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DR. VUCHIC RECEIVES TRANSPORTATION EDUCATOR AWARD

 Dr. Vuchic received the Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award at the 2007 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Convention in Pittsburgh, PA.   The Wilbur S. Smith Award is given annually to a transportation educator who has made an outstanding contribution to the Transportation profession by relating academic studies to the actual practice of transportation.  The Award recognizes transportation educators who help their students to advance their professional development, enhance their opportunities to come into contact with practicing transportation professionals and to become active participants in the profession. 
 

Eric Bruun’s book, Better Public Transit Systems, “a complete primer for performance and investment analysis of public transportation,” is available.  To check out the full publisher’s description and order a copy, click on the link below:

http://www.planning.org/APAStore/search/Default.aspx?p=3674

JAMES P. MARKHAM NAMED YOUNG CIVIL ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

The Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers has cited James P. Markham as one of two recipients of its 2005 Young Civil Engineer of the Year honors. This award was presented to Mr. Markham at the Section's annual Spring Social and Dinner Dance, which was conducted on May 6.

Mr. Markham has been with Pennoni Associates at its University City office for the past six years, where he is involved in transportation design for various public and private sector clients. He is a key part of the development and review of highway occupancy permits for PennDOT. Additionally he provides services as the Township Traffic Engineer for several local municipal clients and has a particular focus on Bensalem Township, Bucks County. He received his Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering Systems from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Earlier this year, he was one of two recipients of the Delaware Valley Young Engineer of the Year. He lives in the Queen Village section of Philadelphia.

CHIP KRAFT GETS PUBLISHED

Chip Kraft, Class of '82 (B.S.E.), '84 (M.S.E.), '98 (Ph.D.), received national recognition this month when his article, The yard: Railroading's hidden half, Part I was published as the cover story in Trains magazine (www.trains.com). Chip will again receive recognition when part II of his article is published in July 2002. Part I reveals the secret of yards: how they work, where they are, and why railroads have no choice but to use them with two 3-page foldouts, vintage photos, and blueprints of hump and flat yards. Part II discusses why automated hump yards are the best tool railroads have to impose order on the thousands of cars that move across the country every day. But design flaws rob yards of the speed railroads need to have. What railroads should do to fix them.

2002 DELAWARE VALLEY ENGINEER OF THE YEAR - EDWARD M. D'ALBA, P.E., P.L.S.

Edward M. D'Alba, President and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Engineers, Inc., has been elected to serve as the Delaware Valley Engineer of the Year for 2002. Ed was officially introduced as Engineer of the Year at the Engineers Week Luncheon, held on Friday, February 15 at the Union League in Philadelphia, and he "assumed office" and was given his official proclamation at the Engineers Week Banquet at the Villanova University Conference Center on Saturday, February 23.

Ed, a native of Yonkers, New York, has over 28 years of experience in the civil engineering field in the Delaware Valley and a long list of community and civic involvement in the Philadelphia area. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1973, followed by a Master of Science degree in Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977. He is a registered Professional Engineer in five states and a Professional Land Surveyor in Pennsylvania.

Ed directs the operations of Urban Engineers, a Philadelphia-based consulting engineering firm which has branch offices in five states. He joined Urban in 1974 as a Project Engineer and rose through the ranks to the company's top position in 1993. At Urban, he manages a 350-person staff of engineers, planners, construction managers and technical staff. Under his stewardship, Urban achieved ISO 9001 certification, the definitive international standard for quality, in May 2000.

Ed is a strong advocate of teamwork, technology and knowledge. He has been instrumental in broadening Urban's profile through diversification from a strictly design/engineering firm into a full service organization offering quality planning and construction inspection/ management services for a variety of public and private clients. Urban is consistently ranked as one of the top regional engineering firms as well as a national leader in planning, design, engineering and construction administration services for major transportation infrastructure clients, including airports, highways, bridges, transit and marine facilities. In 2000, Urban was cited as one of the top five "climbers" in the annual listing of Engineering News Record's top 500 design firms.

Following his personal concept of what a "citizen engineer" should be, Ed has been very active in both professional and civic organizations. He has volunteered in various capacities in several organizations, including such positions as Chairman of Philadelphia School District Transportation, Engineering and Stakeholders Partnership, Chairman of the March of Dimes Transportation, Building and Construction Committee, Chairman of the Pennjerdel Council, and Executive Committee Member of the Central Philadelphia Development Council. He is a Past President of the Delaware Valley Section of the American Society of Highway Engineers and a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Consulting Engineers Council as well as President of the Philadelphia Chapter. He is also an active member of the Transportation Systems Engineering Alumni Club. In 1995, Ed's many contributions to the profession and his community gained him recognition as the Philadelphia Civil Engineer of the Year by the Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is also a member of the Undine Barge Club where he pursues what he calls his "passion" for rowing.

Ed and his wife Karen live in Berwyn. Their two sons are currently enrolled in college, with one following in Ed's footsteps, majoring in civil engineering.

The Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers has cited Robert M. Wright as its 2001 Transportation Engineer of the Year. This award was presented to Mr. Wright at the Section's annual Spring Social and Dinner Dance, which was conducted on May 4.

Mr. Wright is with the Philadelphia Department of Streets and serves as the Manager of the Transportation Engineering and Planning Section within the Engineering Division. He has been with the Department for twenty-two years and has held the position of Engineering Manager since 1993. He received his Bachelors degree in Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. He is a member of several professional organizations and is the current Vice Chair of the Delaware Valley Engineers Week Council. He served as Section President in 1993-94 and continues to be an active part of the Section.

Mr. Wright and his wife Gail live in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.

Rutgers Press publishes Dr. Vuchic's New Book, Transportation for Livable Cities

Buy it on line at Amazon