About Author: Matthew P. Adams is a Richard P. Nathan public policy fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government and an assistant professor in the John A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The American Jobs Plan proposed by President Biden is, at its core, an infrastructure improvement bill. If passed, it aims to repair 20,000 miles of highway and 10,000 bridges, and repair, replace, or expand water infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and government buildings. All of this work would require a massive investment in construction materials, such as concrete, wood, asphalt, and steel. The proposed bill also seeks to prioritize sustainability in the choice of construction materials and practices. Concrete, which is the second most used material in the world, would play a central role in the construction and rehabilitation that comes with this proposed infrastructure investment, however, it also has a significant carbon footprint. While methods of decreasing the environmental impact of concrete have been developed, they have not been broadly adopted by producers. As discussed in this brief, flexible municipal policies that can adjust for local availability of materials, project specific needs, and funding, can offer a model for encouraging adoption of low-embodied carbon concrete. Further, existing municipal-level policies may scale to the state and federal level.

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Each semester, the department hosts the series, Graduate Seminars. The seminar features a prominent guest speaker from industry or academia and spans current topics in structural, geotechnical, and environmental engineering, as well as transportation. The seminars are organized by Professor William H. Pennock and are held Monday afternoons.

What do you like most about your job? What I truly love about my job is the challenges it presents. Every day is different and I take these challenges as an opportunity to grow and become a better engineer.

What initially attracted you to CEE? Both of my parents are civil engineers. Right out of high school I chose to go into a pre-med program and found out that it did not interest me as much as civil engineering. When it was time to decide on a new major I chose civil engineering because it was the one that interested me the most.

Who were your biggest mentors at NJIT, and what did you learn from them? My biggest mentors at NJIT were professor Matt Riegel and Dr. John Schuring. They really helped kick my career in to gear in the geotechnical field and provided me with opportunities to grow professionally. Both of them possess great experience and knowledge in and out of the classroom which was very helpful when transitioning to the professional world.

Are there any particular university programs that helped you? I was an active member of ASCE and SHPE student chapters during my time at NJIT. I continue to be involved with the ASCE North Jersey Branch.

What skills did you gain from your internship, co-op, or work study? I gained the technical skills needed to put the theories we learned in the classroom into practical engineering solutions while also gaining important construction experience.

What was the hiring process like? The hiring process for me after graduating was fairly easy. While completing my senior year I was offered an internship opportunity by Professor Riegel after taking his class. That internship turned into a full-time job offer after I graduated with my bachelor’s degree.

How did you pitch yourself? I was very confident in my skills because I had set my mind on the career path that I wanted to take (geotechnical engineering) and showed my eagerness to learn and succeed in that field. I also highlighted my work ethic and passion for this discipline.

A Moment of Um that answers the question: How does concrete harden?

Episode Date: November 9, 2021

minute 32:00

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