Professor Rapp has always been actively involved in professional engineering activities throughout his career. Egon is a Charter member of CSAE/SCGR, having joined the organization in 1958. He served as CSAE Secretary-Treasurer for a period of four years (1979-83). Egon is a 55-year member of ASAE and is a Life Member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.

Egon obtained his Bachelor's degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1948. Following his graduation, he served from 1948-49 as an Agricultural Extension Engineer for Manitoba Agriculture and he was also employed, from 1949-1961, by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) as a Drainage and Irrigation Engineer in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Egon went on to continue his education at the Utah State University, graduating with a Masters' degree in 1962. His thesis, "Tile Drainage in Shallow Glacial Till Soils" further developed his ideas in the area of drainage and irrigation. (He later returned to Utah State University in 1977 as a Visiting Professor.)

After completing his graduate studies, Egon obtained a position as a Research Scientist (Drainage and Irrigation) with Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta, from 1961-1968. Following this assignment, Egon's career path took a new direction, when, in 1968, he became a Professor in the department of Agricultural Engineering (Drainage and Irrigation) at the University of Alberta, where he served for twenty-one years until his retirement in 1989. He is now a Professor Emeritus at the same university.

Professor Rapp was presented with the CSAE Jim Beamish award and the PFRA Alumni Award in 1990. He also received the Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta in 1988. Egon has published 28 refereed papers and presented 24 conference papers. Egon is an avid collector of Soil and Water Technical information and was instrumental in the development of the Soil and Water program in the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Alberta.

Professor Rapp is to be commended for devoting his entire professional career to the advancement of drainage and irrigation practices. Much of the current state of Alberta's irrigation and drainage industry can be attributed in some way to the support and activities that he generated. Either through research, extension or teaching activities, Professor Rapp has influenced and helped in advancing the industry to the point where Alberta leads the nation in irrigated area. Many of Professor Rapp's former students are employed in the drainage, irrigation and water related industries. Egon has always been an active supporter of the CSAE/SCGR. As a Charter member, Professor Rapp has always supported others and encouraged their participation in the Society.