Congratulations to Robert M. Wright! He was elected Engineer of the Year for 2024!

Robert Wright serves as a Project Manager at McMahon, a Bowman company, at the firm’s office in Center City Philadelphia. The former McMahon Associates was acquired by Bowman Consulting Group in spring2022, and it will be rebranded as Bowman at the start of2024. Bob manages traffic and transportation design projects for various private and public clients, with his primary focus on City of Philadelphia and agency efforts. He has been with the firm since 2017, having served at two other consulting firms in Philadelphia over the course of eleven years prior to that. The bulk of Bob’s career was in government service, where he held various positions at the City of Philadelphia Department of Streets over a 27-yearspan, culminating in his appointment as Chief Engineer and Surveyorin2005. As such he directed the Department’s Engineering, Survey and Design Division, which is responsible for all transportation/roadway design, bridge design and construction, field surveying, regulation of property lines, and road/right-of-way records. He was involved in numerous major highway and transportation design projects during his career at Streets, including the PennDOT efforts for completion of the I-95Airportsections and Center City access, and the completion of theI-676Vine Street Expressway across Center City, as well as management of over 60 major highway/transportation projects sponsored by the Department, with a combined construction value of over$130 million. Bob graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Urban Engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in four states. He has worked on various transportation improvement projects in the Philadelphia area, as well as several in New York City, during his 44-year career in the industry. 

Bob has been an active member of several professional and technical societies for many years.
He is a Fellow and Life Member in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)and has been an ASCE member starting with his involvement and activity as a Student Member in Penn’s Student Chapter. He is an active member of the Philadelphia Section, where he has served as Secretary and Section President (1993-94) and is a chair/member of several committees, including the position of Editor of the Section’s newsletter, The News, for the past twenty years.
He has served in several leadership capacities in the ASCE Pennsylvania State Council, a group that represents and coordinates the activities of the four ASCE Sections in the Commonwealth (Central Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). He is currently the Council’s Vice Chair, following three terms as Chair (2018-21). The Council directly coordinates activities to conduct in-person visits to/discussions with members of the Pennsylvania Legislature each spring and develops the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Report Card, which is updated and released on a 4-year cycle (the most recent being the 2022 edition).
He is a Senior Member in the American Society of Highway Engineers, where he has served the Delaware Valley Section on its Board of Direction and as Section President (2014-15). He currently serves as Section Executive and is chair/member of several committees, including the position of Editor of the Section’s newsletter, The Transportation Times, for the past eighteen years. 
He is a member of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, where he has served on its Board of Direction and as Club President (2010-12). He is involved in the Club’s Engineers Week Committee, on which he has held several leadership positions for the past 26 years, including Committee Chair, and continues to serve as the group’s Vice Chair for Public Relations/Outreach. He is additionally the current President of the Philadelphia Engineering Foundation (PEF), the charitable arm of the Club which administers and raises funds for student scholarships that are awarded during Engineers Week. 
He is also a member of the American Public Works Association, the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Women’s Transportation Seminar.

Bob has served as an instructor for various courses and sessions in these programs:
University of Pennsylvania, Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, guest lecturer and professional advisor for student/senior design projects,1983-2016
Philadelphia Department of Streets/Community College of Philadelphia Construction TechnologyProgram,1988-2005
Urban Engineers Training Institute,2007-15
McMahon University (internal training group),2017-19

Bob’s efforts and diligence have been cited in his recognition for the following honors and awards:
American Society of Civil Engineers, Philadelphia Section, Young Government Engineer of the Year,1988
ASCE, Philadelphia Section, Presidential Award, 1993, 2010, 2014, 2023
ASCE, Philadelphia Section, Transportation Engineer of the Year, 2001
American Public Works Association, Donald C. Stone Center for Leadership Excellence in Public Works, Public Works Leadership Fellow, 2015
American Society of Highway Engineers, Delaware Valley Section, Member of the Year, 2023

Bob has had the following articles and papers published:
“Moving Lincoln”, The Scanner (Newsletter of the American Society of Highway Engineers), Fall2003-4
“Delaware Valley Section Projects of the Year”, The Scanner, Summer 2004
“Context-Sensitive Design for Urban Transportation in West Philadelphia”, paper presented at Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting, 2006, co-authors J. M. Casello, V. R. Vuchic.
“Mobility at What Price?”, CE News, August 2007
“Why Don’t They Get It?”, CE News, December 2011

Community service is very important to Bob, and he has found ways to "give back” through these groups and activities:
Member and Officer, Southwark House, Area House Committee (1974-2002)
Member, Board of Directors, United Communities of Southeast Philadelphia (1983-86)
Advisor, University of Pennsylvania Transportation Systems Engineering design courses (1983-2016)
Member and Vice Chair, University of Pennsylvania Transportation Systems Engineering Alumni Council (1996 to present)
Member, University of Pennsylvania Transportation and Livability Forum (1999-2003)American Red Cross (1988 to present), whole blood donor (over120 units to date)

Bob was born and raised in Philadelphia. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the history of the city and its transportation network (mostly through reading), gardening, tinkering around the house, walking, bowling, model railroading, an occasional attempt at golf, and following the Phillies, Eagles and Flyers. He remains a fan of Big Five college basketball, which he has closely followed since he was a child. He and his wife, Gail, have been married for 41 years and have been active residents of their community in Roxborough for the past 37 years.