Engineers Week Spotlight: Evan Miles is Making a Difference Through Engineering

Photo By Matthew Stinson | Evan Miles, regional stormwater program manager, is representing Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington for Engineers Week. He serves in the Environmental Business Line at NAVFAC Washington’s Core in Washington D.C.  

DC, UNITED STATES

02.19.2021

Story by Matthew Stinson 

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Washington

WASHINGTON - Evan Miles, regional stormwater program manager, is representing Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington for Engineers Week. He serves in the Environmental Business Line at NAVFAC Washington’s Core in Washington D.C.

Miles grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., and graduated from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N. Y., with a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering. He played lacrosse in college and coached at Arlington Youth Lacrosse Club in Arlington, Va., and T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. After working for The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, Miles joined the NAVFAC Washington team as an Environmental Project Manager in the autumn of 2015.

“I find working on federal facilities fascinating, especially military facilities,” Miles said. “I have been fortunate to experience things like walking on a pier next to an active aircraft carrier in Norfolk and working on a project inside the Vice President’s Residence. These are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”

In his time serving with NAVFAC Washington, Miles has gone above and beyond by taking on interim responsibilities, such as working as the Stormwater Program Manager and Air Program Manager at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Currently, he works on projects that deal with sampling at naval bases in the National Capital Region, as well as inspections and surveys of existing stormwater controls. The variety of projects in the area give Miles a chance to face new challenges and difficult situations that require teamwork and analytical thinking to come up with solutions.

“I have always had a knack for problem solving, whether it be fixing a broken sink when I was younger, to now figuring out ways to keep our rivers clean. People do not typically think about how a bridge was built or where flushed toilet water goes, but engineers do. I enjoy knowing what work goes on behind the scenes to make everyday things like turning on a faucet for a drink of water seem as natural as blinking your eyes.”

Miles acknowledges that now, and into the future, there can never really be enough engineers. As technology and society advances, a whole host of new problems require innovative solutions that only engineers can dream up. This fact inspires and motivates him.

“The sense of accomplishment in seeing the physical difference you have made on society - whether it be a new road, a more efficient machine, or cleaner waterways - cannot be matched.”

• Date Taken: 02.19.2021
• Date Posted: 02.19.2021 23:04
• Story ID: 389450
• Location: DC, US
• Hometown: SYRACUSE, NY, US