Our new civil engineering professor is passionate about math, science, transportation, and the environment- and most of all, his family.
Dr. Darrell Sonntag joined the BYU Civil & Construction Engineering faculty in April 2022. When asked why he chose to study civil engineering, Dr. Sonntag said: “After my mission, I worked at New Fork Camp in Wyoming. One week I was canoeing with a youth leader who worked as an environmental engineer for UDOT. He helped me see that civil engineering fit my interests in math, science, transportation, and the environment.” After graduating in Civil Engineering from BYU, Darrell pursued a PhD from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York conducting research on vehicle emissions. For the last 12 years, Dr. Sonntag worked as an engineer at the US EPA’s National Vehicle Fuel and Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At BYU, Dr. Sonntag is continuing research on vehicle emissions and air pollution. See pictures with BYU students Braxton Porter and Pablo Harline measuring vehicle emissions and evaluating air pollution monitors.
During his time at BYU, he met his wife Amy, and served in the Italy Rome Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his family miss the lakes and rivers of Michigan but are enjoying exploring the mountains of Utah.
