Frank Garcia, principal in the design group in the Chicago, IL office, recently celebrated 40 years with MWH Global. In addition to a lifelong hobby, his career has given him unique perspective on the size and scale of wet infrastructure projects around the world.
Frank joined Harza Engineering (which merged to form MWH in 2001) in 1971 as a draftsman. Originally from the Philippines, he earned a degree in architecture, which helped steer an emphasis on structural engineering. Shortly after joining Harza, Frank had the opportunity to tour the Hoover Dam. “I was amazed at how big and impressive the project was,” he notes. Yet the world-renowned structure quickly faded in comparison to some of the projects he worked on with MWH, including the 3,200 MW Yacyreta Hydropower Project in Argentina, where shortly after that first trip to Nevada he spent three years on the project site. “I went on a vacation to Las Vegas when I returned from Argentina,” recalls Frank. “It seemed like the Hoover Dam had shrunk since my last trip, it’s definitely still impressive, but I got so used to the size of the Yacyreta project that my perspective had changed.”
These days, Frank is working on the Third Set of Locks project of the Panama Canal expansion, responsible for coordinating design efforts among the global design centers. “I think this is the most prestigious project I will have worked on,” he says. “Maybe not the biggest, but the most special, and I look forward to working on our next mega project.”
And about that hobby…while in Argentina, Frank picked up tennis. “There wasn’t much to do in Argentina at the time, so after work everyone played sport. I picked 
up tennis and still play four times a week,” he says. “Picking up tennis is a major benefit I can attribute to my career at MWH, and I’m proud to say I can now beat the people who taught me to play!”
Frank enjoys both tennis (pictured) and photography.
