Brown and Caldwell senior staff engineer Susan Mukai from the Honolulu office is among this year’s Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement winners.

The award, bestowed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, recognizes professionals age 35 and younger for technical competence, character, integrity, leadership, and public service contributions.

“It’s an interesting feeling to be recognized for something like this because it’s something that I enjoy doing,” Mukai said. “I think most of us at Brown and Caldwell are in the same boat — so many of us give back to the community or contribute to these organizations without expecting or even wanting recognition for it.”

It’s this selfless giving that the selection committee particularly noticed, specifically mentioning Mukai’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) support at local Hawaii elementary schools in its award letter.

Mukai has volunteered and participated in various public outreach activities such as Malama Maunalua, a nonprofit stewardship organization that benefits the community and environment.

Mukai’s volunteer work includes leadership roles with the American Water Works Association and the Hawaii Water Environment Association (HWEA), currently serving as a Pacific Water Conference co-chair and previously serving as the AWWA/HWEA Joint Young Professional chair.

The society will honor Mukai at its annual convention in New Orleans this October.

“Receiving this award is a huge honor for me because it puts a spotlight on both the ASCE Hawaii Section and Brown and Caldwell,” Mukai said. “I hope that this encourages people to become more involved in professional organizations or in their communities. I’m grateful to Brown and Caldwell for being supportive of my activities outside of work, and I look forward to continuing my involvement and hopefully getting others involved as well.”