Professor emerita at Virginia Tech, Carin Roberts-Wollmann is a recipient of the 2026 Alumni Masters from the Nebraska Alumni Association. Recognized as a trailblazing structural engineer for her expertise in reinforced and prestressed concrete, Roberts-Wollmann earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1983.
She, along with eight additional UNL alumni, will be honored at the Medallion Dinner on Friday, April 10 at Nebraska Innovation Campus.
Growing up in North Platte Nebraska, it was an affinity for football and her skill at golf that brought her to UNL.
“Just by the culture of the university, the enthusiasm that the whole state had for the football program and the pride that everyone had in, the university itself,” recalled Roberts-Wollmann, the 1978 Nebraska High School State Golf Champion. “And frankly, the other reason was I had the opportunity to play on the varsity golf team at Nebraska.”
Not only did she have an opportunity to play varsity golf for the Huskers, Roberts-Wollmann excelled at it, helping to advance Nebraska to the 1983 Big Eight Championship, ranking third on the team in stroke average that season.
Following graduation from UNL, Roberts-Wollmann broke new ground in the structural engineering industry by becoming the first female construction engineer hired by the Austin Bridge Company in Dallas, Texas. She returned to academics to earn both a master’s degree (1990) and a Ph.D. (1993) from the University of Texas at Austin, making history as the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in structural engineering at UT Austin.
She spent three years working as a bridge design engineer for Parsons Brinckerhoff in North Carolina before joining the faculty of Virginia Tech in 1999 as an assistant professor in the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Roberts-Wollman was the first woman brought into the department’s structural engineering and materials program area.
During her 26 years at Virginia Tech, Roberts-Wollmann served in several critical roles such as a professor and associate department head for graduate studies, conducted consequential research in the field of concrete bridges and infrastructure, and became known for her innovative teaching style as she helped develop transformative courses at Virginia Tech while also leading study abroad programs.
“Dr. Roberts-Wollman is well-known as an internationally recognized expert in structural engineering, and we are thrilled that she is returning to Nebraska as an Alumni Master’s award recipient,” said Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, chair of the UNL Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “Her career as a structural engineering faculty member, which was shaped by her early educational experiences at Nebraska, has positively impacted so many within the civil engineering profession.”
While at UNL, Roberts-Wollmann will present the seminar, “Reflections on a Career in Engineering: Challenges, Growth, and Impact,” on Friday, April 10 at 10 a.m. in Kiewit Hall, room KHA549.
“I definitely feel that the education that I got, my civil engineering degree at Nebraska, was very important,” said Roberts-Wollmann whose husband, Gregor Wollmann, is also a structural engineer. Together they have three grown children, Eric, Stephanie and Jessi.
In addition to advising and mentoring more than 100 master’s and doctoral students throughout her career, Roberts-Wollmann chaired the American Concrete Institute’s (ACI) Transportation Research Board Committee on Concrete Bridges and its Committee on Prestressed Concrete. She was also named a Fellow of both the ACI and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.
