Leech Awarded ESWP Metcalf Award
CEE Adjunct and alumnus Thomas Leech, PE, SE (BS '69) was honored with the ESWP 2020 William Metcalf Award at the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania (ESWP) awards dinner on February 6th. Leech has enjoyed a long and distinguished career, retiring as the Chief Bridge Engineer of Gannett Fleming, Inc.. During his 48 years at Gannett Fleming, he designed major bridges, tunnels, and highways and conducted forensic studies prior to his retirement.
Leech has led various infrastructure design projects throughout Western Pennsylvania, including the Bloomfield Bridge, the Joe Montana Bridges, the Hulton Bridge, the Toll 43 Monongahela River Crossing, the North Shore LRT Viaduct at Allegheny Station, the Fort Pitt and Squirrel Hill Tunnel Rehabilitation, and the forensic evaluation of the collapse of the Kinzua Viaduct.
He has published over 50 articles in national and international journals, conference proceedings and magazines, and has delivered numerous presentations at national and international conferences. He recently was the editor of the book "Reflections...of the Greatest Engineers and Architects of the 20th and 21st Centuries" as well as a contributing author to the "Geology of Pittsburgh."
The William Metcalf Award is named in honor of the first ESWP president and is awarded to a Western Pennsylvania engineer whose career accomplishments are connected to steel, aluminum, power, coal, electrical equipment, chemical, glass, or construction.
In addition to being the first President of the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania, Mr. Metcalf was President of the Duquesne Club (1881-2), President of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, President of the Homeopathic Hospital of Pittsburgh, and member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, British Institute of Civil Engineers and the Episcopal Church. William Metcalf passed away in 1909 at the age of 71.