HRV Project Manager Cyndi Sims, PE, MSI, a 25-year veteran of the construction industry, is an exemplary participant among women working in engineering today and is deserving of recognition on International Women in Engineering Day for her extensive and diverse work in the industry.
Cyndi recently joined HRV as a project manager, bringing with her 15 years of focused QA/QC experience with clients and project types such as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, numerous departments of transportation, and public/private partnerships (P3). Her resume includes many signature projects including Ohio River bridges, large-scale locks & dams, multi-million-dollar highway projects, and vertical building projects for government, education, religious, agricultural, and healthcare clients.
“My initial career choice was to attend and graduate from the University of Kentucky architecture program and become an architect,” said Cyndi. “UK had one of the top programs in the country, and I completed half the of that program before taking a basic structures course, which ultimately changed the course of my career.”
It was through this course that Cyndi began to pursue a discipline that taught design and engineering concepts with real-world practical applications.
“I did really well in that structures course,” continued Cyndi. “In fact, so well, I helped classmates better understand the principles and concepts. It was then that I decided to reevaluate my career path and further investigated a structural engineering degree to practically apply what I would learn.”
With tremendous motivation, Cyndi went on to complete her Bachelor and Master of Science in Civil Engineering with a focus on Structural Engineering at the same time from UK.
“My passion for this profession and the industries it serves stems from the influence of my first supervisor,” said Cyndi. “His emphasis on the need for special inspections, which is essentially third-party quality inspection, is what compelled me to learn more and progress along the QA inspection path.”
That passion is shared with an understanding of just how important this profession is toward assuring the quality of materials used and how they are fabricated for the use in transportation infrastructure.
“After graduating and working for 25 years in the industry, I’ve never looked back at what could have been.” concluded Cyndi. “The need for what we do both as engineers and certified quality inspectors is more important now than ever before. The safety and wellbeing of millions of travelers depends on it.
“I’m proud to include on my resume several key project milestones in my home state of Kentucky, including the Lewis and Clark Bridge, Abraham Lincoln Bridge, John F. Kennedy Bridge (all in Louisville KY), Eggner Ferry Bridge & Lake Barkley Bridge in Western KY, and US 60 Versailles Road at New Circle in Lexington KY.”
Cyndi is a licensed Professional Engineer in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, West Virginia, and Michigan (inactive) with technical certifications in special inspections, concrete, structural steel, welding, construction management/inspection, and others.
International Women in Engineering Day, celebrated annually on June 23rd, brings global awareness of women in the field of engineering who are extending the discipline and contributing to its positive impact for numerous industries. International Women in Engineering Day is a fitting tribute for the anniversary of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), which was established on June 23, 1919.