File:National Engineers Week 2016 (24653365963).jpg

As NAVFAC Atlantic's Engineer of the Year, Stephen Ericson, made the government his life's work, joining the ranks of federal employment in 1981. Three years later, he made his way to NAVFAC where he's been a leader in mechanical engineering ever since. Ericson is involved in all areas of installation management -- designing, building, operating and maintaining myriad of building types and facilities. It's that diversity he finds challenging and rewarding: "Every day is a different day. You never know what's going to happen!"

Ericson centered his focus on mechanical engineering early, earning his bachelor's at Virginia Tech and his master's at Old Dominion University. From there, he would go on to earn a diploma in strategic studies at the Naval War College. An advocate of life-long study, Ericson was once an college instructor for City Colleges of ‪Chicago‬ with a fresh approach toward math: "I taught calculus and physics in college and told students to think of math as a language. In that way, we can analyze the physical world and find solutions."