New Faces Underscore Engineering’s Crucial Role And The Promise Of The Profession’s Newest Generation

From humanitarian outreach and supply of essential services to meeting the demands of war, engineering is a global effort focused on the future and personified by the New Faces of Engineering 2005.

New Faces, sponsored by the National Engineers Week Foundation, recognizes engineers age 30 or younger who have worked in the field from two to five years and have demonstrated outstanding abilities in their chosen disciplines. Engineers Week, February 20-26, 2005 , is co-chaired by ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and BP, p.l.c.

Few professions touch so many levels of society and serve so many needs as engineering. That role is only amplified globally, and this year’s New Faces evidence the importance of engineering in challenges worldwide.

Take, for example, Enrique Javier Bazán-Arias, a project engineer at Paul C. Rizzo Associates in Pittsburgh . Bazán-Arias is the very essence of engineering as a global force. Born in Mexico to Peruvian parents, Bazán-Arias has been responsible for the marketing, design and execution of projects in a dozen countries. Among the most significant are transportation systems, such as the Pittsburgh International Airport's underground train, and seismic upgrades, such as the Saluda Dam Remediation Project – the nation’s largest active dam project – in Columbia, South Carolina.

On the other side of the globe, Mehmet Ali Ersudas, a project engineer at EGE Holding in Adapazari, Turkey, leads a 30-person operation and maintenance team responsible for design, construction and management of preventive maintenance throughout the facility. Through systems that regulate vibration control, lubrication, and calibration of measurement devices, he has optimized mechanical assets and personnel while controlling costs that will result in an estimated $600,000 in savings over the next year. He recently established an Istanbul chapter of Engineers Without Borders, the organization that mobilizes volunteer engineers and engineering students to design and implement sustainable projects that bring long-term benefits to communities around the globe.

On the war front, too, New Faces honors those who help advance infrastructure and other critical needs of the campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world. Mitchell Burns, a mechanical engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore , was part of the team that staffed the Corps’ Afghanistan Area Office to support Operation Enduring Freedom. For four months, Burns worked up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, helping in several crucial areas, including renovation of Kabul Women's Hospital, the sole medical service for the women of Kabul.

Lucy Phillips, a research civil engineer at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg , Mississippi, uses her expertise to evaluate Army airfields with an organized, holistic and systematic approach to save resources regardless of location or situation. Like many of the New Faces, Philips also encourages engineering students and other young people to consider the profession, conducting tours of research facilities for visiting university groups and coordinating speakers for local schools.

Nominees were submitted through engineering societies by corporations, academia and engineering professionals and will be honored by a full-page advertisement in USA Today during Engineers Week. Information on all 65 New Faces nominations can be found at www.eweek.org.

Other New Faces work on projects that have an impact on the products and services that most of us use every day. When people in New York City turn on their faucets and get clean water, they can thank professionals like Nicole E. Brown, a project engineer at Malcolm Pirnie in Jackson Heights , New York. Her efforts to revamp the city’s drinking water supply include evaluation and design improvements for the city’s groundwater system, ranging from creation of a demonstration plant for expanding the system to ongoing community outreach for the project. She also works with the National Society of Black Engineers to encourage minorities to join and excel in the engineering field.

Anyone who has used some of the newest HP Deskjet printers can thank Peter G. Hwang, industrial design expert at Hewlett-Packard Company in Vancouver , Washington . Hwang is responsible for the company’s HP Officejet 5510, the world's smallest all-in-one printer with an automatic sheet feeder, and co-invented HP's first disappearing space-saver paper trays. His philosophy of observing users in their day to day environments has led to numerous product awards and 20 utility and design patents, with 19 more pending.

“Engineering – who we are and what we do – is all about people,” says ASME president Harry Armen. “The New Faces underscore that point by identifying the up and coming professionals and their contributions. They hold the promise of our profession for the next generation. They’ve taken on awesome responsibilities and answered that call with extraordinary service.”

And for anyone who thinks that behind-the-scenes work won’t make engineers well known in their field, Mark Hersam, an electrical engineer and assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, offers an argument to the contrary. Hersam, a leading expert in silicon-based molecular electronics, has been featured on the covers of Nano Letters, Nanotechnology, and Applied Physics Letters, and was named one of Chicago’s outstanding “30 Under 30” by 606 magazine – the only engineer to make the list alongside Windy City athletes, performers and artists.

The other top New Faces of Engineering 2005 include:

LTJG Gabriel B. Alvillar, an electrical engineer with the U.S. Navy, supervises a 30-person team in charge of operating the nuclear propulsion plant onboard the submarine USS Seawolf.

Vinoth Mani Balasubramani , a process/industrial engineer with General Motors in Waterford , Michigan, devises and implements systems for daily schedules to meet customer demand by eliminating overproduction, inventory, motion, and over-processing.

The Hon. Chris Constantin is a trustee of the West Valley/Mission Community College District, and a performance auditor for the City of San Jose, California. An industrial and systems engineer, Constantin balanced the West Valley/Mission Community College budget with no layoffs or salary cuts, and currently minimizes waste and improves efficiency for city programs in San Jose .

Richard Delp, P.E. , is president and chief electrical engineer of Schiller and Hersch Associates in Oreland , Pennsylvania , near Philadelphia . He supervised the design and construction for a $115 million facility for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and has been responsible for managing the replacement of substations for the Philadelphia International Airport.

Hope Gibson, EIT , an engineer with ECT Services in Louisville , Kentucky , designs heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems using web-based direct digital controls for various facilities including the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and the Muhammad Ali Museum .

Daniel Guido is project manager and interim operations manager for the National Science Foundation Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . He researches and develops predictive maintenance technologies to enable machines and systems to sustain near-zero breakdown performance.

Stephanie Horne Swindle , a senior engineer and maintenance team leader with Alabama Power in Wilsonville , Alabama , supervises management and upgrades for the E.C. Gaston Steam Plant, responsible for providing power to most of Alabama and Georgia .

New Faces of Engineering 2005 (listed by nominating society). For complete biographical information and to set up interviews, contact Donald Lehr at (212) 967-8200 / dblehr@cs.com.

American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
Nicole E. Brown

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Mitchell Burns

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Lucy Phillips

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Hope Gibson, EIT

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Mehmet Ali Ersudas

Chinese Institute of Engineers – USA (CIE-USA)
Peter G. Hwang

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA)
Mark Hersam, Ph.D.

Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
The Hon. Chris Constantin

U.S. Navy
LTJG Gabriel Alvillar

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Daniel Guido

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
Richard Delp, P.E.

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Enrique Javier Baz án-Arias, EIT

Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
Vinoth Mani Balasubramani

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Stephanie Horne Swindle

Engineers Week, founded in 1951 by NSPE, is dedicated to raising public awareness of engineers’ positive contributions to the quality of life. It promotes recognition among parents, teachers and students of the importance of a technical education and a high level of math, science, and technology literacy, and motivates youth to pursue engineering careers in order to provide a diverse and vigorous engineering workforce. Co-chairs for 2005 are ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and BP p.l.c. For more information, visit www.eweek.org.