I grew up in western Washington and discovered Montana during my college experience. While I miss the coast, I love the clean mountain air and big blue skies, so chose to stay here. My college experience included playing football for the ‘Cats and pursuing an engineering degree, both of which are time-demanding activities! Following successful completion of both, I married a wonderful Wyoming girl and am the proud father of three. We reside in a small place just outside of town and enjoy time in the outdoors and in gymnasiums as a family when I’m not at work.

While at the office, I work with a great group of enthusiastic, bright, and friendly employees which makes our office productive and efficient. I enjoy applying the engineering knowledge I have accrued over the years into each project we produce, while learning as much as possible on a daily basis to improve our product and our industry in general. My goals include working hard to exceed our Clients’ expectations of our engineered designs, and in turn create a lifestyle that balances family time and work obligations.

I look forward to meeting you soon!

Tom is a Licensed Professional Engineer and Principal & Vice President at Hicks Engineering, PC. He has been a part of the Hicks Team since 2007. During his time at Hicks Engineering, he has been involved in the successful management, development, and design of a wide variety of building projects, ranging from building additions and seismic renovation, high end custom homes, apartment complexes, low and mid-rise multi-family residential developments and hotels. He has led a team to develop the necessary calculations to comply with adopted building codes and produced concise and efficient construction documents necessary for the efficient execution of project construction. Tom has managed the development of projects permitted in various jurisdictions throughout Montana and across the country, from gulf coast hurricane regions to west coast high seismic zones. These projects have been successfully developed in conjunction with a myriad of architectural design teams employing the use of both CAD and Revit software for document development and project coordination.

Tom brings brought a collaborative, vibrant and decisive approach to developing project documents emphasizing high levels of detailing and coordination across trades, all while maintaining a focus on the economics of construction practicality and efficiency.

I grew up in northeast Montana in a small farming/ranching community. My college experience included two years at Dawson Community College where I played basketball and graduated with an Associate of Science degree. I then moved on to Montana State and received my bachelor’s in Civil Engineering (2005) and my master’s in Structural Engineering (2006). I am married and have three beautiful children. After living and working in Bozeman for 10 years, we moved back to northeast Montana and have opened a remote office there. In my free time I love to stay involved with basketball. I have officiated college and high school basketball for the last 10 years and have begun coaching the varsity boys’ basketball team in Lustre.

At the office, I enjoy the challenges that each new project brings. I enjoy the overall scale of large commercial buildings, but also the complexity and uniqueness each custom home brings. I strive to make each project designed better than the last, and take pride in the completeness of the contract documents to help productivity and efficiency in the field. I also appreciate the opportunity to perform site visits on projects designed. This allows us to see how our designs are being interpreted and their constructability. It also gives us opportunities to learn from each contractor on ways to improve our designs in the future.

I look forward to the next unique project!

From Lego’s to skateboard ramps, ever since I was a child I loved to build things. Once I discovered my passion for math and science I knew a career in engineering was right for me. I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington but like many other MSU students, I moved to Bozeman for the amazing ski slopes and esteemed engineering school. During college, I was able to stay focused on schooling but also enjoyed exploring the vast assortment of outdoor recreational opportunities Bozeman had to offer. Some of my favorite hobbies include snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, and camping.

Upon graduation I began my career as a structural engineer with Hicks Engineering. It is very rewarding to apply my knowledge from schooling on real-life projects. I love the challenge of developing a design that can fulfill an architect’s wildest dreams while at the same time keeping the project cost efficient and constructible. I also enjoy the wide variety of projects that I get to work on at Hicks Engineering. I consider each project as an opportunity to learn and I look forward to progressing my career as a structural design professional.

Kris.

VanLuchene

Born and raised on the prairielands of southeastern Montana, I started to walk later than I learned to draw. Many days of my youth were spent engaged in the family business, a place where I was introduced to the diverse ideals of many artists and craftspeople who encouraged the development of my passion for the creative arts.

While completing my Master of Architecture Degree at Montana State University, I had the privilege of visiting various design firms across the country. Throughout my interactions with skilled professionals in the design and building industries, I developed an understanding that truly successful design requires a collective of many skilled trades able to work in concert to advance a vision so that a design may become a shared reality.

As a member of the Hicks Engineering team my work as a CAD Technician has provided me the opportunity to further explore the iterative relationship between the art and science of design while living in the gorgeous Gallatin Valley. Outside the office I can be found with a backpack on my shoulders, studying at Gallatin College or surrounded by nature.