WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources
Academy of
Civil Engineers Before beginning his engineering career in 1966, Richard G. Almes played professional baseball, served two years in the U.S. Army, and attended graduate school at West Virginia University during the off-season. He accepted an engineering position with D’Appolonia Consulting Engineers, where he almes progressed to regional vice president and project manager. His focus was on assisting the coal mining industry throughout Appalachia with the design and construction of large coal refuse dams and embankments. In 1986, he founded Almes and Associates, Inc. Consulting Engineers, a firm which grew to 80 employees in four regional offices. In 2012, he sold his interests in the firm, and has been working as an independent consultant to other engineering firms and law firms. Prior to enrolling at West Virginia University in August 1968 for the doctoral program in civil and environmental engineering, Murali Atluru was an educator in India. Upon graduation from West Virginia University in 1972, Atluru founded Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC), a multidisciplinary atluru engineering firm headquartered in Hamden, Conn., with a branch office in Andover, Mass. Atluru serves as DTC’s chairman and CEO. Atluru is the recipient of numerous local, regional, and national business and community service awards. He served on several boards and committees over the years, including an appointment to Connecticut’s Board of Trustees for its community and technical college system. He served as chairman of the standing committee on finance, budget, and facilities, which was responsible for its $468 million annual operation budget and nearly $800 million capital budget over a 10-year period. Atluru currently serves on the advisory board of the College of Engineering at University of New Haven and as chairman of the technical education task force in the city of New Haven.
In 1984, Gupta founded Soils Southwest, Inc., a corporation providing geotechnical engineering and geological services in Los Angeles, San
Gupta is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and the Geo-Institute. He is a registered professional engineer in California, Arizona, and Oregon. Morgantown, W.Va., native John Muth earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, with an emphasis on transportation, from West Virginia University in 1981 and 1985, respectively. As a graduate student, he taught in freshman engineering. Upon graduation, Muth worked with muth the consulting firm of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin in Boston, Mass. From 1988-2000, he worked for the Charlotte (N.C.) Department of Transportation, where he helped lead the development of the 2025 Transit/Land Use Plan for the CharlotteMecklenburg, N.C., area. This resulted in public approval of a dedicated sales tax for public transportation, which led to the formation of the Charlotte Area Transit System or CATS. After joining CATS in 2000, Muth, who serves as its deputy director, led the development of the 2025 Corridor System Plan for light rail, commuter rail, streetcar, and bus rapid transit. Charlotte’s 9.6 mile LYNX Blue Line light rail project opened in November 2007, and a 9.3 mile extension is entering construction with an opening date of spring 2017. Muth is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a fellow in the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Volume 9 Issue 2
Moloy Gupta earned his master’s degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University, where he served as a research assistant from 1970-1972. He specialized in structural engineering under the guidance of the late Lazlo Krestezy. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Judavpur University GUPTA in India and obtained a second master’s degree in the discipline from UCLA, specializing in geotechnical engineering.
Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties in California. Gupta served as the president and CEO of the firm, growing it from a one-man operation to a professional services firm with more than two dozen professionals. The company provides professional evaluations and recommendations in the areas of subsurface explorations and material testing, along with evaluations for earthquake fault studies for commercial/industrial structures, medical clinics, family theme parks, hillside developments, hillside stabilization, and windmills/wind farms.
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