The American Council of Engineering Companies of New York honored three industry leaders June 9 at its annual spring conference at The Marriott East Side in New York City. The honorees were recognized for their exemplary leadership and contributions to New York’s consulting engineering community.

The recipient of this year’s President’s Award, Engineer of the Year Award and New Principal of the Year Award respectively are: Francis J. Lombardi, Samuel (Sam) I. Schwartz and Thomas (Tom) C. McLaughlin.

President’s Award: Francis Lombardi, P.E.
The President’s Award is given to a non-member of the council whose leadership and business savvy best supports ACEC New York’s mission to be the leading advocate for member companies and the industry as a whole.

Francis Lombardi, chief engineer of the Port Authority of NY & NJ, has long been a friend and champion of ACEC goals, objectives and activities. In addition to the President’s Award, he was the recipient of an ACEC New York Scholarship in 1970, and a Special Awards Presentation (Salute to the Chief Engineers of the Port Authority) in 2000.

Lombardi started his career with the Port Authority in 1971 as an engineering trainee. Since his appointment to the position of chief engineer in 1995, Lombardi has been responsible for delivering the agency’s multibillion dollar capital programs and oversees such high-profile construction projects as the $300 million contract to restore PATH service to lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks. He also directed the engineering efforts for the redevelopment of John F. Kennedy International Airport, which includes the $1.9 billion AirTrain light rail project and the redevelopment of Newark International Airport, which includes a rail link connecting the airport’s monorail service to Amtrak and NJ Transit.

In addition to many professional memberships, he serves on several boards, including the board of consultors to the Department of Civil Engineering at Manhattan College, and the board of managers of the Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association.

Frank Lombardi’s business achievements have earned him numerous awards and recognition, but it is his commitment to education and mentoring in the A/E/C industry, however, that has earned him his highly regarded reputation as a concerned, caring and compassionate individual, personally involving himself in the following activities: the ACE Mentor Program (N.Y. and N.J.); American ORT, Engineering and Construction Industry Chapter, the world’s largest non-sectarian and non-governmental education and training organization; ASCE Met Section Scholarship Luncheon; Engineering Career Day at Rutgers University; FIRST Robotics Program; Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day; Manhattan College Mentor Program; Polytechnic University Mentor Program and Salvadori Center, a non-profit educational center at the City College of New York dedicated to helping inner-city youth appreciate science and mathematics through a hands-on study of bridges and other structures.

Engineer of the Year Award: Samuel Schwartz, P.E.
The Engineer of the Year Award is given to an active or retired member of ACEC New York who has made significant contributions to the consulting engineering profession, the council and his or her community.

Schwartz and the company he founded, Sam Schwartz Engineering, have been in the forefront of transportation engineering for more than a decade. An expert in the field of transportation engineering and traffic safety, he coined the term “gridlock” and is widely respected for his congestion relief strategies. He specializes in developing urban traffic programs utilizing his expertise in traffic demand management, transit systems management, traffic calming, and transportation planning and engineering.

Prior to starting his firm in 1995, Schwartz was senior vice president at Hayden/Wegman Consulting Engineers. He has also served as chief engineer/first deputy commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation, and as New York City’s traffic commissioner, as well as several key positions within NYCDOT.

Schwartz also created the NYC Bridge Centennial Commission, founded the School for the Physical City, had numerous engineering based Op-Ed pieces in local and national papers and is probably best known for his Daily News column addressing traffic matters in New York City, called “Gridlock Sam.”

In addition to serving on the ACEC New York board, Sam Schwartz sits on the boards of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and the Women’s Transportation Seminar. Schwartz’s civic and humanitarian activities include Visiting Scholar at the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy. He is also on the faculty of Cooper Union, where he established The Infrastructure Institute.

New Principal of the Year Award: Thomas C. McLaughlin, P.E.
The New Principal of the Year Award is given to the ACEC New York member who has been a principal less than five years and who has made significant contributions in the form of ideas and service to the consulting engineering community.

Tom McLaughlin was one of the youngest principals at HDR (Henningson Durham & Richardson Architecture and Engineering, P.C.), a national engineering firm, when he was made a vice president two years ago. Last year he was elected to the Executive Leadership Program, one of only six principals selected to be mentored by HDR’s top level executives. He is also an HDR Professional Associate, a recognition of technical expertise and leadership in traffic engineering.

McLaughlin has more than 15 years of experience in traffic and civil engineering and is thoroughly familiar with various aspects of highway design, traffic engineering, toll plaza design, E-Zpass design, and transportation planning from scoping through final design. He has project management experience on numerous complex highway, bridge, traffic and transportation planning projects.

As vice president for Transportation Operations, McLaughlin is responsible for the ten HDR offices throughout New York State and New Jersey. He is also a senior project manager responsible for managing technical development, as well as revenues and profitability and staff utilization, for complex projects for the NYS Thruway Authority, Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J. and NYSDOT.