2022 Kate Gleason Young Engineer of the Year

Joshua T. Rodems, PE

Project Manager (Structures), Principal Associate Bergmann, an affiliate of Colliers Engineering & Design

Education: Rochester Institute of Technology, 2011, BS Civil Engineering Technology with Structural Design Certificate (Summa Cum Laude) University at Buffalo, 2015, MS Civil Engineering with emphasis in Bridge Engineering

How have you used your engineering skills for community and professional leadership?

Through my respective roles on the ASCE Rochester and RIT Civil Engineering Advisory boards, I have helped award scholarships to local students and provided input to shape a college curriculum to better align with current industry practices and demands.

What do you consider your greatest engineering achievement?

Pursuing, winning, and completing challenging design-build transportation projects has become a career benchmark and I take tremendous pride in leading the designs of bridges for transformative interchange and corridor reconstruction at both I-390/490 in Rochester and I-81/481 in Syracuse.

Describe a key event or individual that had a profound effect on your career. Team sports have taught me the value of collaboration, respect, competitiveness, and, most importantly, hard work. To earn playing time, I vowed never to be outworked and that mentality and work ethic has carried over to my professional career.

What advice would you give to our scholarship recipients?

Test your limits! Put yourself in challenging roles and situations and be active in your community. Finally, you will learn more from your mistakes than you will from your successes. Don’t be discouraged by your missteps; use them to grow.

Articulate your vision for engineering in Rochester.

Just like our culture, tradition, and people, I view the future of engineering in Rochester as diverse, wholesome, and bright. Our wide-ranging and multidisciplinary needs will create countless opportunities for the next generation of talented young leaders to thrive.