Peter Cutul

Assistant Site Supervisor/Educator, Fort Montgomery State Historic Site

Discover the dynamic and intriguing history of one the most dramatic sections of the Hudson River! Traveling from the World’s End to the Devil’s Horse Race—as this stretch of the Hudson was historically known—you’ll find out what Muheakantuck, the local Native American name for the Hudson means, hear tales of a Dutch goblin wreaking havoc on colonial sailors, discover the history of West Point and early America’s attempts to chain the river, hear firsthand accounts of the dramatic Revolutionary War Battle of the Twin Forts, ride under and learn about what was once world’s longest suspended span bridge and more.

Peter Vanderzee

President and CEO, LifeSpan Technologies, Atlanta, Georgia

Peter Vanderzee holds two engineering degrees: a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York and a Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Mr. Vanderzee started his working career as a production engineer at the U.S. Army Electronics Command. After several years in research and development, he accepted a position with a Texas- based energy and mining business. He held a variety of management positions over the next 10 years; including oil trading, project management and corporate strategic planning. He then joined an environmental start-up, being named President and CEO after two years. With two subsequent employers, in construction and civil engineering technology, he held executive positions in construction services, sales, business development and corporate administration.

In 2000, Mr. Vanderzee started a consulting business, Launch-Right, LLC focused on technology commercialization. His first client, LifeSpan Technologies, asked him to lead the firm as it developed and launched a commercialization program for its patented structural monitoring technology. Mr. Vanderzee led the development of LifeSpan’s business while helping to define the most appropriate use of structural monitoring technology in this emerging market. With his 20+ year history in this business, he is an internationally recognized practitioner of structural monitoring technology, a thought leader, author of numerous published articles and White Papers, and served as an expert witness for the American Trucking Association. His opinion is valued by regulators and national transportation policy makers as a long-time member of the National Academies Transportation Research Board Bridge Structures Management Committee. He was principal author/editor of a 2019 published TRB e-Circular for State DOTs, engineering consultants and structure owners, titled “Structural Monitoring”.

Joseph Sharko

Pure Technologies

Mr. Sharko has over 15 years of experience providing acoustic monitoring technology solutions to improve the manner in which civil infrastructure is assessed and managed. As a Technical Product Lead overseeing technical training, best practices, and standardization he has successfully driven continuous improvement for project delivery. Extensive system design in conjunction with project management experience has lead Mr. Sharko to have an exhaustive understanding of the technology used to evaluate and monitor prestressing in buildings, bridges, and pipelines.

Jeffrey Wright

P.E., Chief Engineer, New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA)

Jeffrey Wright is Chief Engineer of the New York State Bridge Authority which owns and operates six major crossings over the Hudson River. Two of the crossings are suspension bridges: the Mid-Hudson Bridge opened in 1930 and the Bear Mountain Bridge opened in 1924 as the world’s longest suspension bridge. One of the other crossings, The Walkway over the Hudson Bridge originally opened as a railroad bridge in 1889 is now the world’s longest elevated pedestrian bridge. The other crossings include the Newburgh-Beacon Bridges, 2 articulated deck truss spans, the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, a continuous under deck truss, and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, a cantilevered and under deck truss bridge.

Jeff is responsible for maintaining the NYSBA bridges and infrastructure in good condition for their long term safety and stability. During his time as the Chief Engineer, Jeff has been in charge of overseeing the design and construction of the Authority’s largest capital project, the $101 million Newburgh-Beacon Bridge North Span re-decking. He is also instrumental in educating others about engineering and potential careers in the construction field by giving tours and talks to Master Teachers and students from middle school through college.

Mr. Wright is currently on the boards of the International Cable Supported Bridge Operators Association (ICSBOA) and Historic Bridges of the Hudson Valley (HBHV). ICSBOA ensures that members understand their responsibility to create awareness of the importance of maintaining the highest standards of maintenance and operations and in turn, safety of bridges. Currently Mr. Wright is planning the 2024 ICSBOA conference, which will be hosted by the NYSBA at the Bear Mountain Bridge and West Point. HBHV promotes the cultural awareness and general knowledge of Hudson Valley bridge history and the art of civil engineering, architecture, and bridge science.

Prior to joining the Bridge Authority, Mr. Wright worked in the private sector for consultants for 30 years. He was heavily involved in managing bridge inspections and construction projects where he was the Resident Engineer on many projects for the Authority. Jeff received his BS in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Dr. Thomas Matarazzo

Assistant Professor with the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering and an Associate Director of High-Performance Computing with the Center for Innovation and Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy West Point

Dr. Thomas Matarazzo’s research specializes in monitoring and intelligence systems for civil and urban infrastructure, mobile sensor networks, autonomous sensing platforms, and multipurpose sensor data and urban services. He received a B.S. degree (summa cum laude) in Civil Engineering from Manhattan College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Structural Engineering from Lehigh University. He has postdoctoral research experience from Kyoto University, MIT, and Cornell Tech on multidisciplinary projects spanning earthquake engineering, structural health monitoring, machine learning, and urban sensing. He taught a new graduate course at Columbia University “Data Science Methods for Urban Systems” in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He is a recipient of several awards such as the NSF EAPSI fellowship and Microsoft AI for Earth Award.