Prior to joining the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Frank Block III, Ph.D., P.E., earned bachelor’s degrees in biomedical engineering and electrical engineering, a master’s degree in electrical engineering, and a doctorate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia. His education has served him well in his professional endeavors, providing a foundation for research, regulatory science, and medical device safety engineering.

At the FDA, Block leads teams responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medical devices on the market. From 2022 to 2025, he directed high-profile public health responses, including a CPAP and ventilator recall affecting over 2.8 million devices and international syringe-quality failures that prevented more than 38 million non-compliant devices from entering healthcare facilities. He has developed patient-communication strategies, coordinated cross-functional regulatory actions, and applied engineering and data analytics to strengthen post-market device safety. In addition, Block has published peer-reviewed research on supply-chain resilience, electronic-component reliability, and cybersecurity certificate management, advancing engineering practices that protect public health.

Block’s contributions have been recognized with the FDA/CDRH Center Director’s Special Citation (2025), the Lireka P. Joseph Award for Excellence in Public Health Communication (2024), multiple FDA Group Recognition Awards, and selection as NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year (2018). He serves in leadership roles in professional societies including the IEEE Washington Section. He also mentors future engineers by supporting community STEM programs—exemplifying leadership, technical excellence, and service both inside and outside the federal government.

Evan P. Dicks, Ph.D., P.E., serves as Operations Flight Commander for the 35th Civil Engineer Squadron at Misawa Air Base, Japan, where he commands 512 military, U.S., and Japanese civilian engineers and contractors in sustaining and maintaining a $16.9 billion installation—the Pacific Air Forces’ only joint, trilateral, and commercial airfield supporting 120 aircraft.

Dicks advanced risk-based engineering strategies that improved installation resiliency, guiding implementation and commissioning of multi-fuel power and heat generation systems, and microgrid technology from 2022 to 2025. He redirected a failing contractor on a $26 million hospital modernization project, oversaw construction of 10 storage warehouses enabling Agile Combat Employment, and led a $308 million F-35 beddown with a phasing plan that ensured continuous flight operations.

During a deployment to Kuwait, Dicks commanded 308 personnel to support C-130, MQ-9, and transient aircraft in an extreme desert environment. He secured a 50% increase in base power supply and rapidly established Integrated Air Defense capabilities in response to regional threats. He also resolved a 20-year deficiency by installing solar airfield lighting to enable night-flying operations.

Dicks earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a licensed engineer in Ohio, with multiple awards recognizing his leadership and technical excellence.

Amy M. Doye, P.E., serves as director of the 6th Civil Engineer Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base, where she leads a 400-member team responsible for engineering, construction, and infrastructure management supporting two flying wings, two major combatant commands, and 34 mission partners. Her leadership ensures operational readiness and resilience for one of the Air Force’s most strategically significant installations.

Doye’s career reflects a commitment to engineering excellence, resilience, and public service. From 2022 to 2025, she directed emergency operations through four major hurricanes, enabling mission resumption within 48 hours and securing $170 million in recovery funding. She managed a $250 million Base Operating Support contract and oversaw 22 major construction projects, including a $270 million KC-46 aircraft beddown. Her initiatives advanced resilience through shoreline stabilization, ecosystem restoration, and energy assurance, culminating in the largest energy lease in Air Force history—a $130 million, 75-megawatt power plant. These efforts strengthened infrastructure reliability and supported long-term mission sustainability.

Doye’s contributions have earned numerous honors, including the SAME Newman Medal, AMC Brigadier General Wilma Vaught Visionary Leadership Award, and Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. Beyond her official duties, she actively participates in professional societies and STEM outreach programs, mentoring future engineers and promoting innovation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering and an MBA from Virginia Tech.

Yanzheng (Don) Guan, Ph.D., P.E., is committed to delivering resilient, high-performance solutions for healthcare facilities. He serves as senior mechanical engineer for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Construction and Facilities Management, where he provides engineering leadership for multi-billion-dollar healthcare infrastructure projects. His responsibilities include constructability and compliance reviews, system commissioning, building information management, and technical consultations for VA medical centers nationwide, ensuring safe and efficient facilities for veterans.

With nearly 30 years of engineering experience, including 13 years in federal service, Guan has advanced innovation and operational excellence. From 2022 to 2025, he pioneered development of agentic AI tools to modernize VA’s design review process, automating analysis of over 750 design manuals to detect conflicts, outdated content, and duplication—improving efficiency and collaboration. He also supports the VA Healthcare Engineering Design Deviation and Abeyance Review Committee, resolving complex design challenges.

Previously, as utility engineering branch chief at the National Institutes of Health, Guan led the digital transformation of one of the nation’s largest central utility plants and high containment biolabs, integrating digital twins and predictive analytics to process 327 million real-time data points daily. This innovation enabled predictive decision-making and reduced utility costs by 8–15% annually, earning the NIH Director’s Award.

Guan earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Southwest Jiaotong University and earned a PhD in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University. His contributions have earned multiple honors, including ASHRAE International Awards and the National Institute of Health Director’s Award. 

Lt Col Marie T. Harnly, P.E., PMP, commands the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, leading 500 engineers and technicians responsible for sustaining and modernizing $3.2 billion in infrastructure—the Air Force’s third-largest construction portfolio, supporting presidential missions and global air mobility operations.

From 2022 to 2025, Harnly directed projects of national significance. She led the renovation of the White House Situation Room and its alternate location, transforming a historic space into a 5,000-square-foot suite that is now the most secure and technologically advanced facility on the White House campus. She managed a $736 million NATO construction portfolio in Türkiye, enabling 74,000 airfield operations for a key ally. At Joint Base Andrews, she oversees $1 billion in construction, including a $320 million hangar for the new Air Force One, and infrastructure supporting presidential events such as the 60th Inauguration and state funerals.

Harnly’s leadership has earned top recognition, including ranking #1 of 133 Situation Room action officers and #1 of 13 Squadron Commanders. Her honors include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Air Mobility Command Vaught Visionary Leadership Award. 

Harnly earned bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and product design and in Spanish from Stanford University, a master’s degree in engineering management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, and a master’s in philosophy in military strategy from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.

Juliane Junes-Harvey, P.E., serves as deputy director for project support and area National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) coordinator in the Phoenix Area Division of Sanitation Facilities at the Indian Health Service (IHS). She provides leadership in planning, design, and delivery of essential infrastructure that improves public health and strengthens Tribal communities.

From 2022 to 2025, Junes-Harvey managed more than 260 sanitation projects valued at $365 million, delivering safe drinking water, modern wastewater systems, and improved solid waste facilities to approximately 77,800 Native American households. She directed the design of three new water treatment plants serving nearly 2,800 homes and oversaw $560,000 in pandemic recovery funding to equip Tribal utilities with critical operations and maintenance resources. Her leadership in environmental compliance ensured cultural and natural resource protection for more than 80 infrastructure projects under the NEPA. She also coordinated cleanup planning for 960 open solid waste dump sites across 46 Tribal communities and advanced workforce development through annual training for engineers and a national mentoring program supporting over 100 professionals.

Junes-Harvey exemplifies engineering excellence, innovation, and a commitment to public health and sustainability. Her contributions have earned honors including the Senior Engineer of the Year Award and multiple U.S. Public Health Service commendations. She earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Idaho.

Travis B. Lewis, P.E., serves as program manager at the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC), where he leads complex environmental engineering initiatives and advanced manufacturing efforts that support Navy readiness and sustainability. He earned a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Arizona.

From 2022 to 2025, Lewis directed the closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, a 240-million-gallon site, delivering regulator-approved verification that accelerated decision-making and safeguarded human health and the environment. He implemented a multi-tiered research program scaled from bench-top to field deployment in nine months, developing a novel analytical wipe testing method that earned state and federal approval for permanent tank closure. This innovation avoided more than $100 million in potential re-cleaning costs and two years of delay.

Beyond site work, Lewis serves as assistant action officer for advanced manufacturing under a Program Executive Office initiative, coordinating policy and data integration across Navy systems commands to accelerate ship, submarine, and aircraft availability. He also partners with universities and industry through programs such as NESDI, ESTCP, and ONR to advance solutions for vapor intrusion, petroleum cleanup, and long-term environmental monitoring. His research contributions include ventilation mitigation strategies, groundwater sampling innovations, and regional groundwater modeling for Oahu.

Lewis’s achievements exemplify engineering excellence, innovation, and leadership in addressing environmental challenges while enhancing operational readiness for the Navy.

LCDR Benjamin R. Male, P.E., C.E.M., serves as a public works officer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Mid-Atlantic at Naval Weapons Station Earle, where he leads a team of 100 military and civilian personnel managing construction, acquisition, and sustainment for a 2.9-mile pier complex, 670 facilities, 85 miles of certified federal railroad, and a 12,000-acre footprint with a planned replacement value of $4.7 billion. His leadership ensures infrastructure readiness and modernization to support evolving mission requirements.

Male drove engineering initiatives that strengthened operational efficiency and resilience. He spearheaded hiring reform, reducing vacancy rates by 12% year over year, and led efforts to secure $1 billion in programmed and planned construction to modernize an 80-year-old weapons station for future Navy missions. His commitment to innovation and energy efficiency was demonstrated by earning the Certified Energy Manager credential in 2024 and applying data analytics to improve processes. In 2025, Male was selected for the prestigious Chief of Naval Operations Dark Trident Research Fellowship, tasked with developing actionable solutions to increase maintenance availability for ships, submarines, aircraft, and weapons platforms.

Male holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from MIT. His achievements have earned recognition, including the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

CDR Niles C. Pierson, P.E, serves as a facilities engineer at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, the service’s only enlisted accession training center. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Coast Guard Academy, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Yale University, an master’s degree in engineering management from Johns Hopkins University, and a master’s certificate in structural engineering from the University of Louisville.

Pierson oversees maintenance, construction, safety, and environmental compliance for a 450-acre campus with facilities valued at $700 million. Leading an 80-person department during a period of historic change under Force Design 2028, he directed $30 million in maintenance and improvement projects, executed $10 million in infrastructure funding, and delivered the Coast Guard’s first Installation, Energy, and Water Plan to enhance resilience. He also secured nearly $15 million for high-priority community and waterfront improvements.

His leadership includes managing emergency responses to mold and HVAC failures in 70 housing units, overseeing a $500,000 remediation effort, and serving as lead designer for a $3 million HVAC project planned for FY26. Pierson was instrumental in planning a $425 million modernization program, including new barracks, a multi-use training facility, a galley, and a fire department. His contributions have earned honors such as the Coast Guard Civil Engineer of the Year (Honorable Mention) and the Seven Seals Award.

Jonathan P. Sides, P.E., serves as a power systems engineering specialist at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), where he provides technical leadership in power quality and grid reliability. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and a master’s degree in engineering from Arizona State University.

Side’s contributions exemplify engineering excellence and a commitment to reliable, efficient power delivery. He manages TVA’s synchrophasor program, implementing phasor measurement units (PMUs) and developing applications to monitor and analyze grid oscillations. He pioneered a first-of-its-kind method using load-tap changers on 500-kV transformers to mitigate voltage unbalance (VUB), improving reliability for 215 delivery points totaling 4 GW of load. This innovation eliminated $50 million in transmission line transpositions and saved more than $500,000 per heavy-load event.

He also developed automation scripts to identify equipment failures, resulting in over 100 findings, including a $3 million under-billing correction. Sides has advanced grid resilience by replicating operator displays using PMU data for nuclear facilities and detecting failing instrument transformers and inverter-based resources during transient events.

Recognized for technical innovation and leadership, Sides has authored industry papers and earned multiple honors, including TVA’s Igniting Innovation Lab Leader Award and Employee of the Quarter.