2012 Awards
2012 LVPSPE Engineer of the Year: Dwayne R. Schantz, P.E.
This award recognizes a PSPE member who has made significant achievements in the area of: professional society activities; civic, fraternal, religious or humanitarian activities; professional and/or technical publications, papers, or patents; and the field of engineering during their professional career.
Dwayne R. Schantz, PE is currently Product Development Manager for FLSmidth Inc, in Bethlehem, PA.
Dwayne started with Fuller Company (later acquired by FLSmidth) in 1980 in the Allentown manufacturing plant. FLSmidth is the leading supplier of complete plants, equipment and services to the global Minerals Processing and Cement industries. During his career, Dwayne has specialized in heavy equipment machine design for these industries.
Following completion of an A.A.S. in Civil and Construction Technology from Lehigh County Community College, he began course work at Lafayette College's evening program. As Dwayne progressed in his knowledge and abilities, he transferred to the Kiln Product Engineering Group working on cement and paper pulp kilns, working on new machines, modifications, repairs and refurbishments. Dwayne graduated from Lafayette College with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1990, and moved to the Milling Product Group.
Dwayne worked with various mill designs and different machine groups such as FRM Mills, OK Mills, and Roller Presses. He had the opportunity to travel extensively for FLSmidth to over 20 countries during the proposal and contract negotiation phases, assisting in erection of the equipment, teaching maintenance procedures, trouble shooting operation, and following up with customers to ensure the equipment continued to meet operational expectations. Dwayne led the OK Mill product line as Chief Engineer during a major redesign project to improve cost effectiveness, reduce weight, improve grinding efficiency, and reduce power usage.
Presently, Dwayne is manager of the Product Development Department in the FLSmidth Bethlehem office. He and his department have the responsibility to design new equipment to meet the strategic needs for FLSmidth. He has been granted one patent and currently has six patents pending.
In 2010, Dwayne received his MBA with a concentration in Management of Technology from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.
He has been active in the community in a number of areas. He has served as a member of the property committee at his church, and has coached and assisted in Southern Lehigh Youth Sport Programs for soccer, softball, and wrestling. Dwayne has served as a team captain for the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life and the Arthritis Foundation's annual Jingle Bell Run, and has served as the event chair for the Jingle Bell Run. Dwayne has given numerous career presentations at area middle and high schools for the Learning for Life program of the B.S.A. Minsi Trails Council Career Exploration Program, exposing students to and encouraging them to explore engineering as a career path.
Dwayne resides in Coopersburg with his wife Nancy. They enjoy spending time with their Daughter, Son-in-Law, and Granddaughter.
2012 LVPSPE Young Engineer of the Year: Brianne Wilburne, E.I.T.
This award is presented to an individual (no more than 35 years-old) based on his/her scholastic achievements, technical and professional society activities, technical papers and/or patents, engineering experience and accomplishments, and civic/humanitarian activities. It is awarded to a young candidate who is a licensed Professional Engineer or Engineer-In-Training.
Brianne Wilburne is employed at Air Products as a project development engineer for the Cryogenic Systems Engineering and Manufacturing Team. In this role, she leads teams to define scope, schedule, and cost, both fixed and variable, of capital projects. Developing these projects requires understanding of the business case and attention to strategies for design, manufacturing, logistics, construction, and operations. In her first three years with Air Products, she participated in its Career Development Program. Brianne gained experience as a pressure vessel design engineer for the Hydrogen Carbon Monoxide team, project development engineer for the Generated Gases team, and supply chain analyst for the Tonnage Gases, Equipment, and Energy team. Some of her accomplishments in these roles include designing an intricate steam methane reformer for manufacturing challenges, developing bids for hydrogen and oxygen plants in seventeen countries—including six of the seven emerging “E7” economies—and initiating a study to proactively prevent high temperature plant failures. Prior to joining Air Products full-time, she held summer internships with Air Products, Chevron, and Poland’s Cracow University of Technology.
In 2009, Brianne graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. While working for Air Products, she achieved a yellow belt certification in Air Products’ Continuous Improvement program. She is currently a part-time student at Lehigh University pursuing a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in finance. Certified as an Engineer in Training in 2009, Brianne plans to take the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam after completion of her Master’s degree.
In addition to work and school, Brianne is zealous about engineering outreach. She has been the Section Representative of SWE, Lehigh Valley since September, 2010. A major accomplishment during her term was as liaison for Penn State Berks’ and Air Products in a Tech Team hydrogen fueling station design, which won regionally and then was presented at the SWE annual conference in October, 2011 in Chicago. Brianne enjoys being engaged in Air Products activities such as the liquid nitrogen ambassador outreach program. She was recently featured in a You Tube presentation of the “Air Train” levitation demonstration which she imagined and created; she presented an expanded version of this demonstration to a large group of the Air Products technical community. Brianne is on the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania State Mechanical Engineering Society. Aside from mentoring undergraduate students, she established an event to help newly appointed student officers transition into the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and to provide a forum where alumni can impart their industry experiences. During her undergraduate studies, she held leadership roles in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Women in Engineering Program, where some of her activities won regional and national recognition and have been featured on technology sites such as CNET and Popular Mechanics.
She now resides in Macungie, PA and enjoys spending time with her boyfriend Dave and with her family from Hershey, PA.
