Sunday, November 30, 2014

Parsons Brinckerhoff designing new Hudson Park and Boulevard in NYC


Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) contract to design the second phase of the Hudson Park & Boulevard project, which runs between 10th and 11th Avenues from West 36th to West 37th Streets. NYCEDC is managing the design and construction of the project on behalf of the City of New York.
As prime consultant for phase two, Parsons Brinckerhoff will lead a team of 11 subconsultants for design and construction administration, performing civil, mechanical, structural, and electrical engineering while overseeing design performed by the subconsultant team. The first phase of the Hudson Park & Boulevard is currently under construction between West 33rd Street and West 36th Street.
The new four-acre Hudson Park & Boulevard complements additional work by the city to transform the Hudson Yards area into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use district. Entrances through each of the newly reconstructed east-west side streets will provide access to much-needed open space for area residents, workers, and visitors. The new boulevard will run the length of the park with a portion constructed over a section of an Amtrak rail line.
Parsons Brinckerhoff develops and operates infrastructure around the world, with approximately 14,000 employees in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia-Pacific regions. The firm offers skills and resources in strategic consulting, planning, engineering, program/construction management, and operations for transportation, power, mining, water/wastewater, and community development projects (www.pbworld.com).

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Terry Keene, P.E. joins MSW Consultants



MSW Consultants is excited to announce the addition of Terry Keene to its staff as senior project manager.  Keene is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania and brings with him over thirty years of experience serving public and private clients with environmental project needs.
Keene has dedicated his career to helping municipalities and authorities throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Maryland in solid waste planning, hauling cost analyses, procurement, and facility and system optimization.  He has extensive engineering experience on a range of technical issues associated with collection and recycling systems, material recovery facilities, waste-to-energy facilities, landfills, transfer stations, and yard waste/organics processing and composting facilities.  He combines analytical skills with an understanding of the solid waste management planning process.
In Pennsylvania, his home state of operations, Keene is also a Certified Recycling Professional and a Certified Sewage Enforcement Officer.  He sits on the board of the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) and co-chairs PROP's State Organics Committee.  He has an undergraduate degree in environmental resource management from Penn State University and has taken graduate coursework in environmental pollution control, environmental engineering, and agronomy from Penn State.
"I have admired the work MSW Consultants has provided across the MidAtlantic region and am looking forward to helping our clients develop sustainable diversion programs and optimize their waste management systems," says Keene, who will work closely with MSW Consultant's Pennsylvania-based team in addition to supporting projects originating in the firm's Orlando, FL headquarters. 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Colorado Department of Transportation chief engineer joins Beam, Longest and Neff engineering team



Colorado Department of Transportation veteran Tim Harris has joined engineering firm Beam, Longest and Neff (BNL) as Western Region Director. Harris, who most recently served as CDOT's chief engineer, is responsible for short and long-term strategic planning, growth, operations, and overall management of the engineering staff in Colorado.

"Tim brings solid experience and a unique perspective to our firm," says Tom Longest, chief executive of BLN, the full-service engineering firm headquartered in Indianapolis. "We know Tim's work from his tenure at CDOT, and we value his capabilities and oversight skills in transportation maintenance operations, engineering, construction, and consulting."

Throughout his 33-year career at CDOT, Harris focused on supporting the agency's mission to provide the best multi-modal transportation system to effectively move people, goods, and information across the 9,144-mile highway system and 3,419 bridges the department maintains. He served as program engineer for the I-25/I-70 Interchange project and region director in Colorado Springs for the I-25 Interstate Expansion Design-Build Project, and he led the $60 million Viaduct Project in Trinidad.

"My experience with CDOT has provided me with invaluable skills that I will continue to use to expand BLN's work in the transportation and maintenance industries throughout the western region," Harris says. "After working for decades in the public sector, this was the perfect opportunity to transition and utilize my experience."

Following his graduation from Georgia Tech with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Harris joined CDOT as a roadway designer. Four years later, he transitioned into the contracting office, where he spent 10 years managing construction, design, maintenance, and funding contracts. Harris next moved to CDOT headquarters, where he spent six years in pre-construction management focusing on manuals and specification books. He then became program engineer overseeing design and construction before returning to headquarters as staff services director administering policies and procedures. He then served as region director before being named chief engineer in July 2011.

Founded in 1945, Beam, Longest & Neff has expanded from a traditional civil engineering and surveying firm to one that provides a full complement of in-house engineering and consulting services including environmental engineering, right-of-way engineering, and construction inspection.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

GHT Limited announces the launch of its Operations and Energy Services Studio


GHT Limited, a DC metro area mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering firm, announces the launch of its Operations and Energy Services (OES) studio, which provides support for buildings throughout their lifecycle. GHT’s OES team offers solutions to MEP system challenges that impact efficiency and functionality, with a focus on enhancing building performance and asset values.

The group partners with facility owners, property managers, and building engineers to deliver building energy services, commissioning, and building operations consulting. Expertise offered by GHT’s OES studio includes LEED and retro-commissioning, energy audits, energy modeling, ENERGY STAR benchmarking, feasibility studies, MEP system troubleshooting and remediation, and forensic evaluations.

GHT President Paul O’Brien, PE, LEED AP ID+C remarks, “As buildings are expected to achieve continually higher performance targets, it is clear that a great design is just the beginning of the solution. After occupancy, there is an undeniable connection between how a building is operated, how MEP systems perform, and how building energy is managed. GHT has provided consulting on those elements for many years, and the growing demand led us to formally unite our operations and energy services in a dedicated studio that is focused on helping our clients meet their building performance goals.” He adds, “The OES studio is a seamless extension of our MEP engineering design studios for building systems and interiors. All three studios collaborate and inform each other, working in partnership to approach our projects from a building lifecycle perspective.”

GHT Senior Principal Robert Menuet, PE, CEM leads the OES studio. “GHT’s OES team has an interest in sustaining the built environment,” he says. “This is a direct result of our collective experience with designing MEP systems, providing all levels of commissioning, and operating buildings – we see the big picture, and we are uniquely qualified to help optimize building performance.”

Menuet continues, “Our team includes Professional Engineers, Certified Energy Managers, Building Energy Modeling Professionals, LEED Accredited Professionals, Certified Commissioning Professionals, Licensed Operating Engineers, and Master Electricians. They recognize the challenges our clients face, and they understand how to blend theory with practical applications to deliver real world solutions.”

For more information on how GHT’s OES services provide support for buildings throughout their lifecycle, visit www.ghtltd.com/what-we-do/oes.

Based in Arlington, VA, GHT helps optimize building performance, providing sustainable mechanical, electrical, and MEP engineering services for commercial office buildings, tenant interiors, and government properties, as well as institutional, hospitality, and mission critical environments. GHT's areas of expertise include MEP system design, commissioning, building energy services, and real estate advisory services. Learn more about GHT at www.ghtltd.com.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Harman Group welcomes Tuna Yelkikanat as director of its new NY office



The Harman Group welcomes Tuna Yelkikanat, PE, LEED GA to the firm as the director of its new office in New York, located in midtown Manhattan. “The Harman Group is excited to expand our practice in the New York area,” states D. Kirk Harman, PE, SE, SECB, FACI, president and managing principal of The Harman Group. “With his experience, Tuna is poised to help The Harman Group build on existing relationships and bring our extensive structural design expertise to new opportunities in New York. We are happy to have him on board.”

Yelkikanat brings 11 years of experience in the in structural design and management of complex high-rise projects in New York and around the world. He has previously held positions with DeSimone Consulting Engineers and Thornton Tomasetti. He will be responsible for the management of ongoing New York and New Jersey projects as well as the development of new clients in the New York/New Jersey area.

Yelkikanat is a licensed Professional Engineer and a LEED Green Associate. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey, and a Master of Science in Structural Engineering degree from City College of New York.

Since 1984, The Harman Group has worked with architects and owners on a wide range of structural engineering, parking planning and design, and façade projects across many different industries. The firm’s team of professionals includes structural engineers, parking designers, and a full support staff of BIM technicians and administrative personnel. For more information, visit www.HarmanGroup.com