State Port welcomes Conn

The Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport announced that Joseph O. Conn, P.E., is its new director of disaster recovery. Conn will oversee the Port of Gulfport’s Restoration Program. Conn, a licensed professional engineer, has more than 30 years of experience in project management and construction, primarily with large military programs. From 1994-2009 he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville Center, as the lead project manager for the Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility, a $1.039-billion project located in Western Siberia, Russia. Conn divided his time as the project manager in Huntsville, Ala., and the on-site manager in Russia. Prior to his sojourn in Russia, Conn worked for the Corps of Engineers as both an active duty officer and a civilian employee.

In addition to working in Huntsville, Conn., has worked in the Federal Republic of Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands and Utah. In 2004, he formed Conn Engineering Inc., which provided project management services to the Huntsville Center as well as other companies.