May 2010 Virginia Engineers On The Move
 

Anderson & Associates, Inc. would like to welcome Ron Matney, II, to their staff as Environmental Scientist/Geologist and congratulate Keli Ratcliffe, CPSM on her promotion to Marketing Director.

Dewberry has announced the following six promotions in the firm’s consulting services practice area in the Fairfax office:
Theodore C. Van Kirk, P.E., has been promoted to executive vice president. In his new position, Mr. Van Kirk serves as deputy practice area manager, establishing strategic direction and providing operational management for Dewberry’s nationwide consulting services practice. A recognized leader in the evaluation and development of multi-hazard mitigation measures, he holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Loyola University and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University;
Jerry Sparks, P.E., CFM, branch manager, has been promoted to vice president. A 20-year veteran of natural hazard studies, Mr. Sparks is serving as the firm’s first climate change service line leader. He is currently managing a Sea Level Rise Risk Management Study for the state of North Carolina. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from West Virginia University;
Jeff Poplin, GIS, business unit manager, geospatial and program integration services, has been promoted to associate vice president. With 25 years of industry experience, Mr. Poplin holds a bachelor’s degree in Economic Geography from Western Carolina University;
Jean Huang, P.E., CFM, department manager, has been promoted to senior associate. Ms. Huang holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and has more than 11 years’ experience supporting FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program in water resources engineering and GIS mapping;
Maggie Mathis, CFM, department manager within the Hazard Engineering Services Division, has been promoted to associate vice president. With 26 years of industry experience, Ms. Mathis holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Maryland; and
Shane Engel, GISP, project manager for geospatial integration services, has been promoted to associate. He holds a master’s degree in Geography from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree in GIS and Remote Sensing from James Madison University.
Dewberry has also announced four promotions in the firm’s Fairfax headquarters:
G. Matthew Miller, Jr., manager of construction services, has been promoted to associate vice president. A 47-year industry veteran, with 14 years with the firm, Mr. Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in General Engineering from the United States Military Academy and a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Miller has played a key role on such company projects as the Pentagon Secure Bypass, the Dulles Greenway, and the Springfield Interchange Improvement project.;
Chris DePascale, P.E., a senior civil engineer, has been promoted to senior associate. He has 14 years of experience in civil engineering design and permitting. Mr. DePascale recently served as project manager for the site development of a new science center on the Georgetown University campus in Washington, DC. He is also responsible for designing and permitting the site development for a new police facility in Alexandria, Virginia, that is currently under construction. A graduate from the University of Connecticut, Mr. DePascale holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering;
Margaret Bower, AICP, LEED AP, a senior planner, has been promoted to associate. Ms. Bower has over 15 years’ planning experience, specializing in criminal justice and secure facilities. She holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Michigan State University; and
Kimberly V. Larkin, a wetland scientist, has been promoted to associate. Ms. Larkin has served on several influential projects during her tenure including wetland mitigation for the Dulles Greenway, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, the Route 28 improvement project, and Loudoun Hospital. A 24-year industry veteran, Ms. Larkin holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Ferrum College.
Robert H. Bengtson, LS, manager of surveys, has been promoted to senior associate in Dewberry’s Danville office. He has managed projects for Danville Power and Light, a local provider of electricity, and Dominion-Virginia Power. He has played a significant part in the firm’s corporate focus on transmission line surveying.

Facility Engineering Associates, P.C. is proud to announce that Kristin Moreno has earned the designation of LEED® Green Associate and David Cosaboon has earned the designation of LEED® Accredited Professional, Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED AP EB O+M) awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Michael D. Hess, an Environmental Project Engineer with MSA, P.C., recently passed the Professional Engineer’s exam, completing the requirements for licensing as a Virginia Professional Engineer. As Environmental Project Engineer at MSA, Mr. Hess’s responsibilities will be collecting data, preparing applications for ground water withdrawal permits for clients and maintaining compliance with regulations. Mr. Hess earned his bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from Youngstown State University and joined MSA in 2004. In the fall of 2009, he transferred from the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department to Environmental Sciences at MSA.

Charles Bostian, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the “Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus” title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1969, Dr. Bostian has made significant contributions to the field of radio communications. He has written or co-written 47 journal and magazine articles and approximately 150 conference papers and presentations. He also has made extraordinary contributions to the instructional program by teaching more than 5,400 students, advising and counseling numerous undergraduate and graduate students, and serving as the graduate advisor for 61 master’s degree students and 16 doctoral degree students. He has received numerous teaching and advising awards from the university community. Dr. Bostian held the Clayton Ayre Professorship in Electrical and Computer Engineering for six years, and was an Alumni Distinguished Professor from 2003 until his retirement. He received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.
Harold L. Martin Sr., recently named the 12th Chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T), is the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus for 2010. Since 2006, he had served as senior vice president for academic affairs of the multi-campus University of North Carolina. Dr. Martin has written and lectured widely on computer architecture and increasing the representation of underrepresented minorities and women in engineering. Named 2001 Man of the Year by the Winston-Salem Chronicle, Martin also received the 2008 Thurgood Marshall College Foundation Award for Excellence, Duke Power’s 2005 Citizen and Service Award, and McDonald’s 2005 African American Achievement Award for Education. Dr. Martin holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from NCA&T and a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.
J.W. “Wally” Grant, professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech and former director of the Virginia Tech Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, has been named the university’s first Kevin P. Granata Faculty Fellow by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The Fellowship was established in the memory and honor of the tenured professor who died during the tragic shooting on April 16th, 2007. Dr. Grant was one of three key individuals who worked to establish the Virginia Tech Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences and obtained approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for the university to grant graduate degrees in biomedical engineering. Joining the Virginia Tech community almost 30 years ago, Dr. Grant received his bachelor’s degree from the West Virginia University Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Tulane University.
Michael Vorster, David H. Burrows Professor of Construction Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the “David H. Burrows Professor Emeritus” title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. At Virginia Tech, he received the Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001, Certificates of Teaching Excellence from the College of Engineering in 1993 and in 1999, a Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service in 1999, and the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s 2004 Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. He is a member of the Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence. Dr. Burroughs, a 1942 Virginia Tech engineering graduate, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cape Town. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch.
Owen Hughes, professor of aerospace and ocean engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the “professor emeritus” title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1988, he established a new method of designing ship structures. In addition, Dr. Hughes has written more than 60 technical articles and three monographs, and made significant contributions in research on ocean structures engineering. Dr. Hughes received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales (Australia).
Roger Ehrich, professor of computer science in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the “professor emeritus” title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. Joining the Virginia Tech community in 1976, Dr. Ehrich was a pioneer in human-computer interaction research. He authored more than 60 publications, including the book, “Human-Computer Dialogue Design,” and made significant contributions to research on digital picture processing and image analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
Y. A. Liu, Frank C. Vilbrandt Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering, in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, is the 2010 recipient of the Outstanding Career Achievement Award from the Tufts University graduate school of arts, sciences, and engineering. He received his master’s degree in chemical engineering from Tufts in 1970. “I am very thankful to the education and opportunity that Tufts provided me 40 years ago that enabled me to later receive my doctoral degree from Princeton University.” He started his teaching career at Auburn University in Alabama in 1974, before joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1982. At Virginia Tech, Dr. Liu has received 22 international, national, regional, state and university awards for his teaching, research, and scholarship. Since the 1980s, Dr. Liu has worked in industrial outreach, promoting sustainable development in Virginia industries and developing countries.
Virginia Tech undergraduate student Ryan Shaw of Marietta, Ga., has been awarded the highly competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the 2009–10 academic year. Mr. Shaw is a junior with two majors — chemical engineering, in the College of Engineering, and mathematics, in the College of Science. He also has a minor in chemistry, also part of the College of Science. He is among 278 scholarship winners from a pool of 1,111 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The scholarship program honors the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, and designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering, according to the Goldwater Foundation. Mr. Shaw says he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and later focus his career on alternative fuel sources, in either the academic or industrial sectors. During his senior year, he will participate in a co-op with Eastman Chemical in Kingsport, Tenn.
Padma Rajagopalan, an assistant professor in the department of chemical engineering and a core faculty member with the Virginia Tech–Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, has won a $451,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to study the movement of migration of cells under complex environments and in the presence of conflicting stimuli. She will use the five-year grant to understand the fundamental aspects of cell migration. The results from these studies could provide new insights into tumor metastasis, wound healing and developmental biology. Dr. Rajagopalan received her B.S. and Master’s degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and her Ph.D. from Brown University. In fall 2009, she was named as lead investigator of three grant studies totaling more than $1 million that could lead to the creation of engineered tissues that mimic the human liver. It is believed that the liver mimics could eventually form the basis for extracorporeal liver-assist devices.
Mary Kasarda, associate professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, received the university’s 2010 Alumni Award for Outreach Excellence and was also awarded the university’s 2010 Edward S. Diggs Teaching Scholars Award. After joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1997, she received a National Science Foundation CAREER award in 1998 and the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Outstanding New Assistant Professor Award in 2000. From 2003 to 2004, she acted as an education consultant through Virginia Tech to Sweet Briar College to help create a new engineering program at this all-women liberal arts college, and she currently serves as on the Sweet Briar, Va.-based college’s Engineering Program Advisory Board. She is a member, and chair-elect, of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Committee for Engineering Accreditation. In addition to her duties as associate professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. Kasarda is an associate department head for graduate studies for the mechanical engineering department. Her research focuses on magnetic bearings, machine health monitoring and engineering education topics including the investigation of factors influencing the retention of women in engineering and pre-engineering programs. She received her bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.
Jeff Bolton, a statics and dynamics teaching instructor with the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, received the university’s 2010 Sporn Award for Teaching Undergraduate Engineering Subjects. Sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Student Engineers’ Council, the Sporn Award for Teaching Undergraduate Engineering Subjects is presented annually to a Virginia Tech faculty member to recognize excellence in teaching engineering course work. Nominations are received from engineering students and finalists are selected by an executive committee of the Student Engineers’ Council. Presentations on each finalist are made to the larger General Assembly of the Student Engineers’ Council to determine the winner. Recipients are awarded $2,000 and are inducted into the university’s Academy of Teaching Excellence. Mr. Bolton earned B.S and M.S. degrees in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech in 2004 and 2006. He now is working on his doctorate degree.
Charles Bostian Harold L. Martin J.W. Grant Michael Vorster Owen Hughes Y.A. Liu Ryan Shaw Padma Rajagopalan Mary Kasarda Jeff Bolton

James W. “Jay” Martin, P.E. is the new president of ASFE/The Geoprofessional Business Association. Mr. Martin is a vice president and principal of AMEC’s Earth & Environmental Division (Nashville, TN), where he fills two national roles: He is part of AMEC’s Infrastructure Sector leading the rail services and levee groups, and he is one of the principals helping to guide the firm’s geotechnical practice. He is also the managing principal for AMEC’s largest commercial client and previously chaired AMEC’s Technical Council. A graduate of the University of Louisville, where he earned B.S. and Master of Engineering degrees, both in Civil Engineering, Mr. Martin has more than 30 years’ experience in multiple aspects of geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering. He has filled leadership positions in a number of professional organizations and is a published author.
Edmond D. Alizadeh, P.E., Esq., Joseph M. Cibor, P.E., and James K. Johnston, P.E. have been elected Fellows of ASFE/The Geoprofessional Business Association, a not-for-profit association of geoprofessional firms that employ some 125,000 individuals worldwide. Kevin B. Hoppe, P.E., chair of ASFE’s Council of Fellows, announced the appointments.

Gerald J. Salontai, P.E. has been elected president of the Engineers’ Leadership Foundation, a not-for-profit educational organization that develops programs, services, and materials to help professional engineers become leaders of their profession and of society itself. Mr. Salontai is the CEO of the Salontai Consulting Group. Before establishing the Salontai Consulting Group, Mr. Salontai served for 11 years as the CEO of Kleinfelder. Mr. Salontai holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, both in Civil Engineering, and has completed an executive management program in business administration.

Mike Lawless, CPG, of Draper Aden Associates and National President of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG), recently travelled to Alaska to meet with the Alaska Section of AIPG in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The Section has agreed to host the AIPG Annual Meeting in 2013, the 50th anniversary of the Institute. Mr. Lawless, Environmental Division Manager and a senior associate is currently on the Board of Directors for Draper Aden Associates and has been with the firm for 14 years. He holds a B.S. degree and M.S. degree in Geology.
Mike Lawless

Matthew Weaver has been promoted to field services group manager at Froehling & Robertson Inc. He has been with the company for almost three years. He will be responsible for managing the field services group, including technicians in the field and in the laboratory.
Alan Lederman has earned his Certified Industrial Hygienist designation from the American Industrial Hygiene Association. He is an environmental manager at Froehling & Robertson Inc.

Robert V. Grubbs is a senior mechanical engineer at Dunlap and Partners Engineers. He was previously with Hanover Engineers. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Lauren Hannen is a staff scientist at Professional Service Industries Inc. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Bioenvironmental Science from Texas A&M University.
T. Joseph Wallen is an environmental services department manager in the Richmond operations office at Professional Service Industries Inc. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) announced that its executive director, Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE, CAE, has assumed the chief staff role with the organization’s Industry Leaders Council (ILC). The ILC was previously lead by Lawrence H. Roth, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE, ASCE’s former deputy executive director, who resigned his position in April to return to private practice.Carol Vargas, CAE, formerly ASCE’s director of partner programs, will manage the day-to-day operations of the ILC as the new director of industry relations. Thomas Smith, CAE, the Society’s general counsel and former assistant executive director, has assumed the role of ASCE deputy executive director and general counsel.

Jimmy Carter joined the Solution-IES team in February, 2010. Mr. Carter has spent 30 years in the North Carolina environmental industry, including 15 years in senior leadership positions at the N.C. Department of Natural Resources (NCDENR). Immediately before joining Solutions-IES, Mr. Carter served in the Governor’s Office of Economic Recovery and Investment, establishing policies and procedures for administering N.C. funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. ##

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