ENR's Top 25 Newsmakers - The construction industry is filled with amazing leadership—people with the passion, drive and courage to tackle the most difficult challenges and make our world a better place. At the end of every year since 1964, Engineering News-Record editors look through the stories that have appeared in ENR and select individuals for special recognition.
In the cartography of human accomplishment, you’ll find ENR’s Top 25 Newsmakers in past years all over the map. I mean that literally and figuratively.
As varied as their backstories and accomplishments are, these 25 Newsmakers are united in their efforts to make the industry—and their communities—better places to live and work. Read their stories here and meet them in person at ENR’s Award of Excellence gala on April 13 at Pier 60 in New York City.
The sudden collapse of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge early on Jan. 28, 2022, gained national attention, occurring the same day as a pre-planned visit to the city by President Joe Biden and just weeks after Congress passed the $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, in part to restore the safety and integrity of aging U.S. transportation systems.
Mario Rodriguez likes to talk about the word “sawubona”—the Zulu greeting that translates to “I see you.” Engineers, he asserts, just want to be seen for the good work they do.
While working for former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on a high school redesign project, Sarah Cherry Rice was part of a team that listened to approximately 2,000 people across the city, including students who wanted to graduate with real work experiences and no-cost college credits.
A 20-year effort to develop a process to eliminate radioactive and chemical wastes stored underground for decades at a former federal nuclear weapons production site reached a milestone last year with key facility testing, with work that had been overseen by the Bechtel project executive.
When the project team for TSX Broadway—a partial demolition and significant renovation and rebuild of a theater district tower in New York City—wanted to perform a truly challenging feat of engineering, it called in Tony Mazzo at Urban Foundation/Engineering. Project developer L&L Holdings had a vision for the 110-year-old landmark Palace Theater that required it to be elevated 30 ft within the renovated tower’s footprint to create space for new street-level retail.