National Fuel Gas Executive Named 2015 Engineer of the Year

by Jane Stoyle Welch

“Work hard, be a problem solver, and always take the ethical path,” was the message delivered by this year’s UB Engineer of the Year, Ann M. Wegrzyn.

A vice president at National Fuel Gas and longtime supporter of UB and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Wegrzyn (Industrial Engineering BS ’85, MBA ’90) was recognized by the Engineering and Applied Sciences Alumni Association (EAA) for her volunteer work at UB and the community at large with a focus on education.

“Ann’s dedication to STEM education and outreach is an inspiration to other women in engineering,” said Colleen O’Connell (BS CivE ’03), President of the EAA.

Wegrzyn oversees information technology, engineering services and telecommunications at National Fuel Gas. She joined the company as an industrial engineer after graduation in 1985, and has since held a variety of positions in field construction, customer service and information technology.

She is currently responsible for information technology and cybersecurity, as well as engineering services, which supports pipeline design and maintenance activities for the Utility, Midstream and Gas Pipeline segments of the company.

She has served on the school’s Dean’s Advisory Council since 2007, and is a board member of the UB Alumni Association, where she serves on the Executive and Alumni Careers Committees. In the past, she also served on the EAA Board of Directors.

Wegrzyn is also a member of the Board of Directors of her high school alma mater, the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, and volunteers her time to activities that promote STEM education to underrepresented students.

She and her husband Bob live in Orchard Park, and their daughter Jenna is a 2014 graduate of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Management.