Meet Our Senior Technical Staff

---

 As the Director of Engineering, Mr. Knieriem is responsible for the oversight of all IFE projects. He has over 14 years of specialized experience in pavement design, research, and management. He plays a key role in advancing IFE’s position as a leader in innovative pavement management technologies and solutions. He possesses extensive expertise in leveraging pavement condition assessments and non-destructive testing to develop and implement comprehensive pavement management programs and cost-effective Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs). His project management experience spans the full spectrum of pavement evaluation methodologies, including data collection, analysis, and reporting for digital survey vehicle profiling and Pavement Condition Index (PCI) surveys, foot-on-ground PCI surveys, small Unmanned Aircraft System PCI surveys, Heavy Weight Deflectometer testing, pavement coring, soil borings, friction testing, ride quality testing, and Ground Penetrating Radar investigations. Over the past five years, Mr. Knieriem has successfully completed more than 200 network evaluations and pavement management program implementations. He is widely recognized as a subject matter expert in pavement modeling, maintenance and rehabilitation planning, and the development of strategic CIPs. 

 Mr. Speir has more than 40 years of experience in every facet of pavement engineering from design, forensic analysis and rehabilitation to pavement management and capital improvement planning and finally, to pavement research. Throughout his career, Mr. Speir has demonstrated his experience at every level of project execution in engineering and management, including planning, quality control, and design. He has performed and led dozens of projects on both airports and roadway networks at all levels.  He has a tremendous amount of experience managing projects varying from small to large over multiple years of his professional career. His experience includes managing multi-million-dollar indefinite delivery projects for the Federal Highway Administration, Maryland State Highway and Virginia Department of Transportation. Most recently, Mr. Speir was the Program Manager for multi-year, multi-million-dollar projects for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Technology Research Branch in Atlantic City, NJ. Mr. Speir had oversight of the FAA’s leading-edge research in airport pavement and safety technologies. Mr. Speir is also an Air Force veteran. He served as a Civil Engineering Officer where his duties included airfield design, base operations and maintenance support, and contingency operations. His final duty assignment was with the USAF’s Rapid Deployment construction force, RED HORSE. His responsibilities in this capacity required overseeing construction projects conducted by USAF forces inside and outside the continental U.S. 

 Brian Aho, PE, is a nationally recognized expert in airport pavement engineering with more than 25 years of experience conducting over 650 airfield pavement evaluations and leading pavement management efforts at hundreds of airports across the United States. He is widely sought after as a speaker for ASCE and aviation industry conferences, where he shares his expertise in pavement structural and functional condition assessments, pavement management best practices, and emerging evaluation technologies. Throughout his career, Mr. Aho has performed PCI surveys and structural evaluations at many of the nation’s busiest commercial airports—including Boston Logan, Denver International, and Houston Intercontinental—while directing large-scale statewide pavement management programs across more than a dozen states. He is known for modernizing how agencies use pavement data by integrating PAVER implementations, predictive maintenance planning, and innovative GIS-based decision-support tools that make condition information and repair strategies clear, accessible, and actionable. His work helps aviation agencies meet FAA requirements, justify AIP funding, and make informed long-term investment decisions. Mr. Aho holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois and is a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states.