Advance: An NCEES podcast series

This episode features a conversation with NCEES Chief Officer of Examinations Jason Gamble, P.E. Gamble provides important exam updates including the revised format to the PE Civil Exam coming in April 2024.

Vatsal Shah, PE, PhD, D.GE

Principal Engineer

ANS Geo Inc.

A True Leader In Engineering

In this episode, Vatsal Shah talks about his work as a principal engineer at ANS Geo Inc., his efforts to mentor future engineers, and being licensed in 44 states.  He has been nationally recognized by Engineering News-Record as one of the Top 20 under 40 for the New York Metropolitan Region, the American Society of Civil Engineers as the “Face of Civil Engineering”, and as “Young Engineer of the Year” by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 2019. Shah is a third-generation civil engineer, alongside his father and great-grandfather. He is an enthusiastic adjunct Professor at both NYU Tandon School of Engineering and New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is also a Past-President of the NJ Society of Professional Engineers and teaches PE and FE review courses in Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering across the US.

Nicole Hill, EIT

Project Engineer

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East District 

In this episode, Nicole Hill talks about her experiences working as a project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in South Korea. Previously she worked for the USACE Wilmington District. Her recent accomplishments include two housing tower complexes that accommodate over 400 military families, a barracks complex with a capacity for over 600 unaccompanied soldiers, a pet care center, and other infrastructure improvements. She was the recipient of the 2021 Women of Color STEM Conference Technology Rising Star Award. 

In this episode of the podcast, NSPS Executive Director Tim Burch discusses his first nine months leading the organization, his passion for surveying, and the challenges and opportunities he sees for the profession in the future. Tim is a Professional Land Surveyor licensed in the States of Illinois and Wisconsin and has been involved in various capacities with the NSPS for more than 20 years.  

This episode features Bart Miller, senior principle at the national firm of Walter P. Moore. Miller is a true leader his in field and discusses his work on some of the largest sports stadiums in the country. 

He has received several industry honors, including “40 under 40” by Building Design and Construction Magazine in 2010, Walter P Moore’s Javier F. Horvilleur Outstanding Young Engineer Award in 2009, and Sports Business Journal's Power Player in 2020. He holds a Master and Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Marquette University, respectively.

This episode features Eric Lundborg, senior program engineer with Engineers Without Borders USA. Lundborg discusses how he became involved with EWB-USA, the responsibilities of his position and his role overseeing projects in East and West Africa as well as his time spent with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. He is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.

In this episode, NCEES Chief Officer of Examinations, Jason Gamble, provides an update on NCEES exams, specifically on exam registration numbers and testing center capacities two years into the pandemic. He also gives an in-depth look at how the transitions of the PE Civil exam and the PE Structural exam to computer-based testing are going and what to expect moving forward.

Devan Tracy, P.E.

Smart Buildings Team Leader

On this episode professional engineer Devan Tracy discusses her leadership role on the Smart Buildings Team of a large global aerospace and defense company. A TedTalk presenter and recent GreenBiz “30 Under 30” award winner, Tracy also talks about the “extinction of sustainability” and the responsibility corporations have in environmental sustainability and energy conservation. The episode also highlights her love for music and her talents as a musician.

David Widmer, P.L.S.

President of Widmer Engineering 

Past President of NCEES

On this episode, we honor the 20-year anniversary of 9/11 with professional surveyor David Widmer. In September 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Widmer was involved in a unique surveying project at the crash site of Flight 93 in central Pennsylvania. He shares his profound and memorable surveying story, as we remember those events 20 years later.  

Widmer is president of the consulting firm Widmer Engineering and past president of NCEES. He is a professionally licensed surveyor in Pennsylvania, with over 35 years of experience, and is a graduate of Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Widmer began his service to NCEES in 1992 and has served as a member or board of directors liaison to almost every NCEES standing committee as well as several task forces. He was a member of the NCEES board of directors from 2009 to 2016, when he served terms as president, treasurer, and Northeast Zone vice president. And he most recently served as a member of the 2019–20 Advisory Committee on Council Activities. In addition to NCEES, Widmer served more than 18 years as a member of the Pennsylvania State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. He is now an emeritus member.