Engineer of the Year Nominees.

• Position: ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

Wael M. Hassan

Dr. Wael M. Hassan is an associate professor of structural earthquake engineering at UAA. He obtained his PhD, MA, and post-doctorate at University of California, Berkeley, and structural engineering BS/MS at Cairo University, He is a California-licensed Professional Civil/Structural Engineer. His research interests are simulation and large-scale testing of structures, seismic assessment of existing construction, and performance-based seismic design (PBSD). His PhD was a part of a National Science Foundation project that led Los Angeles to issue a new law to enforce retrofitting its 1,500 non-ductile buildings. Hassan's seismic assessment research and models were adopted as national standards.

He served as an invited lecturer at top schools, including University of Southern California, University of Tokyo, and University of British Columbia. He authored more than fifty peer-reviewed papers and supervised numerous theses in earthquake engineering. Hassan taught a wide variety of courses at Berkeley, UC Irvine, UAA, Santa Clara University, and the American University in Cairo.

His industry experience is extensive; he established and led the US PBSD of skyscrapers practice at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, San Francisco, the designers of some world's tallest buildings. He served on many US code committees and co-led the field reconnaissance mission after the 2018 Anchorage Earthquake. He produced an extensive report receiving national attention, co-chaired a major conference sharing damage lessons, and developed a seismic risk mitigation strategic plan that was key in proposing seismic policy changes in Alaska.

Matt Leistico

Matt Leistico joined PDC Engineers (now RESPEC) in 2002 and has more than twenty-one years of experience in engineering, design, and construction throughout the state of Alaska. He is a region supervisor and an associate of the firm. Leistico is experienced in project management and facilities HVAC systems design as well as extensive special systems work, including facility fuel supplies, sprinkler system design, and HEMP (High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse) shielding.

Leistico has participated in and led numerous projects at various US Department of Defense project sites throughout Alaska, including new construction and renovation of existing facilities. He has an excellent working relationship with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and has a strong working knowledge of USACE design standards and project...