Catherine French is a College of Science and Engineering professor emerita and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the University of Minnesota. Her research addresses the behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete structural systems; field monitoring of structures; numerical and experimental investigations of structural systems, including time-dependent and environmental effects; evaluation and repair of damaged structures;and development and application of new materials.
She is a recipient of a number of awards including election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2024. The American Concrete Institute has awarded her Honorary Member, Joe Kelly Award, Henry L. Kennedy Award, and the ACI Reinforced Concrete Research Council Arthur J. Boase Award. The American Society of Civil Engineers has awarded her Distinguished Member, T.Y. Lin Award, and the Raymond C. Reese Research Prize. The Prestressed Concrete Institute elected her Fellow and Distinguished Educator Award. She is a past member of the ACI Board of Directors and numerous other ACI committees. She serves on the ACI 318 Structural Concrete Building Code Committee, which she has been a member of since 1995.
French received her BCE from the University of Minnesota in 1979 and her MS and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1980 and 1984, respectively. She has been a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota since 1984, where she is currently serving as a professor emerita.