Written by Ben Walpole with the American Society of Civil Engineers. Full article can be seen at https://source.asce.org/civil-engineering-excellence-recognized-with-2021-opal-leadership-awards/.

Each year, ASCE honors civil engineering’s finest with Outstanding Projects And Leaders leadership awards.

The OPALs recognize career achievement in each of five categories: construction, design, education, government, and management.

Here are the ASCE OPAL leadership award recipients for 2021:

In construction, Jesus M. de la Garza, Ph.D., Dist.M.ASCE, NAC, professor and chair, Glenn Department of Civil Engineering, Clemson University – for innovation and excellence in construction of civil engineering projects and programs.

In design, James L. Barnard, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, Dist.M.ASCE, global project and technology leader, Black and Veatch Consulting Engineers – for innovation and excellence in civil engineering design.

In education, Vijay P. Singh, D.Sc., P.E., Hon.D.AWRE, F.EWRI, Dist.M.ASCE, Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University – for demonstrated excellence in furthering civil engineering education. 

In government, Sreenivas Alampalli, Ph.D., P.E., F.SEI, F.ASCE, recently retired as director, Structure Management Bureau, New York State Department of Transportation – for demonstrated leadership of public sector projects and programs.

In management, Terry F. Neimeyer, P.E., ENV SP, BCEE, F.ASCE, chairman of the board, KCI – for exceptional management skills in his professional career.

The Society will honor this year’s OPAL leadership award winners at the ASCE 2021 Convention, Oct. 8, in Chicago. Watch for profiles of each winner in the weeks leading to the convention.