Charles D. Curtiss was a Civil Engineering Instructor from 1911 to 1913 at Michigan State University and for two years was with the Michigan State Highway Department. In 1915 he joined the Iowa State Highway Commission and then the US Army Corps of Engineers from 1917 to 1919. In 1919 he joined the US Bureau of Public Roads as Assistant to the Bureau Chief and served it subsequently until 1942 as Chief of the Control Division. He was Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Manager from 1943 to 1954 and Commissioner of Public Roads from 1955 to 1957. After leaving the Bureau in that year he was consultant to the American Road Builders' Association until 1967 and eventually retired in 1968.
Mr. Curtiss held a B.S. degree in Engineering from Michigan State University, a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University and C.E. degree from Iowa State University. He received many awards including the George S. Bartlett Award in 1957, the US Department of Commerce Exceptional Service Gold Medal Award in 1951, the Alumni Award of Michigan State in 1953, the University Centennial Award in 1955 from Michigan State and the P.D. McLean Award in 1968 from Washington, DC's "Road Gang."
He was both a member and Chairman of the HRB Executive Committee and had the honor of being Secretary of the 1920 organizing committee for HRB. He was also a member of AASHO, ARBA, and ASCE.