Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Reston, Va. — Robert D. Nichol, P.E., F.ASCE, chairman of the board and former president of Moffatt & Nichol, was recently named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The Society’s highest accolade, active distinguished membership is comprised of approximately only 200 of its 140,000 members worldwide. Nichol will be presented the award, in honor of his leadership in global infrastructure, innovation in planning and designing modern port infrastructures and establishing one of the largest coastal engineering firms nationwide, on October 20-22, 2011, at ASCE’s Annual Civil Engineering Conference in Memphis, Tenn.
Nichol has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the field of engineering through his multiple, innovative achievements. He has more than 50 years of experience in the field and has dedicated most of his life to improve complex transportation, marine, structural and coastal engineering projects. Nichol became president of Moffatt & Nichol in 1975, resulting unprecedented growth within the engineering services firm. He transformed Moffatt & Nichol from a local Californian agency to a large-scale global firm attracting renowned clients. He has also established the firm’s reputation as one of the largest coastal engineering firms in the nation introducing innovation areas of study in environmental and navigational needs for the port industry in design areas focusing on dredging and habitat restoration.
Nichol’s commitment to excellence has landed him many award-winning projects. Under his guidance, most of the port planning and infrastructure projects in the United States during the last 40 years have been constructed under the guidance of Nichol. His waterfront and transportation projects in addition to his innovation engineering and construction skills have allowed him to be recognized on the local and national level. His firm was the first to offer in house economics and freight forecasting services to its clients. Currently, Moffatt & Nichol has a staff of 500 engineers to support 26 offices worldwide. Nichol is a registered professional engineer in 11 states (California, Illinois, Texas, Maryland, Idaho, Michigan, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida).
Nichol’s distinguished career is supported by his dedication to the field. His experience in innovative fields of engineering and management as well as efficiently and effectively implementing new ideas to expand engineering and construction techniques for coastal and harbor projects gives evidence to his market dominance. His construction projects not only contribute to the local economies and communities nationwide, but have gained growing interest from top business leaders.
Nichol received a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Husbandry from the University of California, Davis and a second Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is a lifelong resident of California and presently lives in Bodega, Calif., on a ranch raising sheep and Angus cattle.
Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society.
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