OAK BROOK, IL  Huff & Huff, Inc., a subsidiary of GZA, a leading environmental and geotechnical consulting firm, announces that it will receive a 2016 American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Illinois Honor Award for Engineering Excellence for a remediation project associated with redevelopment of a strip mall that housed a former dry cleaning establishment into an athletic recreational center for the village of Woodridge, Illinois, and the Woodbridge Park District.

Huff & Huff was tasked with remediating the site to maintain a tight construction schedule. The firm utilized its license from NASA for Emulsified Zero-Valent Iron, or EZVI, to cost-effectively accomplish its goal. EZVI destroys chlorinated solvents using a combination of a chemical reaction with micro-scale iron and microbial degradation stimulated by the fermentation of the vegetable oil contained in the EZVI.

The Engineering Excellence Awards are presented to projects that encompass both the public and private sector. Huff & Huff was selected for the honor award - the highest designation - for its innovative and effective approach to remediation that maintained the client's construction schedule, while also creating a significant cost savings.

Each year, ACEC member firms submit projects that are judged on a rigorous set of criteria, including complexity, innovation and value to society. These projects are judged by a panel of industry experts, which includes military and government officials, ACEC National and International leadership, educators from colleges' and universities' engineering departments and leadership from other organizations dedicated to the built environment.  

ACEC-Illinois will recognize Huff & Huff at the Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Luncheon on February 11, 2016, at the Marriot Hotel in Normal, Illinois.