raSmith founder named American Society of Civil Engineers fellow

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Richard Smith, founder and previous owner of raSmith, has been named a fellow by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ board of direction.

Being named an ASCE fellow, an honor bestowed on only 3% of the organization’s members, is someone who has made celebrated contributions to the industry and changed lives for the better.

“I am honored to be named an ASCE Fellow,” Smith said. “It is wonderful to look back and see that I have made a difference for so many, but also how so many have made a difference in me. raSmith represents the collective results of many professionals who are constantly contributing to its success.”

Smith has been a licensed professional engineer for the past 45 years and an ASCE member since 1981. He established his professional consulting engineering firm, raSmith, in 1978 with three founding principles: stability, quality and innovation. With only 10 employees, raSmith provided civil-engineering and land-surveying services primarily to local government entities in southeastern Wisconsin.

In November 2020, Smith sold raSmith to his son Richard Smith Jr., the firm’s current president. Smith now serves in a part-time advisory role as chairman. The company has more than 220 employees with seven office sites in Wisconsin, Illinois, and California and provides a wide range of consulting engineering services to both the private and public sectors.

An award-winning firm, raSmith has completed projects locally and throughout the U.S. in the areas of site planning and design, structural engineering, municipal engineering, transportation and traffic, surveying, development management, ecological services, landscape architecture, LiDAR, unmanned aircraft system, construction services and geographic information systems.