2015 Academy of Distinguished Alumni Announced

The 2015 honorees are recognized for expertise in their fields, research and education advancements and strong leadership qualities.

This year’s inductees are:

Stacy J. Bartoletti

M.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1993
B.S., Purdue University, 1991

Stacy Bartoletti is president and CEO of earthquake and structural engineering firm Degenkolb Engineers, headquartered in Silicon Valley and is known for his technical expertise in methods of assessing and upgrading the seismic safety of existing buildings. He has implemented techniques to improve the safety of countless buildings on the West Coast and led a multi-year effort with the Washington State Seismic Safety Committee to develop a framework and recommendations to achieve earthquake resilience in the state. The effort brought together professionals, government officials and stakeholders to address seismic threats.

After graduation, Stacy began his career at Degenkolb Engineers in San Francisco. A few years later, he was one of three engineers in the company who helped open a new office in Portland. During this time, he substantially grew his technical and project management skills by completing numerous seismic upgrade projects for Hewlett-Packard. In 2007, he became chief operating officer and shortly thereafter CEO. In 2015, he became chairman of the board and is the fifth firm leader in the company’s 75-year history. Earthquake engineering has been a part of Stacy’s career and technical focus since his days at The University of Texas at Austin. He has worked with many clients in many different markets to help them identify and mitigate the earthquake risk to their facilities. He has also been very active with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and the Council of American Structural Engineers (CASE). He is currently the chair of the ACEC Management Practices Committee, executive committee member and secretary of CASE, and the past chair of the CASE Toolkit Committee. Bartoletti has testified before Congress on seismic safety, and he continues to build upon Degenkolb’s world-class reputation as an industry leader. The company has won more than 100 national and local awards for engineering excellence. In 2012, it was also named Best Structural Engineering Firm to Work For by Civil + Structural Engineer magazine, which regularly includes Degenkolb in its top-10 list. “As a young child and teenager, I was always interested in building things,” he says. “My father, who worked for a public utility, and I built a little cabin in Northern Wisconsin, and I think that hands-on aspect drove me to civil engineering. That experience always stuck with me and created a desire to build bigger buildings.”

Rajendra P. Bhattarai

M.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1980
B.S., Indian Institute of Technology, 1976

Raj Bhattarai currently manages Austin Water Utility’s Environmental and Regulatory Services Division, where he directs the regulatory programs required for the city’s drinking water plants, wastewater collection and treatment plants, and reclaimed water and biosolids treatment systems. In this key role, he has become a national and international leader in the water and wastewater field and in water quality and environmental protection efforts.

After earning his master’s degree in environmental health engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, he started his career with the Texas Department of Water Resources and quickly moved up through the ranks to assume increasingly significant leadership positions within the Austin Water Utility. Bhattarai has also been involved with several seminal research efforts, including work on sludge thickening and biological nutrient removal, which was awarded the Water Environment Federation’s prestigious George Bradley Gascoigne Medal for “Significant Operation Contribution.” His work on biological nutrient removal was the first full-scale demonstration of the Step-BNR process anywhere in the world and is now widely used throughout the U.S. He was also the project manager for the expansion and upgrade of the City of Austin’s largest wastewater plant and a full-scale demonstration of biological nutrient removal at the South Austin Wastewater Treatment plant. Throughout his career, Bhattarai has been active in volunteer work with the Water Environment Federation and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. He has held many leadership positions in professional organizations, including serving as president of the Water Environment Association of Texas and the Texas Association of Clean Water Agencies, and has been recognized with awards for his extraordinary personal service. He also routinely teaches nutrient removal to undergraduate and graduate environmental engineering classes at UT Austin and has been a guest lecturer since 1989.

Erin J. Flanigan

M.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1994
B.S., Purdue University, 1987

A pacesetter in transportation engineering, Erin Flanigan leads and manages research and analyses projects related to state and federal transportation programs in the U.S. Her project experience includes large-scale intelligent transportation systems deployment projects, including a 600+ signal system integration and corridor deployments utilizing closed-circuit television, fiber optic communications and dynamic message signs. Flanigan earned a master’s degree under the supervision of Dr. C. Michael Walton. Since her graduation in 1994, she has recognized and exercised the needs and benefits of giving back to the university.

After graduation, Flanigan spent four years planning and designing an interchange on IH-35 in Kansas. She was later a manager of ITS services at TransSystems Corporation, where she was responsible for ITS-related development and projects. She was also the project manager of the Kansas Statewide ITS Plan, which won a national “best of” award at the ITS America Annual Meeting. She joined Cambridge Systematic, an independent transportation consultancy firm, in 2006 and was promoted to principal a year later. Currently, she spends most of her workday managing a $100 million contract for the Federal Highway Administration. She has also worked closely with the State departments of transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Academy of Sciences, the Transportation Research Board, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the National Highway Institute on various technical, research and planning efforts. Flanigan has remained actively engaged with the department, regularly mentoring students and serving four and a half years on the CAEE External Advisory Committee. She was also one of the founders of the Transportation Engineering Endowed Excellence fund and is now the external principal of this important fund that provides program support to the department.

David T. Ford

Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1978
M.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1975
B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1973

David Ford is an outstanding leader and prominent contributor to water resources engineering, planning and management, especially in the application of risk-based analysis for flood damage mitigation and real-time flood response decision-making. He is responsible for pioneering research that is directly applied to engineering practice and is an exemplary mentor of young engineers. He is also one of the most trusted figures in California’s flood control arena. He is the owner and president of David Ford Consulting Engineers, a water resources engineering firm in Sacramento, California. Ford received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in hydrologic and water resource system engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. A member of Chi Epsilon and the ASCE chapter as a student, he is still active in ASCE divisions, institutes and committees and mentors younger members.

After earning his Ph.D., Ford was employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Hydrologic Engineering Center in Davis, California, promoting use of systems analysis to support water management decisions by the Corps. He has also served as a lecturer, thesis and dissertation advisor at the University of California, Davis; and California State University, Sacramento. Ford established his own consulting firm in 1990. His technical specialties have evolved to include watershed engineering analysis, river hydraulics analysis, reservoir system analysis, project benefit/risk analysis, real-time forecasting, flood warning systems, decision support systems, training and software development to support water resources engineering analyses. Recently, Ford was principal-in-charge of the consulting team working with the California Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Central Valley Hydrology study. The study has produced information to characterize flood hazards throughout the Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins, where flood risks are among the highest in the nation. On a national level, Ford and his staff are testing and documenting a real-time decision support system that expands and enhances the data and information available to USACE water managers. This includes data and information about the current state of watersheds, their likely future state, and the consequences of management actions. The data and information will help water managers make wise operational decisions. Ford received the ASCE 2015 Julian Hinds Award for his outstanding contributions and leadership in water resources engineering, planning and management.

Marek J. Gromiec

Ph.D., Warsaw University of Technology, 1979
M.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1970
B.S., Warsaw University of Technology, 1967

Marek Gromiec, born and raised in Warsaw, Poland, is an environmental engineer with decades of experience in the field. He has been a monumental contributor to water pollution control in Poland and to the protection of the Baltic Sea. His research interests are focused on water quality modeling integrated with geographic information systems. He has served his native country of Poland and the world at large as a consultant for the United Nations, participating in a number of international projects.

After earning a bachelor’s degree, he joined the Institute of Water Management, where he designed regional wastewater treatment plants in Poland for the World Health Organization (WMO). In 1968, Marek was invited to Texas to take part in a government project to develop design guidelines for municipal wastewater treatment plants. He worked as a research associate in The Center for Research in Water Resources under the supervision of professors Eckenfelder, Malina and Gloyna. After earning his master’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1970, Gromiec returned to Poland, where he completed his Ph.D. He then joined the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management in Warsaw, where he served as chief engineer, head of the Department of Water Management, and Plenipotentiary of Director General for Special Projects until his retirement in 2009. His recent work involves recovering energy and phosphorus from municipal sludge and heavy metals from industrial waste. He currently serves as chairman of the Experts on Water Management for the Commission on Environment of the Polish Senate and as permanent advisor for the Commission of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry at the Polish Parliament.

Julia M. Harrod

M.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1994
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990

Julia Harrod is the president and CEO of MWM DesignGroup, a multi-disciplinary firm providing civil engineering, architecture, land surveying, landscape design and permitting services throughout Texas. She is recognized for excellence and leadership in her profession and in technical and civic programs. She is also an avid volunteer, from STEM outreach to serving as national treasurer for the National Society of Professional Engineers and advocating for the professional engineering community.

After earning her Bachelor of Architectural Design from MIT in 1990, Harrod spent nine months in Bath, England, working for an architectural engineering firm. After arriving back in Austin, she began work at Martinez & Wright Engineers (now MWM DesignGroup) as a design technician. It was here that she changed her career path from architecture to engineering. While still working at MWM, she came to The University of Texas at Austin to complete her education by earning a master’s degree in architectural engineering in 1994. She now serves as project principal and chief quality control reviewer for all the firm’s engineering and landscape architectural projects. As president, she is also responsible for the firm’s strategic initiatives and financial operations. Over the years, MWM’s clients have included the City of Austin, Capital Metro, Austin Community College and Texas State University. Julia has overseen large site projects as well as utility and transportation infrastructure improvements. Julia has also made notable contributions to the engineering profession through advocacy and outreach at both the local and state levels. She is currently serving as the national treasurer of the National Society of Professional Engineers. She has also served as the president of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers and the Austin Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Julia was named State Engineer of the Year by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers in 2015.

Joseph R. Rapier

B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1981

Joseph Rapier is president and CEO of Parkhill, Smith and Cooper (PSC), a full-service design firm primarily working in the public sector on municipal infrastructure, education, health care and transportation. Since becoming president of this West Texas-based firm, it has grown in size while continuing to have the reputation of being one of the best places to work in the region. Rapier earned his B.S. in architectural engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1981. He worked as a structural engineer for a local firm in Lubbock, Texas and later operated his own practice. Rapier joined PSC in 1992 and became the firm’s fourth chief executive officer and president in 2006.

In 2013, he was named Engineer of the Year by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE). Since Rapier became president of PSC, the firm’s staff has grown by 40%, and four new locations have been added. PSC has been recognized twice as a “Best Firm to Work For” in part due to its focus on staff licensure, challenging opportunities and enabling personal and professional development. In 2014, PSC launched its Building Community Investment program to invest 1% of earnings in the communities we serve through grants, pro bono services, employee matching gifts and volunteer service. In the public service domain, Rapier serves the community through leadership roles in the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, City Boards, Reese Redevelopment Authority, Carillon Retirement Community Foundation, St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church and helping developing leaders through BSA Troop 157. Additionally, he currently serves as TSPE legislative and governments chair.

William B. Ratliff

B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 1983

Bennett Ratliff currently serves as president of The Ratliff Group, LLC, the firm he founded in 2002 specializing in construction management for the private sector. He has grown the firm into one of the top one hundred nationally recognized firms in the design and construction of automobile dealerships. His career also includes significant community service with his local school district and the Texas State House of Representatives. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, he graduated from Westchester High School in Houston and followed his father’s footsteps to major in civil engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

As a student, Ratliff was a member of Chi Epsilon. He was recognized for his contributions to his profession with the Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement in 1990 by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the 2013 Distinguished Engineer of the Foundation by the Texas Engineering Foundation. Ratliff was also the designer of the first U.S. Green Building LEED-certified automobile dealership. He recognized the national importance of LEED-designed projects and became personally certified in 2007. In his community, Ratliff’s nine years of service as a trustee on the Coppell School Board and in the Texas House during the 83rd legislative session were rewarded by nominations for the Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year in Education in 2013 and 2014. He was also named to the “Legislator Hall of Fame” by the Texas PTA, Legislative “Champion” by the Texas Retired Teachers’ Association, and awarded an honorary life membership in the Texas PTA for distinguished service to children. Ratliff has been a mentor and sponsor of the Coppell High School Engineering Academy and Solar Car Team since its inception while he was on the school board.

Jose Holguin Veras

Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1996
M.S., Universidad Central de Venezuela, 1984
B.S., Universidad Autonoma de Santa Domingo, 1981

José Holguín-Veras is the William H. Hart Professor and director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment and the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is one of the most widely published and cited freight researchers and humanitarian logistics experts in the world, and his research group pioneered the multidisciplinary study of post-disaster response logistic operations. Holguín-Veras earned his Ph.D. at UT Austin and was supervised by Michael Walton.

His research emphasizes the integration, synthesis and projection of the knowledge that exists in multiple disciplines to produce solutions to the complex and multifaceted problems that impact freight transportation and humanitarian logistics. Current research activities focus on three major areas: freight transportation demand modeling, sustainable freight systems, and disaster response logistics. His work has received numerous awards, including the 2013 White House Campaign of Change Award for his contributions to freight transportation and disaster response research. His work on sustainable freight systems studies the interactions between agents involved in freight activity to define ways to exploit these interactions to foster sustainable development and operations. The application of principles has resulted in more than 400 companies in Manhattan switching operations to off-hours, an idea that has had a significant impact on easing traffic congestion. Holguín-Veras’ research group has conducted analyses of recent disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, the Port-au-Prince earthquake, the tornadoes in Joplin and Alabama, Hurricane Irene and the Tokoju disasters in Japan. The lessons learned are then used to support future disaster response policies and the development of novel analytical formulations. Most recently, he and his team worked to develop a series of models to help with Puerto Rico’s Supply Chain struggles to disperse aid after Hurricane Maria. His research is of great relevance to developed and developing countries. Holguín-Veras has led more than 55 projects with the National Science Foundation, National Cooperative Freight Research Program, US Department of Transportation and others, with total funding of more than $14 million. He has also held numerous leadership positions, including president of the Scientific Committee of the Pan-American Conferences of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, member of the Scientific Committee of the World Conference of Transport Research, member of technical committees at numerous professional organizations, and member of the editorial boards of the leading journals in his field.

The department established the Academy of Distinguished Alumni to acknowledge the professional achievements and contributions of its graduates. Twenty-seven charter members were inducted into the academy in 2003, and 84 additional members have been selected since.

Alumni, faculty and students are invited to attend the induction ceremony.