ESD Honors Top Engineers, Designers, Educators and Builders At Annual Dinner

DETROIT — Nearly 300 members and supporters of The Engineering Society of Detroit gathered Wednesday night at the Detroit Institute of Arts for the ESD’s 2015 Annual Dinner, a celebration of the art of engineering.

ESD is a uniquely cross-disciplinary membership organization for
engineers and people in related scientific and technical fields.
Besides all forms of engineering, its members work in industries as
diverse as information technology, architecture and construction. ESD’s mission is to support the current generation of engineers through a wide variety of educational, networking and leadership programs, and foster the next generation with youth activities designed to build excitement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education and occupations.

The Society’s highest honor, the Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian
Award, was presented to Roy Link, FESD, chairman and CEO of
Plymouth-based Link Engineering Inc.

The Rackham Award symbolizes exemplary service both to the
engineering and scientific world and to the community at large. Under Link’s leadership since 1989, Link Engineering has grown to become a global leader in building machinery that tests manufactured components in real-world conditions. Link Engineering’s products are used in the automotive, aerospace, railroad and other industries.

In the community, Link has been a tireless and passionate volunteer
at ESD, starting with its Young Engineers Council, of which he is a
former chair. Link also served on ESD’s nominating and awards
committees before serving as treasurer and vice-president of its
board, and its board president in 1984-85. He was named to the ESD
College of Fellows in 1988 and later served on the Fellows Executive Committee, and currently chairs the board of the Rackham Engineering Foundation, which has as its main mission the ongoing support of ESD. Link has engineering and business degrees from Michigan State University.

ESD’s Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed upon an ESD member in recognition of a lifetime of achievement to the benefit of education and the field of engineering, was presented to Richard J. Haller, FESD, president and COO of the Detroit-based construction
company Walbridge.

A civil engineer, Haller joined Walbridge in 1976 in its estimating and project administration team and became COO in 1997. He has been involved in some of the firm’s most prominent projects, and has led Walbridge’s efforts in sustainability and quality. He has been an active member of ESD since 1978, chairing its Young Engineers Council and serving as ESD board president in 2007-09. He received a Distinguished Service Award from ESD in 2002 and was inducted into its College of Fellows in 2011.

Outside ESD, he is also active (and a former chair) on the
Construction Industry Institute and has served on the advisory board of the College of Engineering of his alma mater, the University of Michigan. He has also served on committees at Lawrence
Technological University and Siena Heights University and has chaired the Greater Detroit Area Health Council. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Active Reserve.

ESD also inducted seven new members of its College of Fellows at
the dinner. The rank of ESD Fellow is conferred for outstanding
qualifications and experience in their profession, in technicla
achievement, ESD service and leadership, and professional society
service and leadership.

The new fellows are Vincent G. Dow, PE, vice president and chief
engineer at DTE Energy; Andrew L. Gerhart, Ph.D., associate
professor of mechanical engineering at Lawrence Tech; Nabil F.
Grace, Ph.D., PE, dean of the college of engineering at Lawrence
Tech; Monique A. Lake, science teacher at Ypsilanti High School;
Janice K. Means, PE, LEED AP, associate professor at Lawrence
Tech; Pranab Saha, Ph.D., PE, secretary-treasurer and principal
consultant at Kolano and Saha Engineers Inc.,; and Terry J.
Woychowski, senior vice president for engineering and quality,
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

ESD also presented three Distinguished Service Awards to current
ESD members for their examplary professional achievement and
service to the Society. They are Kathleen Nauer, president of
Financial One Accounting Inc.; Michael Ryan, senior vice president at Ghafari Associates LLC; and Terry J. Woychowski.

ESD also presented six Leadership Awards to for outstanding
achievement on an ESD committee or council. These awards went
to Thomas M. Doran, PE, FESD, retired principal and vice president
at Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc.; John Fillion, a Chrysler LLC retiree;
Douglas M. Gatrell, PE, associate at Conestoga-Rovers &
Associates; Sue Littles, FESD, lead architectural desiger and CAD
administrator, DTE Energy; Leslie A. Smith, CMP, senior director of
programs and budgets, ESD; and Thomas R. Wroblewski, Ford
Performance electrical system engineer, Ford Motor Co.

ESD also named Andrew J. Hermiz, PE, a structural engineer with
Harley Ellis Devereaux, its Outstanding Young Engineer of the Year.
This award is given for outstanding contributions to the engineering
community by an individual under age 35.

ESD also presented four Outstanding Student Awards. Earning the
college student awards were LaMyra Stevenson, a student at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn, and David Zoltowski, a recent
graduate of Michigan State University who is headed for graduate
electrical engineering studies at Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Finally, ESD presented four of its annual Construction and Design
Awards and two honorable mention C&D awards.

The top awards went to:
* The St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital South Tower project, owner Trinity Health Systems, designer HKS Architects, and constructor Barton Malow Co.
* The Oakland University Engineering Center, owner Oakland
University, designer SmithGroupJJR, constructor Walbridge.
* The Wayne State University Advanced Technology Education
Center, owner Wayne State University, designer NORR LLC,
constructor The Christman Co.
* The I-96 reconstruction project, owner Michigan Department of
Transportation, designer MDOT and G2 Consulting Group, contractor Dan’s Excavating Inc.

The honorable mentions went to:
* The Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles Sterling Heights Assembly Plant
2015 UF Program Body Shop, owner FCA US LLC, designer NSA
Architects, Engineers, Planners, and constructor Walbridge.
* The John D. Dingell Transit Center, owner City of Dearborn,
Designer Neumann/Smith Architecture and SmithGroupJJR,
constructor Tooles/Clark Joint Venture.

Further information on any of the winners is available by contacting
Matt Roush, ESD Director of Communications and Public Relations,
at (248) 353-0735, ext. 112, or mroush@esd.org. High-resolution
photographs of the event are also available.