The Top 25 Newsmakers of 2004

...industry professionals feared responding because some critics are family members of 9/11 victims. Fire code consultant Richard C. Schulte used his professional training, experience and logic to advocate that the public was being misled into believing that tall buildings could, and should, be made terrorist-proof. His words have resonated with the industry, and Schulte, who runs a one-man operation near Chicago, has come to symbolize the frustration and concern of professionals coming to terms with the attacks impact on future building design and construction.

Faced with a shortage of skilled workers, the union sector of construction is eyeing returning and unemployed military veterans to fill the gap and launch new careers. The new employment opportunities are coming from Helmets to Hardhats, a Web-based recruitment program run by a labor-management board of trustees. The brainchild of Joseph Maloney, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIOs Building and Construction Trades Dept., it has grown from one veteran placement in a building trades apprenticeship program in 2003 to 13,540 placements by fall 2004. Next year, H2H will expand to recruit construction managers.

John Moores, owner of baseballs San Diego Padres and the citys designated developer of a new sports village district, went where no developer has before. He risked millions of his own money to transform San Diegos most derelict district into a vibrant 24/7 community that could be a model for other urban sports development. Moores unique deal with the city obligated him to develop a ballpark, and more than $300 million of residential, hotel and retail space. The controversial program was halted by opponents for 13 months, which cost the team $65 million, but it has now far exceeded expectations. Moores development has been a catalyst for $1.2 billion in additional private projects in the 100-block district, and property values have soared.

Sticking it. New material is like steel-belted duct tape.

A new product called Hardwire inexpensively and elegantly fills a niche between carbon fiber and steel rebar in reinforcing structures ranging from big-box store floor slabs to public buildings threatened by terrorist attack. George Tunis created it in a Maryland garage, using the same steel-belt technology long applied to reinforcing radial tires. The material, dubbed "steel-belted duct tape," is applied using common construction tools and adhesives to retrofit or repair structures. The military is researching Hardwire as lightweight vehicle armor, and its use in bolstering plywood may make frame houses hurricane-resistant.

Tasked with launching the massive $18.4-billion U.S.-funded effort to rebuild Iraq, retired U.S. Navy Adm. David J. Nash stepped up to lead the Pentagons streamlining of a complex military procurement process to rapidly award reconstruction work, even as hostilities continued. Under Nashs direction, the Iraq Program Management Office mobilized contractors, workers and equipment to the war-torn country. Despite insurgent attacks and escalating security concerns and costs, more than $1 billion in construction contracts was put in place between March 2004 and Nashs departure from Baghdad in September.

Thomas Rogér, a vice president at Gilbane Building Co., channeled his post-9/11 grief over the loss of his daughter Jean, a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, into a crusade to impart an engineers technical savvy and a survivors sensibility into the delicate process of reconstruction at the World Trade Center site, particularly the memorial to victims. Rogers role as pro bono technical director to the largest 9/11 family group has involved almost weekly trips to Ground Zero from his New Haven, Conn., job as project executive for that citys $1.2-billion school reconstruction. He has carved out a key role in helping reconcile survivor emotions and the physical, economic and political realities of site reconstruction.

In 2000, Richard H.F. Jackson was chosen to lead FIATECH, a new consortium of facility and infrastructure builders and owners. He was tasked with helping the construction industry find useable technologies to improve project delivery. Propelled by Jacksons missionary zeal in turning fragmented problems into clear action plans, FIATECH has become a powerful agent for innovation and change. Its Technology Development Roadmap, delivered in 2004, has already identified technology answers for project delivery problems. Practitioners, academics and funding sources, both inside and outside industry, are finally getting a clear message about constructions needs and are coordinating efforts to meet them.

Completion of Iraqs Highway 1 construction project had languished for two decades, but when the U.S. invaded in 2003 it became critical as the lifeline for endless convoys and the countrys economic rebirth. U.S. Navy Lt. Li-Ping Sung, project manager and liaison to local contractors, U.S. diplomats and Iraqi politicians, steered the project through insurgent violence and political minefields to meet a tight deadline to finish a 144-km highway gap in advance of a massive troop rotation. Military commanders recognized the Highway 1 project as the most important construction job for U.S. forces in Iraq.

Corrosive? Industry was warned that lumber could impact fasteners.

Development of practical devices to monitor flood scouring that can cause catastrophic bridge failures by loosening supports long eluded inventors until Joe Scannell, president of U.S. Engineering Solutions, developed ScourWatch. Now used by many state highway departments, the automated data service gathers localized, real-time rainfall data, tracks movement of storms, and matches volume and velocity estimates to bridge-specific engineering data supplied by states. When bridge safety parameters are at risk of being exceeded, ScourWatch alerts engineers to assess the danger and take action.

Gary Johnson, senior environmental engineer at the Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection, crafted a nitrogen credit trading program for the states 79 wastewater treatment plants to curb harmful nitrogen discharge into Long Island Sound. Instead of adopting a traditional, prescriptive regulatory approach, Johnsons plan gives utilities flexibility in reaching stricter nitrogen limits under a three-stage timetable. In 2002, the program removed 2.8 million lb of nitrogen from effluent streams.

As manager of engineering R&D for metal fastener manufacturer Simpson Strong-Tie Co. Inc., Mark G. Crawford led an intensive effort to determine corrosive effects on fasteners and connectors of new types of pressure-treated lumber in the marketplace in 2004 that did not contain chromated copper arsenate. It was phased out due to health concerns. Discovering that some new lumber was up to twice as corrosive to steel fasteners, he launched a national campaign to spread the word on best practices for using fasteners on such materials. The effort helped alleviate potential for failure of improperly used fasteners on structures.

Critical Path. Gasoline trucks line up to travel Iraq's Highway 1 to supply U.S. troops. Completing its construction was critical for logistics.

CH2M Hills surprise acquisition of engineer Lockwood Greene from bankrupt J.A. Jones, a risky move that took effect in 2004, typifies Ralph R. Petersons innovative leadership that makes him a role model for the 21st-Century industry CEO. CH2M Hill has grown 15% a year since he took over in 1991, an astounding rate for an already large firm. Under Peterson, it has been an innovator in technology development and value pricing, breaking long-held industry norms. He has bolstered employee ownership value without sacrificing attention to corporate governance, even as a privately held firm. And, most importantly, Peterson has emerged as a statesman for issues that affect the industry and the world.

(Photo top by Hardware LLC, middle by Arch Chemicals, bottom by Tom Sawyer for ENR)