FSU Panama City’s Dean Randy Hanna recently announced that Korhan Adalier has been chosen as the 2026 recipient of the Provost Sally McRorie Excellence in Teaching and Service Award.
The award, which was created in honor of former FSU Provost Sally McRorie, is presented annually by FSU PC faculty as part of the celebrations leading up to spring graduation.
“This award was established by the faculty at FSU Panama City in 2022 as an acknowledgement of exceptional work in the classroom with our students as well as outside in the community,” Hanna said.
Adalier is the director of FSU Panama City’s engineering programs and serves as a teaching professor. He has been the coordinator of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Program since 2005.
“I am also deeply honored that this award is associated with former Provost Sally McRorie,” Adalier said. “I have great respect for her leadership and contributions to the university, and receiving an award in her name makes this recognition particularly significant to me.”
Before joining FSU PC in 2003, he was a civil engineering faculty member at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
“Teaching, academic advising and mentoring students is the most rewarding part of my profession, and I take great pride in helping prepare the next generation of civil engineers. It is especially meaningful to see a large majority of our graduates remain in Northwest Florida and contribute to the local workforce and economy.”
— Korhan Adalier, director of FSU PC Engineering Programs
“Teaching, academic advising and mentoring students is the most rewarding part of my profession, and I take great pride in helping prepare the next generation of civil engineers,” Adalier said. “It is especially meaningful to see a large majority of our graduates remain in Northwest Florida and contribute to the local workforce and economy.”
Adalier’s primary expertise lies in the areas of geotechnical engineering, soil mechanics, earthquake engineering, soil dynamics, ground improvement and forensic engineering in natural and man-made earth structures. He is an author or co-author of more than 100 technical publications in the fields of geotechnical and earthquake engineering.
“My interest in engineering began with a strong appreciation for mathematics and physics,” he said. “Civil engineering, in particular, represents the application of these foundational subjects to solve real-world problems and improve infrastructure and communities. This natural connection led me to pursue a career in engineering, and ultimately in education, where I could share that passion with students.”
A member of numerous technical associations and societies, Adalier has been a reviewer for 10 different technical journals and received several professional awards, including the Casimir Gzowski Medal (2005) from the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. He has taught more than 20 different engineering courses over the past 30 years as a college professor. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992 and 1996.
“Advances in computational tools, data analysis and modeling have significantly shaped how we teach and apply civil engineering concepts,” he said. “As educators, we continuously adapt our approach to ensure students not only understand fundamental principles, but also develop the skills needed to effectively use modern tools in a rapidly evolving profession.”
For more information about FSU Panama City, visit fsupc.fsu.edu.
