Michael Mains, a senior design lead with AECOM in Vancouver, has capped off the first decade of his career with the 2021 Young Tunneller of the Year award from the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association. The honour is one of seven the Swiss-based organization bestowed this year to recognize innovation and excellence in tunnelling and underground construction projects.
“For the companies he has worked for, Michael not only assumes leadership roles on a project level but has a demonstrated history of leading internal working groups on various technical subjects and has written several internal company design manuals on a variety of tunnel related subjects,” the award citation proclaims.
Thus far, his expertise has taken him from Vancouver to San Francisco to Paris and back to his home province of British Columbia, during which time he has worked on some of the world’s biggest projects. He is a licensed professional engineer in both Canada and the United States, and holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from McGill University and a Master of Civil Engineering from University of British Columbia.
The Young Tunneller of the Year is the only individual award in the annual competition. This year’s other accolades went to projects in Argentina, China, France, Malaysia and Norway, including the €900 million (CAD $1.28 billion) Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Putrajaya Line Tunnels and Underground Station Works in Malaysia, which was named the Major Project of the Year.
