Nominee: Brad Bradshaw, P.E., ASHRAE Healthcare Facilities Design Professional

Employer: Principal/Branch Manager – TME, Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Arkansas Technical University, Russellville, Ark.

Notable Accomplishments:  Bradshaw has designed a 100 percent redundant mechanical system for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management’s new Emergency Operations center, utilized an underfloor HVAC system to reduce the required building cooling tonnage for a 100,000 square foot technology classroom building at the University of Arkansas, and utilized building information modeling to aid contractors with the constructability of building mechanical components.

Nominee: Michael Costello

Employer: Engineer Intern, Consulting Engineering Associates, Inc., Tampa, Fla.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa

Notable Accomplishments:  Costello is a design and renovation professional who specializes in creating safe and functional environments. He performed the mechanical renovation on the parking garage and rental car return area of the Tampa International Airport, successfully maintaining safe ventilation for the constant flow of traffic. He was also responsible for the mechanical design of the Tibbals Learning Center at the Ringling Center of the Cultural Arts, which houses the world’s largest miniature circus.

Nominee: Leighton Deer, P.E., ASHRAE High-Performance Building Design Professional

Employer: Associate Mechanical Designer, HGA Architects and Engineers, Minneapolis, Minn.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.

Notable Accomplishments:  Deer is committed to sustainability and the design of high performing buildings.  In his work on a variety of projects including research and development facilities, performing arts centers and college campuses, he has combined energy modeling, computational fluid dynamics, daylighting analysis, and advanced mechanical systems. He is currently the mechanical designer of a university classroom and science building that will utilize underfloor air distribution coupled with energy recovery ventilation for minimal energy consumption. This project is slated for Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program. Deer has also served as the project administrator on several other LEED® projects. Not only has he worked toward sustainable design of new construction, but Deer has worked to reduce the energy consumption of existing facilities by performing energy audits and evaluations, and greenhouse gas emission reports.

Nominee: Michael Fullerton, P.E., ASHRAE Healthcare Facilities Design Professional

Employer: Associate Principal/Project Manager – TME, Inc., Little Rock, Ark.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Notable Accomplishments:  Fullerton has served as project manager and lead mechanical engineer on multi-million dollar projects such as the Oklahoma Heart Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the central energy plant renovation  at Columbus Medical Center in Columbus, Ga., and a new science facility for Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas.

Nominee: Jim Hodgson, P.E.

Employer: Project Engineer, ConSol, Stockton, Calif.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Calif.

Notable Accomplishments:  Hodgson has led several innovative research projects for a number of industry groups, such as the California Building Industry Association’s New Construction and Retrofit Study.  All projects involved studying energy use and carbon emissions for the development and operation of residential and commercial buildings. Recent projects have included working with national builders in the development of practical, zero-energy homes, and advising the California Energy Commission in its next iteration of California’s Energy Code, Title-24, one of the most stringent in the nation. Prior to his sustainable efforts, Hodgson was the lead mechanical HVAC designer for some 120 residential and commercial buildings in California and Nevada.

Nominee: Sorour Mohamed Abo Al Makarem El Khateeb

Employer: Design and Development Engineer, Kinetics Middle East LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Notable Accomplishments:  Khateeb designed and developed the first noise and acoustics related software in Egypt. The software includes modules to assist professionals as well as modules for students to learn about noise and acoustics management. During his three years with Kinetics Middle East, he has worked with state-of-the-art technology related to noise, vibration, and acoustics solutions for high-rise buildings and other large projects. He also has experience building acoustic designs, noise measurement, noise prediction, and architectural and industrial noise control.

Nominee: Jennifer King, P.E.

Employer: Project Manager, A. A. Gonzalez Engineering, Inc., San Antonio, Texas

Education: Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans.

Notable Accomplishments: King has been involved numerous diverse projects, including educational, government, healthcare, religious, hospitality, sports  and recreation facilities, high-end residential projects, office renovations, and airports. She served as mechanical systems designer for the 1.4 million square foot office renovation of USAA and the 1 million square foot construction of the Shops at La Cantera, both in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, King designed the mechanical systems for five 200,000+ square foot casino and resort hotels across the country. King has created numerous energy models to compare and design case vs. typical building in order to demonstrate overall predicted energy savings. In addition, King has designed sustainable systems such as natural ventilation, radiant heating, photovoltaics, and solar water heating. She was instrumental in the mechanical design of the first building in San Antonio to achieve Gold status under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program.

Nominee: Mark Lenssen, P.E.

Employer: Energy Management Engineer, Puget Sound Energy, Bellevue, Wash.

Education: Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.

Notable Accomplishments:  Lenssen is dedicated to helping commercial and industrial facilities become more environmentally sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. Over the last 2.5 years, he supported over 100 projects to improve energy efficiency and save more than 7.5 million kilowatt-hours and 170,000 therms per year. Based on local carbon emissions for delivered kilowatt-hours and therms, these combined savings equal over 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, or the equivalent of 2.7 average cars off the road each day.  He is responsible for managing financial incentives for the utility’s Energy Conservation Program.  He conducts energy audits to analyze how customers’ heating, cooling, lighting, production, and other energy consuming systems operate and then provides cost-effective energy efficiency upgrade recommendations. Lenssen’s recommendation to owners include high-efficiency boilers, new lighting systems, building control systems, and new or retrofitted air compressors, fans, and pumps with variable speed drives to reduce energy consumption at part loads. To date, Lenssen is responsible for providing nearly $2 million in energy efficiency incentives to energy consumers.

Nominee: Bungane Mehlomakulu, P.E.

Employer: Senior Associate, IBE Consulting Engineers, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

Notable Accomplishments:  Mehlomakulu is responsible for the management and engineering of many large and complex projects, such as the 200,000 square foot University of Southern California School (USC) of Cinematic Arts.  Focusing on thermal comfort and architectural integration, Mehlomakulu designs sustainable and efficient HVAC systems that utilize cutting-edge technologies, such as radiant ceiling and floors for heating and cooling, displacement ventilation systems and underfloor air distribution systems. 

Nominee: Corey Metzger, P.E.

Employer: Mechanical Engineer, Affiliated Engineers, Chicago

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa College of Engineering, Iowa City, Iowa

Notable Accomplishments:  Metzger has designed HVAC systems for educational, religious, commercial, industrial, IT and healthcare facilities and is presently working on a 1.1 million square foot replacement hospital in Chicago. Other notable projects he has designed include a 2,800 ton chiller addition for a medical campus, a university campus steam tunnel replacement, a process heat recovery system for heating and absorption cooling, and a university data center.

Nominee: Jonathan Mesik, P.E.

Employer: Manager of Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineering, Holabird & Root, LLC, Chicago

Education:  Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

Notable Accomplishments:  Mesik is an advocate for sustainable design, and as the mechanical engineer for the design of the Center for the Sciences at Beloit College, he achieved 74.8 percent energy optimization over a baseline model, and the building is under review to achieve Gold status under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program.

Nominee: Brian Mirus, P.E.

Employer: Associate, X-nth, Maitland, Fla.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, Wis.

Notable Accomplishments:  As an account executive and project manager in his firm’s hospitality market sector, Mirus leads the day-to-day design efforts of a host of luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. Directing a team of 10 engineers, he has successfully delivered inventive designs and integrated solutions to hospitality clients like Ritz Carlton, Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott, Mandarin Oriental and Waldorf-Astoria. His project management experience includes overseeing the design development of five-star resorts, boutique hotels, mixed-use hotel/condominium towers, and multiple vacation-ownership clubs.   He works to promote global sustainable design, particularly in the Caribbean where he has assisted owners in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification process.

Nominee: Steve Osborne, P.E.

Employer: Design Engineer, Brady Services, Greensboro, N.C.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.

Notable Accomplishments:  Osborne literally grew up with HVAC. Inspired by his father and uncle, both HVAC contractors, he spent many summers as a teenager installing residential and small commercial systems. This love for “tinkering” and machinery led him first to a career in machine design and then back to the HVAC industry.  At his current company, Osborne has engineered over $3 million worth of projects (81 projects to date; an average of 1.3 per week.) Additionally, he has been involved in numerous mechanical design projects, performance contracts, and energy conservation efforts, all while balancing his responsibilities as the lead engineer of his company’s HVAC controls department.

Nominee: Joseph Pacey, P.E.

Employer: Mechanical Engineer, Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, Mo.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans.

Notable Accomplishments:  Pacey has designed new construction and renovation for a range of facilities including airports, power plants, jet engine test facilities, and military bases.  He has been on numerous project teams for work at Washington-Dulles Airport and is currently working on a project that will provide cooling for one of the largest hospital campuses in Texas.

Nominee: James Schaefer Jr.

Employer: Senior Lab Engineer, Trane Residential Systems, Tyler, Texas

Education: Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Notable Accomplishments:  As a laboratory engineer, Schaefer was the co-inventor and developing engineer of an installation-assisting diagnostic tool that determines if the refrigerant charge in a residential HVAC unit is application-appropriate and is able to automatically complete the process of properly charging. The tool ensures unit performance and decreases service time for technicians. He also contributed to the design of products that are industry-leading in efficiency ratings for their size (capacity) and class (cooling or heat pump units with air handler matches.) This experience inspired Schaefer in his most recent capacity as senior lab engineer, where he has had the opportunity to design the repair and rehabilitation for 30+ year old psychometric testing facilities, consult for labs around the world, and provide standards for instrumentation, setup, and calibration of various test facilities for Trane.

Nominee: Justin Smith

Employer: Mechanical Engineer, CH2M HILL, Spartanburg, S.C.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Notable Accomplishments:  Smith’s design projects include assisting in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning design for the Dial/Henkel Corporation’s new headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. In addition to corporate offices, the site also includes a number of research and development labs and pilot plants with 40+ fume hood exhaust systems. The building was able to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in part because the HVAC design incorporates variable air volume supply and exhaust controls to reduce make-up air requirements when fume hoods are not in use. Smith also worked on two large industrial HVAC design projects, a new solar grade polysilicon production facility in Russia and a carbon fiber production plant in South Carolina. The latter required working closely with process and machine-design engineers to design custom exhaust hoods that do not interfere with the process but are effective in keeping and working the environment free of harmful off-gases.

Nominee: Ali Syed

Employer: Mechanical EIT, M&R Engineering Consultants, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Education: Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (with Honors), University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan;  Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Notable Accomplishments: As an undergrad, Syed pioneered research on using wind-turbines as an alternate form of energy in Pakistan.  He developed his own design modeled on German engineering, and was involved in the complete process from aerodynamic design to feasibility study to the manufacturing of wind-turbines. His studies caught the attention of the provincial government because it addressed energy concerns. For his master’s, Syed performed research sponsored by Natural Resources Canada on the feasibility of photovoltaic and wind-turbine energy systems in Canada.  He was part of a program to assess the possible means to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and address environmental issues. Findings from his studies will shape Canada’s ongoing renewable energy policies. Syed is engaged in green building design from energy efficient HVAC systems to water conserving plumbing design, energy modeling, and the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified buildings.

Nominee: Beau Allen West

Employer: Mechanical Engineer, GRW Engineers, Inc., Lexington, Ky.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Physics, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va.; Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

Notable Accomplishments:  West is an award-winning researcher for his work on an optimized modular support frame for a gas-heat exchanger that has been adopted for use by a top industry company. He has also performed di-electric capacitor research involving the use of an atomic-force microscope to test the integrity and thickness of the capacitors in an effort to reduce their size.  He was involved with the design of the HVAC systems for prototype Gold’s Gym (now Urban Active) branches that will be used around the country. He is currently in charge of the energy analysis of a multi-million dollar prison project in Aliceville, Ala., where he will conduct all building simulations involved in the building’s path to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification

Nominee: Brad Wilson, P.E.

Employer: Associate Project Manager, PAE Consulting Engineers, Portland, Oreg.

Education: Bachelor of Architectural Engineering (focus on HVAC), Penn State University, University Park, PA

Notable Accomplishments:  Wilson has already achieved a major career goal: to design comfortable, healthy buildings based on emerging technologies. Wilson helped conceive and design the largest radiant cooling panel system on the West Coast, which is under construction as part of a major new facility at Portland International Airport. This project also includes heat recovery and a geo-exchange system with 300 vertical wells.  His portfolio already includes four buildings that have been rated Gold in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program. His energy-efficient designs have saved an estimated 31 billion btus per year, translating into a savings of nearly $500,000 per year in energy costs.