By Ahmad Soueid, AIA LEED AP BD+C, 2022-23 IEST Executive Board President

For many of us, IEST is more than a professional organization. We may have been drawn to the education and training offered by its experts, but we stay because of the people we meet and the relationships that we’ve built along the way. In this blog, I would like to recognize the achievements of a friend and colleague who, like many IEST leaders, generously shared his unique technical knowledge to advance the professional careers of many others around him.

Recently, I was able to posthumously honor a dear friend with the 2023 IEST President’s Award. Louis Steven Vitale, Jr. (Lou Vitale) was a long-term contributor to the field of Electromagnetics and Radio Frequency interferences. With his passing on February 14, 2022, the controlled environments community lost a great technical leader. Personally, I lost a wonderful story telling colleague, a respected and talented supporter, and a warm and funny friend.

Lou was a pioneer in his field for many decades and his project achievements have spanned the globe. As a trusted advisor for clients seeking effective solutions for complex shielding problems, Lou consulted, designed and built shields in highly controlled environments. He supported the IEST Nanotechnology and Contamination Control programs by contributing his technical know-how while participating and co-chairing nanotechnology working groups.

I have worked with Lou for more than two decades on projects all over the world, from the U.S. and Canada to the Middle East and Australia. I learned a lot from him over the years. I always enjoyed the opportunities to talk to him and listen to his perspective on life while he mixed his unique sense of humor with his undeniable wit and charm.

Lou’s personality was larger than life. He was never shy to demonstrate his technical excellence by eloquently mixing his Queens, New York, accent and his great sense of humor with a healthy dose of attitude that only an expert in his field could demonstrate. For people that never interacted with him, his unpredictable approach was, at times, an “acquired taste.” Lou would initially catch his audience by surprise through his unique delivery but it never took him long to command the room and capture the respect of everyone that spent time with him.

Professionally and personally, Lou projected a tough New York outside but carried a very gentle heart inside. He was a mentor to architects, engineers, consultants, technicians, contractors, and co-workers. He was a loving family man and proudly shared updates about his wife Debbie and his daughters Christina and Jessica. He will be missed by all.

Here at IEST, we are surrounded by many thought leaders that, like Lou, positively impact our community in significant ways. It is unfortunate that we, sometimes, may not fully appreciate the value of our peers until they are no longer with us. I encourage everyone to nurture all relationships made through IEST, learn from the trailblazers that surround us, and use the many tools at our disposal to reinforce our common commitment to excellence in the environmental sciences and technology that defines IEST.

Ahmad Soueid, Principal at HDR Architecture, Inc., is the 2022-23 IEST Executive Board President.