March/April 2020

NSPE Today
Award Finalists Exemplify Federal Engineering Excellence

Timothy Sullivan, P.E., who has brought mechanical, civil, and environmental engineering expertise to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center in San Antonio, Texas, was named the winner of NSPE’s Federal Engineer of the Year Award.

At a February 14 luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Sullivan and the top finalists were honored for numerous engineering achievements that have greatly contributed to the missions of federal agencies.

Sullivan developed the first-ever comprehensive execution guidebook to support $604 million in nationwide construction, and as part of that three-year project, he crafted a project risk management process to identify vulnerabilities of construction projects greater than $5 million. He also implemented changes to the national defense building code to protect facilities from storm surge and developed metrics and visualizations to model and predict environmental stability of Air Force installations.

Finalists for the 2020 Federal Engineer of the Year Award

Lt. Col. James Caldwell, P.E.

US Department of the Air Force
Air Force Materiel Command/Air Force Research Laboratory

Caldwell revamped a $158 million GPS demonstration program and gained a partnership buy-in with $78 million from the Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center. He also resurrected a $200 million program showing how to mitigate high-altitude nuclear explosion effects on satellites.

Lt. Cmdr. Garrett Chun, P.E.

US Department of the Interior
National Park Service

Chun oversaw completion of a $1.6 million decentralized wastewater treatment system at Yosemite National Park to replace an outdated, malfunctioning setup and served as park coordinator for the recent construction of $17 million of sewerage infrastructure improvements for two nearby communities and park visitors traveling to Yosemite Valley.

Noelle Currey, P.E.

Tennessee Valley Authority
Transmission Power Supply and Support

Currey developed a programming solution to expedite the review process for transmission engineering work contractors for the TVA. Her program applies mathematical algorithms to capture and interpret data extracted from CAD drawings of electrical panels, which are then used to evaluate total panel wiring in less than a minute.

Hillary Isebrands, P.E.

US Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

Isebrands supported the California Department of Transportation in statewide deployment of an intersection control evaluation policy. Additionally, she provided leadership in designing and developing the first roundabout in a major national park and further led the development of local road safety action plans nationwide.

Marco Furlan-Kaneko, P.E.

US Department of the Air Force
47th Flying Training Wing/Laughlin Air Force Base

Furlan-Kaneko was responsible for acquiring, maintaining, repairing, and protecting more than 800 facilities and infrastructure comprising 5,340 acres—an installation complex worth $1.3 billion. He also spearheaded a $3.3 million T-6 aircraft sunshade program, protecting nearly 600 maintenance personnel and 70 frontline aircraft and saving $3.4 million in operational costs.

Tony Lau, P.E.

US Department of the Navy
Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Hawaii)

Lau guided two critical projects, a 42-inch emergency water line repair and a deep-water well emergency repair. Both projects restored the primary water source critical to base operations and military families and prevented permanent damages to the Navy’s aquifers and waterline systems.

Lt. Col. L. Reyn Mann, P.E.

US Department of the Army
US Army Pacific/130th Engineer Brigade

As commander of the 84th Engineer Batallion in Hawaii, Mann has facilitated more than 20 full or partial designs, 15 surveys, 10 horizontal construction projects, and 15 vertical construction projects.

Capt. Stephen Martin Jr., P.E.

US Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Martin headed the design and development of a full-scale prototype apparatus that can effectively disinfect many N95 filtering facepiece respirators in under two minutes, especially useful for disease pandemic events. Martin also guided the effort in building two prototype ultraviolet systems for disinfecting ambulance patient compartments.

Lt. Cmdr. Christopher McDowell, P.E.

US Department of the Navy
Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Southeast)

As public works officer for Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida, McDowell recently guided 90 personnel in the quality execution of $35 million in new construction and $41 million of maintenance activities. Following Hurricane Michael’s devastation in October 2018, he developed a plan that allowed essential personnel to remain on base, while securing temporary utilities and life support.