The Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering's external advisory board is made up of notable Stevens alumnae and industry experts from across industry.
George Deodatis
Vice Dean for Research for the School of Engineering and Applied Science + Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family Named Chair, Columbia University
George Deodatis conducts research using probabilistic methods and uncertainty quantification to study civil infrastructure systems subjected to natural and technological hazards with the objective of ensuring their safety and reliability. He received a five-year Diploma in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and holds MS and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Columbia University. He started his academic career at Princeton University, where he received tenure before moving to Columbia University, where he currently holds the Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family Named Chair. He has served as the Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia, and is currently serving as the Vice Dean for Research for the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Deodatis has served as President of the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability (IASSAR) and as President of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). His honors and awards include the IASSAR Distinguished Research Award, the ASCE Alfred M. Freudenthal Medal, election as Distinguished Member of ASCE, Columbia University’s Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching, the ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, Princeton University’s Presidential Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award.
Giselle Diaz, P.E. ’96, M ‘01
Vice President of Water Services at Boswell Inc.
Giselle Diaz is the Vice President of Water Services at Boswell Inc. She earned her Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Environmental Engineering from Stevens in 1996 and a Masters of Science in Construction Management in 2001. She has successfully provided planning and design services for a broad range of water supply, wastewater collection, treatment systems and stormwater projects for over 29 years. Shis is currently the Chair of the American Water Works Association, NJ Section and is a licensed Professional Engineer in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
Chris Gunsten PE
Senior Vice President, Project Services & Fleet Engineering, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company
Chris Gunsten has worked in the dredging and marine construction industry for more than thirty years. Beginning as a Site Engineer conducting hydrographic surveys and optimizing dredging project operations his career has taken him to nearly every major port in the United States and multiple locations abroad including Denmark, Qatar and Western Australia. In his current role he oversees fleet engineering, new ship construction and maintenance of GLDD’s diverse fleet of dredges and support equipment. A native of New Jersey, he received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rutgers University and his MBA from Loyola University Chicago. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of New Jersey.
Stuart Lerner
Executive Vice President, Stantec
Over Mr. Lerner’s more than forty-year career, his roles and responsibilities have continuously grown to his current role as Executive Vice President. He has previously served as the Business Leader for the Infrastructure Division and also the Chief Operating Officer for North America. His experience covers all aspects of a project’s life cycle, from planning through construction, with specific expertise in rail and roadway transportation projects. Mr. Lerner has been involved in or responsible for more than two hundred projects (delivered via P3, design-build or conventional methods), dozens of which have been constructed and are in service today, and many of which have won prestigious awards. The construction values of these projects have varied widely, with some in excess of $1 billion. In addition to corporate and project responsibilities, he is an industry leader, serving on multiple professional organizations, speaking at numerous professional events and writing articles that have been published in several industry publications.
Alicia Mahon '12, Ph.D., PMP
Wind Energy Program Manager and Operational Systems Engineering Group Leader in the Earth System Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Alicia Mahon, Ph.D., PMP serves as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's wind energy program manager and Operational Systems Engineering Group Leader in the Earth System Sciences Division. Alicia manages an offshore renewable energy portfolio of approximately $30M annually and oversees land-based, offshore, and distributed wind projects executed for the Department of Energy. As group leader, she manages a group of approximately 80 scientists, engineers, and project support staff and stewards group capabilities in waterpower systems science and engineering, systems engineering, and integrated project support. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in ocean engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Alicia also serves as the editor of the Marine Technology Society Journal
Allie Moss '22
Environmental Engineer, CDM Smith
Allie Moss is an Environmental Engineer at CDM Smith who graduated Stevens in 2022 with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Environmental Engineering. Her work experience with CDM Smith has covered water treatment and distribution, PFAS treatment and design, remediation studies, data validation and 3-D modeling, water resources engineering, and sustainability. While at Stevens, Allie was a member of the Women’s Basketball Team, a campus tour guide and lifeguard, an Undergraduate Dean’s Board Advisor and Stevens Environmental Engineering Board Advisor, and a Stevens Environmental Engineering Professional Society Member. In her free time, Allie loves to spend quality time with friends and family, run, hike, read, and travel anywhere she can.
Jeremy Pope ‘92
Senior Vice President, Northeastern Regional Manager, Mari
Jeremy Pope, PE serves as senior vice president and northeast regional manager for Marine Solutions, a leading marine engineering and construction company. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1992. He is a commercially certified diver and dive supervisor and has extensive exeprinece performing underwater insepctions of waterfront structures. He also servces as chairman for the Engineering Diving committee of the Association of Dive Contractors International (ADCI). His engineering experience is focused on the inspection, structural assessment, shoreline protection, resiliency, hydrographic surveys, analysis, and design of bridges and waterfront structures. Mr. Pope has managed large-scale marine engineering projects as well as waterfront facility construction projects involving underwater and above water repair of piles and bulkheads, concrete spall repair, water control device repair, shoreline protection, resliency measures, and fender system repair and replacement.
David J. Tanzi, P.E., BCEE, PMP '97 and '98
Senior Vice-President and Senior Project Manager, CDM Smith
David Tanzi earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering and his Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. Since 1995, he has been employed by CDM Smith Inc., a global engineering and construction firm, where he has served multiple roles. Currently a Senior Vice-President and Senior Project Manager, he is responsible for all project delivery in the northeastern United States. Mr. Tanzi is a AAEEES Board Certified Environmental Engineer and a licensed Professional Engineer in four states. He is also past chair of the New Jersey American Water Works Association (AWWA), and a recipient of the AWWA George Warren Fuller Award for the distinguished service to the water supply field.