2007 Engineer of the Year Awards

Engineer of the Year – Norm Arendt. CHS-III, CFEII, PhD – Norm is currently employed by Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. as the Safety/Security Director. He is responsible for everything related to safety & training including expert testimony and claim analysis for insurance companies. As a 14-year member of NSPE/WSPE, Norm has held such positions as MATHCOUNTS State Co-coordinator, and Southwest Chapter Vice President and President. He has been an alternate and is now the Active Member representing WSPE on the WI Dept. of Commerce Commercial Building Codes Council. In addition to his various Board responsibilities, Norm has also written articles on a variety of topics for WI Council of Safety & MN Safety Conference, WI Water Well Magazine, and an “Ask the Expert” column for Facility Care magazine.

Engineer in Private Practice – James F. Kochie, P.E. – Jim has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from North Dakota State University and is a licensed P.E. in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. He’s been a Project Engineer for Davy Engineering, as well as a member of NSPE/WSPE for 26 years. During that time, Jim has been an active member of the Western Chapter, holding the offices of President, Vice President and Treasurer, as well as the MATHCOUNTS Chair and the Scholarship Committee Chair. Jim is also an active member of the Lions Club, SE Minnesota Development Corporation, and St. Peter’s Church.

Engineer in Education – Jeffrey S. Russell, P.E., Ph.D – Jeff has a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from U of Cincinnati, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Construction Engineering and Management from Purdue University. Currently Jeff is the Chair of the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UW-Madison. He has also served as editor-in-chief of the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering (1995-200) and as founding editor-in-chief of the ASCE publication Leadership and Management in Engineering (2000-2003). Jeff is active with the student chapters of ASCE and Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society. Jeff’s been a member of NSPE/WSPE for 25 years and an active member of the Southwest Chapter where he was previously honored as the Professional Engineer in Education.

Young Engineer of the Year – Christopher M. Stamborski, P.E. – Chris has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Marquette University and has spent his career at R.A. Smith & Associates as a Municipal Project Engineer. He’s been a NSPE/WSPE member for seven years and has been active in the Waukesha Chapter holding such offices as President, Vice President, and Secretary. Just this year Chris was honored by his chapter as the recipient of their Young Engineer of the Year award. Chris is also actively involved in programs working with high school students about career opportunities in the engineering field, as well as acting as a mentor to all co-op and intern engineering students in the Municipal Services Division at R.A.Smith.