Our Design Team is Resourceful by Nature
The people of the Bioengineering Group come from varied academic and career backgrounds. One theme that unites us is a strong orientation and commitment to interdisciplinary work.
Our professionals focus on meaningful exchange of information, effective teamwork, and collaborative decision-making. As a firm we work to achieve this goal even when it is difficult (which it is!), but one of the best ways to enhance interaction and cross-disciplinary collaboration is to find ways to enjoy the people and the process. We find many formal and informal ways to build strong working relationships through group activities ranging from discussion tours of past project sites, to lunch & dinner hour technical exchange topics.
Meet Our Senior Staff
Our firm-wide Quality Assurance program is designed to foster and document interdisciplinary planning and design process from the initial selection of staff, to establishing project goals and approaches, through the validation of deliverables.
Interdisciplinary teams work best, we have found over the years, when individuals possess training in multiple fields of study. Not only can tasks be completed efficiently (one person can perform a geomorphic assessment and a benthic survey for example), but when people know how to speak more than one technical language themselves, they relate better with people from an array of technical backgrounds.
Our hiring strategy is based on this premise. A critical mass of professionals at the Bioengineering Group shares the attribute of having training in more than one technical subject, for example engineering and law, geology and landscape architecture, and wetland science and engineering. Some of our people have four academic degrees in different subjects!
We are a creative and open-minded group of people known for finding win-win-win (economically, ecologically, and socially beneficial) solutions to stubborn and controversial problems. We hold a collective understanding through academic training and work experience that individual disciplines often address problems with different approaches. This knowledge allows us to continue asking the right questions, listening to stakeholders, and investigating possible strategies until we find the best fit, rather than settling on “canned” solutions. Our project teams are proud of these results which we know produce sustainability in the long run. Our clients thank us for resolving conflicts and saving money.
Our team includes:
- Restoration Ecologists
- Wetland Scientists
- Botanists
- Natural Resource Managers
- Landscape Ecologists
- Aquatic Ecologists
- Zoologists
- Foresters
- Horticulturists.
We use GPS and GIS-based technologies and well-honed field skills to inventory and map wetlands and other resource areas, to perform feasibility studies, phase I site assessments, benthic surveys, assessment of functions and values, and identify critical habitats. We provide reports, applications for local, state, and federal permits and licenses, and most significantly, integrated input into the planning and design of project work through formulation of clear project goals and objectives. Our definition of ecology embraces the human ecosystem, related resource uses and impacts, and regional quality of life issues that are inextricably linked.
Our team includes:
- Soil Scientists
- Geologists
- Watershed Restoration Hydrologists
- Water Quality Scientists
- Geomorphologists
- Hydrogeologists
- Phytoremediation Specialists.
Using field-based sampling and survey skills, we provide sediment characterization, geomorphic assessment, soils evaluation, water quality monitoring, and related investigations. We use multi-dimensional computational models to portray watershed hydrology, scour potentials, groundwater flow, and channel hydrodynamics, including fate and transport of nutrients, contaminants, and sediments. Evaluation of land use change and its impacts on landforms and water cycle functions is crucial to the application of the earth sciences to guide project design.
Our team includes:
- Civil Engineers
- Hydraulic Engineers
- Geotechnical Engineers
- Water Resources Engineers
- Environmental Engineers
- Mechanical Engineers
- European-Trained Bioengineering Specialists
Working in close collaboration with science colleagues, our engineering staff perform analysis, prepare plans, write specifications, prepare construction cost estimates and schedules, and provide construction oversight.
Our engineering team capabilities include:
- Transportations Systems
- Master Drainage Plans
- Stormwater Management Systems
- Bank and Shoreline Stabilization
- Water and Wastewater Treatment System Design
- Air and Water Quality Studies
- Odor Abatement System Design
- Utility System Design
- Site Development
- Program and Project Management.
We pride ourselves on our continuing success at researching and developing leading edge techniques and applying them in practice. Our aim and measure of success is the design and implementation of efficient and sustainable solutions that exceed project requirements. Our expertise in applying "green" technologies allows us to devise low impact and restorative strategies for meeting our clients' engineering objectives.
Our team includes:
- Landscape Architects
- Regional Planners
- Ecological Designers
- Architects
- GIS Specialists
- Urban Designers
Playing the role of integrators, the planning/design staff help to bring together inputs from the different teams to provide creative and sustainable solutions that are functional and aesthetically pleasing.
The design process involves adopting a holistic approach to problem solving, and integrates end-user experiences into the engineering and design process through design charrettes, public meetings, and interactive workshops. Active stakeholder engagement depends on the excellent presentation and facilitation skills cultivated by our design leaders. To foster robust communication among various stakeholders, our staff skillfully use various analytical and graphical tools, such as GIS, CAD, Photoshop and other freehand and digital imagery that facilitate better understanding of site conditions and proposed solutions. Project documentation is prepared, from GIS-based inventories and conceptual design sketches through detailed CAD-based construction drawings.
