Young Engineer of the Year, 2022

April 13, 2022

Amy J. Moore

Flatiron Construction

Amy J. Moore, Flatiron Construction, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Young Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of her excellent work as a field engineer responsible for supervising construction work on several major infrastructure projects, her leadership roles in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Younger Member Forum, and her services as an instructor for the Fundamentals of Engineering Review Course.

Serving as a field engineer for the construction of the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station, she was responsible for planning and completing the concrete work on four buildings, managing steel erection, getting the buildings weather tight, and managing the architectural finish scopes of work. Coordinating with other trades and areas on the project, she created the pour sequence of the walls, procured formwork, and created crane pick plans for formwork installation including some near active power lines. Serving as a mentor to the summer interns, she ensured that they were developing engineering skills such as plan reading, discipline coordination, and craft management. As a member of the ASCE Younger Member Forum, she serves as President-Elect and as past chair of the Popsicle Stick Bridge competition. This is the Forum’s largest outreach event of the year. Typically, over 200 students, parents, and volunteers attend the event to watch bridges built by high school students load tested at the Museum of Flight. As chair of the event, she was responsible for writing the building code, reaching out to high schools, coordinating with the venue, organizing volunteers, and procuring prizes. She volunteered to serve as a judge for the ASCE Pacific Northwest Concrete Canoe Competition. She also volunteered her time to create practice problems and hold a review session with civil engineering students for the ASCE Fundamentals of Engineering Review Course.

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Kenneth W. Porter Award, 2022

Steven Evans, P.E.

PACCAR

Steven Evans, P. E., PACCAR, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of his many contributions to the education of K-12 students by showing them the exciting opportunities available in engineering. He has been mentoring Eastlake High School students in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition for the past twenty years. During this period, he has mentored over 475 high school students. In addition, for the past 18 years, he has been President of the Eastlake Robotics Boosters that raises funding to support the robotics teams.

He enjoys working with the students and believes that there is no substitute for hands-on experience. He conducts training sessions in the fall to ensure all the students know how to use all the tools and machines in the shop safely. This sometimes includes introducing students to tools that are new to them. During the build season, beginning in January, the teams have six weeks in which to develop a concept, design, debug, and have a robot ready for competition. During this time, the teams are divided into groups. Each group is led by a student who has been with the team for one or more years. This provides the veterans an opportunity to lead a small team. His approach is not about the robot. It is about inspiring high school students to become science and technology leaders and innovators. The students are engaged in an exciting mentor-based program that builds science, engineering, technology, and teamwork skills as well as self-confidence, communication, and leadership skills. To publicize the work of his students, he brings his robotics teams to the annual Puget Sound Engineering Council Engineering Fair to display their robots and discuss their experiences with Fair visitors.

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Industry Engineer of the Year, 2022

Luis Leon

The Boeing Company

Luis Leon, The Boeing Company, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Industry Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his many contributions to the aviation industry as a materials and process engineer, his technical expertise in metallurgical alloys and their processes, his numerous patents, and his leadership of multiple engineering professional organizations.

He has primarily worked in research, process and product development, and manufacturing and production fields within the Boeing Company. He participated in the design of the first close-coupled aluminum solution heat treatment facility that is used for heat treating precipitation hardening of aluminum alloys. This process was used to produce hardened aluminum components that were used to replace cracking skin components on the B-747 aircraft. He worked as a member of the engineering team that conducted initial design studies that led to the development of the B-787 aircraft. His knowledge of materials processing led to evaluation of alternatives to the current propulsion system major structure design. He oversaw the Propulsion Technology Portfolio composed of enterprise-wide projects. He was responsible for assessing the materials and processes for each project and determining which best met new and derivative aircraft needs. In this role, he provided leadership for applications designed using titanium matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites, polyimides, and high temperature material systems.

He has been an active member of ASM International and Puget Sound Engineering Council (PSEC). He developed the template for PSEC’s student mentor nights that are conducted annually at local universities and colleges to enable engineers of many disciplines to share their career experiences with the students.

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Government Engineer of the Year, 2022

Susan Chang, Ph. D., P. E.

Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections

Susan Chang, Ph. D., P. E., Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Government Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of her exceptional career as a geotechnical earthquake engineer, her innovative work in developing design guidelines for considering earthquake ground motions in high-rise buildings, and her leadership in revising the state building code. She possesses a unique combination of technical expertise, team leadership abilities, and communication skills as well as experience in the public sector, private sector, and academia.

Currently serving as the Geotechnical Engineering Group Supervisor for the Department of Construction and Inspections, she oversees geotechnical peer reviews of high-rise building designs. As part of the review process, she noticed that amplification of earthquake ground motions by the Seattle sedimentary basin was not being considered in high-rise building designs. To address the issue, she convened a workshop of engineers and seismologists to develop recommendations for the city. The result was a methodology for incorporating basin response in ground motion estimation. This methodology has been adopted by Seattle and Bellevue, the Washington State Building Code, and the International Building Code. She worked with the Seattle Office of Emergency Management to develop an updated landslide map with digital records of landslides that have occurred within the city since the late 1800s. Access to this historic landslide information benefits engineers, property owners, and the general public.

In addition to her engineering contributions, she recently completed a four-year term as a councilmember for the City of Shoreline. In this role, she has brought her engineering mindset, policy-making expertise, and compassion to city government, enhancing the public’s perception of the role of engineers and women in government

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Academic Engineer of the Year, 2022

Professor Katherine G. Kuder, Ph. D., P. E.

Seattle University

Professor Katherine G. Kuder, Ph. D., P. E., Seattle University has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Academic Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of her exceptional career as a structural engineering educator; her significant contributions to the characterization and optimization of cement-based composites, and her dedicated efforts as a teacher and mentor of engineering students.

She is deeply committed to improving student learning and educational experiences and has led efforts to improve the level and scope of engineering education. She teaches a wide range of courses, spanning first year to graduate, mechanics-based to design, and lecture and laboratory courses. She is passionate about engaging students, both inside and outside of the classroom, to help them develop both technical and professional skills. She advises senior capstone projects and led the creation of Seattle University’s Master of Science in Structural Engineering program. She serves on the College of Science and Engineering diversity committee studying issues of equity and inclusion in engineering and implementing initiatives to increase diversity.

Her research is experimentally based, using mechanics and materials science principles to understand and model composite performance with an aim to improve sustainability. She focuses on the development of newly engineered cement-based composites that can be tailored for specific applications, with an emphasis on sustainability. She has been involved in efforts to develop cementitious composites to be used in reinforced concrete shear panels, concrete-filled tubes, and residential construction.

She also serves as an academic leader. She was Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department for six years and currently is an Associate Dean of the College of Science and Engineering.

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Governor Inslee proclaims February 20-26, 2022 Engineers Week

January 24, 2022

January 24, 2022- Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has proclaimed February 20-26, 2022 Engineers Week.

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UW Bothell Mentor Night – Feb 2, 2022

December 14, 2021

PSEC is sponsoring a engineering mentor night at UW Bothell on Februrary 2, 2022 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Anyone interested in participating as a mentor should sign up by December 31, 2021 here:

https://forms.gle/kWcDNtgYU2nfs9Lo8

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2022 PSEC Engineering Fair

The 2022 Engineering Fair will be on Saturday February 12, 2022 from 10am to 4pm at the Museum of Flight. Any society or group wishing to have a booth at the fair can signup here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2022-psec-engineering-fair-tickets-204858064987

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2022 Engineer of the Year Nomination Open

November 1, 2021

Nominations for the 2022 Engineer of the Year awards is now open. Deadline for nominations is December 10, 2021. Nomination packages can be downloaded here.

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Mentor Night – April 29th, 2021 5p-7p: Puget Sound Engineering Council (PSEC) together with MESA / LSAMP at Seattle Central College

April 7, 2021

Engineering Mentor Night gives students an opportunity to meet representatives from a wide spectrum of practices in the engineering profession. They learn about career paths in engineering, day-to-day work, internships, graduate education, professional advancement and more! No ongoing mentoring is expected of those attending this event. 

This is the student’s opportunity to learn, ask questions, and expand their professional network! Please sign-up today!   Feel free to forward to others you think would love to be a mentor.

Sign up to be a mentor before April 16, 2021 at: https://sccengineeringmentornight2021.eventbrite.com/

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