Ryk Dunkelberg Receives Prestigious Airport Noise Mitigation Award

Dec. 12, 2016

Mary Vigilante, left, of Synergy Consultants, along with John Johansen of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (not pictured) nominated Ryk Dunkelberg, center, for the award. Jim Elwood , right, director of aviation for Jackson Hole Airport and a longtime client and friend of Ryk’s, was asked to present the award.

Ryk Dunkelberg, Mead & Hunt’s planning and environmental national practice leader, accepted the 2016 Randy Jones Award for Excellence in Airport Noise Mitigation, Abatement and Management at the AAAE/ACI-NA Airport Noise Conference. He was nominated for his over four decades of work in aviation noise mitigation planning.

Among his cited achievements that led to this award:

He led one of the first Part 150 Noise Compatibility Studies in the country.
To date, he has led more than 45 of the most complicated Part 150 Studies in the country, including the Jackson Hole Airport Part 150 within Grand Teton National Park.
He taught the class on Part 150 Studies and Legal Implications of Airport Planning at the AAAE Accreditation Academy for 10 years.

Though Dunkelberg has accomplished much in his career, the specifics of why he was recognized for this award lie less in the number of projects he has managed or classes he has taught, and more in the way he approaches projects and, specifically, people. Dunkelberg approaches each meeting, especially the controversial ones, with an open and honest approach that allows the public to engage, learn and leave educated.

Dunkelberg has an uncanny ability to make a regulatory process accessible to people with a wide range of backgrounds, while never letting go of the important personal connections. This is one of the most impressive skills he contributes to his clients, his staff and the aviation industry as a whole.