In its 69th year, the annual Engineers Week Awards Banquet is honoring leaders in our community who educate, create and advance engineering.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA, February 3, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In its 69th year, the annual Engineers Week Awards Banquet, hosted by the San Diego County Engineering Council (SDCEC) on February 21, 2020, is bringing together leaders in our community to celebrate those who educate, create and advance engineering.

“Engineers make a difference in this world and improve people’s lives. Yet very few people know what engineers do. Engineers Week is about raising visibility of engineering. There are over 20 professional engineering society chapters in San Diego and many more student chapters. My goal is to expand their visibility and support their initiatives. The SDCEC brings the chapter leaders together to collectively plan for the future. We celebrate engineering achievements and recognize the work of local chapters and their volunteers during the Engineers Week Awards Banquet. It is also an opportunity for students and educators, exploring engineering, to meet experienced engineers and to inspire each other,” said Debra Kimberling, SDCEC President.

The 2020 winners who will be receiving the prestigious SDCEC Engineering Honor Awards are:

Outstanding Engineer of the Year Award
Patrick Mercier, Ph.D., University of California San Diego

Outstanding Engineering Educator Awards
George Youssef, Ph.D., San Diego State University
Krisztina Hagey, Hoover High School
INCOSE Co-Sponsored - Roger Dohm, Poway High School

Dr. Thomas Avolt Kanneman Outstanding Engineering Service Award
Lazaro Herrera, Success Innovations & Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

Outstanding Leadership in Engineering
Katharine E. Baker, P.E., T.Y. Lin International, Engineers Without Borders

Outstanding Engineering Project
Athena Racing, Loxley Browne, Founder & CEO

The distinguished winners come from a variety of backgrounds, but the recurring theme is the advancement of engineering.

Professor Patrick Mercier has developed numerous groundbreaking technical advances in wearable devices, power management/energy harvesting, and near-zero-power wireless technologies for the Internet of Things. He co-founded and co-directs the Center for Wearable Sensors at UC San Diego, where he stewards academic-industry relationships and provides funding to UC San Diego faculty across engineering, medicine, and visual arts. He is active in K-12 outreach including the Hands-on-Technology summer camp and ENSPIRE.

Professor George Youssef lives and breathes by two academic pillars in life, advancing mechanics and broadening engineering participation. Youssef is a Mechanical Engineering professor at San Diego State University (SDSU). Youssef redesigned the Senior Mechanical Engineering Design curriculum and undergraduate research programs. He has hosted students for summer programs and founded mentoring programs for women and minorities. Youssef, who has mentored the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), also helped establish the Aztec Electric Racing Team.

Krisztina Hagey is a math and engineering teacher at Hoover High School who began her career as an Architect and Urban Planner. Hagey’s journey into teaching started when her daughter was in middle school and she realized that students don’t like math. Step into Hagey’s classroom today and you will see a buzz from the students engaging in project-based learning and real-world applications of math and science. One of Hagey’s students says, “She tells stories about what she used to do and how it applies to architecture and math to engage us more.” Hagey is an EnCorps STEM Teaching Fellow and helps other STEM professionals make the transition she made into teaching.

Rodger Dohm is an engineering teacher at Poway High School who has made significant contributions inspiring students in STEM careers. Dohm has written over 15 STEM courses, and in 2013, started the Poway High School Engineering Academy, which has been recognized as one of 13 Project Lead the Way certified programs in California. Under Dohm’s direction, over 2000 students have been honored with STEM awards through the Society of Women Engineers SWENext program, FIRST Robotics, and the Southern California Student Showcase. He advances the STEM aspirations of young women, the underrepresented and underserved both locally and globally through robotics.

Lazaro Herrara is the founder of Success Innovation where he organizes and conducts live sessions and podcasts for STEM professionals and students. He creates a stronger community by bringing valuable informational sessions, allowing professional connections to organically grow in the area, by empowering the community, one session at a time. He has organized large-scale events, such as the South Bay Summit, where hundreds of school children learn about technical innovations, drone technology, and automated manufacturing techniques.

Katharine Baker is a transportation engineer at T.Y. Lin International. While leading the Younger Member Forum for the Association of Civil Engineers, Baker accepted the Project Lead role for Engineers Without Borders to develop a rainwater harvesting system for an isolated community in Peru which previously only had access to contaminated river water. As a result, she grew the program, introducing a new, expanded management structure. This fostered participation by local San Diego engineering organizations with diverse areas of specialization.

Athena Racing’s extra-curricular program develops a foundation of knowledge to be used in life and business. The focus is STEM education, and the vehicle that delivers it is the racecar. Going behind-the-scenes into the working world, this opportunity for young ladies aged 16 - 21 years, allows them to discover their STEM career path in automotive, motorsport, and transportation industries. Developing extensive knowledge in 10 education tracks allows them to experience business expectations and deliverables with the development of one special entrepreneurial project. The skills learned give team members the hands-on experience to further develop their engineering, designing, team building, and technical abilities. This allows them to wisely choose their educational path, while pursuing a career where they know they have passion and talent.

The Engineers Week Awards Banquet, on February 21, 2020, will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The evening begins with a student network training session for college and high school students, followed by a full reception. Jim Tucker, Master of Ceremonies, will kick-off the formal awards celebration themed around “Pioneers of Progress”. Susan Tousi, Senior Vice President of Product Development at Illumina, will deliver the keynote "Engineering a Healthier Tomorrow Through Genomics".

Tickets can be purchased at SanDiegoEngineers.org.

Debra Kimberling
San Diego County Engineering Council
+1 619-403-3126
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