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June 18, 2025
Bechtel recently appointed five new Bechtel Fellows, along with a new chair and vice chair. Bechtel Fellows are exceptional professionals recognized for their outstanding leadership and expertise. The appointments underscore Bechtel’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and excellence across the industry.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Bechtel Fellows program, which was originally established with the induction of four senior employees. Since then, the program has recognized more than 75 subject matter experts whose technical and professional expertise has advanced Bechtel’s work and shaped the industry. Bechtel Fellows have driven advancements in engineering, procurement, construction, and technology — setting new industry standards and transforming how we approach projects.
Vikas Joshi, Bechtel Manager of EPC Functions, expands on the contributions made by this group below and in a recent blog on Bechtel.com.
“At Bechtel, innovation isn’t just about new technology — it’s about finding better ways to solve tough challenges, improve safety, and deliver exceptional results for our customers. Our Fellows are at the heart of this effort. With deep technical expertise and a relentless drive for improvement, they develop and apply solutions that make a lasting impact.”
As leaders in fields such as rail systems, turbomachinery, materials science, electrical engineering, welding, geotechnical engineering, fluid dynamics, environmental engineering, and more, Bechtel Fellows drive industry progress. They also actively shape the future of their fields through professional societies, code committees, and conferences, while providing invaluable support and expertise to Bechtel customers on complex technical challenges.
The newly appointed Fellows include:
Sanjeev Bhatia joined Bechtel in 2009 and is currently the engineering manager for Renewable Energy. In this role, he leads the renewable engineering group responsible for project execution and proposals. He has been instrumental in positioning Bechtel as one of the leading EPC players for renewable projects. Sanjeev’s primary areas of expertise are electrical power systems and protection. He was recognized as a Bechtel Distinguished Technical Specialist (BDTS) in 2017.
Desmond Chan served as the manager of technology for the Nuclear, Security & Environmental (NS&E) GBU and Power GBU for the past 13 years. Since joining Bechtel in 2009, he has also held roles as the manager of nuclear licensing and chief nuclear and environmental engineer. Desmond’s areas of expertise span advanced nuclear reactors, fusion reactors, nuclear licensing, nuclear operation, nuclear liability risk assessment, nuclear accident response, and environmental engineering. He has been actively involved in Bechtel’s technical specialist programs and the mentoring of developing technical specialists.
Prem Kumar is currently a project engineer on NS&E’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) project. Since joining Bechtel in 1989, he has worked on various Bechtel projects nationally and internationally in various capacities, including Ghazlan, Elm Road, Browns Ferry, Turkey Point, Southern Nuclear, and more recently, AEDC for the U.S. Air Force. His area of expertise is in electrical power system analysis and protection. He was recognized as a BDTS in 2015.
Stephen (Spo) Spoljaric is the construction and supply chain integration manager for the Cardinal project within the Manufacturing & Technology GBU. Previously, he was the corporate manager for Bechtel Global Logistics, where he was integral in introducing an Engineered Logistics™ philosophy across all GBUs. Since becoming a BDTS in 2019, Spo has been at the forefront of innovation in supply chain. He recently led an industry group of experts with the Global Logistics Emissions Council to establish criteria for reporting Scope 3 carbon emissions. He has also served in various functional and project roles within the Energy GBU.
Matt Taher is an internationally recognized subject matter expert in turbomachinery with 24 years of experience, including 13 years at Bechtel. He is currently a turbomachinery technology manager at the LNG technology center in Houston and our lead technical resource in the emerging energy transition space, specializing in hydrogen compression and decarbonization applications. Matt was recognized as a BDTS in 2019.
The new Bechtel Fellow chair and vice chair:
Robert Janssen succeeds Stewart (Stew) Taylor as chair of the Bechtel Fellows. For the last eight years,Stew served first as vice chair and then as chair, where he helped increase the visibility and impact that the Fellows and all technical specialists have on our business. He also played a key role in updating the Fellows’ nomination and selection process to be more objective and inclusive and led the development of the current technical specialist career path, which includes Professional Technical Specialists, BDTS, and Bechtel Fellows.
Robert, the incoming chair,is a technical specialist in hydraulic and water resources engineering with over 30 years of experience. He is currently the project development manager for Infrastructure’s Heavy Civil business line in Australia. Since joining Bechtel in 1991 as a technical specialist, he has held roles as a principal engineer, chief engineer, Mining & Metals manager of studies, and study and project manager. He was named a Bechtel Fellow in 2011.
Robert has contributed to research and taught at universities in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Chile. He is active in Engineers Australia and chaired the Hydraulic Structures Technical Committee of the International Association of Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research. Robert is also the associate editor of the Journal of Applied Water Engineering and Research and regularly publishes and presents at international conferences.
Matt Jaouhari has been appointed as vice chair of the Fellows. He joined Bechtel in 2005 and is a technical specialist in piping engineering with a focus on pipe stress. He is currently an engineering manager for the Energy GBU in Houston. Previously, Matt served as the Energy GBU’s global plant design and piping (PD&P) chief engineer and PD&P workshop chair. He was named a Bechtel Fellow in 2022. Matt has resolved several complex issues, making a significant impact on Energy projects.
Matt serves as the vice chair (incoming chair) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers B31.3 Process Piping Code Committee’s design subgroup and on the Steering Committee for Process Industry Practice. He is an active member of the Process Piping Functional Group, holds two patents, and has authored or co-authored more than 25 professional publications, book chapters, and presentations at international conferences.
Learn more about Bechtel Fellows at www.bechtel.com.
Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers’ objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world’s infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.
Bechtel serves the Energy; Infrastructure; Manufacturing & Technology; Mining & Metals; and Nuclear, Security & Environmental markets. Our services span from initial planning and investment, through start-up and operations. www.bechtel.com
