meet the management team - emh&t · meet the management team emh&t has enjoyed more than 80...

24
in•JEN•ee•um: Latin. Natural disposition of talents. Root word for “engineer” Meet the Management Team pg. 8 WINTER 2009 A PUBLICATION OF EMH&T ENGINEERS, SURVEYORS, PLANNERS, SCIENTISTS

Upload: others

Post on 18-May-2020

7 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

i n • J E N • e e • u m : L a t i n . N a t u r a l d i s p o s i t i o n o f t a l e n t s . R o o t w o r d f o r “ e n g i n e e r ”

Meet the Management Team

pg. 8

Winter 2009 A PublicAtion of eMH&t engineers, surveyors, PlAnners, scientists

Page 2: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

To advertise in future issues of Ingenium, please contact Kelly Arvin

at 502.423.7272 or [email protected].

www.ipipublishing.com

2 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 3: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

emht.com 3

As 2008 came to a close, we were reminded of the accomplishments of the year, as well as a sense of antici-pation for the future. While we all could certainly rest on our laurels, EMH&T’s philosophy is to move forward. Our legacy is excellence, and we are dedicated to moving forward in excellence.

This issue of Ingenium provides a demonstration of all of those things: legacy, excellence, and progress. You’ll read about the unique experience of our archeological team and the Indian mound near Athens, Ohio. Few projects truly reflect the ability to create solutions from hurdles. The proj-ect also describes a respect for the past that is inherent to a firm that has been around for more than 80 years.

But as we move forward, we are all mindful of the stewardship that comes with respecting the future. Two articles focus on the use of “green” infrastruc-ture to promote stewardship of the environment, while providing solutions to stormwater issues. You’ll read about Brian Nielson, PE, one of the nation’s top engineers for designing green solutions to combined sewer overflow (CSO) issues, and you’ll learn about the use of pervious pavement to provide a unique opportunity during a common street rehabilitation project.

Possibly the greatest demonstration of moving forward in excellence is the change made inside EMH&T. We want to introduce you to the firm’s leaders of today and tomorrow. The skills and experience of this team have made EMH&T a success and, more importantly, have provided the guidance that has touched projects in nearly every state east of the Mississippi.

Move forward with us — in excellence.

Sandy Doyle-Ahern, MEn Executive Vice President

Message from Sandy

Page 4: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,
Page 5: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

Evans, Mechwart, Hambleton & Tilton, Inc.Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists 5500 New Albany Road Columbus, Ohio 43054

Columbus Atlanta Charlotte Cincinnati Indianapolis

(888) 775-EMHTwww.emht.com

Ingenium is a publication of EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists.

PresidentGregory B. Comfort, PE

EditorLee Ruh Director of Communications [email protected]

Assistant Editors and WritersQuinn Sammons Communications Specialist [email protected]

Josh Fitzwater Communications Specialist [email protected]

Susan Fisher Communications Specialist [email protected]

Selected PhotographyYarrington Studios

PublisherInnovative Publishing Ink

Graphic DesignerSarah Collins

Ingenium is published by Innovative Publishing Ink. 10629 Henning Way, Suite 8 Louisville, KY 40241 502.423.7272

Innovative Publishing Ink specializes in creating corporate magazines for businesses.

Please direct all inquiries to Aran Jackson, [email protected].

www.ipipublishing.com

Contents

emht.com 5

3 Message from Sandy

7 EMH&T Shorts

8 Meet the Management Team

10 Small Town, Big Solutions

12 An Innovative Green Solution for an Urban Street Renewal

15 What’s New Is Old Again

18 Time Waits for No Man

20 GREENMachine

22 People in the News

Cover: The EMH&T Management Team

12 15

Page 6: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

6 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 7: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

AtlAntA Office OpensAt EMH&T, we have helped our clients understand and transform land for more than 80 years. Since our inception as a one-man company in 1926, we have evolved into a regional full-service engineer-ing and consulting firm with a staff of more than 320 professionals and with offices in Columbus, Charlotte, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

And now Atlanta.

Our collective knowledge and experience, our passion for ingenuity, our commitment to value engineering and our innate respect for the land are the keys to discovering the best solution for each project. The office is led by Client Services Director Cindy Westfall, with Project Manager Andy Durham, PE. Andy is an experienced engi-neer with PE licenses in Georgia and Florida. The office can be reached directly at (687) 825-7852.

Shorts

eMH&t cHArlOtte | new lOOk – sAMe level Of excellence At the beginning of August 2008, EMH&T Charlotte employ-ees packed up shop and moved into a new office building to make room for the growing number of staff members. The address for the new and improved office is: 301 McCullough Drive – Suite 109, Charlotte, NC 28262. The phone number remains (704) 548-0333.

emht.com 7

Page 8: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

Meet the Management TeamEMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated, but also through the commitment from all levels of the firm, begin-ning with its president. As we enter 2009, we would like to introduce you to the Board of Directors, representing differ-ent disciplines, but with one mission: moving forward in excellence.

Back row: Craig Bohning, PE, LEED AP; Doug Romer, PE; Jeff Miller, PSFront row: Greg Comfort, PE; Sandy Doyle-Ahern, MEn

8 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 9: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

President Gregory B. Comfort, PEGreg has been with EMH&T for 25 years and Managing Partner for the past 10. With the recent retirement of Nelson Kohman, the Board of Directors appointed Greg to

the presidency to continue his outstand-ing leadership. During Greg’s tenure as Managing Partner, EMH&T experienced significant growth, including the relo-cation of our Columbus headquarters to a new 100,000-square-foot facil-

ity and the opening of offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati

and Indianapolis.

“What is most satisfying to me is how hard the EMH&T team has worked over the years in partner-

ing with our clients to help them achieve their goals,”

Greg said. “It is my intention to build upon EMH&T’s solid

reputation for client service and excellence. It is our steadfast desire to continue to assist both public and private clients on their infrastruc-ture and site development projects. EMH&T has the experienced team needed to provide skilled engineer-ing, surveying, planning and environ-mental services to help ensure your project’s success.”

Executive Vice President Sandra C. Doyle-Ahern, MEnSandy has been with EMH&T for 12 years, pioneering the firm’s environmental division. She then turned her attention to building the successful Public Works Division, further developing EMH&T’s repu-tation for dedicated client service.

Sandy is responsible for oversight of the public works, transportation, traffic, environmental, cultural resources, water

resources, infratechnologies and geospatial solutions divisions of the firm.

Executive Vice President Douglas E. Romer, PEDuring his 25 years with the firm, Doug has served at all levels, cultivating client relationships and playing a part in some of the most dynamic and challenging devel-opment projects in the Midwest. Doug is responsible for private development and oversight of the Cincinnati, Charlotte and Atlanta offices.

Vice President / Secretary Craig A. Bohning, PE, LEED APAn accomplished professional engineer with more than 20 years of experience, Craig has provided owners, developers and architects with technical expertise, as well as the skills necessary to facilitate regulatory approvals in a timely man-ner. He is also a founder of EMH&T’s NextGenerationGreen™ program, dedicated to sustainable design principles. Craig is responsible for private development and land planning.

Vice President / Treasurer Jeffrey A. Miller, PSJeff has been working in the surveying field for 29 years, the last 14 of which have been with EMH&T. During his tenure, Jeff grew the personnel and technical resources to state-of-the-art levels and broadened his management expertise to related ser-vices within the firm. Jeff is responsible for land surveying, construction services, information technology and oversight of the Indianapolis office.

If you would like more information on EMH&T, please visit emht.com or call, toll-free, (888) 775-EMHT. We look forward to serving you in the future.

Meet the Management Team

emht.com 9

Page 10: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

With its blue skies, bab-bling brooks and folks having coffee with the

mayor, the Town of Stallings, North Carolina, has all the makings of the perfect small-town story. But even small towns have to comply with complex federal mandates.

When Stallings resident Mark Matasic heard the call for help with the Outfall Inventory and Mapping for NPDES com-pliance, he didn’t hesitate a moment.

“Most people know me as just Mark — a good neighbor and citizen of Stallings,” Mark said. Now, Mark is just Mark with peers who know NPDES permitting and

how to fulfill the necessary parameters to meet the EPA requirements for quality and quantity of stormwater discharges from the town’s storm sewer system — not to mention someone who knows how to implement specific best manage-ment practices (BMPs) for each of the six minimum control measures for compli-ance with the Stormwater Master Plan for the town.

Specifically, there was a need for Stallings to fulfill the requirements of their NPDES Permit. The permit requires the mapping of outfalls, drainage areas and receiving streams.

Lucky for Stallings, Mark just happens to be the general manager of EMH&T’s Charlotte office, and EMH&T just happened to house a number of experts in this type of work.

Small Town, Big So lutionS

Mark A. Matasic, PEGeneral Manager of EMH&T Charlotte

10 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 11: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

“I knew this was a perfect fit — all I had to do was convince the mayor and council members of EMH&T’s in-house network of talent.” And he did.

The mapping project was completed quickly — ahead of schedule — and within budget.

“I was more than happy to provide EMH&T’s big solutions to a small town,” Mark said.

For more information about the talented individuals at EMH&T, please contact Mark A. Matasic, PE, General Manager of EMH&T Charlotte, at (704) 548-0333 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Small Town, Big So lutionS

emht.com 11

Page 12: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

12 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists12 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

An Innovative Green Solution

for an Urban Street Renewal

The CommunityThe Village of Canal Winchester is a vibrant central Ohio community with about 6,000 residents, who take pride in their unique cultural resources, including local historic residential districts and the remnants of the notable 19th-century Ohio-Erie Canal system that once passed through the center of town. Like many older, yet progressive, communities, Canal Winchester faces the typical challenges of rehabilitation of aged streets while, in the process, striving to minimize impact during reha-bilitation to establish tree-lined neighborhoods.

With increasing regulatory control over such issues as stormwater quality and the interest in the “green-ing” of communities, it’s hard to know where to start … especially in times of fiscal stress. Any community improvement project can be a funding

challenge, and the addition of green design to the mix can be met with resistance. How can “green” design balance with budget? How will regulatory control affect the bottom line? These are common questions that a community must attend to — and Canal Winchester did just that.

The ProjectIn 2008, the village undertook the reconstruction of West Columbus Street, one of the community’s oldest streets, in an historic residential district that provides a vital link between collector roads that serve area schools, businesses, churches, and a government center. West Columbus Street, prior to its renewal, was 33 feet wide at its west end and nearly 38 feet wide at its eastern end. While displaying many of the virtues of an older, charm-ing neighborhood, West Columbus Street was

Page 13: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

in poor condition. Older elements of this street corridor, while including many aged and desired trees, also included broken sidewalks, deteriorated pavement and curbs, and inadequate storm sewer-age. Composed entirely of asphalt, it accommo-dated on-street curbside parking along its length. The separation between travel lanes was unclear, and when cars were parked along both sides, drivers were forced to slow down or pull over to allow oppos-ing traffic to pass.

The village looked to its residents for input, and a survey yielded comments that centered around four issues: safety, saving trees, parking, and street lighting. It was clear that the com-munity desired to rejuve-nate the streetscape, rebuild roadway travel lanes, and upgrade essential utilities and services, while preserving the historic and cultural nature of the tree-lined corridor.

The DesignTypical street rehabilitation projects often include the removal of existing trees and significant dis-turbance to the street landscape. This project included an innovative approach and an emerging technology for reconstruction that limited impact to the street landscape while meeting the goals of the corridor makeover. “Green” planning resulted in a design that preserved mature trees, provided expanded tree lawn areas and included new park-ing areas and well-defined, newly lighted and safe travel lanes.

“The pavement sections design for West Columbus Street have allowed many trees that would have been removed to be saved, provided well-defined and safer parking areas and improved the flow

of traffic,” said Matt Peoples, Director of Public Works for the Village of Canal Winchester.

New stormwater collection was a necessary com-ponent of the project. The village, being mindful of NPDES stormwater program goals, also sought a modern stormwater treatment method as a

demonstration of respon-sible design. In support of these objectives, the design included a pervious concrete pavement sys-tem for street-side parking areas between bump-out tree lawns, to reduce the impervious “footprint” of paved surfaces. The per-vious concrete structure collects, cleans, stores and transfers storm runoff from hard surfaces into

subsurface media and the adjacent storm sys-tem. Pervious concrete pavement surfaces were harmoniously integrated into the streetscape, via color tinting. The West Columbus Street project represents the first significant use of pervious concrete in a public right-of-way, with approxi-mately 1,000 square yards being placed. There is an estimated 30 percent reduction of impervious area within the project segment where pervious concrete was used. The final result is an attractive streetscape and a fully functional and effective parking and drainage system that is kind to the environment and demonstrative.

“The application of the pervious pavement sys-tem reduces the overall volume of stormwater runoff, reducing the burden on the storm sewer drains and minimizing impact to area streams while allowing for percolation of stormwater into the subsurface,” said Steve Farst, Senior Project Manager at EMH&T.

AfterBefore

emht.com 13

Page 14: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

In addition to the physical design challenges, the finan-cial challenges of the project were also overcome. The Village of Canal Winchester, with assistance from EMH&T, applied for and was awarded funds to construct the West Columbus Street Improvement project; financial assistance was provided by the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) under the State Capital Improvement Program.

The ImpactWater resource engineers and public works officials can fully appreciate the application of an emerging technology within a typical capital improvement project planning and design process to achieve street system renewal. This project demonstrates that a capital public improvement project can be accomplished using green technology, resulting in community progress while protecting the environ-ment. Projects of this type are pivotal to the nature of community redevelopment. Every project that accommodates innovation is a success for the community and the region. The Village of Canal Winchester dedicated itself to this project and, in doing so, made an impact on the community that reaches much further than the limits of Columbus Street. We applaud Canal Winchester’s commit-ment to the redesign of West Columbus Street and are proud to have been part of the project.

Contact Steve Farst, PE, to learn more about this project and green infrastructure application at (614) 775-4203 or via e-mail at [email protected].

The pavement sections design for West Columbus Street have allowed many trees that would have been removed to be saved, provided well-defined and safer parking areas and improved the flow of traffic.

Steve Farst, PESenior Project Manager

14 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 15: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

“The discoveries the EMH&T archaeological team made at the Athens Indian Mounds are not just unique but the hall-mark of my career,” Joel said. He was able to deduce certain human behavior just by the offerings of the dig and their correlation to today’s traditions. Moreover, these findings will benefit his profession in general. Others will be able to glean information from this discovery and build consensus with their own conclusions.

Joel knew this dig was special, but it started as many other archaeological projects do. A client wanted to construct an 850-unit stu-dent apartment complex in conjunction with expansion at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Because this area was traversed by a stream, it required a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers permit and a cul -cultural resources survey. That’s where the archaeo-logical team came in. There were many obstacles involved — one of them being the fact that this tract of 32 acres was home to two distinct and unique Indian burial sites known as “mounds.” The weather played a large role in the work as well. With the crux of the work spanning November to January, roadblocks presented themselves to the team in the form of snow, cold and impenetrable ground, and, at times, they were armed only with simple shovels and sifters.

The EMH&T team was challenged with mitigat-ing the impact to Daines Mound I and Daines

What’s New Is Old AgainYou can practically envision the scene, hear the human activity and smell the fire when Joel Brown, EMH&T’s Principal Archaeological Investigator, describes his adventure at the Athens Indian mounds. Joel is so taken with the discoveries of the area, his excitement becomes palpable. Just listening to him brings to light a hidden desire to go on your own dig and discover that, contrary to the old adage, “What’s old is new again,” is actually “What’s new is old again.”

Joel Brown, MAPrincipal Archaeological Investigator

emht.com 15

Page 16: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

Mound II and recovering artifacts for inclusion to the Ohio Historical Society’s collections.

Joel said, “My excitement was hard to contain when I realized this was the first dig of its kind in the state in 25 years.” Although these mounds were previously researched by others, they were far from experts in archaeological investigations or record-keeping, and no real data had been sal-vaged for comparison.

“I felt it was an opportunity to find a link to the past by not only excavating the mound properly but also looking in areas adjacent to the mounds — which, as strange as it may sound, was not a common strategy until recently,” Joel said. By focusing beyond the obvious, a story was revealed each time his shovel broke ground and with each shake of the sifter. His observations revealed:

Mapped recordings of the mounds south of •Athens exposed a pattern that could equate

to a system of territorial markers for dif-ferent tribes or clans or perhaps a kind of signal system. In fact, when standing at one mound, all the others in the series could be seen from one to the other. Deep excavation of the area revealed multi-•ple layers of varying colors and types of soil. EMH&T’s research brought to light different layers which represent different periods of building, probably preceded by a period of ceremony or ancestor-worship.Numerous fire pits in and around the burial •site that may indicate food preparation for the mound-builders, fires for ceremonies in honor of the dead or even a place for the community to gather for trading goods or food and to make inter-tribal marriage arrangements during periods of ceremony.Postholes, which formed the partial outline of •a mortuary structure, were found and thought to be the remains of a burial preparation build-

16 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 17: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

ing where a body may have been housed prior to burial, similar to today’s funeral homes.The distance of the mounds from streams, •creeks and the community camps indicated it was not a completely random choice but a well-thought-out place of rest — an area that could be observed by the relatives but far enough away from the community to be respectful of non-relations.

The artifacts and findings that Joel and his team discovered have correlates in today’s traditions. Current traditions still include fire, such as candles that burn in our churches honoring the dead. A picture or medal that is displayed in honor of the deceased and the marking of the grave with a tombstone is probably similar to the kind of rever-ence for the deceased conveyed by building these mounds. Funerals are still family gatherings held with food, conversation and relatives from afar. Final resting places are distinct, recognized places

located far from our homes with preparations car-ried out in funeral homes, which correlate to the mortuary structure found adjacent to the mounds. The continued worship and episodes of mound construction are similar to the annual practice of placing flowers at the grave of a loved one.

“It was amazing to be able to piece together a puzzle that many others were unable to solve. All these indicators point toward traditions still carried on today — making what is new — old,” Joel said.

“We still have questions but feel that we have made a keynote discovery and a true connection to the past.”

To discuss further cultural resources services provided by EMH&T, please contact Joel Brown, MA, Principal Archaeological Investigator for EMH&T, at (614) 775-4526, or by e-mail at [email protected].

emht.com 17

Page 18: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

Forty-six seconds — just a few ticks under a minute.

What could you do in 46 seconds?

Well, you could be the 2008 Division III track and field 400-meter national champion. You, at one time, would be the world’s record holder for solving a Rubik’s Cube puzzle. You, according to Neilson’s Net Ratings for 2007, would spend 46 seconds viewing a single Web page. You could almost hear in its entirety The Beatles’ song “Mean Mr. Mustard” from their album Abbey Road. Or you could be at the intersection of Fields Ertel Road, stuck at a four-way traffic stop!

The average automobile at the intersection of Fields Ertel Road, North Lebanon Road and Columbia Road was spending approximately 46 seconds waiting before it could motor its way home. During peak traffic hours, the backup would result in several minutes of slowly inching along, until Lugnut (the Greek god of traffic) would smile upon the motorist and let him or her pass. Now, of course, there is no Greek god of traffic, but the problem Warren County and Hamilton County faced on these roads was very real.

Due to the recent boom of commercial and residential growth in the area, the roads at the congested intersection were under major duress. Besides being detained for a fluctuat-ing period of time, motorists had to finagle the deteriorating roadway infrastructure. EMH&T was called in to provide an overhaul of the troublesome intersection and improve the capacity of traffic flow, design a new signal utilizing video detection, encapsulate left-turn lanes on all four legs of

the intersection, supply the residents with safe and secure sidewalks and devise an enclosed storm sewer

system to improve drainage.

Time Waits for No Man

Beth SliemersTraffic Engineer

18 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 19: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

Under normal conditions, this would be con-sidered a run-of-the-mill roadway infrastructure improvement project. However, there was one small snag; Fields Ertel Road suffers from a dimin-utive incongruity — it is a multi-jurisdictional road. On one side of Fields Ertel Road sits Hamilton County, and on the other lies Warren County. This means both counties would have to agree on the devised plan. With each county’s own needs and wants, EMH&T employed diplomacy to accom-modate both Warren County and Hamilton County. EMH&T engineered a solution that is set to be cost-effective but also the best resolution to the specific needs the intersection faced.

“The joint venture for both counties was a tre-mendous success. Warren County and Hamilton County worked enthusiastically together to help resolve any issues with the intersection and bolstered a unified relationship to help their resi-dents,” said Beth Sliemers, PE, Project Engineer for EMH&T.

It was imperative to the success of the project that public involvement meetings take place and that the residents of the community have a chance to voice their opinions. On November 15, 2007, a public meeting was held, and representatives from Warren County, Hamilton County and EMH&T were present to document and take into consideration all of the valuable input everyone presented.

After the construction is complete in spring 2011, the Fields Ertel intersection will shift from a Service Level D (which means it is rapidly approaching an unstable traffic flow) to a Service Level B (a reasonable free flow of traffic). The move in service level grades is almost astronomi-cal in the reduction of traffic buildup and com-muter ease. Because of the existing intersection geometrics, it was extremely difficult for bulky vehicles to turn and make the full rotation. EMH&T redesigned the turn radius to now accommodate a WB-50 truck.

The design inspired by both Warren and Hamilton counties enhanced the overall quality and effi-ciency of the Fields Ertel intersection and, in doing so, cut the average wait time from 46 seconds to 12 seconds. More than half a minute of time is saved every occasion a motorist approaches the junction. If the average person passes through that intersection two times a day — five days a week, for a year, EMH&T has saved him or her approximately two hours of time a year.

The famous medieval play Everyman coined the phrase “Time waits for no man,” and at least that time won’t be spent waiting at the Fields Ertel intersection.

For more information on EMH&T’s Transportation Division, you may reach Beth Sliemers, PE, at (513) 770-1360 or via e-mail at [email protected].

emht.com 19

Page 20: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

GREENMachine

Any sixth-grader fresh out of science class can tell you that when two hydrogen atoms meet an oxygen atom, they will form a single water molecule. That’s it. Really. Those three incalculably significant, yet inherently ambig-uous, atoms keep life moving forward. And that description is a part of EMH&T Indianapolis’ Brian Neilson’s very being. In a way, as innate and universal as atoms coming together, Brian Neilson’s path toward sustain-able clean water solutions seems as evolutionary as the hydrogen bond that binds us all.

Brian Neilson’s predisposition for all things green began early in his childhood growing up on a 50-acre farm in California. He learned an appreciation for nature and what things could be like at their purest level. He took his affinity and put it in a backpack. Literally. Neilson spent much of his early adult life

backpacking through California and Oregon. It was during this time that he realized his epiphany and went on to pursue a larger comprehension of forestry and water/wastewater engineering at Humbolt University in California.

“I found myself completely enam-ored with the ideology of water. Where it’s going, where it’s been and how we can improve this indispensable element,” Brian confesses. “I believe that is what made me gravitate toward engineering. It is the simple fact that these earth fundamentals cannot speak for themselves, so I must. With engineering, I am able to design and control variables that otherwise would be left to fend for themselves, like water.”

Brian found himself attracted to EMH&T for one simple acro-nym: NGG. NGG, short for NextGenerationGreen™, focuses

…water — so anterior, so superior, to all the changes that are to take place on their shores, even now civil and refined, and fair as they can ever be. – Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods

Brian Neilson, PEPublic Works Project Manager

20 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 21: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

GREENMachineon the innovation of new engineer-ing and planning practices that benefit communities and benefit the environment. Brian’s niche in this faction is on the forefront of modernization for sustainable clean water resolutions. He and his team are pushing the boundar-ies of what it means to be green by engineering and redefining Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) abatements by adding an element of nature. This is a testament to the radically unknown and the drastically profound.

A “green” CSO’s primary func-tion is to considerably improve the overall water quality by mimicking nature in an ultra-urban environment. Whereas the normal approach was once sticking metal pipes in the ground and guiding wastewater treatment plants, the new method the NextGenerationGreen™ team is engineering is letting Mother Nature do what she does best. Under these new practices, water is transferred through pervious pavement to a natural basin of plant life that acts as a filtering system to imitate the natural pro-cess and treat the water without the use of harsh chemicals or industrial plants.

Case in point: the RiverSouth project in downtown Columbus, Ohio. With the successful

RiverSouth experience integrating revitalization streetscape design with CSO abatement, Brian and the EMH&T team continued to utilize innovative design and construction techniques to create urban green infrastructure for stormwater runoff treatment. Similar to the nearby Town Street project, these integrated streetscape bioretention systems are providing regula-tory compliance for the city’s CSO Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) while discharging a cleaner, cool-er urban runnoff directly to the Scioto River.

The streetscape water qual-ity BMPs were designed utilizing an EMH&T local rainfall study to determine the optimum size for the basins as they relate to the storm runoff. The study showed that bioretention basins can be sized to treat more than 93 percent of the annual rainfall runoff volume. Construction costs can be higher in an ultra-urban setting, but the “green” savings’ break-even point for road and roof runoff removal through bioretention can be real-ized in less than seven years when CSO treatment and storage costs are considered.

The molecules in water begin to rapidly slow down and freeze at around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. With roughly 2 percent of the world’s

water encapsulated in glaciers and ice caps, we know Brian Neilson’s work

with NextGenerationGreen™ and innovative solutions are only

the tip of the iceberg.

For more information on NextGenerationGreen™ and related services provided by EMH&T, contact Brian Neilson, PE, at (317) 557-3150 or via e-mail at [email protected].

emht.com 21

Page 22: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

22 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

People in the NewsAndy DurhamAndy Durham, PE, LEED AP, has joined the Atlanta office as a project manager. Andy has more than 10 years of experience providing services for site civil development projects; roadway and drainage design projects; potable water and wastewater system projects; stormwater, erosion and sediment-control projects; and utility design and layout.

Andy’s core area of experience lies in the private sector, providing civil engi-neering for various commercial retail, office and institutional developments, along with industrial, recreational and residential projects. He is well-versed in land development permitting coordination within the Atlanta metro area and its surrounding jurisdictions.

Charlie RodenfelsCharles A. Rodenfels, AIA, has joined EMH&T as its Director of Strategic Planning. Charlie has a rich, 30-year professional career leading a broad range of planning and design assignments in central Ohio, throughout Ohio and nation-ally. His diversified experience includes unusually noteworthy projects such as: the Rickenbacker Development Master Plan, Columbus, Ohio; Fort Benjamin Harrison U.S. Army Finance and Accounting Center, Indianapolis, Indiana (1.6 million square feet); National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (880,000 square feet); Guangzhou International Airport, Guangzhou, China; and the United States Pentagon Renovation, Arlington, Virginia (1.2 million square feet). Charlie will aid in leading EMH&T’s efforts for expanding our architectural clientele and with federal work.

Travis Eifert | 40 Under 40Travis Eifert, PE, was recently named to Business First magazine’s “Forty Under 40” list for 2008. The award is presented to 40 individuals in central Ohio who are under 40 years old and demonstrating leadership both professionally and philanthropically. Nominated for his career accomplishments and community service, Travis was selected from a list of more than 400 nominees.

Outside of EMH&T, Travis is an active member of his church, president of the Greater Galena Civic Organization, a member of the Village of Galena Facilities Committee and an advisory committee member for the Greater Columbus Habitat for Humanity.

22 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists

Page 23: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

People in the News

emht.com 23

Page 24: Meet the Management Team - EMH&T · Meet the Management Team EMH&T has enjoyed more than 80 years of success, in large part due to the dedicated and talented staff it has always cultivated,

www.ipipublishing.com

EXPERIENCE. ENTHUSIASM. EXCELLENCE.

This probably sums up your company.

Let Innovative Publishing Ink help you communicate this message to your current and potential clients in an engaging and relevant manner. Cut through the clutter and strategically position your company as the industry force with a custom magazine!

For more than 15 years, IPI has created informative and entertaining publications for businesses and associations. Our turnkey operation includes editing, copy writing, design and layout, printing and distribution. And we’re budget-friendly.

Our philosophy is simple: “It’s your magazine, but it’s our project.”

For more information, please contact Aran Jackson at 502.423.7272 or [email protected].

5500 New Albany RoadColumbus, Ohio 43054

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLOUISvILLE, KY

PERMIT NO. 1477