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PENA-MORA

Feniosky Peña-Mora has been named dean of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) at Columbia University, New York City, effective July 15. He had been an endowed professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an associate provost there.

Robert M. Scaer was appointed president of architect-engineer Gannett Fleming, Harrisburg, Pa. A 25-year firm veteran, he had been president of GeoDecisions, a company division. Scaer is a co-inventor and holder of the patent for IRRIS technology, which integrates real-time sensor information into a common operating platform for enhanced command and control.

Consulting engineer Baxter & Woodman, Crystal Lake, Ill., promoted Steve A. Larson to CEO and president following the April retirement of Darrel R. Gavle. Larson was formerly vice president and chief marketing officer.

Foster Wheeler AG, Zug, Switzerland, has named Roberto Penno managing director of global sales, marketing and strategic planning for its global engineering and construction group. He replaces Giuseppe Bonadies, who retires in July after 45 years. Penno was director of commercial operations for the firm’s Asia Pacific unit.

Meg VanderLaan has joined MWH, Broomfield, Colo., as vice president of corporate communications. She was in a similar role at Gates Corp., a Denver-based global manufacturer of high-performance industrial products, systems and components.