Recent Articles
Minnesota Army National Guard Division Headquarters wins SAME Grand Design Award
Recognized as one of the best works of federal architecture built this decade, the LEO A DALY-designed facility reimagines the National Guard readiness center for a new era of warfighting, peacekeeping and emergency response missions
LEO A DALY transforms Capitol Hill office building into mixed-use development
The $200 million project will add three stories, a new skin and a vibrant mix of uses to a former government building
LEO A DALY Signs Mentor-Protégé JV with HFS Company
LEO A DALY will mentor the service-disabled veteran-owned, woman-owned design firm as part of the SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program
Omaha VA named ENR Project of the Year
LEO A DALY receives top, national award for design & construction from Engineering News-Record for Omaha VA Ambulatory Care Center
Carson HQ wins top project honors among Nebraska design alumni
Carson Headquarters has been awarded the 2022 Architectural Engineering Alumni Project Award from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction.
Doug Nelsen named 2022 Outstanding Alumni by Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction
LEO A DALY’s director of electrical engineering recognized by the University of Nebraska

Doug Nelsen, PE, LC, Assoc. IALD, received the 2022 Outstanding Alumni Award Thursday from the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction at the University of Nebraska. The award was presented during the school’s annual awards banquet. Doug earned his bachelor’s of architectural engineering from the Durham school in 2005, and his MAE in 2006. He was nominated for the award by National Director of Engineering Kim Cowman, PE, LEED AP, HFDP.
“Doug improves everything he undertakes, whether it’s the skills and sportsmanship of teams he coaches or the problem-solving skills of engineering students he mentors,” Kim said. “As an electrical engineer and lighting designer, Doug enhances building energy profiles, occupant experiences and our project teams. When Doug is involved, he inexorably makes things better.”
Last year, Doug’s work for the Omaha VA Ambulatory Care Center earned a Global Award of Merit for interior lighting from the Illuminating Engineering Society.
For years, Doug has served as an “industry mentor” for the Team Design course at the University of Nebraska’s Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction. In 2006, he earned his Lighting Certification from the National Council of Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP). He continued mentoring for 13 years, during which time he passed his PE exam and then became PE licensed in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
In 2013, Doug helped design a 1.2 million square-foot military-hospital campus in Abu Dhabi. During the project, Doug led design of a 6,000 SF utility building to serve a 10-story hospital. His work to improve energy efficiency helped the project target the Estidama 2 Pearl Rating for sustainability.
In 2019, after 15 years with LEO A DALY, Doug was promoted to director of electrical engineering. He now leads the discipline across the firm.
That same year, the University of Nebraska offered Doug a faculty position as an Industry Fellow to assist with the Team Design course. And a team he mentored won national honors for their project. Doug accompanied them to Washington, D.C., where the team was awarded the Engineering Education grand prize from the National Council of Examiners of Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).