Home > Industry News

ASCE Recognizes 2019 New Faces of Civil Engineering: College Edition

ASCE Recognizes 2019 New Faces of Civil Engineering: College Edition

Reston, Va. — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) announced the 10, 2019 New Faces of Civil Engineering in the College category. ASCE’s New Faces of Civil Engineering program highlights up-and-coming civil engineering leaders from around the country and celebrates their academic achievements, as well as their commitment to serving others. All New Face honorees will be recognized during ASCE’s annual Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala on March 14, 2019 in Arlington, Va.

“ASCE is thrilled to recognize each of the 2019 New Faces of Civil Engineering for their inspiring achievements,” said Robin A. Kemper, P.E., ASCE President. “These are the next generation of civil engineers, role models and leaders. They show dedication to the profession in their education and extracurricular activities, and I am excited to see where they go next.”

The 2019 New Faces of Civil Engineering in the College category are:

Jude Arbogast assisted with resilient concrete structure research with a professor; led the Milton, MA pedestrian bridge community service project team and interned as a project manager with Suffolk Construction. Arbogast has also served as president, vice president, program coordinator and community service liaison for his university’s ASCE Student Chapter; director of recruitment, outreach and university partnerships for Peace Through Play and is a member of Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society. Arbogast attends Northeastern University.

Jose Benitez is originally from Paraguay and was inspired to pursue civil engineering after seeing the hardship that his mom and sister had to overcome to achieve the same goal. He was a transportation engineering intern with Apex Design and is currently involved in his university’s ASCE Student Chapter and attends Dordt University.

Nicole Dato is developing a venture in Kenya called GreenBriq. The mission of the company is to transform water hyacinth, an invasive plant species, into a biofuel for local people to cook with. The locals are suffering from fuel scarcity due to de-forestation. Additionally, she is president of her university’s ASCE Student Chapter; is involved with the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition; serves as president of her university’s American Concrete Institute Student Chapter and interned with Whiting Turner, where she learned project and field engineering skills. Dato attends Penn State.

Christina Du works at the University of California Pavement Research Center. When she joined a year ago, she was one of the youngest members working on the team. Now, she is studying pavement design and engineering at the lab. Caltrans has implemented the results of the team’s work in projects across the state. Additionally, she co-founded the Girls in STEM Club in high school, an organization that arranged STEM field opportunities to tour leading companies, attend science-related field trips and participate in various STEM challenges. Du attends the University of California, Davis.

Sara Lucero was a CAD Intern at King County Wastewater Treatment in Seattle, and interned with Osborn Consulting, Inc. Lucero is currently a research assistant in a lab at her university’s Civil & Environmental Engineering department, which studies infrastructure affected by hurricanes and how digital infrastructure can help reconstruct communities. Lucero attends the University of Washington.

Phong Ly worked on a project in his university’s Civil & Environmental Engineering department, where he assessed how various construction methods and design configurations affected the hydraulic and nutrient removal process of a rain garden. Ly interned with Gulf Power to monitor water quality and biological conditions upstream and downstream of coal-fired and natural gas plants in Pensacola and Panama City, Florida. He also presented his technical paper at the ASCE-EWRI conference and was involved with Engineers Without Borders. Ly attends Mississippi State University.

Asia Mitchell is on the path to become a dive engineer to perform underwater bridge inspections. She earned her SCUBA Diver certification, held a bridge inspection and design internship, raised thousands of dollars for her university’s ASCE Student Chapter and American Concrete Institute’s Student Chapter, led professional development workshops and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam before graduation. Mitchell attends Morgan State University.

Trevor Moore lived in Romania as a child, where he discovered a passion for inventing, fixing, and construction. At his university, Moore was vice president for his university’s ASCE Student Chapter and chairman of the chapter’s Bridge Bust competition. Through ASCE, he attended competitions with other Student Chapters, a Multi-Regional Professional Development Seminar and national ASCE meetings. He also served as a Civil Engineering Ambassador and a member of the Civil Engineering Recruitment Committee for his university. He gained valuable skills in his internships with Lane Construction Corporation and Michael Baker International. Moore attends Purdue University.

Natalie Palmquist coordinated a project team to install a water pipeline and tank system in Kabaya, Rwanda with Engineers Without Borders, an organization of which she is now the president. She also interned with Foresite Group, Inc. and interned with Engineering Ministries International in Delhi India. Palmquist attends Auburn University.

Henry Williams participated in ASCE’s Concrete Canoe Competition at his university and is now president of the chapter. He also interned with the Chatham County Department of Public Works, which encouraged him to focus on Sustainability and Human Risk Assessment. Williams attends Savannah State University.