Bottom Photo by Nadine M. Post for ENR DETERMINED On 9/11, Lyons, wearing his firefighter-brothers spare gear, went looking for him at Ground Zero. Lyons has worked there since. Related Links: Witnesses to 9/11, Devoted to Rebuilding World Trade Center At New York's New World Trade Center, Uncommon Cooperation Brian Lyons, 51, has worked on 10 projects at Ground Zero. The man is on a personal crusade to rebuild the World Trade Center “bigger and better than before.” His mission was born on 9/11, when he made his way to Ground Zero to look for his 32-year-old brother—a firefighter with

Photo courtesy of TEDx Engineer Imad Naffa, at industry conference in May, was a strong advocate of social networking. Related Links: TEDx Dead Sea Imad Naffa Video Imad Naffa, a civil engineer and building code software developer who propelled his "passion for people" to become a global social media networking phenomenon, died suddenly on Sept. 6 in Fresno, Calif. He was 49 and suffered a fatal heart attack, according to a Twitter post by Loretta Naffa, his wife and office manager.The death of Naffa, a self-proclaimed "Twitterologist," generated a buzz among his followers, who numbered more than 56,000, making him

James W. Poirot, who chaired Denver engineering and construction giant CH2M Hill Cos. Ltd. for a decade and spearheaded an epic, although controversial, project to boost construction quality industry-wide, died Aug. 4 of congestive heart failure. He was 79.While chairman of CH2M Hill in the late 1980s, the longtime quality control advocate also pushed to develop a professional practice quality manual through his involvement in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The effort had its roots in the collapse of a hotel walkway in Kansas City in 1981.  PoirotThe Poirot-led project involved the coordination of 4,000 contributors and 40

Harold E. “Bud” Nelson, known to many as “the most influential fire protection engineer of the 20th century” and the father of the emerging discipline, died on July 21 in Fairfax, Va., from complications after a fall, according to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). He was 82 and lived in Bethesda, Md.Fire protection engineering is considered a unique subset of construction, but its high-profile industry status today may stem from the pioneering 60-year career of Nelson, who developed many innovations in fire protection design, modeling and systems ap-proaches that have improved building safety, particularly in high-rise structures. Nelson began

DAVEY Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced Aug. 4 that he will appoint Richard A. Davey as Transportation Secretary and CEO of the state Dept. of Transportation, effective Sept. 1. Davey will replace MassDOT Secretary Jeffrey Mullan, who said in July he would resign. Since 2010, Davey has served as MassDOT’s rail and transit administrator and as general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. He also had been general manager of Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, a private firm that operates the authority’s commuter rail system. According to published reports, Mullan is returning to the Boston law firm of Foley Hoag,

JOHNSONCarol A. Johnson has been elevated to president and project manager of Washington Closure Hanford (WCH), overseeing its $2.3-billion River Corridor Closure project at the U.S. Energy Dept.'s Hanford nuclear-waste cleanup site in Washington state. Johnson has been closure director at WCH—a limited-liability firm owned by URS Corp., Bechtel National and CH2M Hill—since joining in 2010. Previously, she was infrastructure executive director at the Sellafield nuclear site in the U.K., responsible for critical nuclear safety-related infrastructure and support services, commercial fuel transport and security, among other things. Johnson also managed more than 1,900 employees and an annual budget of about

Gabriella L. Turnay, a New York City-based editorial researcher who worked for McGraw-Hill's education division and Engineering News-Record during her 48-year career, died on July 20 following a long illness. She was 82.Turnay joined ENR in 1967 as an editorial research associate; she compiled the ENR Index, a semi-annual listing of topics covered in the magazine, until it was replaced in 1984 with computer databases. Turnay also proofread the magazine, managed payments to freelance writers and supervised reprint permissions. Prior to joining ENR, Turnay worked for 16 years as an editor in McGraw Hill's education division, where she was involved

BRANUMW. Howell "Hal" Branum, president of Professional Service Industries Inc., an Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based engineering and environmental consulting firm, died of a heart attack on July 1 while visiting Denver. He was 69.President since 2000 and, before that, chief operating officer, Branum oversaw the integration of numerous acquisitions as the company grew. Now boasting 125 offices and 2,500 employees, the firm specializes in geotechnical engineering, construction-materials testing and engineering, and industrial hygiene. A 32-year veteran of the firm, he led many of its high-profile projects, including Denver International Airport and the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington,

Evan Futterman wears conservative suits, loves his two daughters and has worked in the aviation planning business for 32 years. He also has a life partner of the same gender and a goal to help other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people build confidence that they can succeed in business while not having to lie about their identities. Photo by Dennis Drenner Evan Futterman started GALA to support industry members who identify as gay and lesbian. Graphic by Justin Reynolds An ENR Special Feature. Related Links: Main Story: Where a New Inclusiveness Is Changing the Face of the Construction

GrebbienVirginia Grebbien has been promoted to president of Parsons Water & Infrastructure Inc., a division of engineer-contractor Parsons Corp., Pasadena, Calif. She was vice president and global business development manager. Prior to joining Parsons in 2008, she was the western division manager for MWH Americas Inc. The Sheet Metal Workers International Association has announced that Joseph Nigro will become president of the Washington, D.C.-based union, which has 150,000 members in construction and shipbuilding work, it says. Nigro's elevation from secretary-treasurer follows the July 1 retirement of Michael Sullivan, who had led the union for 12 years.Forrester Construction Co., Rockville, Md.,