Erhan Atay of West Windsor received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from Newark College of Engineering at a banquet held Friday, April 2, in Newark. He received a bachelor’s degree (1980) and a master’s degree (1982) in civil engineering from NCE.
He received the award for helping the college in several ways and for being a role model for current students. NCE is one of six colleges that constitute New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Atay, a project director for Washington Group International, is coordinator for his employer’s participation in housing and community development projects sponsored by Habitat for Humanity. Washington Group is an integrated engineering, construction, and management firm, located in Carnegie Center, West Windsor. Atay is responsible for projects in Turkey and other countries in the Middle East and Central Asia. He is representative to the United Nationals for the Institute of Turkish Studies, and is a former national president of the Federation of Turkish American Associations.
Atay, and his wife, Iclal, moved to Jersey City from Turkey after hearing about New Jersey Institute of Technology. While Atay was completing his studies, Iclal completed a master’s degree in environment engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering. She works as assistant director of the Air Quality Permitting Program for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Their son, Atahan, is a student in the electrical and computer engineering department of NJIT.
