In the past two years, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering has seen more than a dozen of its alumni earn awards from Purdue. Honors from the College of Engineering and our school show tremendous Boilermaker pride in our alumni for their impressive careers and accomplishments.

Distinguished Engineering Alumni Awards

The College of Engineering's Distinguished Engineering Alumni/Alumnae Award is presented to men and women who have distinguished themselves in any field in ways that reflect favorably on Purdue University, the engineering profession or society in general. These alumni are engaged in engineering work, and their record of accomplishments is indicated by their growth into positions of increasing responsibility.

In the past two years, five Purdue Civil Engineering Alumni have earned this recognition.

Stacy Bartoletti (BSCE '91) says he likely learned much about hard work and overcoming obstacles from the words of Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers. Yet his career as a successful structural engineer started simply enough, working on building projects with his father.

"I was interested in construction and seeing things built," Bartoletti says. "I and my father, who worked for a public utility, built a little cabin, and I think the hands-on aspect of that project drove me to civil engineering." Throughout his nearly 25 years at Degenkolb, Bartoletti has led teams studying, designing and constructing hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of seismic upgrades and new critical facilities for major clients on the West Coast. As an industry expert in seismic engineering, he has also worked extensively on seismic upgrades for historic buildings, including Architecture Hall at the University of Washington and several facilities for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington.

Bartoletti has testified before Congress on seismic safety, and he continues to build upon Degenkolb's world-class reputation as an industry leader. The company has won more than 100 national and local awards for engineering excellence. In 2012, it also was named Best Structural Engineering Firm to Work For by Civil + Structural Engineer magazine, which regularly includes Degenkolb in its top-10 list.

Gerald Lyles (BSCE '64, MSIA '71), whose grandfather was a Purdue mechanical engineering professor and whose parents were Purdue graduates, says it seemed natural that he would become a Boilermaker. He says Purdue prepared him well for his career in pipeline, utility, concrete and mechanical construction in the firm that was started in 1945 by his parents, William Jr. and Elizabeth Lyles.

He points particularly to one overarching lesson as most valuable: "Time management, especially since I was in a curriculum requiring a minimum of 153 semester units to graduate in eight semesters," he says. "I graduated with 163 units in eight semesters without summer sessions — while still enjoying sporting events, concerts, convocations, student activities and fraternity life."

Lyles served in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, worked as a project engineer for one of the family companies, then returned to Purdue for a master's degree. "The blend of these two avenues of education has provided me with a great career," he says.

In 1973, he rejoined the Lyles family companies as they expanded beyond construction. He headed several undertakings, including the transformation of what is now 4,000 acres of agricultural orchards and 580 acres of industrial parks, shopping centers and housing.

He oversaw manufacturing of irrigation products. He served as corporate liaison for the family's interests in rental property and with Pelco, a manufacturer of closed-circuit surveillance equipment.

Lyles still credits Purdue for much of his success, which helps explain why, in 2014, the Lyles' family foundation made a gift to rename Purdue's civil engineering school the Lyles School of Civil Engineering.

Doreen Mitchell (BSCE '81) says she dreamed of building skyscrapers in downtown Chicago. The thrill of watching construction take shape and the building rise skyward steered her unquestionably to civil engineering. Not in her wildest dreams, however, did she imagine she would become a working engineer at Walt Disney World.

Close to home, Purdue offered a promising engineering program. Hearing from the Society of Women Engineers sealed the deal. "For a female in the late 1970s, it felt great knowing that you were not the only one," says Mitchell, who at that time was usually one of only two or three women in her construction classes.

Mitchell proved herself to Disney when the Chicago firm she worked for built the Imagination Pavilion during construction of Epcot Center. That contract work exposed her to Disney's high expectations. "I'm always looking for that challenge," she says. "Disney's expectations for quality drove my desire to problem-solve, stay engaged and learn something new."

After 30 years of leading traditional engineering projects at Disney, Mitchell says, she found her most fulfilling role to be that of improving the guest experience through technology-based projects. From 2010 to 2014 she led Disney's project management organization in the sitewide launch of MyMagic+, an interactive digital technology that allows Disney visitors to customize their experiences.

Carlos Odio (BSCE '65, BSIE '65) has enhanced the University's global reputation with solutions that have improved thousands of lives in his home country of Costa Rica. Odio says problem-solving was among the most worthwhile skills he gained as a Purdue student, by "starting with a clear identification of the problem, followed by an analysis of the possible solutions and their impact on the overall picture."

In the 1980s, Odio was keenly aware that coffee production had yielded economic, social and political stability to his home country. At the time, he asked himself what he could do for the areas of Costa Rica at lower altitudes where coffee would not grow. His problem-solving answer was citrus, which he dubbed "lowland coffee." In 1987, he and a partner established a TicoFrut in San Jose, Costa Rica. Today, with Odio serving as a partner and board member, TicoFrut produces both frozen concentrated orange juice and pineapple juice as well as juices not from concentrate. It also produces at least 12 other extracts and byproducts of the two fruits.

After achieving great success that has benefited so many, Odio says the creativity of his engineering education prepared him best to compete and to lead in his professional life. He would advise today's students not to be overly concerned about which engineering discipline to study. Odio was named Outstanding Industrial Engineer at Purdue in 2010.

Milo Riverso (MSCE '82, PhD CE '84) says he knows the importance of building on a strong foundation. "I like to think of career development as a pyramid, as opposed to a tree. The key is to build up a strong knowledge base and gain experience. From there, you can grow your career, find your area of expertise and move up the ladder," he says. "A pyramid will withstand the winds of change and uncertainty. By comparison, a tree might grow more quickly in the beginning, but it branches out in multiple directions without a focus and without as strong a foundation."

From his time as a Purdue graduate student to his current position as president and CEO of STV Group Inc. in New York City, Riverso has left fingerprints on landmarks from coast to coast, including the One World Trade Center in Manhattan and the Anaheim Convention Center expansion in California. Riverso was inducted recently into the National Academy of Construction and is a fellow of the Construction Management  Association of America. He also serves as vice chairman of the New York Building Congress. His accolades include the Michael Mazzucca Lifetime Achievement Award from the Subcontractors Trade Association, as well as the New York Landmarks Conservancy 2012 Man of the Year.

Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Awards

The Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue has a long history of educating outstanding engineers — and the Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Awards (CEAAA) give the school the opportunity to recognize the career accomplishments of some of its most influential graduates. Over the past two years, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering has recognized 11 of its alumni with this prestigious award.

The 2016-17 CEAAA Awardees

From left: Erin Flanigan, Bryn Fosburgh, William Lyles IV, Al Dausman, and Constance Solina

Al Dausman (MSCE '78) had a 38-plus-year career at Bechtel Corp., where he worked on various project assignments such as nuclear power and nuclear waste projects, chemical plants and demilitarization plants. He progressed through various position responsibilities, including structural engineer, resident engineer and project engineer; now retired, Dausman served as the Bechtel management representative to Purdue University.

Erin Flanigan (BSCE '87) is a national expert in the field of management and operations of transportation systems. She has spent most of her career working in the consulting engineering industry on a variety of projects and with a range of public sector clients throughout the United States. These projects have included multiyear interstate design projects, multi-jurisdictional traffic signal systems and statewide transportation planning efforts.

Bryn Fosburgh (MSCE '89) joined Trimble Inc. in 1992 and currently serves as senior vice president for its Geospatial, Civil Engineering and Buildings groups, a responsibility that includes the architecture, engineering, surveying, construction and building operations, and management markets. During his career at Trimble, Fosburgh has held a number of vice president and general manager roles across the surveying, construction and agricultural groups. He also has had responsibility for a number of corporate functions and geographical regions.

William Lyles IV (BSCE '81) is a fourth-generation Boilermaker, third-generation CE alumnus and one of 14 family members to have attended Purdue. From graduation in 1981 through 2009, he focused on his construction career within the Lyles Construction Group, founded by his grandparents in 1945. During this time, he rose from project engineer to CEO and chairman. He remains active in the company, overseeing construction for the parent company as well as participating in critical construction initiatives. Today, Lyles also manages investments and participates in the company's development and rental partnerships.

Constance Solina (BSCE '00) was commissioned as an ensign in May 2000 through Purdue Navy ROTC. She was a key member of the Navy's Task Force Cyber Awakening, focusing on the securing of industrial control systems. She was responsible for the coordination of three programming cycles articulating the current risk posture for operating the Navy's 70 installations totaling over $7 billion annually. Her current duty is Director of Installation and Logistics, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz.

The 2017-18 CEAAA Awardees

From left: Daniel Liotti, Brian Harlow, Robert Holden II, Rodolfo Gedeon, Brian Quinn, and C.Y. David Yang

Rodolfo Gedeon (BSCE '60, MSCE '61) is a well-regarded businessman and civic leader based in Cartagena, Colombia. He was a founding member and president of the Fundacion Mamonal, an association that included all the companies located in the industrial area of Cartagena, and a founding member of Actuar por Bolivar, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping single mothers establish and maintain small businesses. He currently serves on the board of directors of several major companies in Cartagena and Bogotá, as well as at the Universidad de Cartagena. He is an active member of the National Council of Basic Sciences, known as Colciencias.

Brian Harlow (BSCE '78) was hired by Chrysler Corp. in Kokomo, Indiana, as a plant engineer, which began a career at Chrysler that spanned nearly 40 years. From 1978 to 2000, Harlow's responsibilities included various positions in production, maintenance, quality, manufacturing engineering and product engineering in the Kokomo plants. He was named to his current role of Vice President and head of NAFTA manufacturing for Fiat Chrysler Automotive in October 2014, and is responsible for all assembly, stamping and powertrain manufacturing operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with more than 65,000 employees in 35 manufacturing facilities.

Robert Holden II (BSCE '90, MSCE '92, PhD '99) has been responsible for over $300 million in constructed wastewater infrastructure during his career — as a design engineer, project manager and principal. He is especially proud of leading the two largest capacity-increase projects in the state of Indiana at the Belmont and Southport Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plants. He currently serves as vice president and the head of the wastewater group for Wessler Engineering in Indianapolis.

Daniel Liotti (BSCE '85) joined his father's company, Midwest Mole Inc., after graduation and has been with the company for nearly 33 years. One of the company's premier projects was the installation of an 8-foot-diameter tunnel, 2,000 feet long, under the active runway at the Indianapolis International Airport. The tunnel provides utilities to the new Midfield Terminal. For this project, Midwest Mole won the prestigious New Installations Award given by the Trenchless Technology Magazine.

Brian Quinn (BSCE '89, MSCE '91) founded his own company, SE Solutions, to help other companies find and hire structural engineers. That was in 2006. Two years later, his company launched a Structural Engineering Continuing Education division called SE University. SE University now serves over 600 engineering offices in 49 states by keeping its structural engineers up-to-date on current industry standards and trends. Quinn finds great satisfaction in helping fellow structural engineers make advances in their careers and lives.

C. Y. David Yang (BSCE '91, MSCE '93, PhD '97) became the seventh executive director of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in 2016. In this role, he oversees the day-to-day operations of this charitable research and education organization and leads a talented staff to fulfill the mission of "saving lives by preventing traffic crashes and reducing injuries when crashes occur." Yang also has authored and co-authored approximately 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and government reports on subjects related to traffic safety, transportation operations, planning, and intelligent transportation systems. In 2015, an article he co-authored won the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Engineering Council Best Paper Award.