March/April 2020

PEople

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers announced that Deborah Grubbe, P.E., will be the organization’s 2020 president-elect and 2021 president. Grubbe is the owner and president of Operations and Safety Solutions LLC. She is the former vice president of group safety for BP and spent more than 25 years at Dupont. Grubbe holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with highest distinction from Purdue University, and received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to attend Cambridge University in England, where she received a certificate of post-graduate study in chemical engineering.

Engineering and construction management firm Neel-Schaffer Inc. announced in December that Steve Twedt, P.E., F.NSPE, has been promoted to senior vice president. Twedt joined the firm in 2010 after working for the Mississippi Department of Transportation for more than 20 years. He serves as the firm’s south Mississippi area manager. Twedt is the president of the Mississippi Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Mississippi State University.

Carl Fonville, P.E., received the Research Leadership Award at the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Award Conference in Washington, D.C. Fonville is a development engineer at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. His job involves using computer-aided engineering software applications for development and analysis of vehicle sealing and structural integrity of engine components. He is the inventor or coinventor of 20 US patents, seven research disclosures, and a tool method. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan.

Slade Engstrom, P.E., was promoted to vice president by engineering and architectural firm TranSystems. Engstrom, based in the firm’s office in Wichita, Kansas, has almost two decades of experience and serves as a national traffic expert for the company. He has worked as a project manager and project engineer on a wide range of transportation projects. Engstrom holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University.

Engineering and technical services consulting company T&M Associates has named Patrick Jeffery, P.E., chief operating officer. Jeffery was previously the firm’s New Jersey regional operations manager, and he will now oversee the daily operational functions of the company. He also will sit on the company’s board of directors. Jeffery serves as the president of the Monmouth County chapter of the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Virginia Tech.

The Texas Society of Professional Engineers has endorsed the formation of a student chapter at Tarleton State University. Kartik Venkataraman, P.E., is the faculty advisor for the new group.“Having a student chapter of the TSPE on campus will provide much-needed exposure for engineering majors to the licensure process and the values of a professional engineer license,” Venkataraman says. The PE is an associate professor of environmental engineering at Tarleton State. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from SRM University in India and a PhD in civil engineering from Texas Tech University.