The American Council of Engineering Cos. of Colorado honored the winners of its 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) at a Nov. 6 celebration in Denver.

The Grand Conceptor Award, presented for the overall best engineering project, was awarded to AECOM for the Innovative Long-Term Biological Treatment Facility for Petroleum-Contaminated Soil project.

Merrick & Co. was recognized with an Excellence Award for its Nuclear Reactor Vessel Water Jet Peening Tool Deployment Bridge and Pump Equipment project.

The following firms received Honor Awards for their projects: AECOM for the Colorado Hazard Mapping Program (CHAMP) - Post Flood Risk Analysis; Farnsworth Group Inc. for the Pipeline Triad Relocation; Felsburg Holt & Ullevig for the I-70 Vail Underpass; and The RMH Group for the Red Rocks Community College Student Recreation Center.

Additional awards presented at the EEA Luncheon included Merit Awards for the following firms and their projects:

• Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, for the town of Windsor Railroad Quiet Zone
• Huitt-Zollars Inc. for the Newton Court Family Housing Pedestrian Bridge Upgrade
• KL&A Inc. Structural Engineers and Builders for the Viceroy Palm Jumeriah Dubai Sculpture
• MDP Engineering Group for Union Tower West
• Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers also received a Merit Award, along with the Outstanding Project Board award, for the Auraria Higher Education Center Tivoli Quadrangle project.

The ACEC Colorado EEA program annually recognizes consulting engineering firms for projects that demonstrate an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity, achievement and value.

The council also honored Jill. S. Tietjen from Technically Speaking Inc. with the association’s General Palmer Award. The award is given to an engineer who has made a significant contribution to Colorado, received recognition in the community, made advancements in the engineering community and has had an impact on future generations.

With more than 40 years in the electric-utility industry, Tietjen has made significant contributions to the engineering industry through her consulting career, volunteerism and service on several board of directors for various associations and firms.

Described by the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (as an inductee in 2010), as “a veritable powerhouse, author, speaker and electrical engineer,” Tietjen has worked to raise awareness of infrastructure issues and has been an advocate for women in the engineering field.

Notable career accomplishments include providing expert-witness testimony on behalf of electric utilities before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and numerous state commissions and working as an accreditor on behalf of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for five years.

She was the first woman to serve on the board of directors at the Rocky Mountain Electrical League and its first female president.

In addition, Tietjen mentors young women in the technology and engineering fields and has established national and local scholarships for women in those fields.