Local consulting engineer James N. DeSerio was presented the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Engineering achievement at commencement exercises for the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the State University at Buffalo Saturday (May 16, 1981).

The highest honor UB’s engineering faculty presents, the award was given to Mr. DeSerio by Dean George C. Lee, who noted his many professional achievements.

Mr. DeSerio resides in Kenmore and has offices in Buffalo.

Born in Italy in 1910, Mr. DeSerio was graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1935, after which he worked for several steel and construction firms, including the Linde plant in Tonawanda.

In 1945, he began private practice as a consulting civil and structural engineer and since then has designed and prepared plans and specifications for more than $350 million in construction projects, including railroad and highway bridges, tunnels, industrial and water treatment plants, hospitals, churches, and commercial buildings.

Mr. DeSerio has developed new engineering methods and techniques and was instrumental in the development of standards set by the American Concrete Institute. He helped develop other national standards and codes, as well as the building code for the City of Buffalo. He also served two terms on the New York State Building Code Council and represented the American Society of Civil Engineers on the National Fire Protection Association Committee No. 101.

Among Mr. DeSerio's designed buildings are UB's Cary-Farber-Sherman Halls, completed in 1954, which include the first recorded use of stacked concrete Portal frames in a multi-story building, and six dormitory buildings on the Main Street campus, built from 1955 to 1963.

Mr. DeSerio has written two books on structural planning and design which have become standard reference texts.

The winner of numerous awards, Mr. DeSerio is active on the local and national levels in professional organizations, including the Erie-Niagara Chapter of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers, the American Consulting Engineers Council, American Concrete Institute, American Society of Civil Engineers and Boston Society of Civil Engineers, among others.