Thomas Warnock
Year Graduated: 
1985

Principal Engineer

PACE Engineering

Job Description

Mr. Warnock has been a member of the PACE Engineering team since 1988. He specializes in water and wastewater planning, funding, design, construction, and operation. His areas of particular expertise include:
• Project funding through USDA, CDBG, EDA, CWSRF, and DWSRF
• Preliminary Engineering Reports for water and wastewater projects
• Master Plans for water and wastewater agencies
• Particle removal studies to meet Surface Water Treatment Rule
• Pilot plant studies to remove iron, manganese, and arsenic
• Design of water and wastewater treatment plants
• Contract operation of water and wastewater treatment plants

Why did you choose this program?

Fate intervened and I switched from Forestry to Engineering when I secured a job at the Loleta Wastewater Treatment Plant. I found that water treatment engineering covered challenging disciplines including biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, and it provides endless opportunities in large and small communities throughout the world.

How did this program prepare you for your job?

The Environmental Resources Engineering Program gave me the tools to continue to learn and confidence to speak up when searching for solutions to planning, designing, constructing, operating and teaching about water treatment projects.

What did you enjoy most about the program?

The real-life experiences of the professors helped to provide a practical touch stone that I could relate to, i.e., here's a problem and this was the solution.

What would you say to prospective students who are thinking about applying to this program?

Buckle-in and get prepared to be overwhelmed with the endless possibilities offered. And then focus on a field that holds your interest because eventually you will need to get a job. Hopefully that job will likewise demand that you learn how to solve problems that appear insurmountable at first, but when completed that project provides an improvement to the community and environment.

Other comments?

Engage with your professors because they have so much experience that they are willing to share when time permits. Take a fun class to broaden your horizon. Secure a summer internship at an engineering company that puts you to work in the field which adds to your resume.