Young Engineer of the Year Award, 2019

January 23, 2019

Abdur Rehman, P. E., Puget Sound Energy

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Abdur Rehman

Abdur Rehman P.E.
Puget Sound Energy

Abdur Rehman, P.E., Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Young Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his work as a relay engineer and supervisor and his outstanding service in multiple leadership positions in the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

An active leader with rich power systems engineering design and field experience, he is widely recognized for his passion for sharing his knowledge. As the supervisor of Substation Meter-Relay Operations for PSE, he leads a team of 14 field personnel responsible for commissioning, troubleshooting, and maintaining intelligent electronic devices in PSE’s service territory. He also works with external customers with interconnected generation assets.  Some are wastewater treatment plants that capture methane gas, convert to electric energy, and use it power their own plant while connected to the PSE grid.  During major power outages, he helps to restore the electric grid as the Deputy Operations Section Chief at PSE’s Emergency Coordination Center.

He enjoys sharing his knowledge by developing power system video tutorials and uploading them to Youtube.  He founded GeneralPAC.com in 2014 which has over 11,500 subscribers who are students and professionals.  The channel has over 2.8 million minutes watched since its inception.  With thousands of likes, positive comments, and shares from nearly every major country in the world, he plans to develop more power system video tutorials.

He supports the IEEE Seattle Section as chair of the Young Professional Affinity Group and organizer of the IEEE Pacific Northwest Young Professional Conference that hosts young professionals from across the United States and Canada.

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Kenneth W. Porter Award, 2019

Haichuan ‘Peter’ Deng, KPFF Consulting Engineers

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Haichuan 'Peter' Deng

Haichuan “Peter” Deng
KPFF Consulting Engineers

Haichuan ‘Peter’ Deng, KPFF Consulting Engineers, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 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. A structural design engineer, he has been involved in a wide spectrum of projects ranging from large multi-building properties in residential, commercial, health care, and transportation sectors to smaller educational, tribal, tenant improvement, and site structures.

Post-graduation, he has spent much of his time mentoring students and promoting civil engineering to them. Some of his more prominent K-12 outreach projects include hosting the annual Popsicle Stick Bridge competition, mentoring students through the Architecture/Construction/Engineering (ACE) mentoring program, hosting multiple STEM After School Academies through the Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS), and participating in local high school college and career days. The annual Popsicle Stick Bridge competition is for high school students who design and construct bridges made of popsicle sticks.  The student-constructed bridges are load-tested during a competition held at the Museum of Flight.  The ACE mentoring program engages professionals in the construction industry with high school students to work through a design project through the schematic design phase. WABS organizes an afterschool program for elementary and middle school students on STEM topics.  The program is conducted by engineer volunteers.  Peter organized and taught classes on bio-mechanical engineering, earthquake engineering, and stormwater engineering.

He serves as an outstanding role model for young students who are trying to find a path in STEM education.  He motivates others by illuminating the potential to make an impact as an engineer.

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Academic Engineer of the Year, 2019

Professor Jeffrey W. Berman, Ph. D., University of Washington

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineers Association of Washington

Jeffrey W. Berman

Professor Jeffrey W. Berman, Ph. D.
University of Washington

Professor Jeffrey W. Berman, Ph. D., University of Washington, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Academic Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his exceptional career as a structural engineering educator who integrated cutting edge research with engineering design and problem solving. His teaching, student advising, publications, lectures, and participation in technical conferences have led to significant advances in the state of earthquake engineering practice.

He serves as the Director of the Structural Research Laboratory and a structural engineering lead of the multi-year M9 Project, a large National Science Foundation-sponsored interdisciplinary research project investigating the impact of magnitude 9 Cascade Subduction Zone earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.  His research has advanced the understanding of how ground motion duration and ground motion frequency content impact buildings.  This has resulted in recommended design guidelines to improve the seismic safety of local buildings.

He has conducted research on the development of post-tensioned rocking cross-laminated timber wall systems as a potential lateral force resisting system for timber buildings up to 15 stories.   His experimental and computational studies have shown the viability of rocking cross-laminated timber walls for resisting seismic loads and providing structural-damage free performance in large earthquakes.  He also conducted research on the evaluation and retrofit of steel concentrically- braced frames designed prior to 1988.  Such frames may have deficiencies that inhibit ductile system behavior.  Through large-scale experiments and computational simulation, he and his colleagues have developed recommendations for evaluation and retrofit of such frames that are being incorporated into the national standard for seismic evaluation and retrofit of buildings.

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K-12 STEM Engineering Teacher of the Year, 2019

January 14, 2019

Emily Yim, Washington Alliance for Better Schools

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington

Emily Yim

Emily Yim
Washington Alliance for Better Schools

Emily Yim, Executive Director of the Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS), has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 K-12 STEM Engineering Teacher of the Year in recognition of her many contributions to the STEM education of K-12 students.  WABS is a collaborative of eleven school districts that helps over a quarter million students graduate career and college ready.  To achieve its mission, WABS seeks to close achievement and opportunity gaps in historically underrepresented populations and increase academic achievement and career readiness for STEM fields.

As the visionary leader of WABS, she led the expansion of the After School STEM Academy program, which currently serves over 4,700 students every year.  The program is an engaging, hands-on STEM expanded learning opportunity for elementary and middle school students facilitated by industry volunteers to build awareness of STEM careers and career pathways.  During each session, STEM industry professionals lead hour-long small group activities with students to reinforce engineering concepts, share their workplace experiences, and highlight career pathways.

She was also instrumental in establishing a new program called Family STEM Night for students and families.  The program engages culturally diverse students and their multi-generational families in a five-week course of evening hands-on STEM activities to broaden understanding of career pathways and support family engagement. Conducted by industry volunteers, the program works to build opportunity for students of color and students who do not speak English as their first language.  By taking a holistic approach to exposing students and their families to STEM careers, the program empowers families to become engaged in their children’s education.

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Industry Engineer of the Year, 2019

Rod Boyer, RBTi Consulting

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the ASM International

Rod Boyer

Rod Boyer
RBTi Consulting

Rod Boyer, RBTi Consulting, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Industry Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his many contributions to the aviation industry as a titanium specialist investigating the metallurgy of titanium and developing techniques for fabrication of titanium alloy air frame components. He was employed by The Boeing Company from 1965 through 2011 and now operates a consulting practice.

At Boeing, his efforts were focused on increasing the understanding of titanium metallurgy, including the effects of processing variations resulting in microstructural variations and the resultant effect on the properties of titanium alloys.  He conducted research on all product forms used on aircraft and studied almost all of the processes involved in the fabrication of titanium components, from melting to mill processing, secondary processing (forging, extrusions, etc.) to machining.  The result of his work was implementation of several new technologies on Boeing and other aircraft.

He directed the industrial effort on titanium alloy development for the NASA-sponsored High Speed Civil Transport Program and has been involved in several Air Force-sponsored Materials Affordability Initiative Programs involving advancing the understanding of titanium metallurgy.  He focused on powder metallurgy during his last three years at Boeing, both blended and pre-alloyed.  He led the effort in obtaining static design allowables for the blended elemental powder metallurgy product which has been approved by Boeing.  Powder metallurgy ensures very low waste levels compared to most other material commodities, such as forgings and plate, helping Boeing achieve environmental goals.

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Government Engineer of the Year, 2019

James P. Wilhoit, P. E., City of Renton

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

James P. Wilhoit

James P. Wilhoit, P.E.
City of Renton

James P. Wilhoit, P.E., has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Government Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his many contributions in positions of great responsibility with the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps, the Seattle School District, Valley Medical Center, Washington State Department of Transportation, and the City of Renton.

As a commissioned officer in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps, he oversaw construction of shore facilities in Puerto Rico, Japan, and Washington State.  Upon release from the Navy, he served as resident engineer for the construction of two major elementary schools for the Seattle School District.  In 1990, he became the Assistant Director of Plant Engineering for Valley Medical Center and supervised the maintenance and building systems operations workforce.  In 1995, he became the Terminal Design Engineer for Washington State Ferries and managed the design of numerous ferry terminal projects throughout Puget Sound.  In 1999, he became a Transportation Design Project Manager for the City of Renton, responsible for both design and construction of transportation projects for the City.  He continued in this role until he retired in 2017.

Throughout his career with multiple government agencies, he has emphasized safety on construction projects and streamlined contracting procedures.  He developed a reputation for keeping communications flowing to ensure that all stakeholders were informed and work stayed on schedule.  His commitment to open communication also extended to keeping the public informed of project progress and impacts to them. He actively participates in section activities of the American Society of Civil Engineers including mentoring engineering students at Seattle University and the University of Washington.

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Professional Engineer of the Year, 2019

John H. Clark, P. E., S. E.

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington and the American Society of Civil Engineers

John H. Clark

John H. Clark, P.E., S.E.

John H. Clark, P.E., S.E., has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Professional Engineer of the Year Award for his lifetime achievement and innovation in bridge design and advocacy of cost-effective designs that protect public safety.  He was employed by Arvid Grant and Associates from 1963 to 1978; by Anderson, Bjornstad, Kane, Jacobs of Seattle from 19679 to 1997; and as an independent consultant from 1997 to 2017.  He is now retired.

Throughout his distinguished career, he as been involved in the design of many significant bridges and in value engineering studies that examined the bridge designs of others. Notable examples of his achievements include serving as a bridge specialist for the consulting team charged with investigating the 1990 sinking of the Lacey V. Morrow floating bridge on I-90, serving as an independent review consultant for the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge across the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona, serving as a design consultant for the West Seattle Freeway High Level Bridge, and serving as a design consultant on the seismic retrofit of the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge.

He was responsible for the structural design for the first major concrete cable-stayed bridge in North America across the Columbia River at Pasco, Washington.  The 2,500-foot long bridge is composed of precast post-tensioned cable-stayed elements and cast-in-place box girder approach spans.  He also led the design of the West Seattle Freeway Low Level Swing Bridge.  The movable spans of this double leaf swing bridge are post-tensioned concrete box girders constructed segmentally.  Each moveable leaf weighs 7,500 tons and is raised and moved hydraulically.

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2019 PSEC Awards Nominations Open

October 19, 2018

It is time to recognize members of your organizations. Below are the Awards Nomination Forms and instructions for completion (Word Doc) for the seven awards to be presented at the February 16, 2019 PSEC Engineering Awards Banquet at the Museum of Flight.

Please identify deserving members of your organizations and submit nominations to the Awards Committee by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 14, 2018.  If you have any questions, please contact me at jesbcon@uw.edu.

Nomination Forms

Below are the nomination forms for each award a Guide for Preparation of Engineer-of-the-Year-Nominations is also shown below. Please provide the required information completely and concisely and follow the posted instructions (Word Doc). Limit nomination packages to 8 pages.

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Industrial Engineer of the Year, 2018

January 30, 2018

None

No Industrial Engineer of the Year recipient was awarded this year.

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Academic Engineer of the Year, 2018

Professor Marc O. Eberhard, Ph.D., University of Washington

2018 Award Recipient

Nominated by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington

Marc Eberhard

Professor Marc O. Eberhard, Ph.D.
University of Washington

Professor Marc O. Eberhard, Ph.D., University of Washington, has been selected as the recipient of the 2018 Academic Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his exceptional career as a structural engineering educator who integrated cutting edge research with engineering design and problem solving. His teaching, student advising, publications, lectures, and participation in technical conferences have led to significant advances in the state of earthquake engineering practice.

As the current leader of the structural engineering program, he is responsible for overseeing undergraduate and graduate educational programs.  He has collaboratively led the efforts to create new courses, to revise the content of existing ones, and to review graduation requirements to ensure that they meet the needs of students and professional practice.  He has been a great mentor to graduate students and has involved them in many of his research projects.  Many of these students are now working locally for public agencies and private engineering firms, and many of his Ph. D. students are now teaching at other universities.

As a researcher, he is most widely known for his work on the performance of reinforced concrete columns during earthquakes and for the development of new bridge bent systems that make it possible to construct bridges quickly in seismically active regions.  He developed a web-accessible database with the results of tests of more than 600 reinforced concrete columns.  Using this database, he and his students developed engineering tools to evaluate the deformation capacities of reinforced concrete columns at various levels of damage.  More recently, he has been working on the effects of tsunamis on bridges and on the effects of large-magnitude earthquakes and sedimentary basins on buildings and bridges in the Pacific Northwest.  He and another faculty member have developed a new seismic design methodology to account for both the spectral acceleration of expected ground motion and the duration.

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