September 2010 Virginia Engineers On The Move

September 2010 Virginia Engineers On The Move
 

Dewberry has named Neal Wright, P.E., PMP, F.SAME, F.ASCE, vice president, as Department of Defense (DOD) market segment leader, and office principal for the firm’s Virginia Beach office. In his new role, he will spearhead an initiative to develop and implement a national strategy for delivering services to the U.S. Department of Defense engineering agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and other Air Force, Coast Guard, and DOD agencies.With more than 30 years’ experience, he has gained broad leadership experience as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), chief engineer for a major commercial port, and senior business development executive. Mr. Wright earned a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Planning from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant colonel after 22 years of service.

Michael Baker Jr., Inc. is pleased to announce that G. Donald Gartrell, III, P.E. has recently joined the firm’s Virginia Beach office as Senior Project Manager. Mr. Gartrell has more than 39 years experience in the design and management of general civil and utility-related engineering projects. His work has encompassed an extensive number of wastewater collection projects as well as potable water distribution and utility rehabilitation and relocation projects. Mr. Gartrell has also provided design and project management for land development, roadway and waterfront projects. Clients have included federal, state and local government agencies as well as major private clients.

Anderson & Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of John Brock, P.E., Structural Engineer; and Nathan Bales, PT, as Blacksburg Design Technician to the firm’s staff.
Anderson & Associates would also like to congratulate Ben Davison, E.I.T., on passing his FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) examination and Stephen M. Steele, P.E. on receiving his Professional Engineer licensure in North Carolina and West Virginia.

Clark Nexsen is pleased to announce that:
Amadeojose Velasquez has joined the firm as a Commissioning Specialist. Mr. Velasquez has over 5 years of experience in building commissioning of public, private and commercial projects. As a US 3rd Assistant Engineer, Mr. Velasquez has been involved in a wide variety of construction projects, totaling over 1,000,000 square feet of construction varying in markets such as; hotel; high rise residential; universities; hospitals and clinics; energy utility facilities; maintenance facilities; office buildings; dormitory housing facilities; laboratory facilities; and parking structures;
Ginny Paynter has recently joined the firm as a Marketing Coordinator. Ms. Paynter is a graduate of Old Dominion University, where she earned a B.S. degree in Communications. She has over four years of marketing experience that encompasses a variety of marketing initiatives done within the music industry. This experience includes promoting concerts through radio and print ads, designing and developing various marketing materials, drafting web, print ad and press release content, along with several other duties required to help promote various concerts within the Virginia Beach and Nashville areas; and
Saleem Toor, P.E. has joined Clark Nexsen as a Senior Mechanical Engineer. Mr. Toor has over 30 years of experience in design, and over ten years of experience in the management of projects for multiple industries such as healthcare, laboratories, clean rooms, pharmacies, clinics, universities, airlines, food and steel mills. Mr. Toor’s design and construction experience includes technical specifications, shop drawings review, commissioning, testing and balancing, troubleshooting, purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and as-builts. Mr. Toor has offered HVAC seminars to mentor junior staff.
Christopher M. Stone, P.E., F.NSPE, F.ASCE, LEED AP, President of Clark Nexsen Architecture and Engineering, was installed as the 2010-2011 President-Elect of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Mr. Stone will represent NSPE in meetings and conferences with technical and professional societies as well as State and Federal agencies. He will serve as a spokesperson to the media, general public, government and corporate and education entities reflecting NSPE policies and programs as approved by the Board of Directors and House of Delegates. Mr. Stone will also serve as a member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, House of Delegates, Budget Committee, Legislative and Government Affairs Committee and the Council for Federal Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services (COFPAES). Mr. Stone is a Structural Engineer with 30 years of experience in the design and management of public, private, educational, and commercial projects. He earned his B.S. degree in Engineering from Virginia Military Institute and his M.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Malak B. Bahrami, a project engineer in Burgess & Niple’s (B&N) Chantilly office, recently received his Professional Engineer’s (PE) license. He joined B&N in 2006. He has performed safety inspections, load rating and structural analyses, and cost benefit analyses for more than 150 bridges for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Additional expertise includes design of roadways; trails; storm drainage, sanitary sewer, and water line systems; and grading for government, commercial and residential site development projects. Mr. Bahrami earned his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Draper Aden Associates is pleased to announce that:
Charles W. Mahaffey, Jr., PHR, has earned his certification as a Professional in Human Resources as designated by the Society for Human Resource Management. He joined the firm as a surveying crew member in 2003. He became a Recruiting Specialist in 2006 and was promoted to Human Resources Specialist in 2007. Mr. Mahaffey earned his B.S. degree in Resource Management from Virginia Tech;
Theresa J.A. Turner, CDA, PHR, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, has been selected for inclusion in the 2010-2011 Construction, Design, & Engineering Edition of the “Montclair Who’s Who in North America”. Ms. Turner is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Draper Aden Associates, a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the American Institute of Certified Design Accountants. Currently pursuing a doctorate in Business Administration, Ms. Turner holds a B.S. degree in Human Resources from Bluefield College and an MBA from the University of Phoenix; and
Thomas W. (Walt) Ingram has become a Licensed Surveyor. Mr. Ingram, an Associate of the firm, has been with Draper Aden for 23 years. He is currently the Surveying Team Leader in the firm’s Richmond office.

Wiley|Wilson is pleased to make the following staff announcements:
T. A. (Tim) Groover, P.E. President and COO, has been elected to the Executive Board of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia (ACEC Virginia) as the Western Region Vice President;
George G. Doby, P.E. has joined the firm as a Project Manager. He will focus on renewable energy projects. Mr. Doby received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Notre Dame and a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island; and
Aaron E. Tice, P.E. has been promoted to Process and Treatment Engineer in the firm’s Civil Engineering Department. His duties include the design and study of water and wastewater treatment systems and environmental engineering projects. Mr. Tice received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Froehling and Robertson Inc. has announced that Timothy Glynn has rejoined the firm as chief financial officer. He was formerly the CFO for Groome Transportation Services and controller for Southside Builders Supply; and Colleen Smith is a business development manager with the firm.

Megan Nichols, a junior engineer at Groundwater & Environmental Services Inc., will provide technical support for remedial design and environmental compliance projects for industrial and commercial clients. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Clemson University.

Demand for foundation support on commercial and transportation construction projects has led design-build contractor GeoStructures to promote some staff and add others. Among the recent changes are the promotion of Wes Barton to foundations superintendent, and the following new hires:
Tim Yezerski, project manager; John Chernitsky, project manager; Stephen Pause, project engineer; and Saed Abusaif, who will lead the CAD department of the EarthTec subsidiary.

Jieer Ren is a senior electrical engineer at Dunlap and Partners Engineers. He was formerly with Hanover Engineers. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech.

Justin Cristaudo is a senior electrical and instrumentation designer in the electrical and instrumentation departments at Progressive Design Inc. He was formerly with Chevron USA.

Edward “Ted” Lilly has been promoted to construction and geotechnical services department manager at Professional Service Industries Inc. He earned his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University.

Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan has announced that Gregory C. Ellen is a senior associate. He has been a structural engineer with the firm for 10 years.

W. Kenneth Wiseman of McLean, Va., will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Ohio State University’s College of Engineering. Mr. Wiseman is president of professional services at Cannon Design. He is one of the country’s premier architectural designers of sports facilities such as the Richmond Olympic Oval, the “crown jewel” of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. He has designed every United States Olympic Training Center and is currently working on facilities for the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto. Mr. Wiseman graduated from Ohio State with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Architecture in 1976 and 1978, respectively.

Romesh Batra, the Clifton C. Garvin Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech, has been selected to appear on ISIHighlyCited.com because of his exceptional citation count in the field of engineering. The high number of citations his publications have received from fellow scientists is the reason he was selected for this academic honor. Prof. Batra is world renowned for his work on the strength of materials. His efforts have earned him numerous awards including the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Award in 1992 for his pioneering work in developing an understanding of the failure of materials due to extreme loads.
Michael Karmis, who holds the Stonie Barker Professorship of Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech, will receive an honorary degree from the Scientific Council of Moscow State Mining University in Russia this fall. Moscow State Mining University said it was awarding Dr. Karmis a “Doctor Honoris Causa” honorable title as a recognition of his personal contribution to the establishment and development of the scientific and educational collaboration and international relations between higher mining education institutions worldwide. Dr. Karmis also serves as the director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, a statewide interdisciplinary study and research facility located at Virginia Tech. As the research center director, he is coordinating the Appalachian efforts of the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, a program established by the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the Department of Energy, dedicated to a major research effort on the feasibility of long-term storage of carbon dioxide in geologic formations. Dr. Karmis arrived at Virginia Tech in 1978 after earning his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in Mining Engineering in 1971 and 1974 respectively, from Strathclyde. In 2008, he served as the president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers.

Matthew Bieschke has been named a Principal Consultant in the Washington, D.C. office of Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB). In his new position, Mr. Bieschke will lead PB’s Investor Advisory Services practice, which provides a range of strategic and financial advisory and management consulting services for infrastructure investors, lenders, and developers across all industry sectors, including public-private partnerships, transaction-based due diligence support, and innovative financing and funding. Mr. Bieschke has served as a senior advisor to international infrastructure investors and developers on landmark transactions across North America and in Europe. He has over 10 years experience in transportation finance, specializing in developing business planning analytics, financial capacity analyses, and strategic advisory services for equity investors, private developers, and transportation authorities. Prior to joining PB, he served as a key strategic and financial advisor to federal, state, and local transportation agencies and authorities supporting major infrastructure development projects. Mr. Bieschke holds M.S. degrees in International Project Management and Finance and Transportation and Urban Systems Engineering as well as a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Washington University.

In Memoriam
John Winfield Litton, 89, beloved husband, father and grandfather, died Sunday, Aug. 1st, 2010. A graduate of Virginia Military Institute, he served as a lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers where he was awarded the Purple Heart. In 1956, Mr. Litton and his friend, William Thompson Jr., founded Thompson and Litton, a civil engineering firm in Wise, Va. He was a member of the National and Virginia Society of Professional Engineers, the Consulting Engineers Council of Virginia, and the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1992, Mr. Litton was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Public Service degree from Tennessee Wesleyan College. John, (often called Sonny), was thought of by many as a gentleman in every sense of the word and he knew the true meaning of being gracious and kind. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, church and community. He was preceded in death by his parents, John W. Litton Sr. and Elizabeth Donaldson Connor Litton; sisters, Mary Jane Litton Youell and Nancy Litton Cline; and brothers, Alexander Frank Litton and Dr. Charles Connor Litton. Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Georgia Lee Strength Litton; two daughters, Betsy Litton Cadwell and husband Greg of Lexington, Ky., Sallie Litton Graham and husband Charles, Norton, Va.; four grandchildren, John Litton Cadwell, William Cadwell, Emily Graham and Bonnie Graham; several nieces and nephews.

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