Civil engineering rarely follows a straight path across continents, climates, and regulatory systems. Yet Suha Atiyeh has built a career defined by exactly that kind of global adaptability, applying sustainable design principles in both the flood-prone streets of Washington DC and the arid landscapes of the Middle East.
Her professional journey began at Clemson University, where intensive training in hydrology and environmental systems laid the groundwork for a career focused on water-conscious infrastructure. That academic foundation became the lens through which she approached every subsequent project, regardless of geography. Early roles with global consulting firms exposed her to diverse regulatory environments and reinforced a critical lesson: effective sustainability must respond to local conditions rather than follow rigid templates.
In Washington DC, Atiyeh became known for redesigning urban corridors using green stormwater infrastructure. Projects such as Wheeler Road SE and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue integrated bioswales, permeable pavements, and rain gardens to manage rainfall volume while improving pedestrian safety and neighborhood aesthetics. These systems were engineered not only to meet regulatory requirements but also to deliver measurable reductions in flooding and heat buildup.
At the same time, her work in the United Arab Emirates presented an entirely different set of challenges. In desert environments characterized by extreme heat, limited water resources, and sudden flash floods, sustainability demanded precision. Atiyeh contributed to Masdar City—one of the world’s most ambitious zero-carbon developments—and led regional stormwater and flood mitigation initiatives. Here, water conservation, controlled retention, and high-performance materials were essential to protecting both infrastructure and public health.
Despite the contrast between humid and arid climates, her design philosophy remained consistent. Sustainable engineering, in her view, must be evidence-based, climate-responsive, and culturally informed. Solutions that succeed in one region must be recalibrated—sometimes radically—to perform in another. This mindset is supported by her rare combination of credentials: Professional Engineer licensure in Washington DC and Virginia, Chartered Engineer status in the United Kingdom, and sustainability certifications spanning LEED, Envision, and Estidama Pearl.
Today, Atiyeh leverages this global perspective in a leadership capacity. As the Institution of Civil Engineers Representative for the US Mid-Atlantic South Region, she facilitates knowledge exchange between regions and mentors engineers to think beyond local codes. By sharing lessons learned from projects on multiple continents, Suha Atiyeh reinforces the idea that climate resilience is a global responsibility.
Her career demonstrates that sustainable engineering is not defined by location but by the ability to adapt universal principles to real-world contexts—wherever those contexts may be.
