Dr. Justin Vander Werff

Dr. Justin Vander Werff serves as professor of engineering at Dordt University, teaching courses on topics such as structural steel design, soil mechanics and foundation design, structural analysis, and mechanics of materials.

“My prayer is that I might be able to provide my students a Christian vision of their work and experience the joy and fulfillment of glorifying their Lord and loving their neighbors in their vocational call,” says Vander Werff.

Prior to Dordt, Vander Werff served as a structural design engineer for a consulting firm in northwest Indiana designing structural steel and reinforced concrete structures for a variety of facilities in heavy industry including steel mills, oil refineries, power plants, chemical plants, and electrical substations.

Additionally, his graduate research with Iowa State was in conjunction with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). “This work included seismic structural load distribution studies, bridge connection details for seismic regions, and investigation into using accelerated bridge construction methods in seismic regions,” Vander Werff explains.

Vander Werff is currently serving as president of the Christian Engineering Society (CES). In the past, he has also served as treasurer and membership coordinator and also as program chair and general chair for past CES conferences. As president, he is leading an effort to develop CES connections beyond academia into engineering industry and practice, particularly through the development of local CES chapters.

A licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.), Vander Werff has served in multiple states, maintaining active licensure in Iowa and Indiana. He received the Dordt University Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020, the PCI Martin P. Korn Award in 2016, the ASCE Region 7 Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award in 2014, and the ASCE Iowa Section Outstanding Civil Engineer Award in 2012.

Vander Werff is deeply interested in holistically Christian engineering in practice, integrally Christian engineering education, structural engineering, structural steel design, bridge design for seismic regions, accelerated bridge construction. “I am primarily motivated to work in civil engineering as a response to God's call to steward His creation and show love to our neighbor,” adds Vander Werff.

He explores these topics in several publications:

• Vander Werff, E. (2025, January). The bridge between beauty and functionality. In All Things. https://www.dordt.edu/in-all-things/the-bridge-between-beauty-and-functionality
• Vander Werff, E. (2024). Applying the normative design approach to civil engineering. Christian Engineering Conference Proceedings.
• Vander Werff, E., Foster, M., & Frisch, K. (2022). How then shall we work: Should Christian engineers pursue productivity? Christian Engineering Conference Proceedings.
• Vander Werff, E., Lammers, D., Landman, A., Van Beek, J., & Wyenberg, J. (2019). Guiding principles for integrally Christian engineering work in industry. Christian Engineering Conference Proceedings.
• Vander Werff, E. (2017). Integrally Christian engineering scholarship: A case study. Christian Engineering Conference Proceedings.
• Snyder, R., Sritharan, S., Holombo, J., & Vander Werff, E. (2015). A cost-effective integral bridge system with precast concrete I-girders for seismic application. PCI Journal.
• Sritharan, S., & Vander Werff, E. (2015). Girder load distribution for seismic design of integral bridges. ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering.

Outside of teaching, Vander Werff also serves on the Academic Senate, Assessment and Program Review Committee (APRC), and as a ASCE faculty advisor and Engineering Club coordinator.

In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his family, especially around the region to watch his kids participate in sporting events, musical concerts, or other activities. He also enjoys gardening.

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering, Structural Emphasis, Iowa State University, 2014
• Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Structural Emphasis, Iowa State University, 2002
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Mechanical Emphasis, Dordt College, 2000