Local Society Recognizes Anteater Civil Engineers

March 14, 2018 - The American Society of Civil Engineers, Orange County branch, honored five UC Irvine-affiliated civil engineers at its annual awards banquet. Held at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana in mid-February, the event recognized some of Orange County’s finest civil engineers and projects.

Joel Lanning, a UCI assistant professor of teaching in civil engineering, was recognized as Outstanding ASCE Faculty Adviser for going above and beyond in his role as a valuable resource and mentor.

"I am fairly new to UC Irvine, and I knew coming in that civil engineering at UCI was the real deal,” Lanning said. “But, seeing so many students and alumni recognized by ASCE OC made that really evident. I am honored to receive the faculty award and to be part of CEE@UCI."

Amber Ganapathy, a UCI senior, was honored as Outstanding Civil Engineering Student. She serves as the president of Engineers without Borders and as the lead for the UCI GeoWall team. Her strong interest in geotechnical engineering has allowed her to participate in graduate-level geotechnical research at UCI with Anne Lemnitzer, an assistant professor in civil engineering.

“I thank and appreciate those in the ASCE OC branch who were kind enough to take note of my efforts and nominate me, and I especially owe my nomination to Professor Anne Lemnitzer,” said Ganapathy. “This award has reaffirmed the time I have invested in my studies, internships and extracurricular activities and has inspired me to continue my involvement past graduation.”

Here are the other Samueli School awardees:

Jazzy Quinabo ’14 was awarded Outstanding Younger Member Forum (YMF) Officer. Quinabo is a project engineer in the transportation group at Jacobs, working on the California High Speed Rail project. She serves as treasurer and PE review co-chair for YMF and as social and programs co-chair for the branch. In addition to spearheading many large events, she has helped organize panels, programs, technical tours and luncheons for the local civil engineering community. In her nomination, she was noted as “dedicated, hardworking and heavily involved as an emerging leader of ASCE OC.”

 Nestor Godinez ’07 was recognized as the Outstanding Younger Civil Engineer. Godinez is a project engineer at SLR International Corp. with 10 years of experience in civil, site remediation and mining projects in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina and Peru. His diverse project experience includes stormwater management systems, grading design, construction quality assurance, utility layout and water balances. During his term as president of YMF in 2016-17, he increased the growth of the YMF Board, relaunched the PE Review course and improved collaboration with the Branch Board.

The ASCE honored Elizabeth Ruedas ’14 as Outstanding Civil Engineer in Legislative Activities. Ruedas is a project engineer with CNC Engineering, where she has assisted in the design and review of improvement projects within Southern California. She is heavily involved in ASCE OC, serving as president-elect, programs chair for the Committee on Younger Members, and a member of the State Government Relations Committee’s Task Committee on New Revenue. She plans national events and facilitates discussions that lead to innovative and sustainable engineering solutions. Her nomination letter notes “Ruedas has made significant strides in helping the civil engineering profession move toward becoming masters of the built environment by inspiring, empowering and equipping students and young engineers with knowledge and skills necessary to begin shaping public policy.”

– Lori Brandt