LOS ANGELES, CA Thornton Tomasetti announces that Derya Thompson, CEng, MIStructE, ENV SP, joined the firm's Weidlinger Transportation practice as a Senior Vice President and U.S. West Region Leader. Thompson has more than 25 years of design-build and P3 (public-private partnership) experience in the design, delivery, procurement and management of complex transportation and infrastructure projects, including highways, bridges and railroads in North America, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Prior to joining Thornton Tomasetti, Thompson was Director of Complex Bridges and Structures at Jacobs Engineering Group, focusing on the Southern California region and the design and delivery of more than 20 rail and road bridges as part of the California High Speed Rail construction project. She spent most of her career at Arup, and served as bridge and civil structures practice leader for the Americas. 

Notable projects during her career include the design and project management of the $1-billion Gerald Desmond Replacement Bridge at the Port of Long Beach, the first cable-stayed bridge in California. Thompson also consulted on the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York and the three-level Turcot Interchange and Nouvelle Autoroute 30, both in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A strong proponent of innovation, she currently serves as a senior consultant for design integration with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, the next-generation high-speed transit system involving electric propulsion through low-pressure tubes.

Thompson is a chartered structural and civil engineer in the United Kingdom and an Envision Sustainability Professional. She is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Institution of Structural Engineers and Institution of Civil Engineers, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects and the Los Angeles chapter of the Women's Transportation Seminar. 

She holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey, and a bachelor of engineering degree in civil engineering from the University of Warwick in Coventry, United Kingdom. 

"We are excited to have Derya join Thornton Tomasetti," said Samuel L. Summerville, PE, Senior Principal and Weidlinger Transportation Practice Leader. "With her extensive background in large, complex projects, Derya will enable us to expand our capabilities to better address client needs while achieving our business goals for the U.S. West Region."