The distinction of Engineer of the Year is a monumental achievement in engineering, one that represents a steadfast career of design excellence, innovation, and care for the community. proHNS is proud to announce our co-owner, Lucas Chambers, PE was honored as ASCE Juneau Branch’s 2023 Engineer of the Year on February 24th at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is the nation’s oldest engineering society, supporting more than 150,000 active members in engineering.
Lucas’ engineering career started with six years at AK DOT&PF ushering Southeast Alaska’s transportation projects through the complete planning, design, and construction lifecycle. Since joining proHNS as a Principal Engineer and owner in 2017, Lucas has led the development of company standards and best practices for design procedures, software fluency, and reporting. In the day-to-day he runs proHNS’s engineering team in its design, permitting, management, and inspection of Juneau projects for local agencies and private clients. Several of these projects have sparked his 2023 Engineer of the Year nomination.
Notably, Lucas was a key player in response efforts and residential property rehabilitation resulting from the 2023 glacial lake outburst that flooded neighborhoods and eroded properties’ streambanks along the Mendenhall River over a two-day period. Prior to this event, proHNS—under Lucas’ leadership—joined with nearly a dozen homeowners on the Meander Way Streambanks project to provide the design, permitting, and construction process to protect their property from future events. So, when the unprecedented 2023 glacial flooding occurred, Lucas immediately met on-site with residents of multiple neighborhoods to answer questions and provide insight into the process for making emergency repairs. With most of the work done on a pro-bono basis, Lucas coordinated with contractors, residents, and permitting agencies to help Juneau’s community members.
Among Lucas’ other professional highlights in 2023 is his work with the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) and Hank Harmon Public Shooting Range Board of Directors to expand the preliminary design of Juneau’s Hank Harmon Public Range Improvements project. The year prior, proHNS worked with the project owners to complete preliminary design, cost estimating, and submit an ADF&G Hunter Access Grant application for safety and accessibility improvements to the no-cost community facility. The application earned the CBJ more than $830,000, which later increased to nearly $1 million after additional cost estimates and amendments allowed for further funding.
Lucas is always looking to learn new skills and expand proHNS’ service offerings. After a lengthy pursuit to learn fish passage design standards and methods, including the USFWS Geomorphic Analog Method and the USFS Stream Simulation Method, Lucas designed two aluminum box culverts to improve Pacific salmon fish passage at Hendrickson Creek in North Douglas and along Jordan Creek near the Juneau Airport.
Along with his engineering excellence and dedication to the community of Juneau, Lucas has been an active member of ASCE since 2009, serving on the Board as Treasurer (2018-2019), Vice President (2019-2020), President (2020-2021), and Past President (2021-2022). He also sat on the CBJ Wetlands Review Board from 2019 until 2022.
Lucas Chambers, PE accepts the 2023 Outstanding Engineer of the Year award.