Ray Sweeney

Ray graduated from Washington and Lee in 2007 with a B.S. degree in Physics-Engineering and Chemistry-Engineering before obtaining a Masters of Engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Civil Engineering. He works as a structural engineer for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in New York City, an architecture and engineering firm specializing in the design of tall buildings. With SOM, Ray has been involved in the design of buildings varying from airport terminals to athletic stadiums and skyscrapers to academic buildings.

"When I was considering schools, I knew I was interested in pursuing a math and science major, and Washington and Lee afforded me the opportunity to study engineering while at the same time taking courses to hone my written and verbal communication skills. At W&L, professors are clearly invested in their students and emphasize the ability to apply engineering methods to real-world problems rather than the simple memorization of the material. The opportunity to work as a research assistant with Dr. Van Ness and Dr. Kuehner provided additional experience in a non-classroom environment. The skills gained in my time at W&L have proven to be valuable resources in the architecture-engineering-construction field, where you must be technically proficient while also being able to explain your ideas to a range of people including clients, architects and other engineers."