Joseph Ficek, CPD, GPD, FASPE, has been honored as 2021 Engineer of the Year by Plumbing Engineer magazine.
An Associate and senior plumbing designer, Joe leads the plumbing/fire protection/specialty gas engineering group in the Evanston office of Grumman|Butkus Associates, as well as collaborating with the firm’s New York, Milwaukee, and Madison regional teams.
He is a Certified Plumbing Designer, a Fellow of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers, and holds the ASPE’s Green Plumbing Design Certificate. He is a former Chairperson of the ASPE’s CPD program.
Joe has been involved in the design, specification, and commissioning of plumbing and related systems for nearly 40 years, serving clients in healthcare, higher education, laboratory, hospitality, and numerous other market sectors. Joe assists clients not only with design but also with creating and implementing Water Management Plans. He also has strong expertise in the prevention and remediation of Legionella contamination, serving on the Committee for Development of ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI 12080-2020: Professional Qualifications Standard for Legionella Water Safety and Management Personnel: a certification that he also holds.
Joe’s most unique project for 2020 was development of plumbing and medical gas systems for the urgent conversion of a shuttered suburban hospital to a dedicated COVID-19 response facility, under the direction of the US Army Corps of Engineers: a project accomplished in about three weeks of intense effort.
“Joe has been an outstanding leader of our plumbing and fire protection engineering staff since the day he arrived at GBA more than 20 years ago,” says T. Chad Luning, PE, LEED AP O+M, and President of GBA-Illinois. “He is a great mentor and incredibly generous with the knowledge he has accumulated throughout his long career. Joe is unflappable while juggling multiple projects and will jump in wherever help is needed without hesitation. GBA, and GBA’s clients, are very lucky to have Joe on our team!”
The firm congratulates Joe on this outstanding career achievement. The magazine’s interview with Joe appears here.
