Rachel Stender was selected as the 2004 New Face of Engineering during National Engineers Week. Stender is one of 16 young engineers profiled as a New Face of Engineering, a program that spotlights the contributions emerging professionals make to their communities. A project engineer with the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, Stender became the first registered female engineer in the 77-year history of the Port when she recently received her licensure. Her responsibilities with the Port include design, construction and management of capital and maintenance projects through the Port. She is currently overseeing construction of a new water taxi landing, a $1.9 million project.

In 1998 Stender completed reserve duty in the U.S. Air Force as a civil engineering officer with the 307th RED HORSE Unit, a mobile, rapid-response construction unit. As a reservist, she spearheaded the creation of an office within her unit dedicated to environmental issues. She has an MBA from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi and a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Ty Hilton has joined Gary Teague, Mark Berry, and Michael Jones as a corporate principal and stockholder in Teague Nall and Perkins Inc., a 95-employee civil engineering, surveying, and consulting firm with offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, and Denton. Hilton has been with TNP since 1995, serving as a design team manager and managing principal. He has more than fourteen years of civil engineering experience and specializes in the design of transportation systems and public works infrastructure.  Hilton earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University and his master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Doug Worrell has joined SpawGlass Contractors Inc. as preconstruction services manager for the Austin and South Texas regions. Worrell will coordinate all preconstruction activities with the project team, from the conceptual estimate through the development of the final construction documents and project budget. Worrell’s more than 30 years of experience includes estimating for a variety of building types. Worrrell holds a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in building construction from the University of Houston.

Dr. Bill Thornton of San Antonio has been appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as chair of the Bexar County Regional Mobility Authority. The authority is composed of representatives from each county where a turnpike project is proposed to be located.

Thornton, a former mayor of San Antonio and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University and a degree in dentistry at Baylor College and his oral surgeon degree from Baylor Medical Center.

 Joseph A. Yura, Ph.D. will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's North American Steel Construction Conference. Yura holds the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas in Austin, where he has been a faculty member since 1966. He has concentrated his teaching and research in the areas of steel design, stability, structural connections and offshore structures. In 2000 Yura was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his work on bracing and stability. He is currently chairman of the Task Committee on Stability of AISC and was the principal developer of the stability bracing provisions in the 2000 AISC-LRFD Specification.

Martin Marietta recently announced several promotions. Larry Roberts has been promoted to Regional Vice President of Martin Marietta Materials’ Southwest Division, where he will oversee the South Texas and San Antonio Districts. Roberts’ leadership of the San Antonio District was instrumental in helping the district reach a recent safety milestone of more than 2 million hours worked without a lost time incident. David A. Little has been promoted to Vice President of Distribution and Operational Services. Little will continue to provide operational services management while overseeing the executive management of rail and truck distribution of Martin Marietta’s aggregate products. Eddie Newman has been promoted to Employee Relations and Safety Manager, continuing to oversee the Guardian Angel program, a decision-based safety program. Terry Darden has been promoted to Manager: Concrete Operations for the district. Darden will supervise the operation and production of concrete and the truck shop, which maintains Martin Marietta’s fleet of trucks and aggregate production machinery.

Walter P. Moore recently announced the LEED Accredited Professional designation of three of its engineers. Andrea Bunch, Michael Duval and Jamison B. Smith were awarded the title in recognition of their expertise in the LEED rating system.

The company now has seven LEED Accredited Professionals, dubbed the “Green Team,” that will serve as a firm-wide resource that facilitates design of sustainable structures and strives to keep the company informed of the advances in sustainable design technologies.

TxDOT recently announced the appointments of: Praxedis Garza as area engineer of the Dallas Northwest Area office; Michael Bostic as Southwest Dallas area office engineer; James K. (Kelly) Selman as Collin County area engineer; Phillip Lujan as the Director of Transportation Planning & Development for the Beaumont District; and John A. Yant, as Director of Construction for the Paris District.