CDM Smith Presents 2023 Annual Awards in Technical Excellence, Innovation and Mentorship

BOSTON—An important element of CDM Smith’s culture is celebrating our successes and acknowl­edg­ing remarkable contri­bu­tions. Our annual Enterprise Awards spotlight extra­or­di­nary technical excellence, career development and client service. Being exceptional in these areas is central to who we are and our position as a choice firm in the industry.

The winners of the Technical Paper, Thomas Camp and President's Awards were announced at CDM Smith’s annual meeting, broadcast live to all direct share­hold­ers of our privately held firm from our Boston head­quar­ters on April 9, 2024. Congrat­u­la­tions to the winners! 

The Best Technical Paper Awards program recognizes individuals for delivering technical excellence, advancing the firm as an industry leader and showcasing our expertise. CDM Smith awards $10,000 to the primary author of the best paper in a peer reviewed journal and $10,000 to the primary author of the best paper in a non-peer reviewed publication.

Zoom Nguyen won Best Peer-Reviewed Paper for his paper, “Application of Rapid, Small-Scale Column Tests to Assess Treatment of Perflu­o­roalkyl Acids in Groundwater Using a Novel Modified Clay Sorbent.” which was published in the Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research journal. The use of Rapid, Small-Scale Column Tests help us understand how well GAC and AER work in real-world situations. Check out our innovative water treatments and meet our industry experts to help solve your challenges.

Trent Jackson won Best Non-Peer-Reviewed Paper for his paper: “Managing and Modeling Concentrate Discharge: A Solution for Coastal Facilities.” which was published at the 2023 American Membrane Technology Association’s Membrane Technology Conference and Exposition. It presents a case study of the toxicity testing and CORMIX modeling completed for a pilot LPRO facility in the coastal Carolinas for drinking water PFAS treatment. Learn more about PFAS treatment and how we can be your trusted solutions partner.

The President’s Award program recognizes outstanding individuals in Innovation and Mentorship for the prior year. Recipients are nominated by their colleagues across the firm and winners are selected by President and Chief Operating Officer Tony Bouchard from a very competitive field in both areas of distinction. Each recipient of the President’s Awards receives a career development package of up to $5,000.

Innovation

The 2023 President’s Award for Innovation has been awarded to:

Mark Zito who is considered the mastermind behind the development of Trinnex’s flagship SAS product, LeadCAST, which is revo­lu­tion­ary in the industry as the only product on the market that manages service line inventory, water sampling and construc­tion management during replacement work. He not only boldly identified the client need for such a product, but concep­tu­al­ized the software to meet that need, and is now constantly working with CDM Smith technical experts, clients and Trinnex developers to evolve the product to meet changing demands while leading the imple­men­ta­tion of the product for all new clients. These efforts have been instru­men­tal in growing LeadCAST and have greatly contributed to the success of Trinnex both in terms of brand recognition and business performance. Learn more about this revo­lu­tion­ary product and how it can address your needs. 

Mentorship

The 2023 President’s Award for Mentorship has been awarded to Whitney Treadway. Throughout the successful execution of her projects, Whitney established herself as an excellent mentor, creating an environment that set everyone up for success by spending the time and effort to show staff how to properly execute each assigned task, how to maintain a think-safe mindset, and how to mitigate personal burnout during strenuous physical and mentally challenging work during long days in the field. Through her empathetic leadership and effective teaching methods, she encouraged staff to take initiative and work inde­pen­dently ‒ all while striking a balance between providing guidance and keeping the team on track without micro­manag­ing. This kind of intentional mentoring is more important than ever as we grow and develop staff around the world.

Finally, the Thomas Camp Award − named for one of our founders − represents the essential integration of client service, technical excellence and exemplary business results. We focus intensely on our client rela­tion­ships so that we can build an unmatched level of trust and confidence providing an in-depth under­stand­ing of our clients’ needs and expec­ta­tions. As a result, we can assemble the right team of talented staff to produce the best solutions and ultimately achieve the strong business performance necessary for continued growth and development. The Thomas Camp Award recognizes the project—and especially the project team—that best achieves all three facets of excellence.

The 2023 Thomas Camp Award winner is the Hawaii Department of Trans­porta­tion's (DOT) Road Usage Charge Demon­stra­tion Project. Through this innovative project, Hawaii DOT was able to address a significant issue: how to fairly and sustainable fund trans­porta­tion infra­struc­ture in the face of declining gas tax revenues.

Our project team, working in collab­o­ra­tion with the Hawaii DOT client team and our partners and stake­hold­ers across the state, took a pioneering approach by integrating the state’s motor vehicle systems to collect and combine vehicle registry data and odometer readings from the state’s vehicle inspection system. This approach to Road Usage Charging (RUC), unique to Hawaii, also offered cutting edge technology options for those who wanted an alternative. Ultimately combining technology, data, policy and people. By actively engaging with the community, and listening to their concerns and feedback, Hawaii DOT garnered the public’s under­stand­ing and input, allowing them to make adjustments essential for the acceptance of the concept and the success of the project effort.

Truly reflecting the spirit of the Thomas Camp Award, Hawaii’s RUC program isn’t just about roads and vehicles; it’s about shaping the future of trans­porta­tion funding, sustain­abil­ity, fairness, adapt­abil­ity, and providing exceptional client service that delivers outcomes with impact.

our incredible contributions make CDM Smith the best, brightest and boldest in the industYour incredible contributions make CDM Smith the best, brightest and boldest in the industry!

CDM Smith is a privately owned engineering and construc­tion firm providing legendary client service and smart solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy and facilities. Passionate about our work and invested in each other, we are inspired to think and driven to solve the world's envi­ron­men­tal and infra­struc­ture challenges.