John Schaufelberger

K-12 STEM Engineering Teacher of the Year, 2017

January 18, 2017

Noah Crofoot, Lynnwood High School

Noah Crofoot
Lynnwood High School

2017 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Noah Crofoot, Lynnwood High School, has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 K-12 STEM Engineering Teacher of the Year in recognition of his many contributions to the education of K-12 students by showing them about science and exciting careers in engineering. A graduate of Western Washington University, he employs hands-on learning experiences for his physics students. He has adopted inquiry-based laboratory exercises and conceptual teaching models. His students annually compete in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition. He makes all of his students build their own bridges and holds a class competition to select the top students to participate in the ASCE competition. In this way, each student must design and build a bridge. As part of the competition, engineers are invited to come to the school and talk to his students about careers in engineering.

Working with another teacher, he started a Technology Student Association to create out of class opportunities for students to continue learning and growing in technology fields. Students are required to go out and make real measurements and analyze real situations. One example was a requirement to determine the ideal length of mud flaps for semi-trucks. His required students to use kinematics to calculate the maximum angle a water droplet could leave a tire and not hit the car behind.

Many of his students are considering career options, and he routinely invites engineers into his classroom to inform students what it is like to be an engineer.

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Kenneth W. Porter Award, 2017

Eset Alemu, P.E., Seattle Public Utilities

Eset Alemu, P.E. Seattle Public Utilities

2017 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Eset Alemu, P.E., Seattle Public Utilities, has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of her many contributions to the education of K-12 students by showing them the exciting opportunities available in engineering. She worked for seven years for several consulting firms as a hydraulic engineer developing management systems for major river basins across the nation. In 2016, she transitioned into the public sector to serve as a project engineer on the Ship Canal Water Quality Program, a $420 million underground storage tunnel project.

She has actively participated in numerous K-12 educational outreach events such as science fairs as well as middle and high school student competitions. As Chair of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Seattle Section K-12 Outreach Program, she organized various educational events, recruited volunteers, and coordinated with local schools to provide resources to create science clubs. She organized various K-12 educational events for ASCE such as the annual Engineering Rocks event at Southcenter Mall, the Puget Sound Engineering Council’s annual engineering fair at the Museum of Flight, and the A-STEM Family Night at Boeing Future of Flight. These events feature popular learning activities such as a shake table where K-12 students get to test structures made of skewers and gumballs, loading pennies on an aluminum bridge, and purifying dirty water with cotton balls and sand. She volunteers with the TechBridge Girl which conducts an after-school program for underserved middle schools and focuses on supplementary science education for girls.

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

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Industry Engineer of the Year, 2017

Majid Abab, The Boeing Company

Majid Abab
The Boeing Company

2107 Award Recipient

Nominated by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers

Majid Abab, The Boeing Company, has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 Industry Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his many contributions to developing process improvements for Boeing production shops and assembly operations and for his development of simulation procedures to enable optimization of industrial processes. During his 38-year career with Boeing Commercial Airplanes, he has had numerous organizational responsibilities and special taskforce assignments within all aspect of industrial engineering functions. As the leader of the Core Industrial Engineering Organization, he was responsible for developing and deploying process improvements as well as developing strategic plans for utilization and career planning of industrial engineering employees. In addition, he managed the Boeing Industrial Engineering Internship Program for many years.

He created the Industrial Engineering Virtual University at Boeing that supports industrial engineers throughout the company. This web-based information repository gives company engineers 24-hour access to detailed information about 14 major areas of industrial engineering. He has used industrial engineering methods to help lead development of new production systems which improve environmental performance both at the factory and in the operation of commercial aircraft. Under Majid’s coaching and guidance, industrial engineers at Boeing have worked on cross-functional team projects and airplane programs involving alternative fuels, improved navigation systems, cleaner burning engines, and improved aerodynamics. Each new generation of aircraft has reduced carbon dioxide and other emissions per passenger-mile flown.

He is an active member of the industry advisory boards for industrial engineering programs at three major universities, participates in Junior Achievement programs at local high schools, coaches youth soccer, and volunteers with the American Red Cross.

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Academic Engineer of the Year, 2017

Dr. H. David Stensel, P.E., University of Washington

Dr. H. David Stensel, P.E.
University of Washington

2017 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Dr. H. David Stensel, P.E., University of Washington, has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 Academic Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his exceptional career as an environmental engineering educator who integrated cutting edge research with engineering design and problem solving. An emeritus professor, he retired from the University of Washington in 2016 after teaching for 36 years at the University of Utah and University of Washington.

His work as an educator has been focused on encouraging his students to learn basic fundamentals and analytical methods and to connect that knowledge with design applications and problem solving. A key component of his classes has been to address local real-world project needs with students sharing their evaluations and design developments with engineers in the utility or firm involved in the local problem. He has been a great mentor to graduate students and has involved them in many of his research projects.

His research contributions have focused on microorganism selection and novel biological treatment processes. He has been a leader in the application of novel full-scale treatment processes for biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal. He was the technical leader for the for the first full-scale wastewater treatment facility in North America that removed phosphorus by biological means instead of chemical addition. The biological option is not only less costly, but it enables phosphorus recovery and reuse. He led the design of the first oxidation ditch systems for biological nitrogen removal that are now used at over 1,200 wastewater treatment plants in the United States.

Prior to joining the University of Washington, he taught environmental engineering at the University of Utah and served as Director of Environmental Engineering Technology for Envirotech Corporation in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Government Engineer of the Year, 2017

Alan Murray, P.E., Snohomish County

Alan Murray, P.E.
Snohomish County

2017 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Alan Murray, P.E., Snohomish County Department of Planning and Development, has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 Government Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of his many contributions to improving the region’s wastewater infrastructure while serving as facility planner and a project administrator for Metro and for his service in the Department of Planning and Development for Snohomish County.

During his work with Metro, he played significant roles in the secondary treatment plant expansions at Renton and West Point, the separation of stormwater from combined sewers to reduce inflow to the West Point wastewater treatment plant, new and upgraded pumping stations, construction of the downtown Seattle bus tunnel, and construction of numerous park-and-ride projects. He led the team charged with revamping Metro’s consultant procurement process to emphasize qualifications and the participation of minority and women business enterprises.

At Snohomish County, he ensures that project plans meet codes and standards and spends time mentoring consultants regarding improvements to their work products. He has served on ad-hoc committees charged with reviewing engineering codes and design standards for various county agencies. He has been active in the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) since 1973, serving as committee chair, director, and president. He served on the planning committee for the Section Anniversary Galas in 1988 (75^th) and 2013 (100^th). He also served as the liaison between the Section and the University of Washington Student Chapter. He participated in the committee organized to revise ASCE’s Professional Practice Manual Quality in the Constructed Project.

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Academic Engineer of the Year, 2016

October 24, 2016

Dr. Elaine Scott, University of Washington Bothell

2016 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and
the American Society for Engineering Education

Dr. Elaine Scott

Dean Elaine P. Scott, PhD, University of Washington Bothell, has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Academic Engineer of the Year Award in recognition of her exceptional career as an innovative leader in engineering education and a pioneer in interdisciplinary and collaborative STEM education. She currently serves as the Dean of the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at the University of Washington Bothell.

She holds degrees in both agricultural and mechanical engineering. Her research focuses on the characterization of heat transfer in complex materials with an emphasis on biological materials, including food products and biomedical applications. She has significantly advanced the state of engineering through application of parameter estimation, inverse problem solving, and optimization in food engineering, biomedical engineering, aerospace engineering, and electrical engineering. Along with colleagues across the globe, she developed a noninvasive probe to measure blood perfusion.

An inspiring and tireless leader, she has a distinguished record of achievements in improving the quality of interdisciplinary engineering education. As the founding Dean of the University of Washington Bothell School of STEM, she oversaw the complex marriage and development of diverse STEM disciplines into one school, where students learn in a rich cross-disciplinary environment and participate in projects with faculty and industry partners with real-world impacts. Under her leadership, the school has grown from five degree programs to 15 degree programs during the past three years.

Prior to joining the University of Washington, she served as Director of Engineering Programs at Seattle Pacific University and as Director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech. Throughout her career, she has been a tireless advocate in fostering an inclusive culture in engineering. She is very active in numerous outreach programs to encourage more women and students from underserved communities to consider STEM careers.

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2017 Award Nominations Open

The annual PSEC Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2017 at the Museum of Flight. Nominations are being accepted for the Awards. Please consider outstanding engineers known to your Society and nominate worthy candidates for an award. Each Society may nominate one candidate for each award.

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. Limit nomination packages to 8 pages.

The deadline for submissions is 5 PM on Friday, December 16, 2016. Earlier submissions are much appreciated by the Awards Committee, rather than receiving them on the last day.

Please send nominations and any questions electronically to:

John Schaufelberger jesbcon@uw.edu

PSEC 2017 – Awards Committee Chair

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2016 PSEC Award Nominations Open

October 10, 2015

It is time to recognize members of your organizations. Please read the Award Nomination Instructions and download the Award Nomination Forms for the seven awards to be presented at the February 13, 2016 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 18, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact me at jesbcon@uw.edu.

John Schaufelberger
PSEC Awards Committee Chair

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