Dr. Samuel Ariaratnam is the Sunstate Chair of Construction Management & Engineering and a Professor at Arizona State University. With nearly three decades of leadership in trenchless pipeline engineering, his work has advanced both the academic and practical dimensions of underground infrastructure. He earned his B.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1989 and completed his M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Dr. Ariaratnam has authored over 350 technical publications and holds five patents related to trenchless technologies. His global impact has been recognized through his election to the Canadian Academy of Engineering (2018), the U.S. National Academy of Construction (2019), and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2023). In 2022, he was named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)—the Society’s highest honor. His contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the North American Trenchless Technology Person of the Year (2012), as well as prestigious ASCE honors such as the John O. Bickel Award, Arthur M. Wellington Prize, Pipeline Division Award of Excellence, and the Stephen D. Bechtel Pipeline Engineering Award. Dr. Ariaratnam has held major leadership roles in the field, serving as Chairman of the International Society for Trenchless Technology (ISTT) from 2010 to 2013 and currently as President of the ASCE-UESI Board of Governors. In 2022, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to serve on the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), shaping the future of pipeline safety policy in the United States.