HOUSTON — The University of Houston Alumni Association (UHAA) has selected Rafael Ortega, P.E., vice president of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN), as a 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award Honoree, according to a press release.
Ortega joined LAN in 1981 and has worked on numerous projects impacting the quality of life for Houstonians, noted the release, including the construction of the city of Houston’s 69th Street wastewater treatment plant, the Northside Sewer Relief Tunnels and the city’s Surface Water Transmission Program.
As vice president, he directs the LAN business group that focuses on large diameter pipelines, reported the release, is one of the nation’s leading experts on large diameter pipelines and has been instrumental in supporting the city of Houston’s conversion of its drinking water source from groundwater to surface water.
The Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented at UHAA’s 60th Annual Awards Gala on April 26 at the Westin Houston, Memorial City hotel, continued the release, and is given to individuals whose professional accomplishments have brought credit to the university.
“The award is a tribute to his outstanding service to the city of Houston and the civil engineering industry in the last 33 years,” said LAN President Dennis Petersen. “It’s a great honor that he has worked very hard to achieve.”
