During his last visit to the University of Delaware campus, Richard E. Hangen, EG '63, stood on the steps of Brown Hall and reflected on the extent of his 38-year professional life.
Hangen's career at the University began back in the post-Sputnik Cold War days. He said one of the reasons he chose UD was because of its reputation in chemistry--an early area of interest for him--and that "it seemed like a friendly place."
In 1965, Hangen wed the former Claire Zernoski, AS '65. They are now among the 7,000 households of Double Dels, alumni married to other UD grads.
The fundamentals Hangen learned at the University were a strong foundation on which he has built a successful career. Hangen began work at Modjeski and Masters in Philadelphia and then moved on to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. During this time, he earned a master's degree in civil engineering from Drexel University, became a registered professional engineer in six states and worked on major transportation projects in the United States and India.
After eight years as a vice president with PRC/Alan Voorhees and Associates, he decided to start his own firm. In 1979, he co-founded Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB), an engineering consulting firm that provides integrated transportation, land development and environmental services. After serving as the company's president and CEO for more than 20 years, he passed the torch but continues as chairman of VHB's board of directors. Under Hangen's skilled leadership, VHB has grown from six engineers to the 95th-largest design firm in the U.S., as ranked by Engineering News-Record. The firm now has 14 offices that extend from New Hampshire to Florida, with more than 700 employees. As a transportation planner, Hangen is involved in such large-scale projects as Boston's central artery/tunnel project, also known as "The Big Dig," and the I-66 multi mode corridor study in the Washington, D.C., area.
His success has enabled him to pledge $50,000 to the Du Pont Hall expansion, affiliating his name with the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) laboratory, a facility that will provide tools for modern transportation planning. One of three university-based transportation control laboratories in the nation, it uses leading-edge communications and information technologies to smooth the flow of traffic throughout Delaware.