Carnegie Mellon University
2013 Alumni Awards

2013 Alumni Awards Luncheon

The CEE alumni awards are designed to recognize you for your dedication, support, and contributions to both the department and the general world of civil and environmental engineering. These three awards are the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Outstanding Service Award, the Recent Alumnus Achievement Award and the Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible Distinguished Public Service Award. They are all given at the annual CEE Alumni Brunch during Cèilidh weekend each fall. All alumni are invited to fellow alumni who have demonstrated exemplary achievements and service. 


Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible Distinguished Public Service Award

Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible (BS CE ’95)

On September 14, 2012 Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible was killed in action during an insurgent attack on his base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Raible was the recipient of many military honors, including a Meritorious Service Medal, ten Strike Flight Awards, and a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his actions on the day of his death, and was one of the highest-ranking Marines to die in combat in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Chris graduated from CMU in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He joined the Marines upon graduation and earned his Naval Aviator designation in 1998. He filled numerous roles during his time in the Marines, and was most recently awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the summer of 2011. The squadron he commanded, known as “the Avengers,” is currently the only Marine Harrier squadron in Afghanistan. 

CEE professor Larry Cartwright had Chris as a student and research assistant. Cartwright commented, “He was uniformly excellent in all aspects: excellent in the classroom, a highly motivated assistant, very independent, and totally reliable. Chris brings great honor to the U.S. Marine Corps, to Carnegie Mellon, and to Civil & Environmental Engineering.”

The CEE faculty wanted to recognize Chris’ heroic service, and unanimously agreed to create the Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible Distinguished Public Service Award in his memory. The award is intended to honor individuals who have provided exceptional public service in various areas, such as distinguished military service, accomplishments during employment by a government or non-profit agency, or remarkable public service volunteer activities.

Lt. Col. Raible's sister, Lona Bosley, accepted his award on behalf of the Raible family. 

Outstanding Alumni Service Award

Linda McNair Perry (BS 1980)

With over 30 years of experience in design and construction Linda McNair Perry has continually been recognized for her quality and depth of her professional work as well as her volunteerism in the engineering community and her dedicated mentoring of structural engineering students and recent graduates.

With career projects ranging from buildings to bridges to amusement rides in the U.S. and abroad, Linda has been associated with engineering firms from large to small, including her own company LMP Engineering Inc. in the 1990s.  In addition to her extensive involvement and leadership as the president of the Structural Engineers of New Hampshire, she is a member of the Steel Framing Alliance, the Cold Formed Steel Engineers Institute, the American Institute of Steel Construction, and she is currently a member of the New Hampshire State Building Code Review Board. A jury of peers from engineering societies named Ms. McNair Perry New Hampshire Engineer of the Year in 2012. 

Currently, Ms. McNair Perry is a Senior Structural Engineer at SFC Engineering in Auburn, New Hampshire.

Distinguished Alumnus Award

John Kenny (BS 2000, MS 2000) 

John Kenny has been a member of the CEE Alumni Advisory Council since 2008, and has been an active participant with a special interest in internship and employment opportunities for CEE students. He has been a corporate champion for our students within Gannett Fleming, resulting in internships for CEE students for the past several summers and full-time employment opportunities for CEE graduates.

Mr. Kenny is the Senior Vice President of Gannett Fleming.

Kevin O'Brien (BS 2000, MS 2000) 

Kevin O’Brien joined the Carnegie Mellon Alumni Association Board in 2012, after service in a number of leadership roles in the New York Metro Chapter, including president. he has planned many events for New York alumni, and has been an active member of the Carnegie Mellon Admissions Council since graduation and  is a regular participant in Carnegie Mellon’s Volunteer Forum.

Currently, Mr. O’Brien is a Project Engineer at Hatch Mott MacDonald.

Recent Alumnus Achievement Award

 Aurora Sharrard (MS 2004, PhD 2007)

Aurora Sharrard is currently the Vice President of Innovation, Green Building Alliance and co-leads two Green Building Alliance initiatives: DASH (Database for Analyzing Sustainable and High Performance Buildings) and the Pittsburgh 2030 District which works towards 50% reductions in energy, water, and transportation emissions by the year 2030. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Dr. Sharrard is an active member of the CEE Alumni Advisory Council.

Pingbo Tang (PhD 2009)

Pingbo Tang earned his PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering in 2009 and is currently an Assistant Professorat  Arizona State University.  As an early-career researcher, Dr. Tang has already published more than 40 peer reviewed conference and journal articles. His work on 3D data quality, spatial data processing workflows, and bridge management is already highly cited by researchers from domains such as civil engineering, geoscience, and computer science.