Engineering Council Honors Nine as 2008 ‘New Faces in Engineering’

ACEC/CO’s 2008 New Faces in Engineering honorees with ACEC national president David Raymond and ACEC/CO president Brien Gidlow: (l-r) Back row: ACEC President Dave Raymond, Ryan Walsh, Matt Hirschbeck, Brandon Luster and ACEC/CO President Brien Gidlow; Front row: Matthew Dubrovich, Erica Olson, Jaclyn Michaelsen and Anthony Alvarado.

Photo courtesy of ACEC/CO

The American Council of Engineering Cos. of Colorado honored nine young engineers nominated by member firms as ACEC/CO’s 2008 New Faces in Engineering a program that celebrates and promotes the significant accomplishments of young engineers highlighting their engineering contributions and the resulting impact on society.

Five of the New Faces honorees, Brandon Luster, Matt Hirschbeck, Christian Marsh, Erica Olson and Ryan Walsh, were submitted to ACEC national to be considered for its Young Professional’s Award.

Hirshbeck joined Richard P. Arber Associates Inc. in 2003. He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Bucknell University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Yale.

He is a project engineer specializing in water and wastewater treatment. Hirshbeck served as the project engineer for design of the city of Alamosa’s 5-mgd Water Treatment Plant, currently under construction.

Luster is a project engineer with HDR Engineering Inc. in Fort Collins. He graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. He is an expert in hydrologic and hydraulic system analysis and design. Luster was instrumental in the Boulder Stormwater Master Plan project, a citywide analysis of the stormwater collector system.

Marsh graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering and technology management. At EMC Engineers Inc. she has been an active participant on energy team as a project manager on energy analysis and modeling projects.

Olson graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with a minor in mathematics. Olson has been involved in a variety of projects that have ranged from the redesign of a McDonald’s site to transportation design on a multihighway interchange in Seattle/Tacoma. She is a volunteer in MathCOUNTS, a national mathematics competition for middle school pupils.

Walsh received his undergraduate degree in environmental engineering and science from the University of Florida and his master’s degree in environmental science and engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He completed a research thesis as part of his master’s work on the subject of onsite and decentralized wastewater treatment. Walsh presented his master’s research at the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association Annual Conference in Denver, 2006. He is a design engineer for Richard P. Arber Associates Inc. specializing in water, wastewater and reuse design projects.

Anthony Alvarado has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University. He is a project manager for the Geomatic Engineering Group at Ayres Associates. He has specialized in applying GIS technology in innovative ways to water resource engineering projects. As a design engineer he completed the final design for more than 10 major levee repair projects along the Sacramento River. These projects were on the Corps of Engineers critical-erosion site list and were designed on a fast-track given the high risk of levee failure.

Matthew Dubrovich has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. Since joining EMC Engineers Inc. after graduation in 2005, he has played a key role training and overseeing junior engineers in energy modeling and building systems analysis and was instrumental in developing and maintaining EMC’s in-house technical energy standards and processes to ensure technical consistency for clients.

Jaclyn Michaelsen of Ayres Associates has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University. She has worked on a range of urban drainage projects and is often sought out for technical advice by the firm’s staff. In her new role as a project manager, her project experience includes the Canal Importation Pond and Outfall project for the city of Fort Collins. She completed her master’s degree in civil engineering and passed the PE exam.

Curtis Stevens has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Clarkson University. He is a project manager in Drexel, Barrell & Co.’s Land Development Department. He has been involved in project management and civil design for several high-profile projects for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, including the Systems Interconnect Test Laboratory, a 350-lot residential subdivision and a large commercial development in Fountain.

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