News Release Archive

Katie Bartojay Named Reclamation's Engineer of the Year

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, psoeth@usbr.gov

For Release: February 24, 2011

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor announced that Katie Bartojay has been named the Reclamation Engineer of the Year for her work on a number of high-profile projects including Folsom Dam, the Warren H. Brock Reservoir, and Seminoe Dam.

"Katie's work as an engineer shows the dedication and talent that Reclamation engineers have to provide water and power in an environmentally responsible manner for the western United States," said Commissioner Connor. The knowledge she and the other engineers have made Reclamation one of the world leaders in water and power management."

In 2010, Reclamation engineers had many accomplishments that supported Reclamation's mission to deliver water and generate power in an environmentally responsible manner. This included construction activities at Folsom Dam in California and the Animas-La Plata Project in Colorado; dam safety investigations and modifications at Red Willow Dam in Nebraska; supporting tribal nations like the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in New Mexico; and power uprating project at Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.

Bartojay is a civil engineer in Reclamation's Materials and Engineering Laboratory in Denver, Colo., where she manages large-scale laboratory investigations for mass concrete mixtures and field investigations of deteriorating concrete. She also participates on many other design teams for Reclamation and has published several professional papers. She provides technical advice throughout Reclamation to resolve concrete construction problems and to assist in creating project specifications for a wide variety of concrete features.

She is the primary technical construction materials contact for Reclamation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where she coordinates work activities to ensure that the resulting several hundred test specimens are properly made and tested and directs modifications to the testing program. She also wrote the materials section of the Quality Assurance Manual for the $250 million Warren H. Brock Reservoir and is an advisory panel member for the Dam Safety Office's Technology Development Program.

"Katie's work has helped further Reclamation's knowledge and experience in materials engineering and I congratulate her on this award," added Commissioner Connor.

Bartojay was named the Technical Service Center Engineer of the Year in 2010. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently working on her Masters Degree in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

Technical Service Center

Materials and Engineering Laboratory