Thornton Tomasetti announced at its annual shareholder’s meeting that Managing Principal John Abruzzo, P.E., S.E., and Senior Principals Elisabeth Malsch, Ph.D., P.E., and Peggy Van Eepoel, P.E., F.SEI have been elected to the firm’s board of directors for two-year terms. With the addition of Abruzzo, Malsch and Van Eepoel, Thornton Tomasetti’s board now includes 13 members.
“We welcome John, Elisabeth and Peggy to the board of directors,” said Thornton Tomasetti Executive Chairman Tom Scarangello. “Their business, technical and leadership skills and unique perspectives will complement our current board. We look forward to their contributions as we execute our goal to always be the global driver of change and innovation in the industries in which we work.”
As a co-leader of the firm’s Forensics practice, Abruzzo has an extensive background in the investigation of structural failures. His work includes emergency response, litigation support, construction defect cases, blast mitigation and deconstruction engineering. Abruzzo played a critical role in Thornton Tomasetti’s investigation, forensic analysis and repair recommendations for the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico after a steel cable snapped and damaged the facility’s famed 1,000-foot-wide radio telescope, which collapsed three months later.
Abruzzo is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. He holds a Master’s degree in civil engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Villanova University.
Based in the New York City office, Elisabeth Malsch is a co-leader of the firm’s Forensics practice and a member of the leadership team that oversees the firm’s research and development program. As part of this initiative, she was one of the lead developers of Hummingbird Kinetics, a fluid harmonic damper for tall and supertall buildings based on NASA technology.
She is a frequent lecturer, speaking on topics that range from technical innovation to the increasing diversity in the engineering profession. She holds a Ph.D., Master of Philosophy and Master of Science in engineering mechanics and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, all from Columbia University.
Peggy Van Eepoel is director of Thornton Tomasetti’s Washington, D.C. office and a leader in the firm’s Protective Design practice. During her career, she has been involved in the design and structural hardening of more than 200 buildings. She currently leads teams for several projects for at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland; U.S. Federal Courthouses in Nashville, Tennessee and Anniston, Alabama; U.S. Consulates in Durban, South Africa and Casablanca, Morocco and three new headquarters buildings for the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Van Eepoel is an executive advocate to the firm’s Employee Network Groups (ENG), which form the firm’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She holds a Master’s degree in structural engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering.
