Indhira Figuereo, a vice president in the New York City office of WSP USA and head of the firm’s aviation practice in the Northeast, received the 2016-2017 Thomas C. Kavanagh Service Award from the Metropolitan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on June 15.
The award recognizes a civil engineer who has rendered exceptional service and dedication to the profession and especially for Met Section activities.
“The Kavanagh award is a tremendous recognition within ASCE and we are very proud of Indhira and her efforts within the industry and for WSP USA,” said Bernie McNeilly, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the transportation and infrastructure sector of WSP USA.
Figuereo’s involvement with ASCE’s Met Section for the past 20 years has included serving as the Younger Member Forum (YMF) treasurer, Future Cities and New York Cares Day initiatives. For the past 10 years, she has been the chair of the Met Section’s Scholarship Committee, which under her leadership has awarded approximately $250,000 in scholarships for civil engineering students in the New York metropolitan area.
Figuereo has been a project manager, program/construction manager and civil engineer for aviation, facilities, highway and marine projects throughout the Northeast. Her aviation experience includes work for LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark-Liberty International Airport, and Westchester County Airport.
Figuereo was recognized as Engineering News-Record’s “20 under 40” in 2016 and Airport Business/ACC 40 under 40 in 2015. She has held numerous leadership positions and is an active member of the following organizations: American Society of Civil Engineers, American Association of Airport Executives, American Council of Engineering Companies, Construction Management Association of America, Women in Transportation Seminar, Professional Women in Construction, and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. She is frequently a featured speaker for these groups.
The Kavanagh award is named after Dr. Thomas C. Kavanagh (1912-1978), a professor at Penn State University, New York University, and Columbia University, and a partner with the consulting firm of Praeger-Kavanagh-Waterbury. Kavanagh was responsible for creating the Met Section Structures Group and also served as the president of the ASCE Met Section.
