Puget Sound Engineering Council

Nicole Peden

Davido Consulting Group, Inc.

Nicole Peden, Davido Consulting Group, Inc., has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of her many contributions to the education of K-12 students, her service as K-12 Outreach Chair for the American Society of Civil Engineers Younger Member’s Forum; her participation in Discovery Days and the Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, her development of virtual K-12 outreach events during the pandemic, and her commitment to developing interest in engineering among K-12 students.  

Soon after graduation from the University of Washington, she joined the American Society of Civil Engineers Younger Member’s Forum (YMF) and agreed to become the K-12 Outreach Chair during the height of the pandemic. Her goals were to work on rebuilding a network of students, volunteers, and organizations since most museums, schools, and facilities closed and no longer had in-person events. She recruited YMF volunteers to participate in various virtual events. Once in-person opportunities returned, she organized in-person events and recruited YMF volunteers to participate in them. During the summer of 2022, she arranged for YMF to host a rotation during the Museum of Flight’s Fly Forward summer in-person program. For this event, she organized an activity for middle school students to create spaghetti structures and learn about structural engineering basics. Later in the autumn, she arranged for YMF to host a booth at the Museum of Flight’s Back to School Spacewalk for middle school students. The students made marshmallow and toothpick structures and asked questions about civil engineering and the volunteers’ STEM experiences. This event showcased careers in various engineering disciplines. Dedicated to outreach of K-12 students, she is passionate about inspiring future engineers, especially women engineers.

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.

Kristina N. Low, P.E.

KPFF Consulting Engineers

Kristina N. Low, P.E., KPFF Consulting Engineers, has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 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. Her work with high school students began while she was a student at the University of Washington where she volunteered to mentor high school students through SAT preparation and college application. 

As a professional, she has maintained her commitment to mentoring students.  Some of her more prominent K-12 outreach projects have been planning and hosting the annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition on behalf of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and mentoring students participating in the Architecture/Construction/Engineering (ACE) Mentorship Program.

She has served in multiple positions for ASCE Younger Member’s Forum annual outreach program, the Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, that is designed for high school students.  She was responsible for direct coordination and advertisement of the event as an outreach coordinator for two years and as the assistant event coordinator the following year.  Last year, she served as the Master of Ceremonies and invited University of Washington students to serve as mentors to the high school participants. The ACE Mentorship Program connects professionals in the design and construction industry with high school students to work through a design project through the schematic design phase. Each year since graduation, she has mentored teams of students who were interested in structural engineering and helped them develop graphics to illustrate their design concepts.

Haichuan ‘Peter’ Deng, KPFF Consulting Engineers

2019 Award Recipient

Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

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.

Dana Day, The Boeing Company

2018 Award Recipient

Dana Day
The Boeing Company

Nominated by the Society of Women Engineers

Dana Day, The Boeing Company, has been selected as the recipient of the 2018 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 works as a project engineer in the 737 flight controls organization at Boeing, where she leads value engineering projects to identify cost savings and validate the cost benefits for each project. In 2017, her teams booked over $13,000 in savings per 737 airplane for flight controls components.

She has long been an advocate for promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to young girls and is an excellent role model for K-12 students.  As the Section Outreach Coordinator, she launched the highly popular SWENext program for girls in K-12 to engage with STEM mentors, learn about engineering through activities, and build a network of like-minded STEM girls.  This year she helped organize the 2017 Design Lab event at the society’s local regional conference for over 120 middle school students, 60 parents and educators, and 40 volunteers.  For the Washington Alliance for Better Schools, she has taught mathematics to 4^th and 5^th grade students as part of a six-week, after-school program.  For the past seven years during Engineers’ Week, she visited numerous schools in the Puget Sound Region promoting engineering as a career. She also reinvigorated a relationship between the Section and the Girl Scouts and organized “exploring engineering” events that hosted large groups of Scouts several times per year.

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.

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.

Wendy B. Lawrence Kennedy Space Center

2016 Award Recipient

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

Wendy Lawrence

Wendy B. Lawrence has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Kenneth W. Porter Award in recognition of her many contributions to the education of K-12 students by showing them about the exciting opportunities in STEM fields. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, she served as a Navy helicopter pilot before being selected as an astronaut and working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for 14 years. A veteran of four shuttle missions, she has logged over 50 days in space.

As a speaker, educator, and advocate for scientific research and education, she has been very active in working with K-12 students to educate them about careers in STEM fields and the great opportunities in space exploration. She currently works part-time at the Space Camp and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex informing the public about NASA’s spaceflight programs and participating in STEM educational programs. She has a long history of involvement with the Sally Ride Science Festivals as a champion for girls learning about science and entering STEM fields. Through her affiliation with the Ride Family Foundation, she attends events across the United States talking with students, teachers, and industry leaders about the importance of STEM education.

She was the catalyst for bringing the Sally Ride program to the University of Washington Bothell in 2014 attracting more than 900 middle school students to experience interactive exhibits, hands-on workshops, and inspiring standing-room-only talks. She is the founder of an organization dedicated to exciting young people about space and STEM education: The MARS generation. Her community involvement also includes the Washington Aerospace Scholars Program, the Vista Middle School Girls Robotics Club, and the Ferndale Library Robotics Club. Her outreach endeavors extend well beyond professional affiliations to community and K-12 educational programming.