NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2008 – Pete Maggiore, a resident of Los Alamos, N.M., and senior vice president of North Wind, Inc., will be honored by ASME.  He is being recognized for contributions to environmental remediation by combining legal requirements with sound scientific and engineering principles, as demonstrated by his participation in independent peer reviews and independent technical assessments.  He will receive the Society’s Dixy Lee Ray Award.

The award, established in 1998, recognizes significant achievements and contributions in the broad field of environmental protection.  It will be presented to Mr. Maggiore during the 2008 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, which is being held in Boston, Oct. 31 through Nov. 6.

Maggiore has over 25 years of experience in the field of environmental management, hydrogeology and geology.  Currently he is with North Wind, Inc., an environmental and engineering services firm.

Previously, Maggiore served as a senior consultant to both the assistant secretary for environmental management and the director of the Office of Civilian and Radioactive Waste Management, both at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters in Washington, D.C.  He performed scientific and regulatory assessments for DOE facilities that resulted in the implementation of unique and accelerated cleanup.  Maggiore has also served on the Commission for Assessments and Reviews for the Institute for Regulatory Science (Columbia, Md.), a nonprofit organization that performs independent scientific peer reviews.

In July 1998, Governor Gary E. Johnson appointed Maggiore cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Environment Department.  Maggiore held this position until August 2002.  In this capacity he served as chairman of the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (1998-2002), the body which promulgates all drinking water, groundwater and surface water standards in the state.  He also helped lead a variety of new permitting initiatives that improved public awareness on environmental matters and enabled industry to achieve more flexibility in operations while emitting less pollutants.  He helped to establish the Green Zia Environmental Awards program for pollution prevention and issued the first draft Consent Order for a fence-to-fence cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory by 2015.  Maggiore also co-sponsored peer reviews performed under the auspices of ASME.  Prior to receiving this appointment, he worked as a senior scientist for Camp Dresser and McKee Inc. (Albuquerque, N.M.).

During his career Maggiore has served as senior hydrogeologist and project manager for projects related to landfill investigations, state and federal permitting for mining operations, hydrogeological and geochemical studies, leaking underground storage tank site assessments and cleanups, long-term water supply evaluations, hazardous and medical waste treatment facility studies, and environmental assessments.

Maggiore earned his bachelor’s degree in geology at Stony Brook University, New York, in 1978.  He earned his master’s degree in geology at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in 1981.

Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences.  ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the global engineering and technology community.

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