David T. Gockel, P.E., F.ASCE, president of Langan, an engineering and environmental consulting firm, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Gockel joined Langan in 1982, when the firm had only 36 employees. His first project was the complex redevelopment of the Jersey City waterfront. Since then he has served as project manager or principal-in-charge of MetLife Stadium, American Dream Meadowlands, Prudential Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Care Center, and overseas Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS).
His leadership initiative led him to become the firm’s second president/CEO in 2004. Under that leadership, Langan has grown fivefold, now standing at over 1,200 and operating with more than 30 offices throughout the United States and abroad. In 2018, the firm achieved carbon-neutral status, which it maintains to date. In 2019, they received the coveted ACTERRA award in the San Francisco Bay area, presented to the company that best exhibits sustainability in its everyday business practices. Past winners include Oracle and Google.
By the Great Recession of 2008, Gockel had led the firm to double in size and supported partners in expanding internationally. Rather than contract during the economic downturn, Langan went through a period of unprecedented expansion, with offices opening in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Houston. In 2010, Gockel drove the firm’s first and only acquisition, which was in San Francisco, a move that added four California offices to the firm and extended Langan’s reach from coast to coast.
Gockel presided over the firm’s entry into new markets, including the oil and gas industry, renewable energy, aviation and e-commerce. He and his partners also added to Langan’s core technical disciplines – geotechnical, site/civil, and environmental engineering – with complementary services such as landscape architecture, environmental health, and safety management and compliance.
Langan is regularly recognized by ASCE and ACEC for its technical excellence and innovative solutions through both organizations’ awards competition. They have also been awarded ASCE’s coveted OPAL Award. The firm also donates between $500,000 and $1,000,000 each year to local charities, in addition to thousands of volunteer hours. Gockel has been active in the Paterson Habitat for Humanity, Eva’s Kitchen and Daytop.
Gockel has accumulated numerous honors and awards in his distinguished career. These include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey State Senate Recognition Proclamation for leadership and achievement, and ASCE Engineer of the Year, North Jersey Branch.
He also serves on the Board of Overseers for NJIT, his undergraduate alma mater, and has served on the Board of Advisors for Stevens Institute of Technology School of Engineering & Science since 2013.
Gockel is a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley Civil & Environmental Engineering Academy.
