Awards
LVPSPE Engineer of the Year: Joe McCarthy, 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.
Joseph B. McCarthy, PE currently is a consulting electrical engineer and Vice President of J and P Engineers, P.A. a full service MEP and FP engineering firm with offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He is responsible for electrical systems design and project management of multi-discipline projects. Electrical design/ project management projects have been completed for General Services Administration in Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Trenton; on Rikers Island for the New York Department of Corrections; at West Point and Fort Hamilton for the Army Corps of Engineers; and the Trenton Housing Authority.
In 1965 Joe received his BS in Electrical Engineering degree from Lehigh University and immediately started at PP&L in the Distribution Engineering Department. In his 30 plus years at PP&L, besides the Distribution Engineering department, he was in the Standards Development group where he developed and implemented a computerized design and estimating system, and also in the Marketing Department where he was responsible for development of electro-technology and energy efficiency marketing programs for industrial and commercial customers. In 1996, he left PPL and started as a self-employed consulting engineer.
Joe has also been an Adjunct Professor at Northampton Community College for 8 years where he taught courses in the Electronics Technology program.
Joe has completed electrical engineering graduate work toward a Masters in Electrical Engineering at Lehigh University, a 2 year technical development program on Power Systems Analysis by Power Technology Inc, and most recently graduate work in Lehigh’s Business School toward a MS in Management of Technology.
He is a member and past president of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers, a member of the Order of the Engineer, past Chairman and current board member of Lehigh Valley Engineering Council, and life member of IEEE. He has been a board member and past chairman of The Electrification Council of Edison Electric Institute, Industrial Electric Heating Committee. He has been and member and Chairman of both the Industrial and Commercial Committee and the Consumer and Energy Services Section representing PP&L at the Pennsylvania Electric Association.
He has been and continues to be actively involved in the Community having served on the Bethlehem Area school Board for 8 years three as President, 8 years as a board member of the Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical Committee 2 years as Chairman, 12 years as a Trustee of the Northampton Community College, 6 years as Secretary of the Board of Trustees. He shares his engineering knowledge at Holy Infancy Church where he is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the facilities. At Holy Infancy Church he is actively involved with fund raising, chaired a Capital campaign and where for 13 years he coordinates and manages a volunteer-staffed ethnic food stand at Musikfest.
Joe resides in Bethlehem with his wife Margaret. They enjoy their three children, their spouses and nine grandchildren. He and his wife enjoy traveling and have visited over 40 countries. Some of their travels have been coupled with genealogy research having visited countries and identified the homesteads from which their ancestors emigrated.
LVPSPE Young Engineer of the Year: Chris WIlliams, 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, and is nominated by his/her PSPE Chapter.
Chris Williams, EIT, LEED AP, joined the Civil Engineering Department of Barry Isett & Associates (BIA) in 2007, having served internships the three previous summers with the full service Lehigh Valley based engineering firm. He has been a key team member on scores of projects for many of BIA’s long-term and high profile clients such as Lehigh University, East Penn Manufacturing, and the School District of the City of Allentown, to name a few. Recent project examples include:
• Liberty Properties/Amazon.com – 944 car parking lot designed and constructed on a fast-track schedule to achieve the lease-required opening date of the million-square-foot warehouse to meet the holiday sales season
• Gambet Center at DeSales University – site design for a new building designed to LEED specifications
• William Street in Pen Argyl – design of roadway improvements to a residential street
Chris is the Secretary of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the PA Society of Professional Engineers (LV PSPE) and is the volunteer coordinator for the 2012 Mathcounts Competition, responsible for scheduling the activities of more than 70 volunteers in a dozen activities throughout the event, ranging from set up, to test proctoring, to test scoring, to running the countdown round. This is the second year of his Mathcounts involvement.
A LEED Accredited Professional, Chris will be taking the Principles and Practices of Engineering examination in April of 2012. While at BIA he has taken advantage of continuing education opportunities. Coursework has included Civil 3-D training; DEP Chapter 102 training; Draft DEP E&S manual training; DEP Riparian Buffer Training and Project Team Capabilities.
A Lehigh Valley native who grew up in Hellertown, PA, Chris developed an early interest in engineering, inspired by the career of his father, who worked in the construction industry for the Alvin H. Butz Company and Allied Building Corporation, and of his grandfather, who worked for Bethlehem Steel. He graduated from West Virginia University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2007. As an undergraduate, Chris was active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Chris lives in Topton with his wife, Amanda, a first grade teacher in the Pennridge School District.
