Vanessa Soto joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) as a Security Consultant in January of 2023. Vanessa completed her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to joining PEC, Vanessa gained experience in the United States Air Force, in which she received specialized training to support worldwide security force operations and executive agency requirements. Vanessa’s efforts supported programs ranging from presidential support, advanced weapons systems, federal law enforcement, and national strategic programs. Vanessa was tasked with supporting aviation and national defense clients to implement and oversee critical security measures.
Education
- B.S. in Criminal Justice | University of the Incarnate Word | 2021
Andrew Jaramillo joins the PEC Security Consulting team as an experienced consultant, providing innovative and comprehensive solutions to complex physical security needs. Andrew comes to PEC after devoting over 20 years of experience in the public sector ranging from military, federal, county, and municipal jurisdictions, including the DoD (US Navy), DHS (US Coast Guard), the Veterans Affairs, Travis County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, and the Austin (Texas) Police Departments. Each of these roles placed an emphasis on analyzing complex issues, the protection of people and property, and developing risk mitigation strategies. Andrew earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration at Concordia University and holds licenses from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and other agencies.
Education
- BBA in Business Administration, Management and Operations | Concordia University Texas | 2014
Sara Porter joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) as an Associate Engineer I in June of 2022. Sara completed her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Explosives Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T). While at MS&T, Sara had a unique exposure to engineering topics related to explosives including the effects of blasts on structures and the laboratory demolition of structural elements. Through her coursework, she gained valuable experience in structural dynamics and principles of blast design, as well as a knowledge of explosives safety and practical training in safe handling and detonation of a variety of explosives.
At PEC, Sara is a part of our Facade + Structures group. She will be providing PEC and our clients with technical support on protective design projects. She can be contacted at 512-380-1988 x 340 or sporter@protection-consultants.com.
Education
- BASc in Civil Engineering | Missouri University of Science & Technology | 2022
Duncan McGeehan joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) as a Senior Associate Engineer I in January 2022. Before joining PEC, Duncan spent three years working as a structural engineering consultant. Duncan specialized in finite element modeling of non-traditional structures and structures subjected to irregular loading which required more detailed analysis. Duncan worked on a variety of projects for commercial clients and government agencies in the science and defense industry as well as the nuclear energy industry. Duncan also developed internal software tools to assist engineers with the structural analysis and design of concrete structures.
Duncan received a Bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, as well as a Master’s degree with an emphasis on Structural Engineering at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). In his Master’s program, Duncan’s research focused on high-cycle fatigue testing of a novel steel connection. The research included, cyclic fatigue testing, nonlinear Finite Element (FE) modeling, Digital Image Correlation (DIC), residual stress measurements, and the development of a high-cycle fatigue testing monitoring protocol.
Duncan is proficient with computational tools (Python) and applied statistics as well as a variety of analysis tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, OpenSees). Duncan will be supporting PEC and our clients on applied research and machine learning efforts.
Education
MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Structural Engineering) | University of New Hampshire | 2018
BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Civil Engineering) | University of New Hampshire | 2017
Alfred Meau joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) as an Associate Engineer I in January of 2022. Alfred completed his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Lafayette College and obtained a master’s degree in Structural Engineering and Materials from Virginia Tech (VT). While at VT, Alfred worked on a research project to analyze the response of steel beams with reduced web sections (RWS) subjected to blast loads. As a part of this work, Alfred developed resistance functions incorporating flexure and shear deformations of the RWS. Additionally, he performed both single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) to understand the influence of introducing web openings on the strength, ductility, and mode shape of RWS members.
At PEC, Alfred is a part of our Advanced Technology + Research group. He is experienced in the use of various computation tools (e.g. Mathcad, MATLAB), as well as analysis tools (e.g. SAP2000, ETABS, RCBlast, ANSYS, Abaqus).
Alfred will be providing PEC and our clients with technical support on advanced analysis, applied research, and protective design projects. He can be contacted at 512-380-1988 x 335 or ameau@protection-consultants.com.
Education
- M.S. in Structural Engineering and Materials | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 2021
- B.S. in Civil Engineering | Lafayette College | 2020
Alex Lakocy joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) as a Senior Associate Engineer II in June 2021. Before joining PEC, Alex spent five years working as a structural engineering consultant. Alex specialized in seismic rehabilitation projects throughout the west coast and historic preservation projects in the Rocky Mountain region for both commercial and government clients. Alex also developed software to assist engineers with structural design and has served as the lead data analyst for the National Council of Structural Engineers Association’s (NCSEA) Structural Engineering Engagement & Equity (SE3) committee since 2018.
Alex received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with concentrations in Structural Engineering and Computer Science. He completed a Master’s degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. At Georgia Tech, Alex’s research focused on quantifying material defects in metallic structures by analyzing characteristics of acoustic waves passed through the material. These efforts included experimental design, nonlinear Finite Element (FE) modeling, machine welding, and performing advanced signal processing. Alex was also involved in the American Institute of Steel Construction’s (AISC) Student Steel Bridge competition, first as the team captain as an undergraduate at UIUC, then as a judge for numerous regional and national competitions.
Alex is proficient with computational tools (Python, Visual Basic) and applied statistics. Alex will be supporting PEC and our clients on applied research and machine learning efforts.
Education
MS in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering Mechanics & Materials) | Georgia Institute of Technology | 2015
BS in Civil Engineering (Structural Engineering & Computer Science) | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 2014
Publications
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gZe40sIAAAAJ&hl=en
Kundan Goswami joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) as a Senior Associate Engineer I in March 2021. Before joining PEC, Kundan had a one-year stint in protective design involving public and private infrastructure projects. With in-depth expertise in probabilistic modeling and high-fidelity Finite Element (FE) simulations, Kundan’s prior work focused on the blast and impact hazard assessment, risk modeling of complex structures, and development of cost-effective strategies for blast/impact risk mitigation. Additionally, Kundan assisted in the preparation of technical proposals for national and international projects.
Kundan received his doctoral degree from the University at Buffalo (UB). At UB, Kundan’s research involved uncertainty quantification, risk assessment, nonlinear FE simulation, and design of control systems. Using the Importance Sampling scheme and Hierarchical Clustering technique, Kundan has developed an efficient numerical algorithm for the execution of Optimization Under Uncertainty (OUU). Combining the OUU algorithm with nonlinear dynamic FE simulations, Kundan has proposed a risk-based design methodology for stochastic structures and protective systems subjected to random loads. Kundan’s research work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at several international conferences. With a keen interest in seismic engineering, Kundan served as the Vice President of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) student chapter at UB.
Kundan’s skill set include various computational tools (e.g., Python, MATLAB, Mathcad) and a range of high-fidelity analysis tools (e.g., OpenSees, LS-DYNA, SAP2000, blastFoam, ProSAir). Kundan will be supporting PEC and our clients on both applied research and design efforts.
Education
PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Computational & Applied Mechanics) | University at Buffalo | 2020
MTech in Civil Engineering (Structures) | Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur | 2011
BE in Civil Engineering | Bengal Engineering & Science University, Shibpur (formerly BE College) | 2009
Publications
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ortASgsAAAAJ&hl=en
Jeff Honig joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) in January 2021. Jeff completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering at the University of Florida (UF) and just completed his PhD in Civil Engineering. While at UF, Jeff’s master’s research focused on partially constructed bridges, where finite element analysis (FEA) models were used to develop distribution factors for construction loads and girder stability equations.
Jeff’s doctoral research is related to fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) traffic railings under vehicle impact loading. As part of this study, Jeff performed large-scale pendulum impact tests that were designed to produce similar impact conditions prescribed in AASHTO MASH and LRFD Bridge Design for a single-unit truck (test level 4) impact. In conjunction with experimental testing, Jeff used high-resolution FEA models in LS-DYNA to evaluate the structural adequacy of the proposed FRC railing relative to a standard reinforced concrete rail. Jeff will be supporting PEC and our clients on both research and design efforts.
Education
- Ph.D. in Civil Engineering | University of Florida | 2021
- M.E. in Civil Engineering | University of Florida | 2017
- B.S. in Civil Engineering | University of Florida | 2015
Publications
- Beery (Salvetti), M., Torres, E., Honig, J., Consolazio, G., Hamilton, H. (2019). “Roll Stiffness of Reinforced Neoprene Bearing Pads under Imposed Skew and Slope Angles.” ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering 24(8).
- Honig, J., Harper, Z., and Consolazio, G. (2018). “Influence of Thermal Sweep on Girder Stability during Construction.” Transportation Research Record. doi:10.1177/0361198118768527
Randi Jinkins joined Protection Engineering Consultants in 2019 as Accounting Manager. At PEC, she has a wide range of responsibilities including, but not limited to, client and vendor maintenance, financial reporting, payroll, human resource functions, support of marketing activities, insurance oversight, and support for Government audits and reviews.
Randi graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Texas State University in San Marcos.
Stephen joined Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) in April of 2019. He holds a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he researched the effects of welding on high mast illumination poles using the Abaqus Welding Interface (AWI) in his thesis. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Texas Lutheran University.
Stephen provides support for design projects for blast and impact resistance of structures and glazing systems. In addition, he supports research efforts focused on the response of structures and construction materials subjected to blast loading and other extreme events. He has experience with MATLAB and various finite element software tools such as Abaqus and SAP2000.
Stephen will be supporting PEC and our clients on both research and design efforts, and can be contacted at 512-380-1988 x325 or sbratz@protection-consultants.com
