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Congratulations Pennsylvania Regional Director, Matthew Kawczenski, PE, SE, FSEI for being named one of ENR’s 2020 MidAtlantic Top Young Professionals. Touted as “a team-builder in-and-out of the office”, Matt has been making an impact throughout the AEC industry and in his community.
As head of QA/QC, inter-office coordination, marketing strategies and regional development for McLaren’s Pennsylvania operations, “Kawczenski knows that just as sound structural designs are fundamental to successful building projects, solid teams are essential to successful engineering businesses,” says ENR.
BUILDING HIS SUCCESS
Through hard work, attention to detail and delivery of code-compliant economical design, Matt has progressed from Entry-Level Engineer, to Project Engineer, to Project Manager and now to McLaren Engineering Group’s Pennsylvania Regional Director.
A licensed Professional Engineer with over 15 years of expertise in structural design and construction, Matt has managed projects from conception to construction with an affinity for steel structures. His technical skills and experience have helped build some of the Northeast’s most iconic structures of every size shape and scope.
A few of Matt’s standout projects include the luxury 53 West 53rd Museum of Modern Art Tower, two towers at Hudson Yards and Mount Airy Resort and Casino. He pushes himself to continually grow personally and professionally, in both the workplace and in the community.
INDUSTRY LEADER
Matt continually strives to mentor, educate and inspire engineers both in and out of the office.
While working on challenging and complex projects, he dedicates his time to training junior staff and actively shares structural engineering’s latest developments with his peers. Matt has participated in multiple local and national committees and organizations, often sharing his experiences in dealing with the intricacies of building codes through presentations by speaking at industry events.
At the NASCC conference series, Matt presented both “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly of Drawing Notes” and “Structural Design of Staircases…Don’t Get Tripped Up” in 2017 and “Drawing Details: The Good, the bad, and the Ugly” in 2019. Both presentations were a direct reflection of his real-world experiences and were presented to help engineers understand some of the building codes intricacies and how not to fall into the same mistakes.
COMMUNITY MINDED
Matt is also committed to building inspired, enthusiastic teams dedicated to strengthening communities. An adjunct professor at Lehigh University, Matt helps first-semester seniors prepare for the workforce by teaching a class focused on the professional development of engineers. Teaching them elements of professionalism; professional ethics; engineering registration; continuing education; responsibilities of an engineer in industry, government, private practice; and the role of professional and technical societies.
The local Lehigh Valley community also has benefited from his hard work and multiple charitable endeavors. For the past two years, Matt and his teams have also donated over 13,000 cans to the local food bank through the CANstructuion competition. Combining art, design, fun and local community support, Matt has had a hand in the design planning, fundraising, and exhibit “CANstructuion” for the neat sculptures (i.e. Mack Truck and Comic Can) the competition builds.
In April, you can meet Matt at the:
- NASCC: The Steel Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is presenting “Shear Connection Beam Reinforcement.” The PDH lecture will review how to properly design web doublers, size welds, and detail doublers and alternate details — such as haunch plates with single or double shear tabs.
- SEI’s Structures Congress in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is on a panel for “Classroom to the Boardroom: Transitioning to an Entry-level Engineer.” This interactive panel discussion will provide information specific to standing out at the beginning of an engineering career. The ability to effectively transition to a new position is crucial to long term success and you can expect to walk away from this session with new tools for building your dream career. Your future is in your hands: learn how to seize this exciting opportunity.