2016 40 Under 40: Paul Erickson, LEED AP BD+C, 38

Paul Erickson, LEED AP BD+C, 38

Principal, Sustainable Practice Leader, Mechanical Engineer, Affiliated Engineers Inc., Madison, Wis.

BS Environmental Geosciences, Michigan State University

MS Civil Engineering and Building Sciences, University of Colorado

Erickson joined Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI) in the fall of 2005. As a designer in the mechanical department, he started at a high level, working on a federal biosafety level 3/4 lab project. While working on a LEED Gold food-production plant, he was leading AEI’s energy-modeling and project-sustainability efforts by spring 2006. In 2012, he became AEI’s national sustainable-practice leader, serving as a project consultant and the firm’s internal coordinator of sustainable technology and strategy training. He became a principal of the firm in 2014. Erickson draws on experience in the science and technology, health care, and higher education sectors to develop advanced system concepts and performance modeling tools through his firm. Erickson combines knowledge of geology, chemical engineering, and building systems engineering in the ideation, evaluation, and implementation of high-performance design concepts. As a grad student at the University of Colorado, Erickson and a group of peers led a sanitation system project in Peru for Engineers Without Borders and provided energy-simulation training to students and professors in Brazil. Closer to home, Erickson also pulls on waders to work for the Dane County Office of Lakes & Watersheds’ annual "Take a Stake in the Lakes" lakefront cleanup. A longtime food-pantry volunteer, he recently branched out as a participant in a Madison-area community garden that supports the local food bank. In his spare time, Erickson enjoys cycling, skating, skiing, fishing, and being part of Madison’s cultural, arts, and music scenes.

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