PSEC Engineering Banquet 2025 – Keynote

April 15, 2025

Topic: Sound Transit Light Rail Expansion

Speaker: Manan Garb – Executive Director, Sound Transit, Capital Projects Planning & Delivery

Manan is an experienced leader in managing large-scale projects throughout their entire
lifecycle, from feasibility studies to design, construction, testing, and safety certification. He
serves as Sound Transit’s Executive Director for Capital Projects Planning, leading the Tacoma
Dome Link Extension, Everett Link Extension, Stride BRT, and future Link Extension teams.
Manan has also worked for the Austin Transit Partnership, San Francisco’s BART, and MTA in
New York City. Manan’s extensive expertise and collaborative leadership drive projects to excel.
 
Manan holds a master’s degree in civil engineering and construction management from Rutgers
University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from L.D. College of Engineering in
Ahmedabad, India.

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Professional Engineer of the Year Award 2025

March 30, 2025

Cary Kopczynski, P.E., S.E., FACI, FPTI
CKC Structural Engineers

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

Cary Kopczynski, P.E., S.E., FACI, FPTI, CKC Structural Engineers, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Professional Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the engineering profession, his lifetime achievements as a visionary leader committed to structural engineering innovation and excellence, and his leadership of the Seattle Chapter of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington and the American Concrete Institute.


With more than 45 years of experience, he has become known for designing high-rise towers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond thanks to his more than two dozen towers of 20 stories or more in Seattle and Bellevue and more than 80 regional, national, and international awards for engineering excellence. His extensive experience combined with his ongoing commitment to innovation and new technology has enabled him to create technically state-of-the-art designs that reflect a keen understanding of efficient construction. He has made it his mission to focus not just on design, but on design collaboration and construction productivity. In recognition of his many contributions to structural engineering, he was honored with a 2024 Outstanding Projects and Leaders Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.


He has been actively engaged with multiple technical societies throughout his career. He served as President of the Seattle Chapter of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington and President of the Washington Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI). He also served as the National President of ACI after serving 20 years on the technical committee responsible for writing the concrete building code used throughout the United States and adopted by more than 60 countries.


He has been a Rotary International member for 30 years and served as President of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club. He is a long-time member of the Bellevue Downtown Association and has served on the Bellevue Construction Codes Advisory Committee.

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Young Engineer of the Year Award 2025

Stephanie Tu
The Boeing Company

Nominated by the Society of Women Engineers

Stephanie Tu, The Boeing Company, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Young Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of her exceptional technical leadership as a Systems Engineer, her distinguished service as a leader and leadership coach for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and her commitment to outreach and mentoring of students about career opportunities in STEM fields.


Upon graduation from Rutgers University, she started her professional career at Boeing as part of the engineering rotation program. She made meaningful technical contributions in four different roles (flight controls, additive manufacturing, flight test, and production engineering) and was consistently recognized by her managers as a valuable resource to the team. Upon completion of the rotation program, she was selected for a Systems Engineering position. She leads digital transformation efforts as a model-based systems engineer subject matter expert and model manager. She leads diverse global teams to help Boeing’s commercial programs transition to a model-based environment to drive first time quality and reliability.


She has been involved with SWE in a variety of roles since 2015. Within the Pacific Northwest Section, she has served as Treasurer, President-Elect, President, and Virtual Brand Coordinator. At the national level, she has served as a SWE Leadership Coach since 2023. In this role, she shares her experiences to help other SWE sections. She currently coaches six SWE Professional and Collegiate sections to help them raise section funds, create strategic plans, and increase member engagement.


Passionate about expanding a positive image of engineering and technology professions, she makes time to attend K-12 outreach fairs and school panels to speak to students about careers in STEM.

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Government Engineer of the Year Award 2025

Tim Nordstrom, P.E., S.E.
Tacoma Power

Nominated by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington


Tim Nordstrom, P.E., S.E., Tacoma Power, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Government Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of his exceptional career as a civil and structural engineer and project engineer, his dedication and exemplary leadership in overseeing the design and construction of multiple structural systems, and his commitment to public welfare.


As project manager for the Spillway Repair for the Cowlitz Barrier Dam, he was responsible for hiring a design team and a construction contractor as well as obtaining and complying with permits from numerous State and Federal agencies. He worked closely with the design team, the contractor, and the Tacoma Power staff to make the project a success. Together, they completed the spillway repair under budget and one year ahead of schedule during the COVID pandemic. The new spillway changes the river flow characteristics over the dam from a waterfall to an overflow increasing the life of the structure by several decades.


He is currently working on improving existing structural systems including emergency transmission tower replacement due to storm damage, new designs and retrofit of hydraulic gates, and condition assessment and retrofitting of large hoist ways and lifting mechanisms. At Tacoma Power, he is a key member of the engineering team that is building 3D models of concrete arch dams and their supporting rock foundations. This effort aims to better understand the behavior and vulnerabilities of these critical structures.


Tim has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington, Tacoma and is currently sponsoring a Senior Capstone Project. He is a long-time member of the Structural Engineers Association of Washington serving as State President, Southwest Chapter President, and Chair of the Legislative Committee.

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Academic Engineer of the Year Award 2025

Professor W. Jong Yoon, Ph.D.
University of Washington, Bothell

Nominated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Professor W. Jong Yoon, Ph. D., University of Washington, Bothell, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Academic Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of his exceptional career as a mechanical engineering educator, his significant contributions to the design and development of smart medical devices, his active engagement as faculty advisor of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Chapter, and his dedicated efforts as a teacher and mentor of engineering students.


His research activities center on the design and development of mechatronics systems and their applications in biomedical devices. His research team designs, simulates, builds, and assesses different smart devices in a variety of domains. He led the development of surgical telerobot systems and a variety of surgical tools, including sensorized robot graspers. His research team currently is focused on developing robotics for rehabilitation of stroke patients, robot-assisted medical systems and smart user interfaces, and assistive technologies to reduce caregiver’s work-related musculoskeletal disorders. To serve his professional community, Professor Yoon has served as an associate editor of two prestigious journals and co-chaired regional engineering conferences.


As a founding member of the mechanical engineering program at the University of Washington, Bothell, Professor Yoon has committed to education excellence through innovative and creative curricula, interdisciplinary teaching and research, and a vibrant community. He has been particularly active in developing the dynamics, control systems, and mechatronics course series. He served as Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Program for five years providing critical leadership to the developing program.
Professor Yoon strongly believes that students who participate in extracurricular activities are more motivated and that the experiences are positively related to academic performance and leadership. For this reason, he assisted his students in founding an American Society of Mechanical Engineering Student Chapter and continues to serve as its advisor.

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Kenneth W. Porter Award 2025

Kelsi Bonner
BTL Engineering, P.S.

Nominated by the Society of Women Engineers

Kelsi Bonner, BTL Engineering, P.S., has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of her many contributions to the education of K-12 students, her leadership in organizing engineering events at local elementary schools, her participation in mentor nights at local high schools, and her leadership of numerous hands-on student activities for K-12 students.

As the Vice President of Outreach and now President of the Pacific Northwest Section of the Society of Women Engineers, she coordinates outreach events with K-12 schools and plans hands-on events for participating students. She has organized and planned many workshops at engineering fairs and elementary schools. She participates in the Expand Your Horizons Conference held at Edmonds College to encourage girls, grades 8-12, to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. In addition, she has participated in several mentor nights at local high schools and career days at elementary schools.

She began her work with K-12 students while a university student. She joined the Society of Women Engineers in 2017 and participated in the planning and conducting a FIRST Lego Robotics competition and participated in many K-12 STEM workshops. Dedicated to outreaching K-12 students, she is passionate about inspiring future engineers.

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Professional Engineer of the Year 2024

April 2, 2024

Chun C. Lau, P. E., S. E.

Brown and Caldwell

Chun C. Lau, P. E., S. E., Brown and Caldwell, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Professional Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the engineering profession, his lifetime achievements in structural engineering on numerous major domestic and international projects, and his decade of service as a member of the Washington Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

He has over 37 years of engineering experience in the fields of structural renovation, seismic engineering, and structural design. He has an extensive portfolio of projects, both domestic and international. These include Lumen Field in Seattle, Harrison Memorial Hospital Expansion in Bremerton, ASB Office Tower in the Philippines, Boston Celtics Arena in Boston, and Alyeska Prince Hotel and Tram Terminals in Alaska.

He has played an instrumental role in the advancement of structural engineering through his projects and his active engagement with professional organizations. He has served in multiple important roles with the Structural Engineering Association of Washington, the National Council of Structural Engineers Association, the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. In 2006, Governor Gregoire appointed him to the Washington Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. He served two 5-year terms including two years as Board Chair. Now retired, he serves as an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University educating future structural engineers.

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Young Engineer of the Year 2024

Tiffany Tang

Crane Aerospace and Electronics

Tiffany Tang, Crane Aerospace and Electronics, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Young Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of her exceptional leadership as a Process Engineering Supervisor and her superb customer technical support, her mentorship of junior engineers and University of Washinton Capstone students, and her active engagement with the professional community.

Upon graduation from the University of Washington, she started her professional career with Honeywell as a Systems Engineer working on Ground Proximity Warning Systems that enable commercial aviation to fly safely during poor weather and prevent crashes if pilots get disoriented. In 2021, she moved to Crane Aerospace and Electronics to become a Process Engineer focusing on the design of a new DC-DC converter for space applications. In 2022, she was promoted to Process Engineering Supervisor and leads a team working on multiple aerospace programs. She also is serving as the Capstone mentor for a Crane-sponsored University of Washington Senior Capstone project with two Chemical Engineering and two Materials Science and Engineering students.

She is very active with two professional societies: Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering (SAMPE). She currently serves as the President of the SWE Pacific Northwest Chapter and 2nd Vice Chair of SAMPE Seattle. As the SWE Chapter President, she has worked to bring participation back to pre-pandemic engagement. She also has reached out and re-established relationships with local colleges and universities. As the SAMPE 2nd Vice President, she plans the monthly meetings and organized the Puget Sound Materials Expo that recently was held at the Museum of Flight.

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Kenneth W. Porter Award 2024

Scott Kasper

BCRA Design

Scott Kasper, BCRA Design, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of his many contributions to the education of K-12 students, his service as K-12 Chair for the American Society of Civil Engineers Younger Member Forum; his leadership of Washington Alliance for Better Schools After School STEM events, his leadership of STEM Exploration Nights for elementary schools, his participation in the Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, and his commitment to developing interest in engineering among K-12 students.  

As the K-12 Chair for the American Scoiety of Civil Engineers Younger Member Forum, he led the organization efforts to engage with K-12 students. This included the Washington Alliance for Better Schools After School STEM Academy program for third to fifth grade students. This involved multiple sessions across five weeks to expose students to the basics of circuitry and electricity. He coordinated and participated in the Federal Way Public Schools and Arrowhead Elementary STEM Exploration Nights where students were engaged in environmental and water resources engineering activities. He served as the emcee and a volunteer for the 2023 Popsicle Stick Bridge competition designed for high school students to develop their STEM-related technical skills as well as soft skills.

He served as a judge for the 2023 and 2024 Washington (Seattle) Region Future City Competition for sixth to eighth grade students to develop their teamwork, problem-solving, research, and technical skills. Dedicated to outreach to K-12 students, he is passionate about inspiring future engineers.

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Industry Engineer of the Year 2024

Ronald S. Carson, Ph. D., ESEP®

Certification Training International

Ronald S. Carson, Ph. D., ESEP®,Certification Training International, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Industry Engineer-of-the-Year Award in recognition of his many contributions to systems engineering and technical leadership in the aerospace industry.

He is a distinguished professional with a remarkable background in systems engineering. He is the author of numerous Boeing engineering design standards regarding requirements analysis. These enterprise-wide business process guides/instructions are widely used across the company’s business units and in training courses on requirements analysis and architecture processes. As a Technical Fellow, he was responsible for model-based systems engineering process development, deployment, improvement, training, and assessment for Puget Sound and enterprise-wide activities.

He joined the Boeing Company in 1987 to work on the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison program and led the development of design requirements, preliminary design, design analysis, test requirements, test conduct, test data analyses, and test reporting for all electromagnetic pulse developmental and system-level tests. He later worked on multiple Boeing programs for which he was responsible for functional analysis and development of system architecture requirements.

Upon retirement from Boeing in 2015, he became an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Washington where he taught graduate courses. He also became an Adjunct Professor at Seattle Pacific University. In 2022, he joined Certification Training International as a course facilitator, providing international training to prepare individuals to pass the INCOSE Systems Engineering Professional Certification Examination.

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