October 2014

PEople

• Sandra Knight, P.E., F.NSPE, was elected road superintendent for Bradley County, Tennessee on August 7. She has served as county engineer for the past 17 years and won the Republican primary with 58% of the vote in early May. Knight ran unopposed and was sworn in on August 29. For the new position, Knight has listed her priorities as reducing costs and implementing repairs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

  Monte Phillips, Ph.D., P.E., F.NSPE, was recently named a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the society’s highest accolade. He was honored by ASCE for his contributions as an outstanding educator, long-term leader in the engineering profession, pioneer in the creation and passage of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Model Law for additional education as a prerequisite for licensure, and proponent of ethical practice. He will receive the award at the ASCE Global Engineering Conference Oct. 7.

  The American Public Works Association recently appointed Richard Berning, P.E., F. NSPE, to the board of directors for a one-year term. Prior to his retirement in 2004, Berning was director of public works for the City of Springfield, Illinois; he now works as a self-employed engineering consultant. As Region V director on the board, he will work directly with chapters in the region and focus on APWA strategic issues such as advocacy for infrastructure, building strong chapters, and enhancing professional development and education programs.

• Blake Cotton, P.E., was recently promoted from principal geotechnical engineer in GeoEngineers’ Baton Rouge, Louisiana, office to leader of the company’s South Business Unit, encompassing offices in Baton Rouge and Springfield, Missouri. Prior to joining GeoEngineers in March 2014, he spent more than 21 years with Fugro Consultants Inc., where he was a principal and vice president of Louisiana Operations. His project experience includes assignments throughout the US, with emphasis in the Gulf Coast regions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on commercial, municipal, federal, and industrial projects.

  The board of directors for Wier & Associates recently elected Carlo Silvestri, P.E., as the firm’s president. He has been with the Arlington, Texas-based firm since 1993 and began his career there as an engineer intern. He accepted a position as a graduate engineer after earning his B.S. in civil engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1996, and he later became an associate of the firm in 2001 and a principal in 2004.

  Christian Davies-Venn, Ph.D., P.E., of Washington, DC, is serving as the 2014 president of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. He has served the academy as vice president, assistant treasurer, treasurer, and chair of the finance committee. The vice president and chief engineer for PEER Consultants holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Sierra Leone, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Arkansas.