Engineers Nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers

Yaye-Mah Boye, P.E.

Yaye-Mah Boye, a project manager with AECOM, provides technical and strategic advice to financiers, developers, contractors and other major players in the infrastructure finance market. She focuses on public-private partnerships in infrastructure and works on projects with capital investment values exceeding $500 million. Prior to her current work, one of her first projects involved converting old polluting coal-burning heating plants into cleaner and more efficient gas-burning plants. That program was successfully implemented in 46 New York City public schools, resulting in energy savings and reduced pollution.

Boye was featured on the cover on ENR Magazine in October 2006 issue focused on the importance of internships. Outside of her engineering passion, she is an active member of many humanitarian organizations including SENEPRONET and The Global Syndicate. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Polytechnic University of New York and is currently pursuing an MBA in finance from Fordham University.

yayemah.boye@aecom.com

Raissa Douglas Ferron, Ph.D., E.I.T.

Dr. Raissa Douglas Ferron, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, focuses her research and teaching interest in the area of concrete materials. Her dissertation research linked the structural changes in fresh cement paste to formwork pressures of self-consolidating concrete, and was the firs to directly examine the flocculation mechanisms of sheared cement paste suspensions. Her current research addresses challenges facing the future of concrete materials. She was awarded a highly competitive National Science Foundation grant to conduct research on in situ characterization of fresh state microstructure, and is also developing a biocementitious composite material aimed at providing sustainable residential materials for developing countries. In addition, she is active in several professional organizations and serves as an associate editor for a major engineering journal.

Dr. Ferron is also collaborating with an all-girl public school in Austin that educates girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop instructional materials to excite the girls about the diversity of career paths within civil engineering. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Howard University, and a master’s and doctoral degree in civil engineering, specializing in materials, from Northwestern University.

rferron@mail.utexas.edu

Alexandra Iannitelli, E.I.T.

Alex Iannitelli, E.I.T., an engineer at Thornton Tomaselli, as been working for the past two years on the forensic investigation of the collapse of the I-35 West Bridge in Minneapolis. She has spearheaded the development of the tools required to integrate forensics information about any structure and develop a forensics analog to building information modeling. The resulting three-dimensional model and associated tools help to consolidate, access, and display the information relevant to the collapse. Her developing expertise has also been invaluable in the subsequent investigations of parking garage and pedestrian bridge collapses in Atlanta, and a riser system failure in a tall building in Toronto.

Iannitelli holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from Drexel University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering and engineering mechanics with a structural concentration at Columbia University.

AIannitelli@ThorntonTomasetti.com

Melissa Wu, P.E.

Melissa Wu, P.E., an associate engineer with CH2M HILL, has made a significant impact to all the projects on which she works, consistently reflected in feedback from clients. Because of her relationship building, Pierce County requested CH2M HILL present options for design build of their future $300 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade. Wu is always looking for ways to be sustainable, whether developing beneficial uses for both reclaimed water and biosolids on projects, but she also focuses on being innovative, such as developing a phased approach to biosolids treatment and disposal that was both feasible and took into account the client’s cash flow over the life of the project. She is currently working on the Spokane Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility Program Management Project as project engineer for the Headworks Odor Control task, responsible for updating the conceptual design and helping to make the plant a better neighbor for the community.

Wu is involved in her local community through the Younger Member Forum of ASCE, and has also participated on the CH2M HILL team for Seattle Works Day, an annual community service event. In addition, she volunteers with K-12 outreach programs to inspire young students to pursue engineering careers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of California Berkeley.

melissa.wu@ch2m.com

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