Schmeltz Named Distinguished Member

Edward J. Schmeltz, P.E., D.CE, D.OE, D.PE, D.NE, Dist.M.ASCE, an exceptional change agent and champion for the construction industry and profession, has been honored by ASCE with inclusion in its 2019 class of Distinguished Members for his exemplary 45-year career as a planner and designer of ports, harbors, coastal structures, and other marine facilities.

Schmeltz’s work on some of the world’s largest and most iconic marine projects has helped to improve the quality of life for millions of people in 37 countries on six continents. His experience ranges from container facilities and liquid bulk terminals to military and coastal engineering projects. He has brilliantly and expertly led the planning and modeling of many of the world’s premiere ports, coastal structures, and breakwaters.

He enhanced global commerce and environmental quality through his innovative work on Doha Port, in Qatar, one of the largest Greenfield ports, and numerous projects in the Port of Los Angeles; the reconstruction of the breakwater for the Port of Sines, Portugal; and the restoration of the Whiskey Island West Flank barrier island habitat. He was also responsible for the design and construction management of oil and gas facilities from Dabhol, India to Puerto Rico.  He increased our national security through his planning for the homeporting of the U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers in San Diego, and through berthing and support facilities for our nuclear submarines at King’s Bay, GA.

Now head of EJS Consulting LLC, Schmeltz was most recently a senior vice president with a major international engineering firm as director of maritime and special projects. He has led teams that designed high-tech Magnetic Silencing Facilities (MSF) at classified locations around the globe. MSFs are strategically located facilities used to change the magnetic signature of warships and thus thwart enemy attempts to mine and damage surface combatant vessels during a period of hostilities.

Schmeltz also worked on the design of the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Surface Action Group (SAG) Homeport in New York Harbor in the early 1980s. Built at Stapleton in Staten Island, the SAG was a flotilla of Naval warships that was part of the country’s plan to increase the size of its fleet by 600 ships. He led in the design of the centerpiece of the homeport, a 1,400-foot-long berthing pier for seven ships that included the longest concrete piles ever driven on the East Coast of the United States. He was also responsible for the design of the Homeport for the battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor.

He was the project manager or officer on five projects recognized as Outstanding Engineering Achievements by the American Council of Engineering Companies. His ensured on-time/on-budget construction, resiliency, and environmental stewardship reduced total ownership costs. Schmeltz has authored over 25 technical publications related to his work.

For ASCE, Schmeltz is a founding member and was 2017 president of the Academy of Coastal, Ocean, Port & Navigation Engineers as well as a founding member of COPRI. He was given ASCE’s 2015 OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award for design.

He is also a Fellow of SAME, a member of NSPE, and currently serves as PIANC America’s vice president. He was the 2014 NJIT Alumni of the Year, and is a Diplomate in four disciplines.