2016 40 Under 40: Scott Foster, PE, LEED AP, 39

Scott Foster, PE, LEED AP, 39

Principal, Mechanical Engineer, Affiliated Engineers Inc., Chicago

BS Architectural Engineering, Kansas State University

After earning his engineering degree, Foster began his career at Primera Engineers in Chicago in 2001. He then joined Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI) as a mechanical engineer in 2007 at the inception of the Chicago office and has provided leadership in helping shape its direction and success. He took an active role in recruiting and training new staff. A measure of his effectiveness is the growth of the Chicago office in 6 years from five staff members to more than 30, while nearly tripling annual revenues. With expertise in data center design and from the perspective of the firm’s national sustainable leadership team, Foster identified a need to better evaluate airflow, specifically within data centers. He established the criteria required from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and led a firmwide team through rigorous software evaluations, resulting in a comprehensive CFD analysis tool that increases productivity and design quality for AEI’s national mission critical market sector. One of Foster’s passions outside of work is cycling. He found a way to use this passion to help others through the World Bicycle Relief, the mission of which is to transform individuals and their communities through the power of bicycles. Compared to walking, bicycles represent an enormous leap in productivity and access to health care, education, and economic opportunity. The organization provides bikes to men, women, and children in Africa who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get to school or work. What Foster most enjoys outside of work is spending time with his family. He and his wife like to travel, and they bring their two young children along to experience the diversity of people and places.

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