Sharon M. deMonsabert

PhD 1982
President
Applied Engineering Management Corporation

"Faith, hard work, integrity, and kindness are fundamental to a successful career and life. Do the right things in the right way and have faith that things will work out in the long run."

Sharon deMonsabert was born in Maryland and pursued her civil engineering degree at the University of Maryland after receiving the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Scholarship. She was an active member of Chi Epsilon and served as president of the Maryland Beta Chapter of Tau Beta Pi.

Graduating summa cum laude, Sharon applied to Purdue University as a graduate student in water resources and was awarded the University Fellowship. She was also a recipient of the American Association of University Women Fellowship which enabled her to complete her doctoral studies in three years. Her dissertation was entitled “Application of an Interactive Optimization Method to the Operation of an Existing Reservoir.”

Upon graduation, Sharon accepted a position with VSE Corporation where she led numerous research efforts for the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory in Port Hueneme, California. During her time at VSE, she became a registered professional civil engineer in California. After several years she took a position with a small start-up, DART Associates.

Branching out on her own in 1986, Sharon founded Applied Engineering Management (AEM) Corporation, an engineering and professional services consulting firm. Under her direction, AEM grew steadily, and a staff of approximately 300 provides technical support to a wide variety of federal, state, and commercial clients.

In 1993, Sharon joined a growing civil engineering program at George Mason University. For 19 years, she developed and taught a wide variety of environmental and civil engineering systems courses. She was an active adviser of undergraduates and an early mainstay of the environmental engineering graduate program. Her 2008 paper, “How to Include Economic Analysis in TMDL Allocations?” published by the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Water Resources and Management was recognized as the Quinten Martin Best Practice Paper. She also received the 2013 Journal of the American Water Works Association Publications Award for “the most notable contribution to the science of public water supply development” for her paper “Estimating the Carbon Footprint of the Municipal Water Cycle.”

Sharon retired from Mason in 2012 and was honored with emerita status in recognition of her service to the university.