# Sybil Derrible

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sybil_Derrible
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sybil_Derrible.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Derrible
> Source revision: 1342393534
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Sybil Derrible** (born 1983) is a French American engineer, educator, and author.[1][2] He specializes in urban engineering, infrastructure sustainability, and system resilience.[1] He is Director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks (CSUN) Laboratory[3] and Professor in the Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering at the [University of Illinois Chicago](/source/University_of_Illinois_Chicago).[1]

He authored the textbook *Urban Engineering for Sustainability* published by [MIT Press](/source/MIT_Press) in 2019[4] and the popular science book *The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives* published by [Prometheus Books](/source/Prometheus_Books) in 2025.[5]

He is Fellow of the [American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers)[6] and Lead Author for the energy chapter of [UNEP](/source/United_Nations_Environment_Programme)’s Seventh Global Environmental Outlook.[7]

## Personal life and education

Derrible was born and raised in [Saint Pierre](/source/Saint_Pierre_Island), part of the France-owned archipelago of [Saint Pierre and Miquelon](/source/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon), in [Northern America](/source/Northern_America).[1] He credits his background, growing up on a small archipelago, for his [system-of-systems](/source/System_of_systems), multi-infrastructure research focus.[2]

Derrible received his undergraduate and [M.Eng. degree](/source/M.Eng.) in [mechanical engineering](/source/Mechanical_engineering) from [Imperial College London](/source/Imperial_College_London) in 2006.[1] While at Imperial College London, he spent a year at the [École Centrale of Lyon](/source/%C3%89cole_centrale_de_Lyon) to study [industrial engineering](/source/Industrial_engineering) as part of the [Erasmus program](/source/Erasmus_Programme).[2] He received his Ph.D. in [civil engineering](/source/Civil_engineering) from the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) in 2010.[1] He was Visiting Research Fellow at the Singapore-[MIT](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology) Alliance for Research and Technology[8] in [Singapore](/source/Singapore) before joining the [University of Illinois Chicago](/source/University_of_Illinois_Chicago) in 2012.[2]

He lives in [Chicago](/source/Chicago) with his family.[2]

## Career

Derrible joined the University of Illinois Chicago in 2012 as Assistant Professor. He received tenure and became Associate Professor in 2017. He was promoted to Professor in 2023.[9] His main appointment is in the Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering.[1] He also holds a joint appointment at the Institute of Environmental Science and Policy[10] and a courtesy appointment in the Department of Computer Science.[11]

In 2019, Derrible spent six months in [Vietnam](/source/Vietnam) during a sabbatical and was Visiting Professor at the University of Transport Technology[12] in [Hanoi](/source/Hanoi).[2]

Derrible has authored/co-authored over one hundred scientific articles.[13] He studies infrastructure systems as complex, interdependent, and interrelated, promoting principles of [livability](/source/Livability), [sustainability](/source/Sustainability), and [resilience](/source/Resilience_(engineering_and_construction)).[1] His work has focused on [transport](/source/Transport), [water](/source/Water_supply_network), [wastewater](/source/Wastewater), [electricity](/source/Electric_power_industry), [natural gas](/source/Natural_gas), [solid waste](/source/Municipal_solid_waste), and [telecommunication](/source/Telecommunications) infrastructure.[13] His main technical approach includes [urban metabolism](/source/Urban_metabolism), [artificial intelligence](/source/Artificial_intelligence), and [complexity science](/source/Complex_system).[13]

Derrible was elected Fellow of the [American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers) in 2025.[6] He serves as an editor for [ASCE](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers)’s [Journal of Infrastructure Systems](/source/Journal_of_Infrastructure_Systems),[14] [Nature](/source/Nature_Portfolio)’s [Scientific Reports](/source/Scientific_Reports),[15] and [Elsevier](/source/Elsevier)’s Cleaner Production Letters.[16] Since 2023, he has been Chair of the Standing Committee AMR10 Critical Transportation Infrastructure Protection of the [Transportation Research Board](/source/Transportation_Research_Board).[17] He was Chair of the Sustainable Urban Systems (SUS) section of the [International Society for Industrial Ecology](/source/International_Society_for_Industrial_Ecology) from 2017 to 2020.[1]

In addition to his research work, Derrible authored several non-fiction and fiction works to communicate how [civil infrastructure](/source/Infrastructure) works and its role in society.[18]

## Books

- Derrible, S., 2025, *[The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power our Lives](https://www.prometheusbooks.com/9781493086641/the-infrastructure-book/)*, [Prometheus Books](/source/Prometheus_Books), The Globe Pequot Publishing Group. Essex, CT, 260 pages
- Derrible, S., & Chester, M., (Eds) 2020, *Urban Infrastructure: Reflections for 2100*, Independently published, 211 pages
- Derrible, S., 2019, *[Urban Engineering for Sustainability](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553445/urban-engineering-for-sustainability/)*, [MIT Press](/source/MIT_Press), Cambridge, MA, 656 pages

## Selected Awards and Honors

- Recognized in top 2% researcher in field for career and single-year impact since 2019[19]
- Elected Fellow of the [American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers) in 2025[6]
- Invited participant (nominated and selected) to the [National Academy of Engineering (NAE)](/source/National_Academy_of_Engineering)’s Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2023[20]
- Received the [Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize](/source/Walter_L._Huber_Civil_Engineering_Research_Prize) from the [American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers) in 2023
- Received a [National Science Foundation CAREER Award](/source/National_Science_Foundation_CAREER_Award) in 2016[1]
- Received a [Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada](/source/Natural_Sciences_and_Engineering_Research_Council) Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 2011[1]

## References

1. ["Derrible, Sybil | Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering | University of Illinois Chicago"](https://cme.uic.edu/profiles/sybilderrible/). Retrieved 2024-10-14.

1. ["Background"](https://sybilderrible.com/background.html). *sybilderrible.com*. Retrieved 2024-10-14.

1. ["About | Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks (CSUN) Laboratory | University of Illinois Chicago"](https://csun.uic.edu/about/). Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. ["Urban Engineering for Sustainability"](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553445/urban-engineering-for-sustainability/). *MIT Press*. Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. ["The Infrastructure Book"](https://www.prometheusbooks.com/9781493086641/the-infrastructure-book/). *Prometheus Books*. Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. ["Professor Sybil Derrible named ASCE fellow | College of Engineering | University of Illinois Chicago"](https://engineering.uic.edu/news-stories/professor-sybil-derrible-named-asce-fellow/). Retrieved 2025-02-12.

1. UNEP (2023-01-30). ["Global Environment Outlook 7"](https://www.unep.org/geo/global-environment-outlook-7). *Global Environment Outlook (GEO)*. Retrieved 2025-02-12.

1. ["Home | SMART| Singapore"](https://smart.mit.edu). *SMART*. Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. Derrible, Sybil. ["Sybil Derrible"](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sybilderrible). *LinkedIn*. Retrieved 2024-10-14.

1. ["Faculty, Staff, and Research Assistants | Institute for Environmental Science and Policy | University of Illinois Chicago"](https://iesp.uic.edu/people/faculty-staff-and-research-assistants/). Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. ["Adjunct Faculty | Computer Science | University of Illinois Chicago"](https://cs.uic.edu/faculty-staff/adjunct-faculty/). Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. ["Trường Đại học Công nghệ giao thông vận tải"](https://utt.edu.vn) (in vi-vn). *utt.edu.vn*. Retrieved 2024-10-09.

1. ["Sybil Derrible"](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vUhXX-MAAAAJ). *scholar.google.com*. Retrieved 2024-10-14.

1. ["Aims & Scope and Editorial Board: Journal of Infrastructure Systems | ASCE Library"](https://ascelibrary.org/page/jitse4/editorialboard). *Journal of Infrastructure Systems*. Retrieved 2025-02-16.

1. ["Editors | Scientific Reports"](https://www.nature.com/srep/about/editors). *www.nature.com*. Retrieved 2025-02-16.

1. ["Editorial board - Cleaner Production Letters | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/cleaner-production-letters/about/editorial-board). *www.sciencedirect.com*. Retrieved 2025-02-16.

1. ["Online Directory"](https://www.mytrb.org/OnlineDirectory/Person/Details/52383). *www.mytrb.org*. Retrieved 2025-02-16.

1. ["Writings"](https://sybilderrible.com/writings.html). *sybilderrible.com*. Retrieved 2024-10-14.

1. Ioannidis, John P. A. (2024-09-16). ["August 2024 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators""](https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/7). *Elsevier Data Repository*. **7**. [doi:10.17632/btchxktzyw.7](https://doi.org/10.17632/btchxktzyw.7)

1. ["Sybil Derrible"](https://www.naefrontiers.org/211139/Sybil-Derrible). *www.naefrontiers.org*. Retrieved 2024-10-10.

## External websites

- [Sybil Derrible’s website](https://sybilderrible.com/)
- [Sybil Derrible’s research group website](https://csun.uic.edu)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sybil Derrible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Derrible) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Derrible?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.