2026 Achievement Award Winners Honored at Microtunneling Short Course

Each year, outstanding individuals and companies that have made a lasting impact on the market in North America are recognized with the presentation of the Microtunneling Achievement Awards. These awards are presented by course organizers at the annual Microtunneling Short Course, which was held May 5-7 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This year’s recipients were recognized during the banquet dinner on May 6.

This year’s winners are:

Charles Luxford, Brierley Associates
Charles Luxford is a Principal and Director of Engineering at Brierley Associates, with more than 25 years of experience in heavy civil construction. His expertise spans the design of both temporary works and permanent structures, with a focus on integrating the two to develop constructable solutions for complex earth retention and underground projects. He also has extensive experience in temporary works design, including heavy lifts, falsework, and custom formwork.

Charles is licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE) and/or Structural Engineer (SE) in multiple states and holds a Canadian P.Eng. His notable microtunneling experience includes the Anderson Dam MTBM Lake Tap (CA), Atoka Pipeline Canadian River Crossing (OK), and Waiakamilo Road Trunk Sewer (HI), each involving highly constrained conditions and complex geotechnical challenges.

David Ellett, Pate Garver

David Ellett is a senior leader in the trenchless construction industry with more than three decades of experience in utility construction and rehabilitation. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Louisiana Tech University in 1993, where he was among the first students in the nation to study trenchless technology through the university’s pioneering Trenchless Technology Center. Under the mentorship of industry leaders such as Dr. Tom Iseley and Dr. Mo Najafi, he developed a strong foundation in trenchless methods.

He began his career with Hobas Pipe USA as a Field Service Technician, supporting fiberglass-reinforced pipe installations across a range of trenchless and open-cut applications. In 2000, he joined BRH-Garver, a recognized leader in microtunneling, where he advanced to Partner and Vice President. Following the company’s transition to Pate Garver, LP in 2023, he continues to oversee estimating, project management, and marketing operations.

David remains actively engaged in advancing the industry. He serves on the Gulf Coast Chapter and previously on the National Board of the Underground Construction Technology Association (UCTA), and is a member of the Industry Advisory Board for Louisiana Tech’s Trenchless Technology Center.

Eric Eisold, Bradshaw Construction Corporation

Eric Eisold is the Executive Vice President of Bradshaw Construction Corporation, with more than 40 years of experience in civil works construction. His background includes a wide range of projects spanning airports, water and wastewater facilities, and major underground infrastructure. Prior to joining Bradshaw Construction in 1999, he worked with Woodward Clyde (URS), WMATA, and several consulting engineering firms.

His tunneling experience includes 29 Washington, DC Metro contracts, as well as work on the Baltimore Metro, Tren Urbano, the Supercollider, and numerous utility and pedestrian tunnels. At Bradshaw, he led construction of the first compressed air SEM tunnel in North America on the Orme Street III project in Atlanta, GA. He currently oversees tunnel estimating and construction activities, including microtunneling, hand mining, drill-and-blast, soft-ground and rock TBMs, and shaft construction, with ground improvement techniques ranging from grouting to dewatering and compressed air.

He is an active member of the Moles, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), and the Association of Engineering Geologists, and frequently presents at industry conferences.

Geolabs Inc.
Geolabs is a Hawaii-based geotechnical engineering and consulting firm established in 1975, with offices in Honolulu and Maui and a long track record across the Hawaiian Islands and Pacific Basin. The firm is widely recognized for subsurface exploration, foundation engineering, geologic hazard assessment, and construction support, serving public and private clients on infrastructure, vertical construction, and utility projects.

For underground work, Geolabs has supported trenchless and microtunneling projects such as the Auahi Trunk Sewer in Honolulu, where it helped prepare construction documents for a 1,200-foot, 30-inch gravity sewer installation by microtunneling and supported long-term jet grout column design. It also provided geotechnical services for the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor, including 130 borings, seismic cone penetration testing, groundwater monitoring, and foundation analyses for major transit structures.

Microtunneling Achievement Award Winners

The annual Microtunneling Achievement Award winners were established to recognized individuals who have made a lasting impact on the microtunneling market in the United States are worldwide. Below are the recipients of the awards.

• Northwest Boring (2002)
• Franco Coluccio, Frank Coluccio Construction
  Co. (2004)
• Glenn Boyce, Jacobs Associates (2006)
• James Kwong, Yogi Kwong Engineers (2007, 2013)
• Stefan Trumpi-Althaus, Jack Control Inc. (2008)
• Matt Roberts, Kiewit (2009)
• Dennis Molvik, Northwest Boring (2011)
• Gary Huber, Permalok (2012)
• Rick Turkopp, Hobas (2012)
• James W. Fowler Co. (2014)
• Rene Inosanto, Frank Coluccio Construction Co. (2015)
• Greg Raines, MWH (2015)
• John Grennan, Ward and Burke (2015)
• Julian O’Connell, Herrenknecht (2016)
• Dan Schitea, Vadnais Trenchless Services (2016)
• Troy Stokes, Akkerman Inc. (2016)
• Grahame Turnbull, Consultant (2016)
• Lester Bradshaw, Bradshaw Construction (2017)
• Paul Nicholas, AECOM (2017)
• Andreas Thiele, mts Perforator (2017)
• Paul Vadnais, Vadnais Trenchless (2017)
• Lee Abramson, Kleinfelder (2018)
• Steve Caneen, Huxted Tunneling (2018)
• Ingo Justen, Tunnel Service Group (2018)
• Mike Ellis, Trenchless Equipment Co. (TEC) (2018)
• Dr. Gerhard Lang, Herrenknecht (2019)
• Steve Leius, SECA Underground (2019)
• Rich Palmer, Northeast Remsco (2019)
• Brenden Tippets, Michels (2019)
• Don Bergman, Frank Coluccio Construction (2020)
• Ed Chwist, Bradshaw Construction (2020)
• Frank Lorenzen, Nada Pacific (2020)
• Barry Sorteberg, Clean Slurry Technology (2020)
• Michael Ward, Ward and Burke (2020)
• Maynard Akkerman, Akkerman (2022)
• Mike Garver, BRH Garver (2022)
• Don Gonzales, Northwest Boring (2022)
• Gilbert Kimpel, mts (2022)
• Dawn Lowers Davis, Lowers Welding (2022)
• Buck Bergstrom, BTrenchless (2023)
• Bijan Khamanian, Hobas Pipe USA (2023)
• Ray Post, Huxted Trenchless (2023)
• Craig Camp, GHD (2024)
• Evaristo “Evarett” Cruz, JRCRUZ Corp. (2024)
• John Fowler, James W. Fowler Co. (2024)
• Ben Clark, Derrick Corp. (2025)
• Don Del Nero, WSP (2025)
• Tim Pearia, Frank V Coluccio (2025)
• Tom Rosenberg, Roetzel (2025)
• David Ellett, Pate Garver (2026)
• Eric Eisold, Bradshaw (2026)
• Charles Luxford, Brierley Associates (2026)
• Geolabs (2026)