Civil engineering alumnus and department advisory board member is honored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York

By Peter Murphy

Wahid Albert, PE (BS ’84), assistant commissioner and chief engineer at the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), won the 2020 Chairman’s Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC).

Albert is responsible for overseeing the design and construction of NYSDOT’s $4.6 billion annual highway and bridge program, and assuring the safety of over 17000 publicly owned bridges in New York State. Albert began his career with the NYSDOT in 1984 as a junior engineer and has held several key positions with the department. He has served as chief engineer since 2016. 

The ACEC New York presents the Chairman’s Award to an individual or organization demonstrating outstanding leadership, creativity and vision related to New York’s engineering community including infrastructure, development and the business of design. According to  an announcement on the organization’s website, Albert earned this award based on his accomplishments since serving as chief engineer. 

“His willingness to work in full partnership with all industry stakeholders in a transparent manner, including the licensed design community, has helped NYSDOT become a regional leader in the delivery of large-scale design-build projects to the benefit of all New Yorkers. His insight, technical ability, tireless work ethic and deep understanding of the built environment have produced a sustained record of achievement as NYSDOT’s Chief Engineer. 

Albert has also served as a member of the Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering’s advisory board since 2017. During his career with NYSDOT he has worked as the supervisor of a structures design unit, director of structures design and assistant deputy chief engineer of structures.

To learn more about the announcement, visit ACEC’s website