November/December 2018

PEople

Jeffrey Miller, P.E., of Productivity Engineering Services LLC, recently achieved a Certification in Sales and Operations Planning. To qualify for the CS&OP designation, a candidate must complete a rigorous course of study and a comprehensive examination. CS&OP is a program offered by the S&OP Institute and the USC Marshall Center for Global Supply Chain Management, to build and validate knowledge in sales and operations planning. Miller has more than 25 years of experience helping industrial companies make their operations leaner and more productive. Miller attended the University of Michigan where he earned both a master’s degree and a bachelor of science degree in industrial and systems engineering.

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying has named James Purcell, P.E., as the organization’s 2018–19 president. A resident of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Purcell has been a member of the New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors since 2005 and is a past board chair. Purcell is currently technical director of the New Jersey Asphalt Pavement Association, an adjunct professor in the College of New Jersey School of Engineering. He holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Connecticut.

Richard Tucker, P.E., has been selected as the recipient of the Engineering News-Record Texas and Louisiana’s fifth annual Legacy Award. The award recognizes industry veterans for contributions to their profession and community. After receiving his doctorate in civil engineering in 1963 from the University of Texas at Austin, Tucker joined the faculty at Arlington State College. Upon returning to UT Austin in 1976, he created and led the Construction Engineering and Project Management Program in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department. He is currently the professor emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering and director of the Center for Construction Industry Studies.

Brandy Williams, P.E., P.L.S., has been promoted to senior project engineer at Fehr Graham, where she will take on a more active role in training and mentoring engineers and technicians in the Rochelle, Illinois, office. She has experience in municipal and site development engineering. Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Northern Illinois University. She serves as the town engineer for Cortland and is a certified floodplain manager.

Brad Baldridge, P.E., has been named director of customer and community relations at Xcel Energy. He will oversee community relations and economic development activities across Texas and New Mexico. Baldridge earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering in 1999 from Texas Tech University. He started work that same year with Xcel Energy’s Southwestern Public Service Co. as a distribution engineer and has served is several other positions in the company.

The American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division has presented NSPE Past President Kodi Vehrhalen, P.E., Esq., F.NSPE, with an On the Rise—Top 40 Young Lawyers award. Verhalen practices energy and environmental law at Briggs and Morgan in Minneapolis. She received a bachelor’s degree with honors in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and a juris doctor cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. As an undergraduate, Verhalen started the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers’ first student chapter at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She has served on the MnSPE executive committee and as president in 2010.