Daniela López, PE

National Practice Lead of Hydraulic Modeling & Planning | Founding Chair of Hydraulic Modeling WEAT Committee

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years of industry experience
Women in Engineering Advocate and Mentor

We need to understand that if we all work on issues together, it’s going to be faster, broader, better, and more thorough than anything we can do on our own.”  
–  Ellen Pao, Current CEO and Co-Founder of Project Include

In Daniela's second year of University, she changed her field of study from International Business to the College of Engineering. This was primarily due to working part-time with the Women in Engineering Recruitment Program. She met two professor-engineers, Elizabeth Hart and Laura Bistrek, who became career mentors and inspired her to make bold impacts on environmental engineering.

Positively impacting young professionals, communities, and the environment has become her passion.  During the pandemic, the world's attention shifted to the essential nature of sanitation and water systems in maintaining good health and quality of life. Daniela applies her natural attention to detail, rigorously probing system mechanics and out-of-the-box thinking to infrastructure planning and hydraulic modeling. This translates to well-conceived regulatory compliance, integration of advanced modeling techniques, and evergreen infrastructure models.

The experience that sets her apart

Due to aging infrastructure, climate change, and evolving community demands, engineers are increasingly focused on accurately forecasting municipal hydraulic performance, given its critical role in capital improvement planning. Helping Public Works owners to identify and resolve capacity issues and flow bottlenecks is Daniela’s specialty. Leveraging the science of water and wastewater systems, she tailors predictive models to evolve with the changing system configurations and storm scenarios, forecast wet- and dry-weather behavior under conditional parameters, and facilitate enduring infrastructure solutions.

Where others see a jumble of statistical and analytical flow indicators, Daniela and her team apply methodical analysis to facilitate integrated decision-making tools. Planning decisions become well-informed.  Alternative designs and contingencies can be developed to reduce risk and enhance resilience.

Credentials & Certifications

  • Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas and Arkansas
  • BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Dayton
  • OSHA 10-Hour Safety Certification  

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