.S. degrees in both civil  engineering and mathematics.



Upon his graduation from the department in 1992, Dr. Filz joined the faculty as an assistant professor and worked his way up to his current position as Charles E. Via Jr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Assistant Department Head. His extensive  accomplishments at Virginia Tech span teaching, research, and service. In his full 20 years of teaching, Dr. Filz has consistently received exemplary teaching review scores and maintained an average rating of 3.9/4.0 by students. He has received the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Certificate of Teaching Excellence three times, the CEE Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, the College of Engineering Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and Virginia Tech's prestigious W.E. Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching.



Dr. Filz is equally accomplished in research. He has participated in externally funded research valued at $8 million, and he has advised 70 M.S. students and 14 Ph.D. students to completion of their degrees. Dr. Filz received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, the 2003 ASCE Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award for the best paper in geotechnical engineering, and the 2006 ASCE J. James R. Croes Medal, which is awarded to only one paper each year across all

fields of civil and environmental engineering.



An expert in the area of geotechnical engineering, Dr. Filz is recognized for his ability to link engineering design theory to construction practice. In an article in the publication Deep Foundations, David Weatherby of Schnabel Foundations is quoted as describing Dr. Filz as the "clearest-thinking researcher in the U.S. on reliability of soil-cement as a composite material."



In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Filz also serves as the director of the Virginia Tech Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research (CGPR) which connects geotechnical graduate students to 21 CGPR member organizations including consulting firms, construction companies, and government agencies, and raises funds for geotechnical graduate student assistantships. In addition to his numerous leadership positions within the department, college, and university, Dr. Filz also serves the ASCE Geo-Institute and VDOT’s Geotechnical Research Advisory Board. He has been invited to present state-of-the-art lectures at international conferences on four continents, and he  has led and contributed to short courses and seminars offered by ASCE, the Deep Foundations Institute, the Pile Driving Contractors Association, governmental agencies, and private engineering and construction companies.



Dr. Filz and his wife Lindy enjoy travel, hiking, and skiing, along with spending time with family and friends. They are volunteers for the Special Olympics, the Montgomery County Christmas Store, the Mountains of Misery Bicycle Ride, and the New River Valley Garden Tour in support of Montgomery-Floyd Regional Libraries.