Industrial and Professional Advisory Council
 

Industrial and Professional Advisory Council

The Industrial and Professional Advisory Council (IPAC) is a select group of representatives from industry, government agencies, academia, and the profession who advise the department on academic issues, current industry trends, and emerging opportunities in architectural engineering. IPAC is a forum where ideas are exchanged and recommendations are made. IPAC provides direct linkage and communication between the college and the engineering profession.

The functions of IPAC are to:

  • act as an advisory group on specific academic and research issues;
  • serve as a link between the department and its industrial and professional partners, providing an opportunity for communication of current and future industry and professional needs to the department;
  • identify steps that the department should take to meet special needs; and
  • provide recommendations on initiatives that the department should explore to improve educational and research programs to meet the needs of the world and the profession.

Current members


Julia-Beaubout.jpg


Julia Beaubout, P.E.

CEO, Creative Director
Novaby

Julia Beaubout is CEO and creative director of Novaby, an award-winning AR/3D Studio specializing in AR Placemaking, space activations, and tours. She and her team of digital artists, storytellers, and creative technologists love transforming spaces into joy-filled places using AR, the arts, humanities, and social science. Their landmark projects can be found in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Richmond, Europe, and on screens around the world.

Beaubout has more than 25 years of experience leading clients and organizations through highly technical, creative projects up to $200 million, in the virtual and real worlds. As a pioneer leader in AR Placemaking, she has spoken on the subject for ARIA at the MIT Media Lab, U.S. State Department, Augmented World Expo (AWE), Architects Institute of America, the University of Washington, the VRAR Association, and the National Consortium for Creative Placemaking.

She has a bachelor of science in architectural engineering from Penn State and a master’s degree in Asian studies from the Florida International University where her research focused on Collective Memory Theory and practice. She is a registered Professional Engineer, LEED Accredited Professional, and a U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholar in Mandarin.

 


Gary-Brennen.jpg


Gary Brennen

Co-President
Syska Hennessey Group

Gary Brennen, in partnership with fellow co-president Cyrus Izzo, continues to transform Syska and enhance its position as a global engineering, consulting, and commissioning powerhouse. This transformation is embodied in the firm’s Vision 2025 strategy that focuses on innovation, technical design excellence, team member learning, and dedicated to client service. A catalyst for innovation, Brennen is passionate about sustainability and new technology.

Brennen holds a bachelor of science in architectural engineering from Penn State and is a licensed professional engineer in Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, and New York as well as a LEED-accredited professional.

Brennen joined Syska upon graduating from Penn State in 1982 and was Syska’s first Certified Carbon Reduction Manager (CRM). As a member of Syska’s Board of Directors, Brennen is responsible for long-term growth and corporate governance of the privately held firm, which was founded in 1928.

Before becoming co-president in 2007, Brennen served as managing director for the western region. He oversaw the firm’s geographic expansion by opening new offices in San Diego and San Francisco. Since then, Brennen continues to strengthen the firm’s capabilities in aviation, convention centers, critical facilities, and healthcare. He has worked with many of the firm’s clients on the most complex and important projects such as the O’Hare Global Terminal, San Diego Airport Terminal 1 replacement project, United States Courthouse Los Angeles, Long Beach Civic Center including Port of Long Beach Headquarters, Long Beach Courthouse, Los Angeles International Airport, L.A. LIVE, Phoenix Convention Center, Minneapolis Convention Center, and Orlando International Airport South Terminal.

Outside of Syska, Brennen is an active member of the USC Architectural Guild, where he recently received the 2022 Widney Alumni House Volunteer Award for outstanding contributions of volunteer services. In addition to IPAC, Brennan is also involved with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Risk Management Committee. Over the past several years, Brennen has served as a panel judge for the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Western Pacific Region Awards.

 


Robert-Doeffinger.jpg


Robert Doeffinger

President and Engineering Principal
ZMM, Inc.

Robert Doeffinger is president and engineering principal of ZMM, Inc. a 70-person architectural engineering firm located in Charleston, West Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia, and Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Doeffinger graduated from West Virginia University in 1973 with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and in 1976 from Penn State with a master of science in architectural engineering. He has more than 45 years’ design experience in mechanical and electrical systems for buildings. He has a broad range of engineering experience in education, industrial and manufacturing facilities, large retail, correctional and jails, office buildings, and military facilities. Doeffinger has expertise in large capacity central chilled water plants.

He is a member, past chairman of the Load Calculation Data and Procedures Technical Committee for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and helped author the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Standard on Peak Cooling and Heating Loads Calculations in Buildings.

Doeffinger is a registered Professional Engineer in fourteen states.

 


Charles-Duke.jpg


Charles Duke

Director of Property Development
M3 Capital Partners

Charles Duke is the director of property development for M3 Capital Partners, overseeing development of properties across the firm’s global platform of 11 Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs). The REOCs operate in various asset classes including residential, student accommodation, retail, self-storage, and community master planning/land development. The REOCs have active development programs (~$2 billion in total development cost) focused on growing their base of operating assets in order to produce long-term stable income as well as gains in total capital value. In addition to development feasibility review and execution monitoring, Duke provides guidance on the organization and management of the development teams within each of the REOCs, with an emphasis on team composition (organization, roles, and responsibilities), design/development systems and procedures, and risk management.

Duke is a 1986 graduate of Penn State and began his career working with Bovis Construction Corp (now Lendlease), managing construction projects across the U.S., until moving to Shanghai, China in 1997. He continued managing construction projects in China until he joined ING Bank in 1999, where he managed their corporate real estate portfolio across Asia. He then moved into the Real Estate investment group within ING (now CBRE Global Investors), where he managed two pan-Asia diversified investment funds with value-add and opportunistic investment strategies, until he moved back to the U.S. in 2014.

 


Holly-Beth-Green.jpg


Holly Beth Green

Project Executive
Turner Construction Company

A native of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, Holly Beth Green is a Penn State graduate with a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering. Green joined Turner’s Philadelphia business unit in 1987 as a field engineer, and subsequently has held a wide variety of roles during her career, including mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer, cost engineer, project engineer, and project manager. In 2017, Green was promoted to project executive, and is a senior leader in the business unit. Among the clients for whom she has provided superlative service are Franklin & Marshall College, Lehigh University, the Carnegie Science Center, the Philadelphia Eagles, Hershey’s, and her alma mater, Penn State, where she most recently led the delivery of their new Animal, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences building.

While Green has devoted much of her career to Turner, between 1994 and 2002, her career’s trajectory took her to other opportunities. During her time away from Turner, Green was vice president of a medium-size general contractor in Pennsylvania with client management and project executive-level responsibilities. Holly also worked as a facility manager with Amp, Incorporated/Tyco Electronics for four years, and was responsible for total building operations for a 2.5 million square foot facility, from janitorial, security, operations, and maintenance, to renovations and additions.

Within Turner, Green is a mentor to many, especially the women staff who look to her as a role model of success. She is both a LEED Accredited Professional, and a Design-Build Institute of America accredited professional.

 


Bob-Grottenthaler.jpg


Bob Grottenthaler

Special Projects Lead
Barton Malow Holdings

Bob Grottenthaler received his bachelor of architectural engineering degree from Penn State in 1980.  During his time at Penn State, Grottenthaler participated in a study abroad program at the University of Leeds, England in the spring of 1979. After graduating in 1980, Grottenthaler began his career designing mechanical and electrical systems in Dallas, Texas, where he also attended night classes and received his M.B.A from Southern Methodist University in 1984.

For the past 29 years, Grottenthaler has worked with Barton Malow Holdings, a national construction management firm. In January 2020, he retired as senior vice president, responsible for overseeing Eastern Region Operations in four states. Grottenthaler has served as project executive on many amazing projects throughout his 42-year career, including two iconic Penn State projects— the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building and the Beaver Stadium expansion and renovation. Today, Grottenthaler continues his work for Barton Malow on a part-time basis, focusing on strategic initiatives for the company.

 


Andrea-Hartranft.jpg


Andrea Hartranft

Principal
Hartranft Lighting Design

Andrea Hartranft, principal of Hartranft Lighting Design, offers expertise gained from more than 1,500 commercial, institutional, and industrial projects, including high-end public spaces, energy-efficient workplaces, and cost-driven renovations. Her projects have received international lighting design awards from the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), as well as AIA awards at the regional and national level. Hartranft currently serves on the IALD Board of Directors and is a past President of the IALD Education Trust. Hartranft has provided presentations on lighting for Enlighten Americas/Europe and Asia and was a workshop head for Lights in Alingsas 2015 and Luci In Riviera 2017. Hartranft also developed and taught Lighting Fundamentals and Advanced Lighting Design courses at the Corcoran College of Art and Design from 2006 until 2013. Hartranft is a fellow of the IALD.

 


Pamela-Holcomb.jpg


Pamela Holcomb

President
Taylor Structural Engineers

Pamela Holcomb joined Taylor Structural Engineers (TSE) in 1996, after being recruited by Dirk Taylor as his first employee. Holcomb and Taylor worked together previously at Structural Engineering Corporation and at Eichleay Engineers, where Taylor’s high regard for Holcomb made her a natural choice as he looked to begin building the firm.    

After receiving her bachelor of architectural engineering in 1989, Holcomb began her career as a design engineer at Cannon Design in Grand Island, New York. After two years, she relocated back to Pittsburgh to be closer to family, where she worked as a project engineer at Structural Engineering Corporation. In 1993, she joined the Peter F. Loftus Division of Eichleay Engineers as senior project engineer, where she worked until joining TSE in 1996. Holcomb became a principal at TSE in 2001. Holcomb assumed her current position as president of the firm in January 2021. 

Holcomb is a registered engineer in Pennsylvania and a member of the American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

 


Chip-Israel.jpg


Chip Israel

Co-CEO and Founder
Lighting Design Alliance, Inc.

Chip Israel has been a lighting designer for more than 38 years. In 1992, he founded Lighting Design Alliance, Inc., a full-service architectural lighting design firm, where he built a highly-select team of lighting design professionals who now serve a variety of clients worldwide. As Co-CEO and founder, Israel works closely with the owner, design team, and manufacturers to ensure lighting systems are fully integrated with the architectural design and enhance the designer’s concepts.

He has been elected as a Fellow of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), and a Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES),. Israel has received the Penn State College of Engineering’s highest award, the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus Awards and Martin’s Professional Lighting Designer of the Year.

Israel currently serves on IES Committees and is past board of directors and past president of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA). Israel is also past president of both, the IALD Education Trust and the Designer’s Lighting Forum Los Angeles.

Israel is committed to promoting excellence in lighting design through education. As a leading industry spokesperson, he has presented technical papers and educational seminars in over seventeen countries and lectured at dozens of universities.

Lighting Design Alliance has also been recognized by winning over 300 National and International design awards, including multiple awards for sustainable lighting design.

 


Kevin-Kampschroer-Headshot.png


Kevin Kampschroer

Chief Sustainability Officer and Director
Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings
U.S. General Services Administration

Kevin Kampschroer is the chief sustainability officer, and director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Kampschroer created the framework for which GSA responds to the challenges of improving a diverse and aging portfolio of commercial buildings so that they can serve the mission needs of their occupants, support effective work, and deliver solid financial performance.

Kampschroer’s goal is to influence and accelerate industry capability and adoption of high-performance principles across all aspects of asset creation, operation, maintenance, and disposal. His ability to achieve deep retrofits through Energy Savings Performance contracts has doubled the amount of energy conservation from these contracts. His team manages the government’s implementation of a comprehensive improvement in the training and certification of facility managers and personnel across the entire Federal government (Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010).

In 2010, Kampschroer was a contributing author on the first medical study showing the link between building characteristics on office worker stress and heart function. Current work has shown specific links among building functions, kinds of office layout, stress, physical activity, and health. He leads GSA's effort to manage incremental weather and climate-related risks in prudent federal investments for public safety, health, and security.  

Kampschroer led the design of improving building performance directed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and directed the compilation of metrics which are still used to measure building performance. A graduate of Yale University, Kampschroer has worked for GSA for more than 48 years.

 


Bill-Moyer.jpg


Bill Moyer

Principal
DAVIS Construction

Bill Moyer is known as the big-picture guy. Joining DAVIS Construction in 1984, Moyer channeled his passion for construction into developing an extensive body of construction knowledge, and he expects the same from every employee. His unerring attention to detail drives the company-wide focus on quality—from preconstruction through completion, and has contributed to the company’s reputation as the go-to contractor for commercial buildings. Moyer’s in-depth knowledge of all things construction makes him invaluable to DAVIS, and clients love him for his no-nonsense approach and ability to identify problems and cost-effective solutions early. Moyer is also heavily involved in the DAVIS university partnership program. In addition to his role with the Penn State Architectural Engineering IPAC, Moyer also serves as a member of the Virginia Tech Industry Advisory Board and Futures Committee.

Moyer earned a bachelor of architectural engineering with a construction management option from Penn State in 1979.

 


Cherish-Samuels.jpg


Cherish Samuels

Sr. Manager, Standards & Concepts
Amazon Fresh Stores

Cherish Samuels, P.E., is currently leading the Building Design Standards team for Amazon Fresh Stores in a role that brings design, technology, and sustainability together for an innovative physical grocery shopping experience. In 2020, Samuels joined Amazon as the company opened the first Amazon Fresh grocery store. She has since created a high-performance team of architects, engineers, and designers to establish and evolve the baseline criteria for design, sustainability, and conceptual planning in Amazon’s growing retail grocery business. Her role involves aligning design standards with the Amazon Climate Pledge goals, while creating an innovative customer journey through the physical space.

Samuels discovered her love for the built environment early in life, fostered by STEM programs in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Samuels received her bachelor of science in architectural engineering from Tennessee State University and a master of engineering in architectural engineering from Penn State.

Samuels’ diverse knowledge base is rooted in a career journey that has spanned multiple areas of the industry, including design, engineering, construction, and sustainability consulting. Moving into corporate design in 2009, Samuels went on to lead the U.S. Restaurant Design Standards team during her career at McDonald’s Corporation. She obtained her Professional Engineering license in the state of Illinois in 2011 and was recently awarded the prestigious 2022 Penn State Outstanding Engineer Award. A proud advocate for diversity in STEM fields, Samuels volunteers as a mentor for Arquitina and serves on the Penn State Architectural Engineering IPAC.


 

 
 

About

Globally recognized as a leading architectural engineering department, the mission of the Department of Architectural Engineering at Penn State is to advance the built environment through the development of world-class architectural engineers and research. The vision of the Department of Architectural Engineering at Penn State is to lead the world in innovative education and research to achieve high-performing built environments. Our program emphasizes the scientific and engineering aspects of planning, designing, and constructing buildings, providing our architectural engineering graduates with outstanding education and research opportunities. 

Department of Architectural Engineering

104 Engineering Unit A

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802

Phone: 814-865-6394