Project Manager Hired in Southeast Wisconsin |
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Beth Klemann, PE, has been hired as a transportation project manager in the Waukesha office. Her primary responsibilities include design and management of county and state transportation projects in southeastern Wisconsin.
"I want to give clients cost-effective and creative solutions that meet, or better yet, exceed their needs," said Ms. Klemann, who brings 22 years of private and public sector experience in highway design, environmental analysis, hydraulic and drainage analysis, and public involvement.
"I looked at Ayres Associates as a place to do good work, work with good people, and stretch professionally," Ms. Klemann said. "I come from an environmentally focused background, which influences my decisions. I'm looking forward to guiding the next generation of engineers – teaching them how to consider the impacts of the project early in the design to create great projects."
While employed at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Ms. Klemann prepared and reviewed numerous environmental documents.
Ms. Klemann is a professional engineer in Wisconsin and holds bachelor's degrees in civil and environmental engineering and in landscape architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Water Resources Engineer Joins Firm |
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Pete Haug, PE, has been hired as a water resources engineer in the Eau Claire office. His primary responsibilities include hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, dam design, and river engineering.
Mr. Haug brings 10 years of experience from the IIHR – Hydroscience and Engineering at the University of Iowa in hydraulic engineering and design. He has managed and supervised hydraulic engineering analysis of hydropower dam modifications, riverine structures, river corridors, and pump intake and supply system designs. His hydrosurvey experience includes bathymetric mapping, topographic mapping, velocity profiling, and sedimentation analysis in support of channel stability and hydraulic modeling projects.
Mr. Haug has completed and supervised advanced hydraulic calculations such as spillway gate rating curves, river stage-discharge curves, sedimentation analyses, and numerical model development (HEC-RAS, Visual HEC-1, DAMBRK, and backwater analysis). He has supervised structural calculations of hydraulic structures, including spillway gate loads, steel support beams, concrete beams/slabs, and other spillway and flume modifications.
Mr. Haug holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Iowa and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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Pulse Takes Reins as President |
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Thomas Pulse, PE, has been named president of Ayres Associates, replacing Patrick Quinn, PE, who announced his retirement from the architecture and engineering firm effective at the end of 2010. Mr. Pulse's appointment as president became effective May 10. Mr. Quinn, who had been company president since 2000, will continue as chairman of the board of directors until December 31.
"Tom will do a great job as president," Mr. Quinn said. "He has shown commitment to Ayres Associates, the profession, and the community that goes well beyond what is normally expected. Over his career he has taken on many challenges and has approached and handled each with great success."
Mr. Pulse, a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984 with a degree in civil and environmental engineering. He joined Ayres Associates in 1993 as part of the Engineering Services group in the Eau Claire office. His area of expertise is municipal engineering, specifically wastewater collection system design.
Mr. Pulse was promoted to Municipal Services group manager in 1999 and to Engineering Services vice president in 2001. He was selected as an executive vice president in January 2008.
Mr. Pulse has been active in personal and professional development throughout his career. He participated in the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce Leadership Eau Claire program and chaired the Chamber's Public Affairs Committee for three years until joining the board of directors in 2007. He also serves on the Friends of Sacred Heart Hospital board of directors, which oversees the major charitable giving program for the hospital. Mr. Pulse has been active at the state level for the American Council of Engineering Companies, the business voice of the engineering industry. He joined the ACEC board of directors in 2004, has served as secretary/treasurer, and will begin a one-year term as state ACEC president in July.
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WisDOT Recognizes Construction Engineer |
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Kimberly Ballweg, PE, supervisor of construction services in Madison, recently received a 2010 Wisconsin Department of Transportation Southwest Region Construction Award. The reward was for excellence in construction on the East Washington Avenue projects in Madison.
With work on the fifth and final phase of the $70 million project finishing up this spring, Ms. Ballweg looks back upon a huge construction observation effort stretching back to 2004 and involving approximately 4.5 miles of reconstruction of the six-lane roadway, which carries 39,000 to 54,000 vehicles per day. Four lanes of traffic were kept flowing during construction.
The Blair Street to Thornton Avenue segment of the project won a 2005 Excellence in Concrete Pavement Award from the American Concrete Pavement Association.
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Flooding Reduction Effort is Project of the Year |
The Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers recently selected the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Flood Damage Reduction Project as the Project of the Year, the highest honor among projects chosen for the 2010 Seven Wonders of Engineering Awards.
Ayres Associates’ work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District's $410 million Grand Forks-East Grand Forks project included designing the English Coulee Pumping Station, interior drainage, and two pedestrian bridges across the Red River, along with investigative work on the flood wall joints.
"The best result of our efforts was the ease with which Grand Forks and East Grand Forks fought the significant flood event last year," said Bonnie Greenleaf, project manager for the St. Paul District. "The system worked exactly as it was designed and protected those two communities with minimal effort during a very high water event."
The project was in response to 1997 flooding that forced the evacuation of 52,000 residents and caused more than $1 billion in damage.
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VP Wins Distinguished Engineer Award |
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The Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers has honored James Bakken, PE, an Ayres Associates vice president and leader of the engineering services division based in our Eau Claire headquarters, with a Distinguished Engineer Award. The award was announced
Feb. 19.
Mr. Bakken was recognized for his service to professional organizations and his contribution to career exploration during Engineers Week presentations. He is assistant regional vice president for the Great Lakes Region of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and has been elected into the SAME Academy of Fellows. As a certified instructor for the National Highway Institute, he conducts engineering training sessions nationwide for the Federal Highway Administration.
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Plum City Street/Sewer Project Wins 2010 ACEC Award |
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Ayres Associates and the Village of Plum City were awarded a State Finalist Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin’s 39th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition for the Plum City Main Street reconstruction project.
The project included sanitary sewer, storm sewer, enhancements, lighting, sidewalk, and roadway work. Challenges included maintaining access to the downtown area during reconstruction, accommodating high groundwater, and protecting the Village’s historic spring-fed trout pond.
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Public Clients Rank Ayres Associates High in Poll |
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Ayres Associates ranked 38th in the nation among road and highway design firms and 37th in the nation among bridge design firms in Roads & Bridges magazine’s annual Go-To List for Design Firms.
Roads & Bridges sent its 2009 voting ballots to more than 10,000 government officials and asked them which design firm they preferred to work with. Unlike other rankings, the Go-To List reflects project owner preference, not gross earnings. |
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