This episode features a conversation with NCEES Chief Officer of Examinations Jason Gamble, P.E. Gamble provides important exam updates including the revised format to the PE Civil Exam coming in April 2024.  

Vatsal Shah, PE, PhD, D.GE Principal Engineer ANS Geo Inc.   A True Leader In Engineering In this episode, Vatsal Shah talks about his work as a principal engineer at ANS Geo Inc., his efforts to mentor future engineers, and being licensed in 44 states.  He has been nationally recognized by Engineering News-Record as one of the Top 20 under 40 for the New York Metropolitan Region, the American Society of Civil Engineers as the “Face of Civil Engineering”, and as “Young Engineer of the Year” by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 2019. Shah is a third-generation civil engineer, alongside his father and great-grandfather. He is an enthusiastic adjunct Professor at both NYU Tandon School of Engineering and New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is also a Past-President of the NJ Society of Professional Engineers and teaches PE and FE review courses in Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering across the US.

Nicole Hill, EIT Project Engineer U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East District  In this episode, Nicole Hill talks about her experiences working as a project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in South Korea. Previously she worked for the USACE Wilmington District. Her recent accomplishments include two housing tower complexes that accommodate over 400 military families, a barracks complex with a capacity for over 600 unaccompanied soldiers, a pet care center, and other infrastructure improvements. She was the recipient of the 2021 Women of Color STEM Conference Technology Rising Star Award. 

In this episode of the podcast, NSPS Executive Director Tim Burch discusses his first nine months leading the organization, his passion for surveying, and the challenges and opportunities he sees for the profession in the future. Tim is a Professional Land Surveyor licensed in the States of Illinois and Wisconsin and has been involved in various capacities with the NSPS for more than 20 years.  

This episode features Bart Miller, senior principle at the national firm of Walter P. Moore. Miller is a true leader his in field and discusses his work on some of the largest sports stadiums in the country.  He has received several industry honors, including “40 under 40” by Building Design and Construction Magazine in 2010, Walter P Moore’s Javier F. Horvilleur Outstanding Young Engineer Award in 2009, and Sports Business Journal's Power Player in 2020. He holds a Master and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Marquette University, respectively.

This episode features Eric Lundborg, senior program engineer with Engineers Without Borders USA. Lundborg discusses how he became involved with EWB-USA, the responsibilities of his position and his role overseeing projects in East and West Africa as well as his time spent with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. He is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.

In this episode, NCEES Chief Officer of Examinations, Jason Gamble, provides an update on NCEES exams, specifically on exam registration numbers and testing center capacities two years into the pandemic. He also gives an in-depth look at how the transitions of the PE Civil exam and the PE Structural exam to computer-based testing are going and what to expect moving forward.

Devan Tracy, P.E. Smart Buildings Team Leader   On this episode professional engineer Devan Tracy discusses her leadership role on the Smart Buildings Team of a large global aerospace and defense company. A TedTalk presenter and recent GreenBiz “30 Under 30” award winner, Tracy also talks about the “extinction of sustainability” and the responsibility corporations have in environmental sustainability and energy conservation. The episode also highlights her love for music and her talents as a musician.

David Widmer, P.L.S. President of Widmer Engineering  Past President of NCEES On this episode, we honor the 20-year anniversary of 9/11 with professional surveyor David Widmer. In September 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Widmer was involved in a unique surveying project at the crash site of Flight 93 in central Pennsylvania. He shares his profound and memorable surveying story, as we remember those events 20 years later.   Widmer is president of the consulting firm Widmer Engineering and past president of NCEES. He is a professionally licensed surveyor in Pennsylvania, with over 35 years of experience, and is a graduate of Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Widmer began his service to NCEES in 1992 and has served as a member or board of directors liaison to almost every NCEES standing committee as well as several task forces. He was a member of the NCEES board of directors from 2009 to 2016, when he served terms as president, treasurer, and Northeast Zone vice president. And he most recently served as a member of the 2019–20 Advisory Committee on Council Activities. In addition to NCEES, Widmer served more than 18 years as a member of the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. He is now an emeritus member.

Christine Gayron, P.L.S.President and Visionary of GdB Geospatial On this episode, Christine Gayron, P.L.S., shares how her love of mapping and a geology degree brought her to a career in surveying, acquiring her P.L.S., and eventually becoming an owner of one of the largest surveying firms in the United States. Gayron also discusses some of the most unique surveying projects she’s worked on, including the U.S. Open, and shares her advice for those considering a career in surveying.

Brian Robertson, P.E., LEED AP Principal BG Buildingworks   In this episode, Brian Robertson gives an inside look at what it is like to serve on a state board of professional licensure in the United States. He has been a licensed professional engineer in Colorado since 1999 and is a past chair of the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers, and Professional Land Surveyors. He is a principal at BG Buildingworks, where he oversees the Fort Collins office and the electrical and lighting teams for the company. Robertson also serves as President-Elect for NCEES and will take over as president in August 2021.

Trent Keenan, P.L.S., WRS, CFedS President and Founder of Diamondback Land Surveying, LLC  Land surveying is one of the first professionally licensed professions in the United States. On this episode, Trent Keenan will discuss why fewer people are entering the surveying profession and what he and others are doing to help reverse the trend. Keenan also discusses his surveying journey, including his path to licensure and why it’s important. Keenan’s surveying career spans over 25 years and he is the president and founder of Diamondback Land Surveying and founder and moderator of Mentoring Mondays for the Land Surveying Profession.   For more on Mentoring Mondays for the Land Surveying Profession, visit http://www.mentoringmondays.xyz/

As a 30-year professional licensed surveyor, it’s important for Karie Colburn, P.L.S., to help other females in the profession keep pushing ahead. In this episode, Colburn shares her surveying story, including what it’s like to be a female business owner, why it was important to her to become professionally licensed, and her advice to other females working in the surveying profession. Colburn is a professionally licensed land surveyor in Georgia and holds a Bachelor of Science in Land Surveying from Purdue University. Colburn owns her own surveying business, GeoTerra USA, LLC and is certified as a female business enterprise with the city of Roswell, Georgia, and with Fulton County. She has over 30 years of experience in surveying, including boundary, ALTA, topographic, route, GIS data collection, construction layout, and as-built surveys. Her background ranges from field data collection to survey computations to project and business management. Colburn is also active in the Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia (SAMSOG) and is currently serving as the Etowah chapter representative to the state SAMSOG board and the public relations committee chairperson.

In this episode, Tim Miller, NCEES Chief Officer of Examinations, explains how the engineering and surveying exams are created and scored and also provides important computer-based testing updates. This is the second episode in a two-part series about exams. In the first episode, Tim discussed the pandemic and its impact on the professional engineering and surveying exams as well as what NCEES is doing to try and help make the testing experience as seamless and transparent as possible. 

In this episode, Tim Miller, NCEES Chief Officer of Examinations, discusses the pandemic and its impact on the professional engineering and surveying exams as well as what NCEES is doing to try and help make the testing experience as seamless and transparent as possible. This is part one of a two-part series with Tim. The second part will be released in the coming weeks and will focus on the how the engineering and surveying exams are created and scored as well as important computer based testing updates.  To learn more, go to: https://ncees.org.

Surveying offers many career opportunities. In this episode, Anna Rios, R.P.L.S., discusses the impact surveyors have on the public, what it’s like to be a female surveyor, her path to licensure, and the value of licensure. Rios earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from LeTourneau University. Inspired by working with the first female professional surveyor in Texas, she continued her education at Austin Community College, earning a certificate of geomatics/land surveying. In addition to working as a project manager, Rios serves as an adjunct professor at Austin Community College. She also holds many leadership roles within state and national surveying committees, actively promote surveying, and supports education in the profession.

Business performance is driven by collaboration and engagement by all members of a team and diverse teams provide more innovation. In this episode, Kevin Edwards, P.E, MBB, and the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Bechtel discusses the importance of diversifying the engineering workforce in the future and why professional licensure was an important goal for him. Kevin earned a master of engineering in environmental engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology and a bachelor of science in industrial engineering from Rutgers University.