23 Year-Old Track Engineer Named New Face of Civil Engineering

Reston, Va. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today announced that 23-year-old Monica Laisun Louie from New York City has been named a New Face of Civil Engineering. Monica is a track engineer with Parsons Brinckerhoff.  An integral part of ASCE’s 2011 National Engineers’ Week (Feb. 20-26) initiatives, the New Faces program promotes the achievements of young civil engineers by highlighting their contributions to and impact on society.

As a track engineer, Monica designs alignments and sections of track. She balances her busy job with a full schedule of community service and hobbies, including being the secretary for the Engineers Without Borders New York Professional Chapter.  As a part of EWB, Monica recently traveled to Balang, Cambodia to work on a dam project that involved the construction of a straight weir and restoration of an earthen embankment.  The reservoir is now providing water for irrigation to more than 9,000 residents. She also worked on the design and construction of a clean water distribution system for a health center in Matunda, Kenya.

A strong advocate for engineers volunteering in developing communities, Monica recently spoke about the technology EWB utilized in Cambodia at the Science, Technology and Innovation Forum held during the UN General Assembly, and the success of the project at a water resources conference in India earlier in the year. In her spare time, Monica manages and paddles with a dragon boat team. She also mentors high school students in as a part of the ASCE mentor program.

Monica has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and is currently working on her master’s degree in civil engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. 

Each year, ASCE names ten New Faces of Civil Engineering, some of whom are also submitted to the New Faces of Engineering program run by the Engineers Week Foundation. This inclusive national program includes representatives from the civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, industrial and manufacturing engineering professions. Selected New Faces profiles are featured in a USA Today ad during Engineers Week and are profiled on the National Engineers Week website at www.eweek.org, as well as at www.discoverengineering.org.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.