Jihyon Im Named One of the American Water Works Association’s “5 Under 35”

MANCHESTER, N.H.– CDM Smith is pleased to congrat­u­late Jihyon (Ji) Im, PE on being named one of the inaugural “5 Under 35 - Outstanding Young Professional Award” by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). This award recognizes and honors young profes­sional (YP) AWWA members who have demon­strated outstanding service through leadership and active partic­i­pa­tion in young profes­sional programs.

Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, Im is a CDM Smith envi­ron­men­tal engineer special­iz­ing in drinking water treatment and water quality projects for municipal clients. Her expertise lies in designing new water treatment facilities and existing plant upgrades, as well as conducting studies for master planning, treatment evaluations and water quality analyses. Her work has involved tackling both conven­tional and emerging water quality challenges, such as per- and poly­flu­o­roalkyl substances (PFAS), disin­fec­tion byproducts (DBPs), lead/copper in drinking water and more.

In addition to this award, Im is the incoming Chair of the AWWA Young Profes­sion­als Committee, which plans and hosts the Annual Young Profes­sional Summit, the premier water and wastewater industry workshop for young profes­sion­als attended by AWWA and Water Environment Federation members every year. After joining the committee six years ago, Im was intimately involved with committee initiatives and led many of them, such as YP programming at AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) and student chapter outreach. She is also finishing her third year as a YP Liaison to the AWWA Technical and Educational Council (TEC) that oversees 61 committees. On the section level, Im currently serves as the Secretary of the New England Water Works Association (NEWWA) Program Committee that puts together all NEWWA's conference programs and technical sessions. She is also the founder of the NEWWA University Outreach Committee and an active member of the NEWWA YP Committee.

“I’m honored and humbled to have been selected for this award,” said Im. “I feel lucky to have found a strong community of friends and mentors in the water industry through AWWA and NEWWA, and tremen­dously value those rela­tion­ships. I genuinely enjoy and appreciate the oppor­tu­ni­ties to contribute to strength­en­ing and advancing the water community through volunteer work and look forward to continue to grow as an engineer, leader and individual among my fellow YPs of the industry.”

“Ji is an incredibly smart engineer with contagious enthusiasm for the water profession,” said Lisa Gove, CDM Smith associate and the current president of NEWWA. “Having had the pleasure of working with Ji on CDM Smith projects and NEWWA committees, I know first-hand how Ji puts her A game into everything she does. This award is a well-deserved recognition of her skills and accom­plish­ments.”

CDM Smith provides lasting and integrated solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy and facilities to public and private clients worldwide. As a full-service engineering and construc­tion firm, we deliver exceptional client service, quality results and enduring value across the entire project life cycle.