Civil engineering isn’t simply an important discipline; it’s vital to our society. Where would we be without sewers, wastewater treatment plants, or stormwater management? And these projects aren’t ever “easy” tasks. Each comes equipped with its own set of challenges for the engineer to overcome. The industry as a whole is continually facing issues of water scarcity, sustainability, aging infrastructure, and energy conservation in addition to risk (physical and legal) and funding factors that often are involved. And because not all of these circumstances meet eye level, the work of civil engineers can get overlooked. That’s why CE News is honoring seven outstanding individuals for their work in the civil engineering discipline.

The professionals who make up this year’s Power List have significantly impacted the industry through different mediums, including education, public service, nonprofits, and consulting. Each person is doing his or her part as a leader in the industry to evolve and elevate the profession by addressing important issues, creating excitement around the civil engineering profession, and improving the world around us through innovation and expertise.

This list is not exhaustive; as the industry changes and time passes, new individuals will form the list each year. The list is compiled from insights, suggestions, and nominations from CE News editors, industry professionals, advocates, and readers. The Power List is not a ranking, so individuals are listed alphabetically. To nominate an industry professional for next year’s list, contact Bob Drake at bdrake@zweigwhite.com.

Linda Abriola, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Engineering at Tufts University
Abriola recently was recognized in “American Women of Science Since 1900,” an encyclopedia focused on 500 of the 20th century’s most notable American women scientists. In addition to her deanship at Tufts, Abriola holds appointments as professor of civil and environmental engineering and adjunct professor in chemical and biological engineering. Her research integrates mathematical modeling and laboratory experiments for the study of reactive contaminants in the subsurface. She is particularly known for her work on the characterization and remediation of aquifers contaminated by chlorinated solvents. Abriola is a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.

Prior to her appointment at Tufts, Abriola held the Horace Williams King Collegiate Professorship in Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. Abriola currently serves on the National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy and the National Science Foundation Engineering Directorate Advisory Committee.

The author of more than 130 refereed publications, Abriola has received numerous accolades, including the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, the Association for Women Geoscientists’ Outstanding Educator Award, the National Ground Water Association’s Distinguished Darcy Lectureship, and the SERDP (Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program) Project of the Year Award in Environmental Restoration.
http://engineering.tufts.edu.

Linda Bridwell
Kentucky American Water’s director of water quality and environmental compliance
Bridwell became the first female to earn the 2010 Robert M. Gillim Professional Recognition Award, presented by the Kentucky Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which recognized Bridwell for her service to civil engineering in the Commonwealth. Bridwell joined Kentucky American Water’s engineering team in 1989 and swiftly began working on plans to address central Kentucky’s water supply deficit. She was promoted to lead the company’s engineering department in 1995 and became widely recognized within the company and the state as an expert on the region’s water supply issue.

Bridwell served as the company’s water supply representative on numerous local, regional, and state committees, and in recent years, she led the project team that designed and constructed the solution approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission in 2008: a new 20 million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant in Owen County, Ky., connected to Kentucky American Water’s existing central Kentucky distribution system by a 31-mile, 42-inch-diameter underground pipeline from Owen County through Franklin and Scott counties to Fayette County. Under Bridwell’s direction, the project was designed in 12 months, and construction of the $164 million project was completed in September 2010 — just 25 months after it started — on time and on budget.

Bridwell is a past president of the Kentucky Society of the ASCE, director of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, has served as an adjunct professor in the civil engineering department of the University of Kentucky, is a member of the American Water Works Association, and is a member of the Industrial Advisory Committee for the civil engineering department at the University of Kentucky.
www.amwater.com/kyaw

Albrecht (Al) P. Engel, P.E.
Vice president of high-speed rail, Amtrak
A recognized rail transportation professional and high-speed rail advocate, Engel recently joined Amtrak as vice president of its new high-speed rail department. In this new role, he will lead initiatives to grow Amtrak’s role as a premier operator of high-speed passenger rail service in the United States. Engel has more than 40 years of experience in the rail transportation business and during that time has been active in the study, advocacy, and development of high-speed rail projects, including equipment procurement and infrastructure work on the Northeast Corridor in advance of the launch of Amtrak’s high-speed Acela Express service.

He previously served as vice president and high-speed rail director with AECOM and is on the American Public Transportation Association board of directors. Previously, he served as chairman of the High-Speed Rail Association. Engel is charged with pursuing partnerships with states and others in the passenger rail industry to develop high-speed rail corridors. In addition, he will conduct planning activities to significantly improve Amtrak high-speed rail operations in the Northeast and is serving as an AECOM senior advisor on a study commissioned by Amtrak to determine the feasibility of increasing top speeds beyond 150 mph, achieving major reductions in trip times between Washington, D.C., and Boston, and expanding the number of train frequencies. Furthermore, Engel will help Amtrak fulfill the high-speed rail goals laid out by the Obama administration and provide the leadership on high-speed and intercity passenger rail issues that Congress provided to Amtrak when it passed the Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act of 2008.
www.amtrak.com

Gerald Galloway, Jr., Ph.D., P.E.
Professor, University of Maryland
Galloway is a Glenn L. Martin Institute professor of engineering for the department of civil and environmental engineering, and an affiliate professor at the school of public policy at the University of Maryland, where his focus is on water resources policy and management. He also is a visiting scholar at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources. Galloway serves as a consultant to the California Department of Water Resources on flooding and, from 1998 to 2003, served as secretary of the United States section of the International Joint Commission, an independent bi-national organization charged with preventing and resolving trans-boundary air and water quality issues disputes between the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.

A civil engineer, public administrator, soldier, educator, and geographer, he has led and managed large organizations in successfully executing a variety of important activities, including assessing the causes of the 1993 Mississippi River floods and proposing a long-term approach to floodplain management; preparing reports on the disastrous flooding in the Red River of the North; addressing principles to govern management of potential withdrawals of water from the Great Lakes; and managing a multi-state water resources development program that included the operation of seven large dams and the construction of two locks and dams.

A fellow and life member of the ASCE, he currently is a vice-chair of a task group reviewing educational requirements for professional practice and a member of ASCE’s Strategic Planning Committee and the ASCE Post-Hurricane Katrina Critical Infrastructure Guidance Task Force.
www.umd.edu

Jesús Gómez, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE.
Board member of ADSC, The International Association of Foundation Drilling
Most recently elected as a board member of ADSC, The International Association of Foundation Drilling, Gómez also is a principal with Schnabel Engineering and chief engineer of the firm’s geostructural group. He has more than 26 years of design and construction experience in geotechnical projects in the United States, South America, and Europe.

After obtaining his graduate degree from Virginia Tech, Gómez was chief engineer for the Venezuelan branch of the international foundation construction firm Franki Pile Foundations. While at Virginia Tech, he developed and tested a new numerical model for soil-structure interfaces under sponsorship by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His work on interfaces unveiled previously unknown aspects of soil-structure interface behavior of great importance for practical design of retaining structures and foundations.

Gómez also has been active in teaching university-level courses since 1986 at various schools in the United States and abroad. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware, and he has authored or co-authored more than 70 publications on practical technological applications and design in geotechnical engineering. Gómez also was the researcher for the FHWA/ADSC Hollow Bar Soil Nail (HBSN) Test Program field research effort and report.
www.adsc-iafd.com

Patrick J. Natale, P.E., CAE, F.ASCE
Executive director and chief staff officer and secretary, ASCE
Before being named executive director and chief staff officer and secretary of the ASCE, Natale tackled other important civil engineering roles. It all began with the completion of his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Newark College of Engineering. From there, he obtained his master’s degree in engineering management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and completed the executive management program at Yale University. As a result, he is a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey and a certified association executive.

Natale has held numerous top-management positions with the Public Service Electric and Gas Company of New Jersey, and in January 1999, he was appointed executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineeers (NSPE). He served five years as NSPE treasurer and has chaired both the budget and communications committees. In 1994, he led a massive reorganization effort that focused on increasing the value of membership in the NSPE. In 1997, Natale received NSPE’s Distinguished Service Award and in July 2000 he was named a Fellow member. At the NSPE state level, Natale has held the positions of president, national director, and practice division officer of the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers.
www.asce.org

Judith Nitsch, P.E., LEED AP BD+C
Founding principal of Nitsch Engineering Inc.
Nitsch established Boston-based Nitsch Engineering Inc. in 1989. Since then, Nitsch has led the company in providing civil engineering, land surveying, transportation engineering, planning, sustainable site consulting, and GIS services on projects in 17 states and five countries.

During her 35-year career, Nitsch received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2010 for her contributions to the engineering field and her efforts to encourage others to pursue engineering careers. She also led Nitsch Engineering in becoming the largest Women’s Business Enterprise civil engineering firm in New England.

Some of her educational accomplishments include: providing outreach on engineering careers to students through the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day program in Boston, and teaching nationally on the topics of sustainable site design, stormwater management, low-impact development, and marketing and business development for professional societies such as the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the ASCE, Commercial Real Estate Women Network, and the Society for Marketing Professional Services. Nitsch was the youngest person and first woman to serve as president of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE and the ACEC of Massachusetts, and has received prestigious awards such as the ASCE’s Parcel-Sverdrup Engineering Management Award, the Boston Society of Architects Women in Design Award, the Patriots’ Trail Girl Scout Council’s Leading Women Award, Woman of the Year from the Women’s Transportation Seminar-Boston Chapter, and the Massachusetts Society of Professional Engineers’ Young Engineer Award. She also served as the first alumna elected to Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s board of trustees.
www.nitscheng.com