Employees Archives Page 5 of 6 - Rani Engineering, LLC

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at Dickinson office makes it official

Business Development, Employees, Land Surveying, Site Engineering, Systems Engineering, Updates

Rani Engineering now has an established presence in Dickinson, N.D. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held March 5 at the firm’s office at 3214 – 111^th Ave. SW, Suite 102, despite a snowstorm that threatened to keep Susan Park Rani, PE and president of Rani Engineering, stuck in the Twin Cities.

Among those attending the event were Cooper Whitman of the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce, and Robert Swanson, PE, of Rani’s new office. Swanson, who will manage the office, grew up in Bismarck, N.D. He is a civil engineer who brings particular expertise in private development projects and K-12 schools.

Rani Engineering is pleased to have a presence in Dickinson as the firm takes a more active role in the increased development in North Dakota. Rani focuses primarily on three areas of discipline: civil engineering, land surveying, and rail signal engineering. The company currently is working on a number of land surveying and rail signal projects under way in North Dakota.

Founded in 1993 by Susan Park Rani and two employees, Rani Engineering has more than 40 employees and has been involved with projects throughout the Midwest, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Susan Park Rani Honored as “Pioneer”

Awards, Employees, Recognition, Updates

The National Association of Women Business Owners-Minnesota (NAWBO-MN) chose Susan Park Rani, president of Rani Engineering, to receive its 2012 Woman Pioneer Award. The honor was presented Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the NAWBO-MN Achieve! Awards Event at the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis.

NAWBO-MN provides a local avenue for women entrepreneurs to connect with their peers. Female owners of businesses large and small join together for regular networking, educational programs, mentorship and support.

Nationally, NAWBO was founded in 1975 to open doors for women entrepreneurs by transforming public policy and leveling the playing field. Representing the issues and concerns of women-owned businesses at the national, state and local levels, NAWBO is in the forefront of advocating on behalf of women business owners and the issues that have an impact on their companies.

Rani speaks at WTS at Regional Transportation Authority in Chicago

Business Development, Employees, Recognition, Updates

Susan Park Rani, founder and president of Rani Engineering, was one of two featured speakers at a professional development panel at the Regional Transportation Authority in Chicago on Oct. 30.

The presentation was sponsored by the Greater Chicago Chapter of WTS Advancing Women in Transportation. Rani Engineering, which has numerous civil engineering and surveying projects, is especially growing in rail signal engineering.

Ms. Rani joined Deborah Sawyer, founder and president of EDI (Environmental Design International) of Chicago, to speak about challenges and issues of entrepreneurship in the fields of engineering and transportation. Ms. Sawyer started her career as an environmental scientist and recently received Chicago Magazine’s Green Award.

The panel was moderated by Emma Kowalenko, senior environmental planner and president of Kowalenko Consulting Group Inc., (KCG).

Founded in 1977, WTS was initially created as “Women’s Transportation Seminars.” It is now an international organization with more than 5,000 members.

Rani engineers mentor students in Future Cities program

Business Development, Employees, Updates

Rani engineers Andy Wells, Carla Fischer, and Amanda Bergstrom acted as engineering mentors for three teams from Columbia Academy (Columbia Heights) in the Future Cities competition, a national engineering competition for middle school students. They worked weekly with the students from October through January, and helped teach the students about engineering.

Skills students develop through Future Cities include the ability to work as a team; identify problems; brainstorm ideas; design solutions; test, retest and build; and share results.

Students were to design a futuristic city with an emphasis on storm water management, write a narrative explaining the storm water management practices they used, and build a scale model of a portion of their city. Finally, they prepared and gave a presentation on their design.

The teams from Columbia Academy, along with 47 other teams from across the state, presented their cities at the Minnesota state competition on Jan. 19 at the University of Minnesota. Two Columbia Academy teams came away with special awards: one for Excellence in Engineering and the other for Most Environmentally Friendly Power Source.

Minnesota’s winning team was from Grandview Middle School, Westonka. Winning teams from each state moved on to national competition in Washington, D.C., in February. The winners of the national competition were from Valley City, N.J. The topic for 2013-14 is “Tomorrow’s Transit: Design a way to move people in and around your city.”

Governor names Susan Park Rani to Compensation Council

Employees, Updates

Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Susan Park Rani to the Minnesota Compensation Council. The council makes recommendations on the salaries of certain legislative officials, judges, state supreme court justices, heads of state, metropolitan agencies and constitutional officers. The council considers the compensation paid to comparable positions in the public and private sector, the amount needed to attract and retain experienced and competent persons, and the ability of the state to pay the recommended amount.

The council is appointed in October of even-number years and dissolves after submitting its report to the legislature by May 1 in each odd-numbered year. The council comprises 16 members. Eight citizen members of the council are selected, one from each legislative district, by the governor. The other eight members are among the state’s legislative and judicial branches and are selected by leaders in those governmental branches.

Rani Engineering wins MnDOT award of excellence

Awards, Employees, Recognition, Updates

Rani Engineering has been named Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Contractor of the Year for 2012 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The award was announced in Minneapolis by MnDOT’s Office of Civil Rights in recognition of Rani Engineering’s “achievement as a small business owner and disadvantaged business enterprise program in Minnesota highway construction.” The award is given annually.

Susan Park Rani, president of Rani Engineering, said the award has usually gone to contractors, rather than engineering companies, in the past.