C+S September Elevate 2023 issue

This C+S issue is a special ElevateAEC 2023 issue that was printed and handed out at the ElevateAEC Conference and Awards Gala in Frisco, Texas. Take a look to view all of the winners!

VOLUME 9 ISSUE 9.5 csengineermag.com

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CONTENTS

PAGE 6

THE COVER Special Edition - ElevateAEC 2023 contents AWARDS 6 2023 Zweig Group Award Winners RISING STARS 8 2023 Rising Stars of AEC Industry ELEVATEHER 18 Taking Action: The 2023 ElevateHER Cohort 20 Fueling Change through Community: a Look Inside ElevateHER 2023 ENGINEERING DRONE VIDEO OF THE YEAR 26 Flood Protection in the Great Plains: Moore Engineering Wins the 2023 Engineering Drone Video of the Year Competition YEARBOOK OF ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 30 2022 Yearbook of Engineering Achievement

departments 46 Reader Index

Columns LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD 4 Welcome to Frisco Luke Carothers

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Elevate AEC 2023

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Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex , the city of Frisco is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. American settlers first moved into the area now occupied by Frisco via stagecoach, travel- ing first along the Shawnee Trail then later the Preston Trail. These stagecoach routes largely influenced settlements in the region, and communities like Preston and Lebanon formed along these routes. This pattern would be altered, however, as railroads were soon surveyed through the area. As early as 1849, engineers working for the railroad identified a geographical feature known as Preston Ridge that would provide a strategic resource for the growing network of railroads in the area. Engineers realized that Preston Ridge could be used to collect stormwater using a manmade lake, which would provide a power source for trains moving throughout the region. The highest point in Collin County, Preston Ridge runs from North to South through Frisco’s mod - ern city boundaries. The ridge’s western edge features a sharp drop off that quickly levels off into flat land. Engineers working for the railroad knew that, because of this unique topography, stormwater could be col- lected relatively easily, being channeled into the now non-existent Lake Frisco. This lake formed a vital piece of infrastructure for the railroads, allowing trains to stop and refuel their steam engines. The railroad line reached Frisco in 1901, and, at this vital stop in the railroad, the town of Emerson was formed, named in honor of the man who owned the land where it was constructed–Francis Emerson. Prior to the railroad’s arrival, the existing population of the area was focused in a settlement named Preston, which was located atop the Preston Ridge. However, with the coming of the Frisco railroad, more and more settlers began to move from neighboring communities into what would later become the town of Frisco. Shortly after the town was established, its application for a post office was denied on the grounds that it was too similar to nearby Emberson in Lamar county. The town decided to change the name to Frisco City in 1904 in honor of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad, later shortening it to its current name and establish - ing a post office that same year. With a railroad station and depot, Frisco’s population quickly rose to around 1,000 people shortly after its founding. Over the next century, Frisco would see itself transformed from a small but strategic point of railroad infrastructure to one of the largest suburbs in the United States. Despite the rapidness of its inception, Frisco’s population grew steadily for the next 80 years, growing from around 1,000 in 1917 to around 3,000 in 1980. However, again thanks to its location, Frisco expanded exponentially. During the 1990s, Frisco’s population exploded, and it boasted over 120,000 residents in the year 2000. This growth trend continues as today the city of Frisco has a population of over 200,000. And, while the railroad industry has seen its influence significantly re - duced in the time since Frisco’s founding, the town has still maintained Welcome to Frisco Luke Carothers looking back, moving forward

a position of strategic influence over another industry consistently growing in influence: sports. Frisco is home to an ever expanding num - ber of venues and organizational headquarters for sports ranging from American football to golf. Sports organizations such as the PGA, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Southland conference are all now located in the former railroad town. Just as the Frisco Railroad did, these organi - zations have chosen this town as a place to expand from.

LUKE CAROTHERS is the Editor for Civil + Structural Engineer Media. If you want us to cover your project or want to feature your own article, he can be reached at lcarothers@zweiggroup.com.

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Elevate AEC 2023

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2023 Zweig Group Award winners

Marketing excellence

hot firm

1 UES (Universal Engineering Sciences) 2 ECS 3 Salas O'Brien 4 Ardurra Group, Inc. 5 Anser Advisory 6 Verdantas 7 Colliers Engineering & Design 8 IPS-Integrated Project Services, LLC 9 Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (Bowman) 10 Atwell, LLC 11 SCS Engineers 12 Westwood Professional Services 13 Woolpert 14 ALL4 15 Ulteig 16 Hanbury 17 Galloway & Company, Inc 18 Ware Malcomb 19 ANS Geo 20 BSB Design 21 RTM Engineering Consultants, LLC 22 McAdams 23 ISG 24 Garver, LLC 25 Langan 26 KCCT 27 McFarlane Architects, Inc. 28 Halff 29 O'Connell Robertson 30 Chen Moore and Associates 31 Patel, Greene & Associates, LLC 32 Wallace Design Collective 33 KSA Engineers, Inc. 34 Parametrix 35 Cedarville Engineering Group, llc 36 WithersRavenel 37 BB&E, Inc. 38 Genesis AEC

51 SSOE Group 52 EAPC Architects Engineers 53 Miyamoto International 54 Fehr Graham Engineering & Environmental 55 OWN, Inc. 56 SWCA Environmental Consultants 57 Poole & Poole Architecture 58 Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. 59 TLC Engineering Solutions 60 Larson Design Group 61 Woodard & Curran 62 LAN Associates 63 P2S Inc. 64 The Vertex Companies, LLC 65 EDG 66 J2 67 BSI Engineering 68 Bowers + Kubota Consulting, Inc. 69 Hillmann Consulting, LLC 70 Snell Engineering Consultants 71 HCL Engineering & Surveying, LLC 72 Neumann Monson Architects 73 Waggoner Engineering, Inc. 74 ThinkForm Architects 75 Blackstone Environmental, Inc. 76 Calibre Engineering 77 Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. 78 Fleis & VandenBrink 79 Cobb, Fendley & Associates, Inc, 80 Allana Buick & Bers 81 Hayduk Engineering, LLC 82 VLK Architects 83 Arora Engineers, LLC 84 EMC Engineering Services, Inc. 85 Passero Associates 86 G2 Consulting Group, LLC 87 Matrix Design Group, Inc. 88 Geo-Hydro Engineers, Inc. 89 Wright Engineers 90 Commercial Development Resources 91 WestLAND Group, Inc 92 CEC 93 Binkley & Barfield | DCCM 94 JQ Engineering, LLP 95 Tamarack Grove Engineering 96 SWBR 97 BKF Engineers

Website 1 Patel, Greene and Associates 2 J2 3 Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc.

New Identity Launch 1 OWN, Inc. 2 LJA Engineering Inc.

Newsletter - External 1 SWCA Environmental Consultants 2 WSB 3 Garver

Advertising 1 Kleinschmidt Associates 2 Mulhern+Kulp 3 CKearney Consulting

Newsletter Internal 1 Dennis Group 2 P2S Inc. 3 WSB

Brochure 1 ISG 2 P2S Inc. 3 ISG

Project Pursuit 1 ISG 2 LJA Engineering Inc 3 Environmental Design Group Recruitment / Retention Communication 1 Tamarack Grove Engineering 2 Garver 3 EAPC Architects Engineers Social Media 1 Colliers Engineering & Design 2 STO Building Group 3 Miyamoto International Special Event Marketing 1 Garmann Miller 2 Westwood Professional Services 3 Garver

Holiday 1 Garmann Miller 2 Ulteig 3 P2S Inc.

Identity Rebrand 1 Halff 2 J2 3 P2S Inc.

Integrated Marketing / Brand Awareness 1 Garmann Miller 2 BKF Engineers 3 Miyamoto International

Internal Marketing 1 ISG 2 TETER, Inc. 3 WGI

Video 1 Langan 2 Halff 3 Baxter & Woodman

39 Apex Companies, LLC 40 CROFT & Associates 41 Wade Trim 42 4 S.T.E.L. Engineering, Inc. 43 WSB 44 LJA Engineering 45 EPS Group 46 DCI Engineers 47 Ampirical 48 Zephyr Rail

Trifecta

BKF Engineers Colliers Engineering & Design EAPC Architects Engineers Garver ISG J2 Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.

LJA Engineering Inc Miyamoto International OWN, Inc. P2S Inc.

98 TETER, Inc. 99 DRMP, Inc. 100 DBR

49 Luminaut 50 Cyntergy

Patel, Greene and Associates Tamarack Grove Engineering TETER, Inc. Westwood Professional Services

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Best Firms to Work For

4 S.T.E.L. Engineering, Inc. A&E Design, Inc. AE2S Affinis Corp Allana Buick & Bers Architectural Design Consultants, Inc. Ardurra Atwell, LLC Baird, Hampton & Brown Baisch Engineering BASE Baxter & Woodman, Inc. BB&E, Inc. Bennett & Pless Better Communities Collaborative BHC Binkley and Barfield BKF Engineers Bowers + Kubota Consulting Inc BranchPattern Calibre Engineering Catalyst Environmental Solutions Corporation CEC Centerline Engineering & Consulting, LLC Chen Moore and Associates Choice One Engineering CMTS LLC CobbFendley Commercial Development Resources Comprehensive Environmental Inc. Consulting Engineering Services CORE Consultants, Inc. Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Associates Architects

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. CRIADO & Associates, Inc. Croy Engineering CRW Engineering Group, Inc. Cushing Terrell CWE Cyntergy DBR DRMP, Inc. e2 engineers EAPC Architects Engineers Eclipse Engineering, PC EDG EHS Support EKFox EMC Engineering Services, Inc. EMCS, Inc. Environmental Design Group Faller, Davis and Associates, Inc. Fitzemeyer & Tocci Forensic Analytical Consulting Services Foresite Group, LLC Fuss & O'Neill, Inc Gale Associates, Inc. Galloway & Company, Inc. Garmann Miller Garver Gaskins + LeCraw GATE Energy Geotechnical & Environmental Services, Inc.

Haley Ward, Inc Hanbury Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc HASTINGS Architecture, LLC HCL Engineering & Surveying, LLC HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. Hunt, Guillot & Associates, L.L.C. ISG J2 Joseph B. Callaghan, Inc. JQ Engineering, LLP Kjeldsen, Sinnock & Neudeck, Inc.

PK Electrical, Inc. Prairie Engineers, P.C. Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group R&M Consultants, Inc. Ramey Kemp Associates raSmith RJN Group, Inc. RLG Consulting Engineers RRM Design Group RTM Engineering Consultants, LLC Schaefer Shield Engineering Group, PLLC SME SWBR Tamarack Grove Engineering Taylor Design TETER, LLP Thomas & Hutton Engineering TLC Engineering Solutions, Inc. TowerPinkster Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. V3 Companies, Ltd. Verdantas LLC Vierbicher Associates Inc. VLK Architects Wade Trim Ware Malcomb WestLAND Group, Inc. Westwood Professional Services, Inc WK Dickson & Co., Inc. Wright Engineers Zephyr Rail

KL&A, Engineers & Builders Kleinschmidt Associates Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. Lea & Braze Engineering LJA Engineering Matrix Design Group Matthews | DCCM MBP McAdams Miyamoto International, Inc. MKN Mulhern & Kulp Structural Engineering, Inc. MWM DesignGroup, Inc. Neumann Monson Architects

OWN, Inc. P2S, Inc. Passero Associates

GMB Architecture + Engineering Grace Hebert Curtis Architects Green International Affiliates, Inc.

Patel, Greene & Associates, LLC Peloton Land Solutions, Inc. Pierce Engineers, Inc.

Top New Venture

Excellence In Client Experience

Borton-Lawson Bohler Engineering Braun Intertec Brasfield & Gorrie Burns & McDonnell Callidus Engineering CDM Smith

Full Sail Partners Garmann Miller GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. HEAPY HVJ Associates®

O'Donnell & Naccarato O'Shea Builders P2S Inc. Patterson & Dewar Engineers / Hood Patterson & Dewar PegasusTSI, Inc. Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP RJN Group RTI Health Solutions RTI International SCS Engineers Sellers Dorsey Shive-Hattery, Inc. SME Terracon The Kleingers Group WithersRavenel

Method Engineering Group

KFM Engineering & Design Kleinschmidt Associates MacArthur Associated Consultants Marcum McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. McClure McDonald York Building Company McAdams

Coffman Engineers, Inc. CRW Engineering Group Cromwell CT Consultants, Inc. Cushing Terrell Designed Conveyor Systems DiPrete Engineering Environmental Design Group EUA Faith Technologies

Mesa Associates, Inc. Morrison-Maierle, Inc.

MSA Professional Services, Inc. Neumann Monson Architects

Elevate AEC 2023

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It’s awards season– the time of the year we start honoring and cel- ebrating some of the amazing accomplishments of people and firms in the AEC Industry. There is no better way to start than by recognizing those young professionals who have already made an impact through exceptional technical capability, leadership ability, effective teaching or research, or public service. The 2023 Rising Stars in the AEC Industry have benefited the design profession, their employers, project owners, and society. Our winners this year hold a diverse skill set and technical capabilities and have done outstanding work in their communities. They are already leaders and mentors in their firms, bringing new ideas, practices, and impacts beyond their technical capabilities. They come from all over North America–from Florida to California, from Houston to South Dakota. This year we have everyone from Presidents and Principals of firms to Software engineers. This shows that no matter where you are in a company, you can be a Rising Star in this industry. Recognition of a young professional’s accomplishments, skill, leader - ship, etc. can go a long way in that young professional’s career. The knowledge that there is someone out there who recognizes what they are doing and takes the time to nominate them for an award like this is very important. Letting the next generation of leaders know that their work is getting noticed is not only good for their career but can be very helpful for the long term success of your firm.

Through our awards program, we also recognize revenue growth with our Hot Firm List. We recognize outstanding marketing through our Marketing Excellence Awards. We recognize those who are showing courageous leadership with our highest professional honor, The Jerry Allen Courage In Leadership Award. We honor those new firms who are already making an impact with our Top New Venture Award. And we honor those firms impacting their employee’s live by creating great workplaces with our Best Firms To Work For award. It is a tremendous honor to celebrate your outstanding achievements at the 2023 Elevate AEC Conference. Zweig Group’s Awards are at the center of one of the five tenets of our vision, Elevate the Industry; that tenant is “Celebrate.” There is so much good that this industry brings to the built environment and to the lives of the people who work in it. We want to celebrate the firms, people, and accomplishments of the AEC Industry. These awards give the winning firms and people the recognition that they deserve in an industry that is often overlooked by society. The winners of our awards truly do help to elevate the industry as a whole. We are proud to cel- ebrate your accomplishments and employees which continue to help Zweig Group Elevate the AEC Industry.

KYLE AHERN is the Awards Manager at Zweig Group. He can be reached at kahern@zweiggroup.com.

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Rising Stars in Multidisciplinary Engineering

Stephen Dominguez, PE, SE

Principal-in-Charge, Structural Engineering WT Group

John Butt, MBA, PE

Associate Director of Transportation Ulteig

Melanie D. Head, PE

Municipal Utilities Department Head Croy | Marietta, GA

Elevate AEC 2023

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Rising Stars in Multidisciplinary Engineering

Cole Cappel, AICP, ENV-SP

Planning and Landscape Architecture (PLA) Division Service Leader, Associate Westwood Professional Services

Dmitrijs Obolevics, IEng MICE

Senior Engineer Arup

Melanie Cleavelin, PE

Public Works/Transportation Team Lead Halff

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Rising Stars in Multidisciplinary Engineering

Mark Llewellyn Jr, PE

Operations Manager Halff

Kelsey Groesbeck, PE

Mechanical Engineer and Sustainability Leader TowerPinkster

Aaron Johnston, PE

Civil Engineering Project Manager Galloway & Company, Inc.

Elevate AEC 2023

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Rising Stars in Multidisciplinary Engineering

Lisa Metzger, AIA, NCARB

Architectural Project Manager Galloway & Company, Inc.

Kyle Pollock, PE

Civil Engineering Project Manager Galloway & Company, Inc.

Lu Chen, PE

Senior Structural Engineer Arup

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Rising Stars in MEP, Structural, and Full Service Engineering

Danny McGrail, PE, LEED AP BD+C (MEP)

Science and Technology Practice Director Henderson Engineers

Mark Rocha, PE, SE (Structural)

Structural Engineer HDR

Maryanne Wachter, PE (Structural)

Software Engineer Outer Labs

Elevate AEC 2023

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Rising Stars in MEP, Structural, and Full Service Engineering

David Doxtad, PE (Full Service)

President ISG

Principal/Director of Interior Design Cyntergy Stephanie Putzke, RCID, NCIDQ (Full Service)

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Rising Stars in Civil Engineering

Yvonne Rivera, PE, PMP

Project Manager DEC

Emily Villines, CPSM, CPC, ACC

Vice President, Strategic Communications Calibre Engineering

Josh Kimbrell, PE, QSD/P, LEED Green Associate

Vice President Freyer & Laureta, Inc.

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Rising Stars in Civil Engineering

Kim Johnson, PE

President 7 Oaks Engineering, inc.

Royce Eklund, PE

Regional Civil Engineering Manager Commercial Development Resources

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Rising Stars in Architecture

Jayna Duke, IIDA, LEED AP ID + C

Principal, Interiors Practice Lead O’Connell Robertson

Anna Adams, NCIDQ

Associate/Interior Designer CROFT & Associates

Elijah Pearce, RA, LEED AP

Principal RRM Design Group

Elevate AEC 2023

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Taking Action The 2023 ElevateHER Cohort

By Shirley Che

2023 has been a tumultuous ride for a lot of us. We are still recovering from COVID, principles of economy no longer apply anywhere, the legislatures keep punching women in the guts, and most recently, Barbie unexpectedly became our new hero. The world has been chaotic to me, and nothing is predictable. When the founders of ElevateHER, Christy Zweig Niehues and Jamie Claire Kiser, left Zweig Group for other incredible opportunities, the opportunity and honor to step in and take the reins for ElevateHER landed on my laps. While both founders are still involved, the day-to- day is now in my hands. Like a typical middle-age, mid-career woman in middle management does, the self-doubt follows immediately, and the pressure slowly manifests–Is it ok to even talk DEI with our clients? Is it ok to write a cover article about the Supreme Court rulings? I know where I stand, but is it fair to put that on the company? Then in Q2, an opportunity came about, and Zweig Group was invited to partner with the ACEC Research Institute on their development of the Diversity Roadmap Benchmarking Tool. It’s a big commitment (and responsibility) to put our name on such a prominent and widespread effort; I immediately had a long list of doubts disguised as questions– Do we have the resources to commit to the partnership responsibly?

How will this help our clients? What does that mean to ElevateHER? I remember vividly that I started shaking feeling the excitement but also the weight of it all. All the doubts went away rather quickly. I was blown away at how fast and certain that Chad Clinehens, our CEO, agreed to the partnership. Almost right away, the conversation shifted from go/no-go to what we needed to do to complement this partnership. Once again, I was shown that it’s not a cheeky tagline that Zweig Group slings around on our website and business cards; we are genuinely committed to elevating the industry in an increasing number of ways. I share this story to tell you just how honored I am to get to lead ElevateHER, and how proud I am to witness the 2023 ElevateHER cohort members present their research and projects on the ElevateAEC Conference main stage. It has been an impossibly busy and unpredictable year for most of us, yet this small but mighty class stayed focused, and developed tools, frameworks, etc., so that women and other marginalized groups of the workforce could have a more promising career in AEC. Together–across different organizations (like ACEC), and over time (i.e., ElevateHER cohorts in the last four years) –we are building a sustainable AEC workforce that will thrive and flourish, and

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Elevate AEC 2023

it is shaping up to be one that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive, where anyone that wants to be a part of it will feel like they belong. So once again, it is my honor to introduce to you the 2023 ElevateHER® projects and the team members: 2023 Cohort Projects

HostAgE Crisis , presented by Emily Havelka and Laura Morton, highlights the impact of liquidity issues at many AEC firms. By increasing fees and/or ensuring prompt payment, firms can stay liquid and profitable – allowing them to attract, maintain, and train top talent and restore the pride and dynamism of the industry. MentHERship , presented by Amy Kunselman, Andrea Narendorf, Carmen Pemsler, Jessica Bazán, Lalitha Benjaram, Shelby Harvey, and Stephanie Putzke, continues the work from one of the 2021 ElevateHER® project teams, and offers a framework for firms and organizations to implement a successful mentorship program.

PromoteHER , presented by Adrienne Taylor, Amanda Thomas, Kara Koenig, Laci Budd, and M. Jackie Chang, established that one way to retain women and minorities in the AEC industry is by ensuring equitable advancement opportunities. The team is creating a readily accessible hub of resources and framework to help track professional skill sets and achievements. TeacHER2.0 , presented by Amanda Roehl, Chad Coldiron, and Kellie Delaney, expands on the effort by 2022 ElevateHER® project teams, and leverages the collective powers of public libraries to distribute materials that will help expose AEC career paths to children at an early stage.

TransformUS , presented by Alejandra Ruiz, Alicia Albini, and Katie Fitzpatrick, asserts that a growth mindset is key to implementing DEI initiatives and improving recruitment, retention, and culture at AEC organizations. They will share their research and a framework that change agents can leverage to gain buy-in from firm leaders. Much gratitude and appreciation for the following ElevateHER alumni advisors who have stayed on to offer continued guidance and assistance to the 2023 cohort: Carrie Casillas, Dathan Gaskill, Dawn Kopecky, Emily Waldenmeyer, Jennifer Ridd, Karen Purcell, Laurel Stone, Lisa Huddleston, Maryanne Wachter, Mickey Garcia, Misela Gonzalez-Vandewalle, and Stephanie Teetes.

SHIRLEY CHE is director of field marketing, learning, and ElevateHER® at Zweig Group. Resourceful and forever curious, Shirley is a data-oriented creative with a passion for connecting communities to resources. She joined Zweig Group as Marketing Manager in 2021. Contact her at sche@zweiggroup.com .

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ELEVATE HER 2023

Fueling Change through Community: a Look Inside ElevateHER 2023

By Luke Carothers

The 2023 ElevateHER Symposium and Kickoff Event took place on February 15th-17th in the sun-drenched Parker Ballroom in Dallas, Texas. Located in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood, this historic structure was designed by William Sidney Pittman who was the state’s first practicing Black architect. A spot for Dallas nightlife in the early 20th century, the Parker Ballroom at the Kimpton Pittman hotel once rang loud with some of America’s most influential musicians at the turn of the 20th century. More than a century later, those same halls rang not with the crooning of musicians but with the voices of women and men seeking to positively influence change in the AEC industry. Over the course of the three-day event, new cohort members were immersed in interactive workshops and speeches from AEC industry professionals. By the end of the event, these new cohort members would find community and shared passions, forming into teams that would set out to change the AEC industry for the better. The 2023 ElevateHER Cohort’s first experience in the program was framed by inspiring voices from almost every corner of the AEC industry. The first keynote speaker–Bolanle Williams-Olley–set the stage for the week’s event, urging those in the room to think boldly about themselves and their careers. Bolanle Williams-Olley, who is Mancini Duffy’s CFO and co-owner, spoke from experience, sharing

the events that shaped her life and career. The first keynote speaker fielded questions from the audience, asking the assembled audience of new cohort members, speakers, and current ElevateHER members what their biggest barrier is. Their responses–pay, gender bias, lack of representation–would frame not only the rest of the first keynote speech, but the conversations that would take place and the plans that would ultimately be made. Williams-Olley used the Broken Rung metaphor to describe the culmination of these experiences. These experiences are also reflected in current statistics which indicate for every 100 men promoted only 87 women are promoted and 82 women of color. Williams-Olley believes that one of the first steps towards mending this broken rung is understanding that its foundation of a linear career path is not always possible or desirable. In reimagining the broken rung, Williams-Olley believes that the missing space can be filled with an interconnected web of community and support. With this image she urged the crowd to think about the webs of community in which they already exist, ending on a call to think boldly about their own potential as well as the potential of other women in their communities. The second keynote speaker was Colleen Martindale, who is Preconstruction Director at McCarthy. Martindale surveyed the room of AEC industry’s progress as it relates to other industries, sketching

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Elevate AEC 2023

out a few unique characteristics of the industry that may be at the heart of some of the room’s shared frustrations. Unlike many other industries, the AEC industry has developed a transactional- and project- based culture that, by its nature, sometimes pits architects, engineers, and construction professionals against each other. Martindale used these characteristics as a vehicle for both assessing various methods of DEI that are already happening and methods that will be developed moving forward, posing questions about the role of men in women-forward initiatives. Amidst the background of these discussions, Martindale introduced the narrative of her own experience, sharing critical moments throughout her career that shaped her outlook and perspective on the challenges faced by women in the AEC industry. Sharing both her experiences succeeding in a traditionally male-dominated field and as a musician and rockstar, Martindale stressed the importance of being your authentic self. Martindale shared a few statistics with the room that indicated people who were able to be more authentic at work reported higher job satisfaction. On top of higher job satisfaction, Martindale used her own experience to extend the concept of authenticity to building and strengthening relationships and communities. Inevitably, being your authentic self requires vulnerability, but Martindale closed her speech by urging the crowd to open themselves up to vulnerability and authenticity as not only a way to build relationships, but also to inspire others. The day’s final keynote speaker was Mallory Lindgren, who is the Senior VP of Market Development for Westwood. Lindgren took the stage late in the afternoon. Following the excitement of the other keynote speakers, interactive panels, collaborative workshopping, lunch, and snacks, Lindgren’s passionate speech immediately provided the room with a renewed purpose and energy. Lindgren spoke to the importance of the work done by the AEC industry, and to its attraction to trailblazers in reference to those gathered in the ballroom. She urged the crowd to look around amongst themselves and recognize just how special the members of the ElevateHER program are. With this acknowledgement, the call was extended to begin thinking about leveraging this community of trailblazers to its fullest potential. Lindgren posed a simple question: “what would it look like if we went all in on this connection to one another?” Sharing the story of her success, Lindgren frames some of the most pivotal moments in her career as those when she experienced solidarity from someone in her community. These experiences shaped Lindgren and she now looks for every opportunity to provide the same for others experiencing the same thing. The day’s final keynote address ended with a simple call to action: write a letter to yourself. In this letter, Lindgren asked the crowd to write whatever they felt was important to them, whether it was what they wanted to remember, who they wanted to inspire, what quotes do you remember from today, or anything else they deemed worthy. The crowd wrote their letters, with many staying well over the conclusion of the day’s events, before depositing them with Zweig Group’s staff to be mailed back to them following the conclusion of the year’s program. Despite the first day’s many moving parts and passionate discussions, Lindgren’s speech and call to action provided the perfect bridge into activities for the final two days.

The start of day two kicked off the ElevateHER Symposium portion of the event. Over the course of the day, new ElevateHER cohort members engaged in group collaboration sessions, which were bookended by talks from speakers Marci Thompson, Lauren Aguilar, and Laura Nick. Through this format, the new cohort members actively work amongst themselves to identify common issues and brainstorm solutions. The ultimate goal through these various engagements is to not simply identify shared problems, but to find others who are passionate about solving the same problems. As the day progressed, cohort members gravitated towards those with shared passions. By the early afternoon, the entire cohort had found these individuals with shared passions and had solidified into teams. While plans and ideas are always subject to change over time, these groups formed around solving problems in areas such as legislation, pay differences, literacy, education, and others. The final workshop on day two was centered around these groups working together to form a thesis statement. In their thesis statement, groups were tasked with identifying the topic or challenge they aim to address, communicate the challenges associated with solving that challenge, and outline a plan for enacting change in that field. The groups worked together to find anecdotes, language, and statistics to support these statements, and, by the end of the hour-long session, the groups proudly presented their thesis statements to one another. And, just as was the case on day one, the cohort members left the event brimming with excitement to begin working on a presentation the following day. Many cohort members worked late into the evening, preparing for the following day’s presentation before the panel of judges: Colleen Martindale, Laura Nick, and Marvin Jackson. The excitement was palpable on day three as the newly-formed groups began pitching their new project ideas. Again this was a collaborative endeavor, as judges and audience members alike provided feedback about the proposed ideas. With this feedback, groups immediately set out to begin working on their projects. As the final day concluded, the groups huddled together, making plans to meet virtually and in-person to continue working on their projects, which will be presented at the next ElevateHER Symposium. Solving recruitment and retention problems for women in the AEC industry is and will continue to be a topic at the forefront of our discussions. While the 2023 ElevateHER cohort continues to work on and improve their plans through to execution, there is an acknowledgement that these problems will not be solved overnight. Rather, these passions that shine through the cohort members and their projects are exemplary of the momentum of change. Some of the new projects will be new concepts, while others will seek to build further on projects from previous years. As these projects grow and are executed, their reach extends to others who will benefit from progress, building new relationships and affecting more people.

LUKE CAROTHERS is the Editor for Civil + Structural Engineer Media. If you want us to cover your project or want to feature your own article, he can be reached at lcarothers@zweiggroup.com.

Elevate AEC 2023

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ElevateHer Cohort 2023

Alejandra Ruiz

ADRIENNE TAYLOR

Amanda Roehl

Senior Staff Engineer (Civil), LACO Associates

Owner, Chief Idea Generator, Pixels and Ink Studio

Division Manager, SSOE Group

Amanda Thomas

Alicia Albini

Amy Kunselman

Sustainment Logistics and Technical Writer, QTEC Aerospace

Civil Engineer, ISG

Director of Large Scale Residential, WithersRavenel

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Elevate AEC 2023

ElevateHer Cohort 2023

Andrea Narendorf Director of Business Development, Flatiron Construction

Carmen Pemsler

Chad Coldiron

Structural Project Engineer, Tamarack Grove Engineering

Principal & Director of Executive Search, Zweig Group

Emily Havelka, MBA, MA, CPSM Corporate Communications Leader, HED

Kara Koenig

Jessica Bazan

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Central Texas Business Development Leader, O’Connell Robertson

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Laci Budd

Katie Fitzpatrick Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Galloway

Kellie Delaney

Senior Marketing Specialist, BHC

Director of Marketing, HP Engineering, INC

Maria Jackie Chang Senior Project Manager, DBR

Laura Morton

Lalitha Benjaram

Senior Associate, SSOE Group

Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager, Mead & Hunt

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Shelby Harvey

Talent Development & HR Lead, BHC

Stephanie Putzke

Principal, Director of Interior Design, Cyntergy- Tulsa, OK

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Flood Protection in the Great Plains Moore Engineering Wins the 2023 Engineering Drone Video of the Year Competition

By Luke Carothers

See The winning entry

The closing of the 2023 Engineering Drone Video of the Year Competition marks a period of celebration that not only recognizes the outstanding videos that graced this year’s competition, but also the tremendous impact that drones and UAV technology have had on our wide-reaching industry. The 2023 EDVY finalists represent projects from eight different states as well as Puerto Rico. Ranging from large scale transportation and infrastructure projects to single- residential constructions and everything in between, the 2023 EDVY finalists are testament to the continuing importance of drones/UAVs to the AEC industry. This year’s judging panel was tasked with pairing down the strongest field of competitors since EDVY was launched in 2017. With over 30 videos submitted for consideration, the judging panel was asked to evaluate each video based on: 1)the video’s capacity to contextualize the project, 2) subject and purpose, 3) demonstrating an innovative use of drones, 4) demonstrating the flight capacity of drones, and 5) demonstrating the visual capacity of drones/UAVs. Using these criteria, the judging panel examined each of the videos entered in the competition to determine what stood out as the best of the best. After the initial round of judging, the final scores were close enough to merit an additional round of voting. What emerged from this intense period of judging and evaluation were ten videos that would closely vie for the top spot in this year’s competition. To determine what video deserves the top spot as the winner of the 2023 EDVY Competition, the audience of Civil+Structural Engineer Magazine participated in a 14-day voting period. As has become a yearly occasion with the EDVY Competition, voting took off immediately after the videos were posted, and, over the first two days of the competition, more than 2,000 votes were cast for the finalists. After the close of that second day, four finalists had set a good pace

above the rest of the field. One of these finalists was a submission from HSR Constructors who focused on the construction of the Brightline Phase 2 from Orlando to West Palm Beach. Following the construction of a high speed passenger rail expansion, HSR’s submission uses drone flight to contextualize movement throughout the project, and provides key information in location specific overlays. Another submission that emerged as a contender after day two was from the Nebraska Department of Transportation covering their UAS program launch and the Lincoln Beltway South Project. NDOT’s submission to the 2023 EDVY competition is emblematic of the level of production that has become the standard for the competition in recent years. Using both narration and impressive drone-produced visualizations, NDOT’s submission is an effective tool for understanding both the project being covered and how drone technology has impacted its design and development. A similar effect was deployed to similar success with Moore Engineering’s submission covering flood infrastructure planning in the town of Lisbon, North Dakota. Utilizing a voiceover from Lisbon’s Mayor Tim Meyer, this submission details the city’s response to intense flooding in 2009, 2010, and 2011, which was completed by working with Moore Engineering. As the competition moved beyond the second day of voting, the four videos vying for the top spot began to slowly fade to three. For the next

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Judging Panel • Margot Moulton • Maxim Baklykov • Bryan Baker

• Luke Carothers • Andrea Perotti EDVY 2023 Top Ten 1. Moore Engineering–”Maple and Upper Maple River Dams” 2. Moore Engineering–”Lisbon, ND: Spring Flooding”

week of voting, three videos would trade and exchange places, but, as the voting period drew to a close, it soon became clear that a submission from Moore Engineering would claim the top spot. However, as the only competitor with two videos to make the final round, the question still remained as to which of Moore’s submissions would win. In the end, Moore Engineering’s "Maple & Upper Maple River Dams" emerged as the clear winner of the 2023 Engineering Drone Video of the Year competition, garnering over 1,000 more votes than the second place submission. The 2023 EDVY winner gives viewers a unique perspective on two projects that have massive footprints in terms of size and impact. The winning video uses the perspective afforded by a drone juxtaposed with textual information to give viewers a unique and important perspective of two, large-scale engineering projects. 3. HSR Constructors–”Brightline Phase 2: Orlando to West Palm Beach High Speed Passenger Rail Expansion” 4. Nebraska Department of Transportation–”UAS Program Launch/Lincoln South Beltway Project” 5. Jose Espinal Vazquez and Associates–”VA Heroes Hospital” 6. CRAFT | Engineering Studio–”Nantucket Residence” 7. Caulfield and Wheeler–”CWI 2023 Engineering Drone Video Contest: Avenir” 8. KCI Technologies–”Houston Public Works Northeast Transmission Line” 9. GeoStabilization International 10. CES Consulting, LLC–”Quality, Delivered”

The person responsible for both of Moore Engineering’s entries to this year’s finalists is Cody Rogness, Videographer and Media Specialist for Moore Holding Company. Working closely with Moore Engineering as well as their other related companies, Rogness draws on his varied background–which includes TV news, TV shows, commercials, and documentaries–to produce content like the Maple and Upper Maple River Dams video that provides an important function both internally and externally. According to Rogness, for projects like these, drones are an essential tool for communicating their scale, and that, with such a scale, drones are a great tool for saving time compared to traditional video and photography. While Rogness is primarily involved with using drones as a tool for communicating externally, he also notes that these same qualities can be applied to design and construction with

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maps and other drone-generated models. Kurt Lysne, Market Leader for Moore Engineering, says that they have historically utilized drones for preliminary design data collection, LIDAR, aerial photogrammetry, and surveying pre-existing site conditions, as well as documenting and monitoring construction. Lysne further adds that, when coupled with an Emmy Award-winning videographer like Cody Rogness, drones become a powerful tool for marketing, giving them a powerful tool to communicate their goals and successes. And certainly, the winning video of the 2023 Competition is a demonstration of Rogness' ability to tell a story. To gather the footage that comprised the winning video, Rogness used the natural landscape to tell part of the story, shooting the footage during Spring flooding. Harnessing the image of Spring floods coming over the spillways of the Maple and Upper Maple River Dams, Rogness adds a crucial element of context to their regional importance. The winning video is unique in that it combines textual information, perspective, and the natural landscape to tell the story of two immense structures. Similar to winners from recent years, Cody Rogness’ winning submission on behalf of Moore Engineering can be used as a timestamp of the relationship drones and UAVs have with the AEC industry. As Lysne puts it, the winning video, “[completes Moore’s] suite of services that drones are used for.” By combining their important uses on the technical side of projects with the ability to tell a story that captures importance and scale, drones are an invaluable tool for communicating the importance of the work done by the AEC industry, and this year’s winner is emblematic of this ever-developing function.

LUKE CAROTHERS is the Editor for Civil + Structural Engineer Media. If you want us to cover your project or want to feature your own article, he can be reached at lcarothers@zweiggroup.com.

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Continuing Our mission to Elevate the AEC Industry, Civil+Structural Engineer Media are proud to present the 2022 Yearbook of Engineering Achievement (YEA) Awards In its second year of existence, the YEA competition was once again representative of the international AEC industry with firms from both the eastern and western hemispheres submitting their work. The groundbreaking projects that grace these pages are special, having been selected by our audience of AEC professionals. As a leading source of business news, thought leadership, and project information for the AEC industry, we at Civil+Structural Engineer Media are proud to serve the designers of the world around us. For us, the decision to allow our audience to choose the winners of the 2022 YEA award is but one small way we can honor this relationship. Our goal is to make you–the experts, professionals, and leaders who toil endlessly to continue the legacy of Elevating the AEC industry–a bigger part of celebrating this year of achievement. The decision to include our audience in the 2022 YEA Award showed some emerging, if not unlikely, trends within the AEC industry. This 2022’s Summit Award winner, which is given to the project that receives the highest number of votes, is once again from the transportation and infrastructure category. The Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement –submitted by HNTB–is the largest and most complex bridge building project in the history of Los Angeles, setting a new threshold for seismic safety and expanding the utility of urban bridges. HNTB’s submission received over 200 votes per day during the ten day period, which is testament to the project’s groundbreaking vision and execution. In fact, projects from the transportation and infrastructure category received 53 percent of the total votes in the 2022 YEA Award competition.

Another trend identified by voters for the 2022 YEA competition was a surge in the number of both submissions and winners for the water/stormwater/wastewater category. The submission that garnered the most votes from the water/stormwater/wastewater category was the Vertex Companies project in the City of Houston; involving

a major public transit line for America’s fourth most populous city, this project was completed with minimal impact to the city’s population. In terms of the scope of this award system, the Vortex Companies’ submission is representative of the interconnectedness of the AEC industry, demonstrating the reverberating effects of our work to varied users of the built environment.