2019 Charles Durham Achievement Award

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The ACEC Board of Directors is honored to present the 2019 Charles Durham Award to Dan Thiele, founder and CEO of Thiele Geotech, Inc.

The Charles Durham Achievement Award was created to honor Charles Durham’s leadership in the engineering profession and his community stewardship through civic involvement. Durham served as chairman and CEO of Henningson, Durham and Richardson, (HDR) the international engineering and architectural firm headquartered in Omaha. Over the years, he and his wife Marge were active in their community serving in leadership roles with many community organizations and donating millions of dollars to worthy causes.

The ACEC Board of Directors is honored to announce the recipient of the Charles Durham Award this year to Dan Thiele, founder and CEO of Thiele Geotech, Inc. in Omaha. He has more than 35 years of experience in geotechnical, material, and environmental engineering, and is recognized as an expert on various types of earth retaining systems across North America.

Dan received Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Nebraska and 24 other states. Dan has been married to Leslie for 33 years and they have two children, Andy and Emily.

Dan founded Thiele Geotech, Inc. in 1996 with offices at 40th and Cuming Street. It quickly grew from one person to eight employees in the first year, and over the next four years, the firm moved into its new facility located at 13478 Chandler Road. Since its founding, Thiele Geotech has experienced phenomenal growth as an engineering firm both in size and expertise. Thiele Geotech is known for its responsiveness, seamless collaboration and transparency, customer service, and trusted partnership. In 2001, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce recognized the firm as the 10th fastest growing company in Omaha. In 2006, the firm received the Golden Spike Award form Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation. Thiele Geotech recently completed a second building, expanding its drilling operations and adding geophysical engineering and instrumentation services. And, today, 23 years after opening its doors, Thiele Geotech has a family of 65 engineers, geologists, and technical and support staff.

Dan has brought his vision, expertise, and love of engineering to Thiele Geotech, and he has given an equal love and service to his community. Throughout his career, Dan has served on numerous civic and professional boards and committees. He currently serves on the Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects. He actively participates in the Omaha Commercial Real Estate Summit every year, serving as both a member of the organizing committee and as a panel guest. He is a board trustee and past president of the Nebraska Society of Professional Engineers Education Foundation. Dan has served as president for the Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation, president of ACEC Nebraska/PAC, president of the Professional Engineers Coalition, and is the former chairman of the board of V.J. & Angela Skutt Catholic High School. And, for the last 30 years, Dan has had the extraordinary pleasure serving as the emcee for the Nebraska Eastern Chapter of Math Counts, a middle-school mathematics program that encourages youth to develop confidence in problem solving in order to embrace future challenges.

Dan’s achievements not only highlight his work and service to the industry and community, but also acknowledge and celebrate his quiet leadership upon which Thiele Geotech was built; he has a genuine care and compassion for talented people who share the same values for exceptional work and honest relationships. With this award, we celebrate Dan Thiele’s instinct and guidance in the engineering industry, and we honor his inspiration, creativity, and commitment as an engineer, mentor, and civic leader.

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Aaron Buettner

State Director

Aaron Buettner, PE, CVS leads Benesch’s Nebraska structural group, bringing more than 27 years of experience in structural engineering, project management and value engineering to every project he touches. His work spans highway, railroad and pedestrian bridges, and he has delivered public and private projects across the country involving a wide variety of materials and structure types.

Aaron’s technical depth covers the full project lifecycle, from structural design and in-service inspection to forensic evaluation and construction administration. He is proficient in multiple structural design and analysis software platforms and has a keen understanding of load paths and constructability. As a Certified Value Specialist (CVS), Aaron’s Value Engineering work has generated tens of millions of dollars in potential construction cost avoidance for clients ranging from state DOTs to transit agencies.

Notable projects include the Lincoln South Beltway, where his team designed 10 of 21 bridges on the freeway corridor; the N-12 Emergency Bridge Repairs in northeast Nebraska, where biddable plans for three flood-damaged structures were delivered in just three weeks; and the Penny Bridges Replacement in Lincoln, where value planning produced a context-sensitive solution that earned broad community support.

Aaron also serves as a Structures Specialist on Nebraska Task Force 1 (NE-TF1), which is one of 28 FEMA Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) teams located throughout the United States. In this role, he supports the search and rescue mission by assessing damaged structures, recommending structural hazard mitigation within those structures, and monitoring the structure for condition changes during rescue and victim recovery operations. During his tenure with NE-TF1, he has deployed ​on numerous missions within the state of Nebraska and around the nation to assist communities that have been impacted by emergencies or disasters.

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