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Scott E. Atkinson

Education

B.S. Civil Engineering – University of Maine – Class of 1978
M.B.A – University of Southern Maine – Class of 1991

Engineering Career

At a young age I was driven by curiosity.  I was constantly taking apart things and trying to rebuild them.  I excelled in science and mathematics courses in high school and wanted to apply these skills in college.

Additionally my family had an influence in my career.  My father graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Civil Engineering under the war time V-12 Navy College Training Program.  His father, my grandfather, was a Register Architect in New York and owned a practice in Schenectady, NY.  And my great-grandfather, Joseph W. Sewall was a civil engineer and founded a civil engineering company in Old Town Maine in 1880.

Short summary of career:

1978-1979 Chas T. Main Engineers, Boston MA – Pulp and Paper Industry Division
1979-1982 E.C. Jordan Company, Portland ME – Environmental Division
1982-2012 LL Bean, Freeport ME – Facilities Engineering and Planning

Professional Activities

One paper presented – Long ago in 1977 Dr George Greenwood of the University of Maine “volunteered” me to present a paper to the 26th annual Maine Transportation Conference. The paper as on railroad grade crossings in Maine and received second place.

Funny Stories

Not really funny, but interesting turn of events.  

I took numerous courses at UM in wastewater engineering with Dr Franklin Woodard, or known by his nickname as Woody.  His courses were excellent; practical but also designed for critical thinking.  

About two years after I graduated in 1978, I accepted a position at E.C. Jordan in Portland, Maine working on an EPA project regarding Effluent Guideline Limitations for the Food Industry.  

As we did not have an in-house knowledge base for the Poultry Processing Industry we hired an outside consultant to assist us.  That person was Woody. Woody had left UM and bought the Dale Caruthers Engineering firm in Gorham, Maine to set up a new company, Woodard and Curran.

So after years of working on Woody’s university courses, Woody was now working for us. It was a rewarding relationship.

Actually a funny event in the mid-1970s when Dr Greenwood showed up to teach his Transportation class wearing a lime-green leisure suit. The class broke out in laughter at the sight of him and he never wore that suit again.

Most Rewarding Career Moment

Being part of a Facilities Engineering and Planning team that helped LL Bean grow from annual sales of $200 million in 1982 to what it is today.

Hobbies

Renovating the family’s original 1940 summer cottage.

Avid reader of WWII and Civil War histories.