UMBC will honor Gino Gemignani, Jr., senior vice president of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, as Engineer of the Year. The award ceremony will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom on Wednesday, February 21.

The Engineer of the Year Award is presented by the UMBC College of Engineering and its Industrial Advisory Board. The award recognizes leaders in engineering who significantly contribute to the region and nation, both as drivers of the economy and civic leaders and role models.

"Our relationships with businesses such as Whiting-Turner directly benefit UMBC students, faculty and the company alike," says President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III.

Gemignani has been a leading figure in the construction industry throughout his 37-year tenure at Whiting-Turner. He has supervised many high-profile projects such as the National Aquarium in Baltimore; the Bank of Virginia Headquarters (Cignet Bank) in Richmond, VA; and numerous industrial, commercial and retail projects throughout the U.S. Gemignani also established Whiting-Turner's regional offices in California and Virginia.

"This award is designed to draw attention to the great contributions that engineers make to the well being of our society," said Shlomo Carmi, dean of the UMBC College of Engineering. "Gino Gemignani embodies and exemplifies the engineering profession's contribution to society and involvement in civic leadership."

Gemignani is also involved with several community organizations in the Baltimore area. He is vice chairman of the Alliance for the Mentally Handicapped, president of the board of directors of the B&O Railroad Museum, chairman of the UMBC President's Advisory Council for Business Outreach, chairman of the Baltimore City Community College Foundation Board, Trustee of the College of Notre Dame. He also serves on Loyola College's Engineering Advisory Board, the Archdiocese of Baltimore Building Committee, and the Industrial Advisory Board at UMBC.

Gemignani holds an associate of arts degree in construction technology from the Community College of Baltimore and a bachelor of science degree in physics from Loyola College. He is also a graduate of the Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership Program and the Leadership Maryland Program.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the reception will feature presentations by UMBC faculty and students alike. One highlight will be a discussion of the future of wireless communications by UMBC computer science and electrical engineering professor Anupam Joshi.

Previous award winners include Whiting-Turner's Willard Hackerman and BGE's George McGowan (1988), Norman Augustine, then chairman of Martin Marietta and later Lockheed Martin Corporation (1990), former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lt. Gen. Emmett Paige (1995), and Christian H. Poindexter of Constellation Energy (2000). For more information, please visit www.umbc.edu/engineering/2001engineer.