Contacts

ASCE Utah Section Officers

President

Darren Burton, PE

Michael Baker International

Salt Lake City, UT

Bio:

Darren Burton has been working in the construction industry for 21 years.  He started his engineering education at Salt Lake Community College, (SLCC), where after 5 years of night classes he graduated with his two year A.S. Pre-Engineering degree.  He continued his studies at the University of Utah, where in 2008 he graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.  He is a season football &  gymnastics ticket holder and loves little more than to cheer on his alma matter in red with his wife and kids at his side.

Darren has been employed with Michael Baker Int. for the past 13 years, where he is currently a Project Manager in the Transportation Division.  He specializes in large design-build roadway projects which he thoroughly enjoys due to their fast pace, complexity, and opportunity to team with contractors and public agencies.  He has worked on projects in several states around the country.  Local roadways that he has helped to design include I-15 in both Utah and Salt Lake Counties,  Mountain View Corridor, Bangerter Highway, and US-89 in Davis County.  One of his favorite experiments when presenting to student groups is to list off all the roadways that he has worked on, then to try to find someone that has not driven on at least one of them.  So far he is undefeated.

ASCE was first introduced to Darren about 18 years ago with the student chapter at Salt Lake Community College.  He joined ASCE and held leadership positions in the student chapters at both SLCC and the University of Utah.  After graduation, he participated and joined the leadership of the Utah Section Younger Member’s Forum, the Wasatch Front Branch, and for the past year and a half has served in the Utah Section leadership.  He says the best part of being involved with ASCE is the friendships that you make as you all work together to serve the greater community.

It is with the deepest love and gratitude that Darren thanks his parents, Stephen & Connie Burton, his wife, Ashley Sprankle-Burton, and three kids, Dylan, Taylor, and PaisleyAnne, for the support and understanding that they have given to help him become who he is today.

President-Elect

Mark Chandler, PE

CRS Engineers

Salt Lake City, UT

Past-President

John Diamond, PE

Kleinfelder

Salt Lake City, UT

Bio:

John Diamond is a principal geotechnical engineer and the Utah Operations Manager for Kleinfelder in Salt Lake City where he has worked for the past 16 years.  John is a graduate of the University of Idaho where he earned an M.S. Degree and the University of Utah where he earned an M.B.A.  John is a licensed professional engineer and professional geologist and his technical expertise includes trenchless design of pipelines, water well siting, design, construction, and testing, and geotechnical engineering for transportation, industrial, and commercial projects.  In addition to high profile national and international projects, John has managed and provided technical expertise on many local projects including Snowbasin pre-olympic games development, Lakeside Power Plant Phase I, Legacy Parkway, I-15 CORE, and I-15 Technology Corridor.   

Secretary-Treasurer

Troy Covill, EIT

Kleinfelder

Salt Lake City, UT

Bio:

I am currently the 2020-2021 Secretary-Treasurer for the Utah Section of ASCE. I was born in Morgan, Utah, then my family moved to Pinedale, Wyoming when I was 13. I attended the University of Wyoming, obtaining an undergraduate degree in civil engineering. During my studies, I developed an interest in geotechnical engineering, specifically in earthquake engineering and numerical modeling, and pursued a Master’s degree at the University of Wyoming. My chosen career path has now brought me back to Utah, working as a geotechnical engineer at Kleinfelder in the Salt Lake City area. When I am not busy being an engineer, I enjoy fishing, videogames, soccer, snowboarding, and spending time with close friends and family. I am excited to serve the ASCE Utah membership and look forward to meeting you all!

Additional Members of Board of Directors

Region 8 Governor

Matthew Roblez, SE

McNeil Engineering

Sandy, UT

Bio:

Matthew Roblez is a board certified structural engineer.  He is a co-owner of McNeil Engineering an award winning civil/surveying/structural engineering firm in Sandy, Utah.  He has served ASCE since his junior year in college (1991) at the University of Utah.  He has served as Wasatch Front Branch President, and Utah Section President (3 times).  In 2012 he co-authored the Utah Section Duties and Procedures manual that is still being used today.  He also won the honor of being named the Utah Section Engineer of the Year in 2017.  During his 3 times as Section President, he has enacted changes in the local government and issued many position statements on behalf of Section.  He has also has been chosen to appear many times on the local news concerning many different civil engineering issues.  He is currently serving as the Region 8 Governor for the Utah and Southern Idaho Section.  He is also a licensed professional wrestler and an ESPN college football commentator.

President - Northern Utah Branch

Samuel Odd

City of Logan

Logan, UT

Bio:

I am excited to be serving as the President of the Northern Utah Branch of ASCE! For me ASCE has provided an opportunity to expand my professional network and meet with other outstanding individuals. I hope as president I can continue to foster this, and many other opportunities for our branch (even if a pandemic makes that extra hard). I work for the City of Logan in the engineering division and love watching project grow from casual ideas to complete infrastructure. When I’m not working I try to get outside, recently mountain biking has been a new hobby of mine.

President - Wasatch Front Branch

Michelle Haake

HollyFrontier Refining

West Bountiful, Utah

Bio:

After graduating with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Utah in 2013, I began working as a Project Engineer for HollyFrontier Refining in West Bountiful.  My favorite perks about the job is that no two projects are the same and there is vast opportunity for on the job training in many engineering disciplines including civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical and instrumentation.  In my free time, I enjoy being with my family, party planning, decorating and most recently, bee keeping.  I have spent this last summer designing and building a tiny home in my back yard.

President - Central Utah Branch

Zach Herbert, EIT

Central Utah Water Conservancy District

Orem, UT

Bio:

Zach grew up in Millcreek Utah and is a recent graduate from the University of Utah where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering. During his masters he spent a month in Ecuador to research water quality contamination due to upstream mining activities. Zach joined the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) asset management group as a staff engineer in 2019 and has worked closely on large scale water distribution systems and hydroelectric powerplants. In addition to this, Zach currently works on research involving machine learning for long-term predictive operations of District reservoirs. Zach currently serves as the president for the ASCE Central Utah Branch.

President - Southern Utah Branch

Clinton Merrell

Bowen Collins and Associates

St. George, Utah

Bio:

Clint grew up in the small desert city of Barstow, California – yes people do live there. Eventually, he made his way to Provo where he attended and graduated from BYU with a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. He met his wife, Jessica, in Multivariable Calculus where she was learning to be a Civil Engineer as well. He copied homework/courted her through Surveying, Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, and Hydrology. After graduating he followed his wife to a job at Mott MacDonald where she designed bridges and he spent his time working on roadway and drainage designs on a number of UDOT projects. In 2015, after suffering through 7 years of winter in Utah and Salt Lake Counties, he finally convinced his wife and 3 children that they could survive the harsh summers in St. George. He is happy to be back in the desert and as close to his California family as he can be without leaving Utah. After a brief but enjoyable stint with Jviation in St. George, Clint decided to try to do something a little different has been with Bowen Collins and Associates in St. George since 2017. He enjoys nerdy things like 3d printing, drones, and electronics, but has also been known to take an occasional break from his desk for backpacking treks in the Sierra Nevadas.

President - Younger Member Forum

Faramarz Safazadeh, EIT

PEPG Consulting

Sandy, UT

Bio:

Faramarz Safazadeh is a pavement engineer at PEPG consulting firm. He is a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Utah in the Transportation and Highway Engineering group with an emphasis on asphalt pavement. He has experienced research and teaching background with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. His expertise is in the investigation of fatigue cracking via the evaluation of fractures in the viscoelastic medium.

Chair, Geo-Institute

Brian Peterson, PE

Gerhart Cole

Midvale, UT

Bio:

Brian is serving as the Chair of the Utah Chapter of the Geo-Institute.  He is a proud graduate of Brigham Young University and dad to three girls.  He is also a Project Engineer at Gerhart Cole that enjoys getting his hands dirty and finding practical solutions to difficult geotechnical problems. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, playing basketball and snowboarding.

Chair, Structural Engineering Institute

Conrad Guymon, SE

CKR Engineers

Orem, UT

Bio:

I graduated from Brigham Young University in 1993 with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and a minor in Interior Design, and in 1996 with a Master’s of Engineering Management.  I am a Model Law Structural Engineer holding professional licenses in thirteen states, including Structural Engineering licenses in Utah, California, Nevada, and Hawaii.  I am currently one of the principals at CKR Engineers in Orem.

Most of my professional work is for church, industrial and mining related projects, with a focus in renovation, capacity expansions and structural upgrades of existing facilities.  If it’s not a messy project where you get to play the hand you’re dealt, it probably won’t end up on my desk.  I like problem solving with all of the disciplines involved.  The most fun I have on a project is working with the owners, facility managers, contractors and other design professionals to find a workable solution.  Collaboration across disciplines is the best part of the job.

I coach high school mountain biking is what spare time I can carve out of work.  It’s a ton of fun, great for the riders, and I get to have fun too.  I’ve coached for seven years, and I’m currently the head coach for Timpanogos T-Wolf Cycling and on the board for Orem Youth Cycling Association.  We’re right in the middle of our season.  We have picked up third place trophies in our division at both season races.  Last race was a chain day (dropped of the chainring, in the spokes, and one broken).  Lot’s of fun.

I’m looking forward to serving.  Shoot me an email if you have ideas for potential webinar topics or how to further develop the Structural Engineering profession.  [email protected].

Committees and Organizations

Infrastructure Report Card

Craig Friant, PE

JUB Engineers

Spanish Fork, UT

Bio:

My name is Craig Friant and I am the Utah Infrastructure Report Card Committee Chair. I have been involved in ASCE leadership for several years and started out on the Community Giving Committee in the Wasatch Front Branch. From there I served on the board for the Wasatch Front Branch and was the 2015-2016 Branch President. I also served on the Utah Section Board and was the 2018-2019 Utah Section President. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving in ASCE and meeting such amazing people. I think the friends I have make in ASCE are the highlight of my service. The Utah Section is full of great engineers and I have learned a lot from all of you. Serving on the Report Card Committee has been an eye-opening experience. We are reviewing the draft report card now and are scheduled to release it in December 2020. When I am not volunteering for ASCE I spend my days as a Transportation Project Manager for J-U-B Engineers, Inc. I have worked for J-U-B for 22 years in both the Orem and Salt Lake office. I have two daughters that are 21 and 19 and are both in college. My oldest is attending Utah State University and my youngest is attending Southern Utah University. Being an Empty Nester is a new experience, but we are getting used to it. I also have several hobbies. I love being outside and enjoy hiking, camping, fishing, and riding my road bike. So far this year I have logged 1,000 miles on my bike.

State and Government Relations

Katherine Colburn, EIT

Utah Department of Transportation

Ogden, UT

History and Heritage

Cody Palmer, PE

McNeil Engineering

Sandy, UT

Bio:

As a brief introduction, I’ve been a member of ASCE for about 10 years for the most part serving as “just-a-member” of the society at large. A few years ago, with quite a bit of encouragement, I accepted the chance to serve as the Utah Section Secretary/Treasurer for a two year term. Since then I’ve enjoyed supporting and being supported by good leaders and members in my local branch. One of my mentors and a fellow society member encouraged me to serve on the History and Heritage Committee. I am glad for the opportunity to learn and serve with my peers and for the chance to give back in some small way to the profession and the community.

My favorite past-times are mainly learning and playing with my wife and 6 kiddos.

Some of our adventures this summer have been a few trips to my brother-in-law and sister’s dairy to feed baby calves, trying to keep the garden alive, and also a trip to the Black Hills to see Mt. Rushmore and the Needles Highway in the Custer National Forest.