02-07-2018

Parsons Announces Fellows Program and Board

From left to right: Jim McGovern, Tom Burns, Mohamed El-Basyouny, Virginia Grebbien, Tom Spoth, Elie Homsi, Venkat Rao, Hamid Iravani, Chuck Harrington

PASADENA, CA (February 7, 2018) – Parsons today announced that it has established a Fellows Program to recognize its top technical talent; foster engagement, mentorship, and retention; and promote innovation in solving its customers’ most difficult technical challenges.

“Because Parsons is a solutions-oriented technical firm, I am incredibly proud to announce the establishment of our Fellows Program,” said Chuck Harrington, Parsons’ Chairman and CEO. “The program is a way to acknowledge our subject matter experts who may not serve in traditional project management roles. Our Fellows will represent some of the most talented professionals in the scientific, engineering, and technical disciplines from across the corporation and the globe.”

The stringent criteria for appointment to the Parsons Fellows Program includes expertise in a scientific, engineering, or technology discipline; industry recognition and awards; and demonstrated contributions to the success of Parsons projects and programs—among other benchmarks. The program’s board, chaired by Virginia Grebbien, Chief of Staff, consists of six other board members who were inducted last month:

• Dr. Tom Burns, Senior Vice President, joined Parsons in 2005 and has more than 20 years of experience in the management, design, and construction of complex nuclear material processing and waste disposition facilities. He currently serves as the deputy project manager and director of engineering for the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility Project in Aiken, SC.

• Dr. Mohamed El-Basyouny, Project Manager, joined Parsons in 2011 and has nearly 25 years of experience in pavement design and materials engineering. He has served as a research assistant professor at Arizona State University, his alma mater. In addition, Dr. El-Basyouny was a key member of the team that developed the AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (Darwin M-E). He has also authored, contributed to, and reviewed numerous journal articles and reports over the course of his career.

• Mr. Elie Homsi, Senior Vice President, joined Parsons in 2013 and has more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry. He is one of North America’s most outstanding bridge constructors, specializing in construction engineering and means and methods development. His innovative solutions have garnered numerous professional awards and have been granted U.S. and international patents.

• Mr. Hamid Iravani, Transportation Planning Director, joined Parsons in 2013 and has more than 30 years of experience designing, managing, and executing a wide variety of transportation projects. A recognized expert in new urbanism, he has developed many innovative solutions, including an intersection delay function algorithm used in TransCAD transportation planning software. In addition, Mr. Iravani has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.

• Dr. Venkat Rao, Program Director and Health Market Lead, joined Parsons in 2013 and has nearly 30 years of industry experience in health sciences research and development programs. He is a nationally known subject matter expert in chemical-biological threat reduction and ongoing biomedical research and development projects, and he actively participates in industry and academic outreach as well as in Parsons’ collaboration with George Mason University’s Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases.

• Mr. Tom Spoth, Vice President and National Bridge Practice Lead, joined Parsons in 1984 and has spent nearly 35 years dedicated to the design, construction, and preservation of major bridges, with an emphasis on long-span suspension and cable-stayed bridges. He received the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Roebling Award in recognition of lifetime achievement in structural engineering and was presented Old Dominion University’s Outstanding Alumni and Friends Humanitarian Award. For New Jersey’s Roebling Museum, Mr. Spoth has lectured on the design and construction of cable-supported bridges and has led the museum’s annual STEAM Camp, which engages young people in science and technology.

“Not only will Parsons Fellows serve in an advisory capacity, they will also have the opportunity to act as distinguished technical role models and mentor other Fellows,” said Grebbien, a registered professional engineer who oversees the corporation’s corporate strategy, government relations, investment and development, and marketing and communications functions and is a recognized expert in the water sector.

The first group of Parsons Fellows will be announced in March 2018 and inducted in June 2018. The group will serve as a think tank to solve technical challenges through tactical/real-time problem solving, strategic research and development, as well as best practice improvements. As the corporation’s leading, high-level technical representatives, they will also promote Parsons’ brand and engage with clients. In addition, Parsons Fellows will be the corporation’s ambassadors at professional meetings, conferences, and other events, and they will continue to author papers and present at regional, national, and/or international technical publications, organizations, or forums.

Parsons is a technology-driven engineering services firm with more than 70 years of experience in the engineering, construction, technical, and professional services industries. The corporation is a leader in many diversified markets with a focus on infrastructure, defense, security, and construction. Parsons delivers design/design-build, program/construction management, systems design/engineering, cyber/converged security, and other professional services packaged in innovative alternative delivery methods to federal, regional, and local government agencies, as well as to private industrial customers worldwide. For more about Parsons, please visit parsons.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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