The 15 winners of ENR Northwest's second-annual Top Young Professionals competition distinguished themselves by their mastery of such technology as building information modeling (BIM) and editing and design software as well as their use of social media and smart tablets in the field. The winners also garnered attention for their participation in the ACE Mentorship program, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Design Build Institute and Bridges to Prosperity.

This year, an independent panel of three judges reviewed a total of 22 contest submitters who had either nominated themselves or were nominated by colleagues or managers. The judges based their selections on criteria that included leadership, career experience, community service participation and professional licensures and/or accreditations currently held or in progress.

To qualify for the competition, candidates had to be under the age of 40 as of Jan 1, 2014, and based in Alaska, Oregon or Washington.

Many of the winners have been heavily involved in major transportation work, an active sector in the Northwest currently (see p. 29). Projects include the Spokane Viaduct Widening Project in Seattle, the S440 South 200th Link Extension project and work on Seattle's east side corridor. Several other winners have been involved in projects for major companies including Microsoft, and still others are making strides in incorporating technology into the A/E/C industry.

One of the winners converted his firm's conference room into a "collaboration suite," complete with two 60-in. monitors, that gives all participants access to company information. The technology can also be used via smart tablets in the field. Another has developed BIM models for some of his firm's particularly challenging projects, and yet another helped found a general contractors coalition focused on standardizing best practices for using PDFs.

Read on for more details on this year's winners.

Meet the Jury
 

Lohman

Corey M. Lohman
President
Emerick Construction Co.
Happy Valley, Ore.

Lohman began his career in early 2000 with Emerick Construction Co. as a project engineer and has since worked in nearly every department. In July 2012, the Emerick board selected him as the fifth president in the company's 71-year history. His business skills and knowledge of construction led him to be recognized as one of the Portland Business Journal's Top 40 Business Leaders under the age of 40. Lohman was also one of the winners in ENR Northwest's Top 20 Under 40 competition last year.

Rinehart

Elizabeth Rinehart
Project Manager
Walsh Construction Co.
Seattle

Rinehart is a community builder, focusing on sustainable projects in sectors including housing and services to families and seniors throughout the Puget Sound area. Her recent work includes the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah, which earned the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-Gold certification. Rinehart has served as an AmeriCorps Construction Team Leader for East King County Habitat for Humanity and as a planner and a permit coordinator for two municipalities.

VanderLinden

Tyler VanderLinden
Project Manager
PCL Civil Constructors Inc.
Seattle

VanderLinden has eight years of experience working on civil and transportation projects in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Washington. His projects include the Johnson Street Bridge Replacement in Victoria, British Columbia, and the Murray Morgan Bridge Rehabilitation design-build project in Tacoma, Wash. VanderLinden is a registered professional engineer in the state of Washington and his skills include technology expertise with AutoCAD and Primavera Project Management software. He began his career at PCL as an intern in 2005 and was named project manager in 2013.

Antonsen

Brian Antonsen
Honing in on the life sciences market
34, Business Unit Manager/Life Sciences
McKinstry
Seattle

Antonsen's current portfolio includes providing preconstruction services related to the Allen Institute for Brain Science project, which is now under construction in Seattle. Over time, the Washington State University graduate has developed into an industry leader by speaking about and authoring papers on topics including innovative approaches to whole building design, mechanical systems and the life sciences contracting market. Recently, for instance, Antonsen addressed the conference of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories on the use of chilled beams for cooling.

As treasurer of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, Antonsen participates in meetings and events and helps educate new members about the city's efforts to become a national leader in the life sciences market. He regularly participates in several life science-related fundraisers, including events at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, a global nonprofit that strives to eliminate infectious diseases. He is a member of Associated General Contractors of America, the American Institute of Constructors, the Mechanical Contractors Association of Western Washington, the Lean Construction Institute, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering and the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association.

Binder

Shane Binder
Getting people headed in the right direction
34, Senior Transportation Engineer
Transpo Group
Kirkland, Wash.

Binder, a civil engineer who earned his bachelor's degree from Penn State University and a master's from the University of Colorado, has built a professional reputation as a traffic engineering expert.

For the past two years, he has led the maintenance of traffic design team for a 17-mile project adding high-occupancy traffic lanes and interchange improvements to Seattle's east side corridor. Also, as part of a major expansion of Seattle Children's Hospital, Binder's team designed an intersection that used a diagonal bicycle/pedestrian crossing that uses stereoscopic video detection—the first installation of the technology on the West Coast.

Binder is past president of the Seattle Younger Members Forum for the American Society of Civil Engineers and has represented the Seattle ASCE chapter by lobbying at the state and federal level for increased infrastructure investment. Through both ASCE and the Puget Sound Engineering Council, he also offers career advice to aspiring engineers in high school and college. Among his community contributions, Binder volunteers in search-and-rescue efforts, works with the Washington Trails Association, the Seattle Conservation Corps and the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group on projects related to habitat restoration and parks and trails improvement.

Craig

Andrew Craig
Finding chemistry in mechanical engineering
35, Associate, Senior Mechanical Engineer
Interface Engineering
Portland, Ore.

After first earning degrees in chemistry and pre-medicine and working as a lab technician, Craig changed paths and found his true calling—mechanical engineering. The magna cum laude graduate of Portland State University performed fluid dynamics experiments on NASA's zero-gravity KC-135 plane for his senior project. Now an associate and senior mechanical engineer at Interface Engineering, Craig's passion has further evolved into the design of sustainable projects including the San Ysidro U.S. Land Port of Entry, which will incorporate LEED-Platinum and net-zero systems.

He serves as the mechanical engineer and energy analyst for the University of Oregon's Student Recreation Center project, and he is working on several projects intended for LEED-Platinum or net-zero certification at Western Oregon University, Chatham University and Oregon Health & Science University. Craig frequently speaks to university engineering students, American Institute of Architects members and other groups. He is also an active member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the Building Energy Simulation Forum.

Fry

Andy Fry
Refocusing from big projects to internal leadership
39, Chief Operating Officer
Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Seattle

Fry's work has spanned many large projects in a variety of building types ranging from 57-story office towers to interactive museums and 1.5-million-sq-ft shopping centers. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a master's degree in engineering,

Fry is now focused on internal company leadership through the development of Magnusson Klemencic's management-training program for engineers and by overseeing the consulting engineering firm's continuing education programs. He has also established several events for employees to meet, share and exchange knowledge including an employee group that regularly meets to jog along Seattle's waterfront.

Outside the company, Fry has volunteered for Seattle Children's Hospital, first through its parents council, which advises the hospital on the needs of children and their families. Recently, he became the first parent to serve on the hospital's Quality and Safety Committee.