Diligence and commitment are two words that describe the professional philosophy of Jeff Alexander, CM, an aviation planner in Hanson’s Orlando regional office. “My dad has been a truck driver for 35 years and never went to college,” Jeff said. “Yet, he has instilled in me the meaning of hard work and dedication.”

Every summer of Hanson internships culminates in the students creating presentations about their accomplishments, with one intern earning a Hanson scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is given each summer to an intern who goes above and beyond to demonstrate collaboration and teamwork within Hanson’s intern program. This year’s winner is environmental engineering major Mason Johnson, who graduated in June from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, and is pursuing his master’s degree in hydrology and hydrodynamics at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The last few months have been busy for Hanson’s Corpus Christi, Texas, employees. May included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a community fishing pier and park. Then, on June 29, they took part in another celebration, inviting clients and community members to an open house at Hanson’s recently renovated and expanded office.

Hanson received an Outstanding Special Project Award as part of the organization’s Outstanding Project Awards. The awards recognize member firms’ achievements in Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) studies and projects. Winners were recognized at the ACEC-FL Transportation Conference in Orlando.

Bill Bradford, who serves as a senior vice president and energy, sustainability and resiliency principal, joined Hanson in 1986. In March 2022, another Bradford came onboard — Bill’s son, Burns. Since his arrival, father and son, both mechanical engineers, have collaborated on several projects.

Where can you find a 3D-printed prosthetic hand, a floating concrete canoe and a self-driving car? These and a plethora of other exhibits greeted a group of Springfield, Illinois-area middle- and high-school students April 9 at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s annual Engineering Open House (EOH). Accompanied by Hanson employees and mentors from organizations including the Springfield Urban League and the Springfield chapter of Frontiers International, the students explored the diverse world of technology at the university’s Grainger College of Engineering.

Over the years, Hanson’s staff has included many family relationships — among them, parents and children, husbands and wives and siblings. With National Siblings Day falling on April 10, the time is right to spotlight several of our sibling pairs. How do they feel about working together? Where did they find their inspiration to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers? These strong family connections nurtured in childhood have flourished into productive professional relationships.

What would you do if your community came into extra money — gloriously unearmarked, full of promise for improvements, enhancements and growth?

For geographic information systems (GIS) specialist Josh Gray, using technology to solve simple or complex business or engineering challenges to help clients and colleagues drives his efforts on each project and is one of his favorite parts of his job

You’re standing at the front of a conference room with a PowerPoint presentation on a screen behind you and an audience in front of you. How do you feel? Calm and confident? Nervous but collected? Or a bundle of anxiety with shaking hands and a pounding heart? Did you consider at the outset that your career might require you to give presentations? Many young engineers don’t, but it’s important to be comfortable conducting an interview, pitching your firm for a new contract or speaking to a packed trade show audience about your experiences on a project. March 4 is World Engineering Day and National Speech and Debate Education Day, so it’s the ideal time to talk about the prevalence of public speaking in engineering — or any field that requires leadership and speaking abilities.