Project Management Case Studies Lessons Learned/Good Practices

 Bruce Podwal Seminar Series

Project Management Case Studies

Lessons Learned/Good Practices

Mr. Bruce E. Podwal, PE, ‘59CE

12 – 1 pm, Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Civil Engineering Department, Room 105, Steinman Hall

Light Lunch will be served

Abstract:  The responsibilities of project managers are discussed, as are the skills necessary to fulfill those responsibilities. Three case studies are utilized to show how project managers can identify potential issues on their project and develop solutions to reduce the likelihood those issues will become problems. The presentation also will help those evaluating whether becoming a project manager could be a satisfying career path. Material for this presentation was developed from Podwal’s book “The Engineering is Easy/Memoir of a Project Manager.”

Biography:  Bruce Podwal received a B.C.E. from CCNY and an M.S.C.E. from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He managed major engineering projects including the $10 billion Westway project in NYC, $200 million Guam Island-Wide Program, $2 billion Ankara-Gerede Motorway in Turkey, Hong Kong’s $400 million Central Kowloon Route, and Houston’s $3 billion Katy Freeway. Podwal provided technical expertise for the Panama Canal Expansion, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and Dubai’s Palm Island. He served on the board of Parsons Brinckerhoff (now WSP), a 12,000-person engineering firm, where he managed the region from New York to Virginia and was CEO of several subsidiaries.

        Podwal was a Director on ASCE’s National Board and served on ASCE’s Committee on Advancing the Profession and the “Leadership and Management in Engineering” journal editorial board. He authored “The Engineering is Easy/Memoir of a Project Manager” and co-authored Highway Engineering in McGraw-Hill’s “Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers.” Podwal chaired the CCNY Dept. of Civil Engineering Advisory Board and received the CCNY Engineering School Alumni’s Career Achievement Award.