This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
People might take the American infrastructure for granted each day when they drive to work. Four-lane highways and massive bridges, however, are the work place for some people, like Adam Lemisch ’88, who keep traffic moving smoothly.
Lemisch, a civil engineering graduate, is a project manager for Perini Corporation’s Civil Construction Division and part of the project management team for the structural repair of the 3.5-mile-long Tappan Zee Bridge spanning the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland counties in New York.
Even while working on some of the most traveled and congested bridges and highways in the New York metropolitan area, Lemisch stays in contact with Lafayette and credits the College with preparing him for the challenging work.
“The blend of an excellent engineering curriculum mixed with liberal arts classes that were offered at Lafayette has contributed to my education as a well-rounded individual who can not only understand the technicalities of engineering and construction, but can communicate those ideas and manage them for others, and bring ideas into reality,” he says.
Lemisch has returned to campus as a guest lecturer in the civil and environmental engineering department, in particular the Construction Management course taught by Professor David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and chair of the A.B. engineering program.
“Over the last several years I have prepared case studies on actual civil construction projects I have constructed and have presented them to the students,” he says. “The case studies have been comprehensive documents that take the students through a project from the beginning to the end so they can see first-hand how a project is managed and built.”
Lemisch says the $150 million project he’s involved with consists of replacing the bridge deck of the two outer lanes of the Tappan Zee Bridge in the northbound and southbound directions, as well as other repairs to the structure.
“My responsibilities include overall project supervision, engineering supervision, and coordination of design and construction issues,” he says.
Lemisch also has worked on a $70 million reconstruction project of the West Side Highway in Manhattan and the Long Island Expressway/Cross Island Parkway Interchange Improvement Project in Queens, N.Y., among others.
Lemisch joined Perini in 1997 after spending time post-graduation in the design end of the engineering and construction industry.
“I decided to use my engineering skills and work for a general contractor and be a part of a management team that builds the projects,” he says.
Lemisch plans to continue guest lecturing at Lafayette.
“It has been a very rewarding and wonderful experience for both the students and for me professionally,” he says. “The students get to see how all they have been taught in a semester is implemented in the real world of construction. For me, teaching is a great experience and is my way of contributing to the high standards of engineering academics presented at Lafayette.”