What inspires you? When smarts and diligence translate to real-world benefit. Earlier in my career, I was responsible for fixing a client’s small water booster pump station that had a history of pump motors failing. It wasn’t a huge job, but the project required engineering skills, communications abilities, and attention to detail. In the end, we devised a solution that demanded less day-to-day attention from the client and used far less electrical energy than before. Whether the project is small or large, it inspires me to see amazing results come from the solid use of fundamentals and attentive engineering work.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? I like to go golfing with my father any chance I get. He’s going on 79 years old and it’s a treat that we can still compete and have fun on the golf course.
What is your favorite part of your job? I sincerely enjoy working with younger engineers in our firm; it energizes me to work with smart engineers who are coming up that learning curve. They’re well-prepared from college, eager to learn, they work really hard, and I enjoy learning from and spending time with them.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you? My wife is the only person on earth that calls me “Alan” and gets away with it. Please, call me Al.
Why CDM Smith? It’s a company where you can work on interesting, challenging, high-profile projects that have a positive impact on clients and communities. CDM Smith is filled with great people who phave a lot to offer and the depth of resources makes it all the more fun to tackle big, complex challenges.
What’s your favorite part of your job? Seeing our teams do excellent work that results in clients coming back to us for help with their next challenge. I love witnessing that positive reinforcement and synergy build with each assignment.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? Going on a hard bike ride with friends in the morning and then puttering around the yard for the rest of the day. I’d cap it off with a great dinner or evening on the beach.
What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you? I was once an avid competitive sailor and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Why CDM Smith? It’s a company where you can work on interesting, challenging, high-profile projects that have a positive impact on clients and communities. CDM Smith is filled with great people who phave a lot to offer and the depth of resources makes it all the more fun to tackle big, complex challenges.
What’s your favorite part of your job? Seeing our teams do excellent work that results in clients coming back to us for help with their next challenge. I love witnessing that positive reinforcement and synergy build with each assignment.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? Going on a hard bike ride with friends in the morning and then puttering around the yard for the rest of the day. I’d cap it off with a great dinner or evening on the beach.
What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you? I was once an avid competitive sailor and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Why CDM Smith? It’s a company where you can work on interesting, challenging, high-profile projects that have a positive impact on clients and communities. CDM Smith is filled with great people who phave a lot to offer and the depth of resources makes it all the more fun to tackle big, complex challenges.
What’s your favorite part of your job? Seeing our teams do excellent work that results in clients coming back to us for help with their next challenge. I love witnessing that positive reinforcement and synergy build with each assignment.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? Going on a hard bike ride with friends in the morning and then puttering around the yard for the rest of the day. I’d cap it off with a great dinner or evening on the beach.
What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you? I was once an avid competitive sailor and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
What’s a project or accomplishment that you’re particularly proud of, and why? I am so pleased that CDM Smith’s team has had the foresight dating back 5+ years ago to recommend site-specific bench scale testing for PFAS removal. Water chemistry matrices vary subtly but substantially from site to site. In multiple cases we’ve been able to use bench scale testing results with great confidence, predicting treatment efficacy and media longevity for PFAS removal.
In one case, we unearthed a failure of anion exchange resins at bench scale, avoiding an unpleasant surprise at the end of a major construction project if no testing were performed. The PFAS removal successes we’ve had are outstanding, and the crises we’ve averted through thoughtful planning by intelligent, genuinely-invested professionals in consultation with our clients have been gratifying. Too seldom do we speak of pitfalls averted, and expectations fulfilled, but those things are worth talking about in this still-young practice of PFAS removal.
Why CDM Smith? It’s a company where you can work on interesting, challenging, high-profile projects that have a positive impact on clients and communities. CDM Smith is filled with great people who phave a lot to offer and the depth of resources makes it all the more fun to tackle big, complex challenges.
What’s your favorite part of your job? Seeing our teams do excellent work that results in clients coming back to us for help with their next challenge. I love witnessing that positive reinforcement and synergy build with each assignment.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? Going on a hard bike ride with friends in the morning and then puttering around the yard for the rest of the day. I’d cap it off with a great dinner or evening on the beach.
What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you? I was once an avid competitive sailor and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Why CDM Smith? It’s a company where you can work on interesting, challenging, high-profile projects that have a positive impact on clients and communities. CDM Smith is filled with great people who phave a lot to offer and the depth of resources makes it all the more fun to tackle big, complex challenges.
What’s your favorite part of your job? Seeing our teams do excellent work that results in clients coming back to us for help with their next challenge. I love witnessing that positive reinforcement and synergy build with each assignment.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? Going on a hard bike ride with friends in the morning and then puttering around the yard for the rest of the day. I’d cap it off with a great dinner or evening on the beach.
What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you? I was once an avid competitive sailor and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Why CDM Smith? It’s a company where you can work on interesting, challenging, high-profile projects that have a positive impact on clients and communities. CDM Smith is filled with great people who phave a lot to offer and the depth of resources makes it all the more fun to tackle big, complex challenges.
What’s your favorite part of your job? Seeing our teams do excellent work that results in clients coming back to us for help with their next challenge. I love witnessing that positive reinforcement and synergy build with each assignment.
What’s something you enjoy doing on your day off? Going on a hard bike ride with friends in the morning and then puttering around the yard for the rest of the day. I’d cap it off with a great dinner or evening on the beach.
What’s something that people might be surprised to know about you? I was once an avid competitive sailor and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials.
