Feniosky Peña-Mora is the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and a Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering and of Computer Science at Columbia University. Peña-Mora, ScD., PE(DR), NAS(DR), CCM(UK), F.CIOB(UK), NAC, Dist.M.ASCE is also the Executive Director of Columbia’s Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space.

From 2014 to 2017, he was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC). In response to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, DDC managed the creation and expansion of resilient and sustainable infrastructure projects to protect New York City against extreme weather emergencies and reduce green gas emissions. As part of the New York City Build-it-Back Program, he led the Program Management efforts to procure and manage three Construction Management-Design-Build contracts responsible for raising, rebuilding, and flood-protecting over 1000 homes in the three hardest-hit NYC Boroughs. Among the more momentous projects of Peña-Mora’s tenure at DDC were the new $740 million Police Academy, the new $640 million 911 Site, and the Times Square reconstruction.

Prior to his public service leave at DDC, he was the Dean of the engineering and applied sciences school of Columbia University and an endowed professor. Previously, he held endowed professorships at MIT, where he had earned his MS and PhD in civil engineering, and at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also held the position of Associate Provost. Peña-Mora is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the FIATECH Engineering & Technology Innovation Award, as well as numerous awards from ASCE.

Professor Peña-Mora is a member of the Board of New York City Health and Hospitals, the ACE Mentor Program of Greater NY, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.