Atigun Awards 2026 Engineer of the Year: Alex Lai
Longtime Fairbanks-based engineer and floodplains expert Alex Lai was named Alyeska’s 2026 Atigun Awards President’s Choice Engineer of the Year.
Alex has devoted over 20 years to TAPS as a leading hydrology expert and licensed civil engineer. He has strengthened flood protections, especially during the major 2025 flood emergencies, through hands-on assessments and clear leadership communication. Alex streamlines mineral mining operations to ensure materials are available for maintenance and emergencies, prioritizing safety and cost efficiency. His innovative use of remote sensing has enabled sustainable gravel mining and significant cost reductions while providing essential imagery, digital elevation maps and sediment transportation data. His proactive approach in partnership with AK DOT and UAF has evolved the way each entity approaches flood protection for shared assets in Alaska.
In this Q&A, Alex discusses his favorite part of working as a Sr. Integrity Engineer on TAPS, his knowledge of the rivers, streams and floodplains along TAPS, his memorable motto, and how engineering is becoming a family tradition.
How did you feel about receiving the Engineer of the Year honor? What does that title mean to you in a company filled with amazing engineers? And what was your response when you were informed about it?
Alex: It was a pleasant surprise to be nominated for the Engineer of the Year Award. I’m sure the selection was not an easy one to make with so many talented engineers at Alyeska. When I got the call, I thought it was a prank. But then I recognized (Alyeska President & CEO) John (Kurz’s) voice and when he started talking about the Sag River and the flood repairs it dawned on me — this is real!
Tell us about your job and what is your favorite part of your role/work?
Alex: TAPS has hundreds of stream crossings and about 100 miles of floodplain crossings. In addition, we have 13 pipeline bridges cross in close proximity to six major glaciers like the Cantwell, Gulkana and Tazlina. My job is to make sure TAPS is protected from flood events: “No leaks!”
It is a team effort and I’m really lucky and fortunate to have so many talented persons to work with at Alyeska such as Civil Maintenance Coordinators, Baseline crews, Field Environmental Coordinators, Land & ROW Manager, helicopter pilots, Campaign, and the OSCP teams.
Do you have a favorite day or time on TAPS?
Alex: My job requires a lot of field time. Going out and meeting with CMCs, Baseline, Environment Coordinators and the helicopter pilots is great. They have so much local knowledge like ROW conditions, stream flows, recent rain events that are very helpful for doing my surveillances and assessments.
Is there anyone you’d like to recognize who has helped you along the way or supports your work?
Alex: Success comes with good teamwork and collaboration. For example, from field surveillances to design and permitting then implementation involves multiple disciplines and departments like Environment, Operations, Legal, Land, ROW, and our contractors like HCC, Ahtna, Brice, and so on. My teammates at Integrity Management with whom I can freely bounce off ideas with. My supervisor Erovie Afieroho and I.M. Director Lindsey Vorachek have been very supportive. Their leadership and communication in our mission have been instrumental to our team success!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Alex: We have two boys in college. Both chose engineering paths. My oldest Jorge is 21 and studying Civil Engineering at Colorado State University – Fort Collins. As a boy he was into Micro-Legos, airports and airplanes. I think growing up listening to his Dad talk about the pipeline, designing and fixing things, influenced his decision to pursue the same field of study.
When Jorge did an internship with Alyeska in 2025, for the first time he got to see all the wonderful things about TAPS that I had been telling him about since he was little. Things like the beautiful scenery that TAPS traverses, and appreciation of the engineering ingenuity it took to design and build it, and all the wonderful people in the TAPS family.
He was in our team at Integrity Management under Chuck Schulz, Above Ground Pipeline Engineer, and Frank Wuttig, Senior Geotechnical Engineer. I’m thankful to Alyeska for giving Jorge such a wonderful learning experience from two outstanding engineers! Jorge got an invaluable experience at Alyeska working on bridge inspections, the Jim River Pingo Structural Support Replacement project, which won an Atigun Award, and of course doing Rivers & Floodplains surveillances and flood damage assessments with his Dad. He also spent a week with Dr. Magaret Darrow of UAF doing fieldwork on the Frozen Debris Lobes.
Jorge will be going to summer school this year and hopes to graduate in December 2026. He wants to return to Alaska after graduation to work before deciding whether to attend graduate school and which field to specialize in.
Our youngest Manuel is 19 and is a junior at Colorado School of Mines majoring in Chemical Engineering. In high school, he took an AP chemistry class which he really liked. Manuel would come home and test all sorts of lab experiments – we’re just glad the house is still standing. So, we suggested he channel his enthusiasm towards something more constructive. He chose chemical engineering and he’s happy with his decision!
Last summer, he worked at the Fort Knox goldmine outside of Fairbanks and got to see some real mining and blasting action. This summer, he hopes to get an internship with Alyeska and have an opportunity to learn from a great team of engineers and pipeline staff we have in the company!