HDR’s Erin Rooney Awarded Outstanding Young Alumni Recognition from Virginia Tech

Erin Rooney, P.E., CFM, the Louisiana coastal team lead based in HDR’s Metairie, Louisiana, office, recently received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the Charles Edward Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at her alma mater, Virginia Tech. This award was established in 1998 to recognize special alumni who give back to their profession, to the institution and/or to their community. 

Rooney is an accomplished expert in the industry and has designed and managed projects in many aspects of coastal engineering, including marsh creation, shoreline protection, living shorelines, dredging and beach nourishment. She has delivered projects across the Gulf Coast and throughout the United States, working on all stages of design including coastal modeling, construction administration activities and post-construction monitoring. 

Recently, Rooney was named a 2022 Top Young Professional by Engineering News-Record Texas and Louisiana. Over the years, she has presented at coastal engineering conferences, offering thought leadership on topics including breakwaters, marsh creation, mitigation banking, numerical modeling and living shorelines. She has also published articles in industry magazines and journals, including Shore & Beach. 

In recent years, Rooney has served on boards for industry organizations including the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the American Society of Civil Engineers Louisiana Section and New Orleans Branch, and the Louisiana Chapter of the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute. She received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and completed her master’s degree in the same field from Texas A&M University. 

“Erin is an extremely talented engineer and leader who is dedicated not only to her profession but also to giving back to her community,” said Brett Geesey, HDR’s Louisiana office principal. “I'm proud to have the opportunity to work alongside her. This is a well-deserved award.”