CEEAS Board Members

Tyler Barry

My name is Tyler Barry and I am a fifth-year at Penn State studying civil engineering with a focus in environmental. Currently, I am the President of ASCE, involved with THON, and work with other organizations around campus. When I am not studying and doing other ASCE events, I like to write poetry, paint, and spend time with friends and family. 

Charlie Blenko

Charlie is a fourth-year civil engineering student from Pittsburgh who completed his capstone in the structures focus. In his time at Penn State, Charlie has been heavily involved in the student ASCE Chapter. He served as its Treasurer for the 2020-2021 school year, Co-President for 2021-2022, and now serves as Vice President of Transitions in his final semester. Blenko is also an Engineering Ambassador at Penn State, performing STEM outreach to K-12 students. During summers in college, Blenko has completed internships with Herbert, Rowland and Grubic’s civil group, Norfolk Southern Railway’s bridge department, and Transtar LLC’s railroad engineering group. Following his graduation in December 2022, Charlie will be starting a full-time job with Gannett Fleming’s bridge group in their Pittsburgh office.

Jack Diviney, P.E.

Diviney received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Penn State in 1968 and his master of engineering degree in 1977, with an emphasis in geotechnical engineering. After working for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for 11 years, he joined Gannett Fleming in 1979. 

At Gannett Fleming, Diviney served in many roles including: geotechnical engineer, senior project manager, office manager of the Pittsburgh regional office, Midwest USA Regional Director, and member of the Gannett Fleming, Inc. Board of Directors. He is currently a senior geotechnical engineer working from the firm's Pittsburgh regional office.

Diviney has been involved in professional societies throughout his career, having served as president of the Harrisburg section of the American Society of Highway Engineers, and as president of the Central Pennsylvania section of The American Society of Civil Engineers. He is also a former member of the Penn State Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering's Industrial Professional Advisory Council.

Matthew J. Gombeda, E.I.T., Ph.D.

Gombeda graduated from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering (structural) and a minor in Engineering Mechanics in 2014. He also holds master's and doctoral degrees, both in structural engineering, from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. He is currently employed as an assistant professor of civil engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, IL.

At IIT, he is actively involved in both experimental and computational research and oversees the structural and materials testing laboratory on IIT’s Mies campus. His major research areas include behavior and mechanics of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, innovative precast concrete components, innovative cementitious materials, blast design and analysis methodologies, progressive collapse mitigation, and experimental methods. Gombeda also serves as a member of several Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) technical committees (Blast Resistance and Structural Integrity, Precast Insulated Wall Panels, and Design Standard); American Concrete Institute (ACI) committees (377 - Performance-Based Structural Integrity & Resilience of Concrete Structures, and 370 - Blast and Impact Load Effects); and the ASCE/SEI Disproportionate Collapse Technical Committee.

During his time at Penn State, Gombeda served as the president of both the ASCE and ACI student chapters and also the design engineer and project manager for the Concrete Canoe Team.

Willis S. Heisey III, P.E.

Since completing his bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Penn State in 1972, Heisey has spent the last 45 years in the construction industry working throughout the United States and in Algeria. Heisey constructed projects in the highway, heavy civil, marine, concrete construction, environmental, pile-driving, and industrial markets. He performed field engineering and field management duties, managed multiple concurrent projects and large national programs, provided operational leadership for multi-state construction operations, participated in the estimating process, developed bid and construction schedules, implemented successful strategies for project execution, selected equipment, and provided lead interfacing with owner's representatives.

Heisey is currently retired from Allan A Myers, LP as construction manager with overall responsibility for major bridge and highway projects in the Mid-Atlantic. He is married to Bonita and is the proud father of a son and daughter and four granddaughters.

Migara Hewavitharana, P.E.

Migara graduated from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 2013. During his time at Penn State, he served in numerous leadership positions, culminating in the presidency for the student chapter of ASCE and hull design captain for the Concrete Canoe Team. He also assisted in bringing a Bridges to Prosperity student chapter to Penn State.

He is currently employed with Bala in their New York City office, where he serves as a project engineer in their structural group. Migara has experience across multiple building design sectors, including K-12 educational facilities, single-family and multi-family residence remediation/renovation, transit/industrial facilities, and NYC transit-oriented-design projects. He is a professional engineer in New York.

Since graduating, Migara has continued to stay involved with professional societies. He served as the vice president of the ASCE Central New Jersey Younger Member Group and is currently involved with multiple Structural Engineering Association of NY committees.

Migara is currently pursuing a master's degree in civil (structural) engineering at Columbia University.  During his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, competing in volleyball leagues, and playing video games.

Thomas E. Lawson, P.E., P.L.S

Lawson is a registered professional engineer and professional land surveyor in multiple states.  He is currently executive vice president of Borton-Lawson, a 189 multi-discipline architectural/engineering firm he co-founded in 1988. A 1972 graduate of Penn State with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Lawson has been recognized as "Engineer of the Year" four times by his peers in Luzerne County. 

Lawson's career includes employment in the 1970's with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, after which he entered private practice with a focus on building design, land development, highways and bridges.

Professional affiliations and accomplishments include: past president of the Luzerne County chapter of the Professional Engineering Society; past president of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers in Private Practice; past president of the American Society of Highway Engineers, NE Pennsylvania Section; currently serves as president of the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association and is a board member of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors; Technical Advisory Committee member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties; a member of the American Consulting Engineers Council; and the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

On a community level, Lawson was chairman of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce Board in 2006 and 2007, and recently served on Pennsylvania Governor Corbett's Transportation Funding Advisory Commission. He also chairs the Focus 81 committee, a community organization working to improve safety along Interstate 81 in the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania area.  

Larissa Maynard

Maynard was born and raised in Wexford, Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. During her time at Penn State, she was heavily involved with Penn State’s ASCE Chapter, was an avid dancer in Penn State’s Tapestry Dance Company, and danced for 46 hours in THON.

Maynard currently is a water resources engineer for WSP’s Water and Environment Group in St. Louis, Missouri. Her current role spans the design and construction of hydraulic management and water facilities for private- and public-sector clients. Previously, she worked as an engineer for Missouri American Water and was employed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as project manager for multi-faceted construction ventures.

Casey Mrazik

Originally from Pittsburgh, Mrazik graduated from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in May 2019 and received a master of engineering degree in civil engineering in December 2019. During her time at Penn State, she was heavily involved with the Women in Engineering Program, the Concrete Canoe Team, ASCE, ACI, and Utree. 

She works for Mascaro Construction as a project engineer and has gained experience through internships on several different projects ranging from the DC United Soccer Stadium to a US Pipeline Compressor Station in Ohio. Her current project is a new housing and rec center building for the University of Pittsburgh. Through leading construction material procurement, developing estimates, managing quality control with contract and code compliance in the field, and interfacing with the owner’s representatives, Casey’s focus is always ensuring projects are completed successfully and safely.

Casey’s favorite pastime is traveling. She's been to 18 countries, and the newest edition to her bucket list is to make it to all seven continents and participate in the "30 before 30" challenge, which requires traveling to 30 countries before the age of 30. She enjoys being an alumni representative on the CEE Alumni Society Board of Directors and positively impacting students as well as the department.

Jack A. Raudenbush, P.E., F.ASCE

Jack Raudenbush graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Penn State in 1987. Since then, he has worked for Gannett Fleming, SAIC, and WBCM. In 1999, he helped found Raudenbush Engineering Inc., which was acquired by Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers, Inc. in 2017. He is currently a senior vice president.

Raudenbush has been a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) since 1985, and is current a member of the ASCE Board of Direction. Raudenbush has worked extensively with the Central Pennsylvania Section, serving as president, vice president, and secretary. He is currently a member of the Pennsylvania State Council, Committee on Program and Finance, and the Committee on Developing Leaders.

In addition, Raudenbush has worked with the Penn State Harrisburg Campus Civil Engineering Advisory Board helping them establish a mentoring program and was Chairman of the Greater Middletown Economic Development Corporation.

Thomas Skibinski

Skibinski is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State. His interest areas include construction engineering management; project management; ethics; professional practice; and professional development. He serves as the faculty adviser to ASCE student teams.