“I am concerned with the lack of an appropriate mix between technical education and practical education in most four-year bachelor of science engineering programs. We need to instigate and achieve greater interaction and dialogue between engineers in practice and student engineers.”

Eugene M. Bard

President, Founder and Chief Mechanical Engineer
Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, LLC

As President and Founder of Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, LLC (BR+A), Gene Bard oversees this 220+ person firm which provides mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection engineering and building commissioning services to a variety of healthcare, research, academic and corporate clients nationwide. BR+A, founded in 1975, maintains its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and has branch offices in New York, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Bard has been involved with heating, ventilating and air conditioning engineering for over 35 years and is a Registered Professional Engineer in 37 states. Mr. Bard has provided consulting engineering services on many large-scale, architecturally oriented building projects for clients such as Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Duke University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and many more.

Active in engineering education, Mr. Bard has taught Mechanical Engineering at the Rhode Island School of Design, been a guest lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and presented at numerous technical conferences throughout the country. In addition, Mr. Bard has received the National 1st Place ASHRAE Technology Award "Recognizing Outstanding Achievement in the Design and Operation of Energy-Efficient Buildings," as well as a National Award for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy from the U.S. Department of Energy. He has provided invaluable professional advice and, with his firm, sustained financial support for the creation of the Department of Architectural Engineering Living Laboratory.

Mr. Bard is a Penn State architectural engineering graduate. In 1990, he was named an outstanding Engineering Alumnus, and in 1995 the University named him an Alumni Fellow. Currently, Mr. Bard is a Board Member, Leonard Center Advisory Board, for the College of Engineering.