Nicholas M. DeNichilo, P.E., BC.WRE (Hon.), NAC, Dist.M.ASCE, retired president and chief executive officer of Mott MacDonald North America, has been honored with inclusion by ASCE in its 2026 class of distinguished members for his business acumen, exemplary engineering expertise, and advisory guidance in academic and professional societies.
ASCE will honor DeNichilo and the 2026 distinguished members at the 2026 OPAL Gala, Thursday, Oct. 15 in Reston, Virginia.
DeNichilo’s official career surged for five decades and culminated in his executive positions at Mott MacDonald North America, a $600 million enterprise with 2,500 employees in the region. Under his leadership, the firm became a leader in infrastructure development across the globe, contributing to $2 billion in global operations. He has demonstrated leadership and innovation in business growth and program management as well as collaboration, change management, and engineering project delivery.
His strategic vision and technical ability have left a lasting impact on the engineering profession, particularly in the fields of water resources, infrastructure resilience, and environmental stewardship.
DeNichilo has authored and presented numerous technical papers, and his insights have shaped discussions at major industry events. His work as a project manager and principal in charge of hundreds of water supply, treatment, and transmission projects across the United States and internationally, including groundbreaking efforts in desalination and volatile organic compound removal, has advanced civil engineering’s state of practice. His contributions to the planning and rehabilitation of major water infrastructure systems in New Jersey and beyond are both vast and transformative.
DeNichilo has been honored with many awards throughout his 50-year career, including the 1999 ASCE Engineer of the Year Award. In 2003, the New Jersey section of the American Water Works Association awarded him the George Warren Fuller Award for his distinguished professional volunteer service in the water field, and he received the NJIT Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 2005. In 2014, ASCE presented him the Outstanding Projects and Leaders Award, and the next year he was given the Society’s John I. Parcel–Leif J. Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award for becoming a widely respected national voice on behalf of safe engineering practices and the need for resilient infrastructure. In 2021, DeNichilo was awarded the Newark College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award.
He serves on the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s board of trustees, the board of directors of NJ PFAS Partnership Innovation Consortium, and the board of advisors of the Industry Board of the Center for Buildings, Infrastructure, and Public Space at Columbia University, among others.
DeNichilo is past chair of the ASCE Industry Leaders Council and a member of the Society’s Environmental and Water Resources Institute. He previously served as a member of the University of Rutgers’ New Jersey Climate Change Alliance. In 2015, he was elected to the National Academy of Construction. DeNichilo is also a member of the Academy of Water Resource Engineers.
Nominations for the 2027 class are due Dec. 15. Email [email protected] for more information.
