Dr. Gessler retired in 2003 after having been associated with Colorado State University for 37 years.  Over that period of time he served the Department and College in many different ways: as a faculty member, as Associate Department Head, as Interim Department Head, since 1990 as Associate Dean, and for a couple of years (1997-1999) as Interim Dean.  So what after retirement?

Since then he taught a couple of courses (Statics and Hydraulic Engineering) at times when the department was short handed.  Perhaps more important, he continued to serve the College of Engineering as coordinator for students who are interested in the Study Abroad Program.  He made presentations to freshmen students on opportunities related to Study Abroad, presented individuals with various alternatives, and helped them in the planning process.

Engineering has become a very internationalized professional field.   Many of our students will work on international projects, or work with civil engineers in other countries.  Consequently, Gessler feels that the number of students to study abroad should be more like 20-25%.  Shortly before his retirement Johannes was instrumental in creating an International Engineering option within the Engineering Science major.  Students in this option concentrate their engineering studies in one of the traditional engineering fields, and supplement this curriculum with various courses in International Studies.

Education

• Dr.sc.techn. (equivalent to Ph.D.), Hydraulic Engineering
  Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland, 1966
• Diploma (equivalent to B.S. degree), Civil Engineering
  Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 1960
• Extensive course work in graduate level Statistics courses
  Colorado State University