ENGINEERING ALUMNUS AWARDED 2015 MDOT DIRECTOR'S AWARD

Gregg Brunner, a 1996 alumnus of the College of Engineering, received the 2015 Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Director's Award − the department's highest honor for outstanding service. MDOT established the annual award more than 20 years ago to recognize employees who exhibit leadership and exemplary public service. The award was announced last fall.

"With his persistence in the face of challenge and his commitment to integrity and the success of the department, Gregg Brunner serves as a beacon of leadership here at MDOT," said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. "While MDOT has a workforce we all can be proud of, Director's Award recipients like Gregg stand out because they are nominated by their peers for this special recognition."

Brunner was honored in the officials and administrators category. He is the MDOT Bay Region associate region engineer for operations.

In making the award, MDOT noted Brunner’s commitment to the quality and success of initiatives that he oversaw. He personally gathered feedback for a wide range of stakeholders in the development the Enterprise Asset Management System (EAMS) project and the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) winter operations system.

Brunner is also a certified "Train the Trainer" for MiTIME and personally assumed AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) safety initiatives. He has partnered with more than 100 agencies and trained approximately 450 responders.

He has also had significant involvement with the Towards Zero Deaths (TZD) initiative by personally creating informative presentations and materials.