Sharing the love of Geotechnical Engineering
University of Alaska Fairbanks alumna Amy Steiner, PE, a senior geotechnical engineer at PND Engineers, is giving back to her alma mater. Earlier this month, Steiner became a board member of the UAF College of Engineering and Mines Advisory and Development Council.
“Our goals for the ADC are to ensure that CEM is meeting and responding to public and private sector needs for education and research, producing graduates that meet industry demands, and that the college is prepared to take advantage of local, regional, and statewide funding opportunities,” UAF Chancellor Daniel White said in a news release.
“The ADC also plays an important role in our accreditation process. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology requires that all accredited programs be continuously assessed and improved to better achieve the desired outcomes. Feedback from employers and our advisory board about our engineering graduates is essential to our assessment of these programs, as is identification of changes needed to ensure that our graduates have the knowledge and skills required by industry.”
Steiner graduated from UAF with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 2012. She received a Master of Science degree in Geotechnical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands, in 2016. She has worked for PND since January 2017, providing geotechnical engineering analysis, design, and recommendations for multiple projects across Alaska, including the North Slope.
Amy Steiner
PND
Current Issue
January 2026
The CEMADC, according to its website, “is composed of industry leaders and engaged engineering alumni who are engaged in providing the necessary resources to educate the next generation of arctic-trained engineers, and focused on industry requirements and workforce development in Alaska and beyond. Members are active participants in advocacy efforts in support of the college and the mission of the University of Alaska.”
Steiner is one of several University of Alaska alumni on PND’s payroll. Of the company’s 100-plus employees, nearly half are UA alumni, according to PND Principal Engineer and University of Alaska Anchorage alumnus Paul Kendall, PE, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2001.
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“We hire a wide cross section, but more often than not, with time, most of the people that we hire from UAA or UAF tend to be with the company for 10 years or more,” said Kendall, who has worked for PND since 2005. “From an employment standpoint, it helps us with retention. Additionally, it also provides us with engineers who have a background in the types of things we do even if they don’t realize it, just because they’ve lived around it so long.
“The fact that you have a university that provides capable people, who are from here and more likely to stay, has proven itself to be a positive outcome over and over again,” Kendall said.
Steiner is one of eighteen members on the board and the only PND representative. Potential members are identified by the CEMADC, vetted by a CEMADC committee, then must be approved by the CEM dean and the UAF chancellor. Steiner may serve on the board for a total of three two-year terms.
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