2012 Company of the Year – BNSF Railway

BNSF was honored as 2012 Company of the Year at the annual Engineering Awards and Company of the Year Banquet, April 26. The Company of the Year is chosen by members of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honorary Society based on exhibited commitment to engineering education, and to high standards and quality performance in the engineering profession. Emeritus Dean Donald E. Rathbone established the Company of the Year award in 1974. BNSF was created on Sept. 22, 1995, from the merger of Burlington Northern Inc., parent company of Burlington Northern Railroad and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, parent company of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. On Feb. 12, 2010, BNSF became a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Now headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, BNSF Railway operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, covering the western two-thirds of the United States. The BNSF Railway Foundation supports communities by funding a wide variety of arts and social service organizations, and college scholarship programs. Since 2000, the BNSF Railway Foundation has contributed $46 million to educational, cultural and other worthy programs in communities served. Carl Ice, IE ’79, president and chief operating officer of BNSF, served as representative of the Company of the Year and spoke at the banquet.