Q&A
Why I wear the 鈥淛鈥 with Peter Lalas
Our longest-tenured employee, Peter Lalas, shares how the company has evolved, his work on the Ted Williams Tunnel project and why he stays at 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区 鈥 even after 55 years
Our culture is what makes working at 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区 special.
There are three integral places where our shared attitudes and behaviors show up 鈥 the company鈥檚 values and practices, your team and network, and your experience day to day. Senior Manager, Structural Engineering Peter Lalas, our longest tenured employee, shares how the company has evolved, his work on the Ted Williams Tunnel project and why he stays at 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区 after 55 years.
How long have you been with 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区?
I started my engineering career with Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates, Inc., in New York City on April 7, 1969. 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区 acquired Sverdrup in April of 2002, so I鈥檝e been working a little more than 55 years with Sverdrup/网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区.
How have you seen 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区 evolve over the years?
网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区 and the engineering profession in general have evolved dramatically since 1969. There鈥檚 a lot more flexibility today than there was when I first started. Work times were regimented 鈥 with only two coffee breaks each day, one at 9 a.m. and one at 3 p.m. If you came back from lunch a little late, you鈥檇 be politely lectured about lunch times. This was very common in the industry at the time.
Technology is obviously very different today than it was in 1969. There was very little technology at the time. Most of the work and drafting were done by hand. Today, we do most of this work on the computer.
Additionally, the industry is much more diverse today than it was when I first started working at 网曝吃瓜黑料一区二区三区.
What hasn鈥檛 changed?
Our commitment to delivering excellence has not changed over the years. Error-free and excellent quality engineering were, and still are, paramount.
What makes you stay?
I鈥檝e stayed for 55 years because I genuinely enjoy the structural engineering work, the projects and many people that I work with. It hasn鈥檛 been 鈥渨ork鈥 per se 鈥 it鈥檚 simply what I like to do.
What鈥檚 your proudest moment so far?
One of my proudest moments was watching the placement of the final tube of the Central Artery/Tunnel project at the Ted Williams Tunnel in 1995. My original role on the project was providing design support. Then, when the tunnel was being built, I was assigned to the construction office where I worked for about a year watching the construction of the tubes.
This is one of my favorite projects because it was a unique structure. Very sophisticated. I鈥檝e never worked on anything like this. And it was a tremendous success! There were only very minor problems. Also, this type of tunnel 鈥 a double steel shelf tunnel 鈥 will likely never be built again. You need a casting basin which becomes an environmental issue. I remember at the time, the tunnels were built in Virginia and then they were floated out to Boston to be pieced together.
What else do you want to accomplish?
I enjoy mentoring entry-level engineers, and I hope to continue doing this. A piece of advice I share regularly with those I mentor is that everyone should keep a diary from their first day to their last 鈥 because in 50 years, you鈥檒l want to look back on it.
Why do you wear the "J?"
Where should I put it? No one dresses formally anymore!
All jokes aside, I wear the 鈥淛鈥 because of the work we do and the impact we鈥檙e able to have on the world.