Jason Fuehne, PE
Associate Section Manager
Burns & McDonnell
Age: 38
- Alma Mater: University of Illinois
- Favorite Aircraft: A-10 Warthog
- Favorite Book: Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld
- Favorite Movie: The Godfather
- Favorite Hobbies: Playing Slow Pitch Softball, Playing the Drums
Growing up near St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), Jason Fuehne got a love for aviation watching planes fly by.TWA flights would come into STL along with myriad other planes, which sparked his interest about the whole industry.
“We really didn’t fly much so the whole thing was a mystery to me,” he said. “I thought it was really interesting.”
Fuehne, PE, is an associate and section manager for the aviation group at Burns & McDonnell, serving as a civil engineer for the firm since 2004.
His work experience includes more than 250 aviation projects, specializing in airfield pavement, including: airfield design pavement and drainage for runways and taxiways; Airfield planning projects pavement maintenance and management; and site design, pavement design, storm drainage design and utility layouts.
In the last five years, Fuehe has led five airfield pavement programs each with a construction value of $10 million or more.
“The people make the industry,” he said. “I think everyone I’ve met has a great story about how they got to where they are today.
He recently led a collaborative effort to develop a specification for airfield concrete for one of Burns & McDonnell’s most important clients. Seeing a need for discussion and agreement around best practices, he brought together leaders in the pavement industry, including representatives from the FAA and municipalities, where they developed a specification that not only reduced the airport risks but also increased reliability long-term for the client.
He was instrumental in leading Burns & McDonnell into a new business line with pavement management systems in statewide and airport-wide programs. Several large contract wins have resulted from Fuehne’s efforts.
“I’m very proud of our team’s work at Kansas City International on the airside infrastructure,” he said. “Runway 1R-19L at MCI was really the project that brought together a lot of our skills and hopefully helped to further the conversation about quality materials in airfield construction.”
Fuehne is becoming widely recognized as an innovative leader in the aviation industry with his knowledge of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) processes and criteria as he applies them to everyday challenges specifically with airfield pavement.
He is nationally recognized in airfield paving, speaking nationwide at conferences about best practices for pavement and construction maintenance.
