Rowan & Roots

What inspired you to pursue engineering, and why Rowan?

I was probably well on my path towards engineering without even know it for many years playing with Legos and SimCity, I always enjoyed that type of challenge but it was when my parents we’re building a house that I first saw myself becoming an engineer. We would visit the engineering & surveying company to review their latest plans or pickup documents. It opened my eyes to the possibility of becoming an engineering, before then I don’t know if I really knew what an engineer did. Rowan checked every box for me while I was working my way through my college search, the small class sizes, hands on projects, affordability… but it was the interactions with faculty and students that set it apart. I remember meeting Dr.Dusseau and Dr.Jahan at an open house, they both made me feel very welcomed. Dr.Dusseau was the founding department chair and both his sons were making their way through the engineering program, I thought Rowan must be a pretty special place for them to both come when they must have had plenty of other options. Dr.Jahan was in the incoming department chair and made sure to mention the success of student-athletes in the college of engineering, I didn’t get that same feeling from other schools. I was also being recruited for the cross country and track teams too and really hit it off with my future coach Fritz and teammates.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Rowan Engineering?

Summers working in the civil engineering labs, we worked hard and often it was a dirty job in the asphalt lab but we had plenty of fun along the way. Every day was an opportunity to learn something new, especially the summer after my freshman year when everything was brand new. I enjoyed the challenge while making friends.

Was there a professor or class that shaped your path?

Working with Dr.Mehta and Aaron Nolan shaped my experience big time. The life of an engineering student can be busy for anyone but as a student-athlete you’re on the go that much more so it can be a bit harder to form those connections and identity within your major. The opportunity to work in the lab helped integrate me into the engineering community and see myself as an engineer, which was especially important on those late nights when you’re starting to doubt yourself. They encouraged me and trusted me to lead projects, which only grew my confidence.

What’s the most valuable skill you learned at Rowan that you still use today?

Rowan engineering took my problem-solving skills to the next level and it’s something I use every day. In freshman clinic we learned how to frame a problem, writing out our problem statement, constraints, variables and more, on our special engineering notepad. Dr. Riddell would insist we did the same in subsequent semesters and the repetition paid off. If you know how to frame a problem and break it into smaller parts you can always find a path forward.

What engineering problem or project have you worked on that you're most proud of?

We’ve implemented a term project for the civil engineering field surveying class that I helped developed. It’s been great to see the creative ideas students come up with implementing the techniques they’ve learned over the semester.

How has your career evolved since graduating? Any surprising twists?

Some would say I came back to Rowan but really, I never left. After graduating, I went right into the master’s program full time continuing my studies in civil engineering and working with Dr.Mehta. Towards the tail end of finishing up my masters I started working as a structural engineer. Just as I was set to leave Rowan, an engineering technician position in the growing civil engineering department opened and it felt like the perfect fit. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to adjunct the occasional course, at least once each course it hits me that I was once on the other side taking these classes at Rowan.

Engineering with Impact

As a principal staff engineer in the experiential engineering education department at Rowan, I’m part of a team that’s shaping the future of the engineering industry by challenging our students to live up to Henry Rowan’s charge of training Great engineers. My daily interactions with students and the projects we support have the potential to impact so many lives as those students move into the workforce solving tomorrows challenges.

What advice would you give to current Rowan Engineering students who want to make an impact?

Why wait, find a way to get involved in your passions. Jump on opportunities, keep saying yes and before you know it you’ll be well on your way towards making impacts small and large.

Your Engineer’s Lens

As a civil engineering that was heaving into the transportation classes as a student, you really notice all the infrastructure around us and how interconnected we are, which make a good metaphor for life.

If you could design or improve anything in the world — no limits — what would it be?

My undergraduate and graduate research mostly focused on improving asphalt pavement performance and sustainability; the ultimate achievement would be a process/additive to reclaim 100% of a milled surface for reuse but really no limits, nuclear fusion. The near limitless clean energy nuclear fusion could produce would meet our current needs while accelerate the innovations of tomorrow.

Quick Hits

As a student, Dr.Mehta’s Asphalt lab in Rowan hall (before the days of CREATES). After graduation, a structural engineer at AES.

Freshens smoothies in profs place.

My iPhone.

Anglo’s or Tomato Pie.

Dynamic.

“I became an engineer because…”

I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and I get to do that everyday working at Rowan.