William F. Baker, Structural Engineering Partner for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago, has joined the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an adjunct professor, the school announced last week.

"Bill is an internationally renowned structural engineer, as the designer of the highest building in the world—by far,” said Professor and Head Amr S. Elnashai. “His appointment as an adjunct professor is exciting because of the benefit to our students and faculty from increased interactions with him. It is also recognition of one of our own distinguished alumni.”

An active supporter of CEE at Illinois, Baker established the Baker Structural Engineering Fund to support a faculty scholar in the department. He is a frequent lecturer on campus, participates in research and has served on doctoral thesis committees. During his appointment, Baker will continue those activities, he said, as well as the topology optimization research he is currently conducting with the department’s TopOpt research group.

Mr. Baker recently received an honorary Doctor of Engineering by Heriot-Watt University in Scotland. He is a member of the CTBUH Board of Trustees.