– Posted 2016-04-19
Matthew McCarty, P.E., S.E. is the winner of this year’s PIANC USA De Paepe-Willems Award for his technical paper on “Large Diameter Fiber Reinforced Polymer Monopile Dolphin Systems for Ferry Berths.” The paper explores the benefits of composite-material monopile dolphins over conventional timber pile dolphins for ferry boat berthing operations. McCarty will present his winning paper to members of the PIANC Annual General Assembly on May 18 in Bruges, Belgium.
The De Paepe-Willems Award honors two former Presidents of PIANC. It is given for the most outstanding technical paper prepared on an aspect of waterborne transport, including policy, management, design, economics, integration with other transport modes, technology, safety, public involvement, and the environment.
Matt McCarty is a Project Structural Engineer in the Structural/Marine Group of Whitman, Requardt and Associates (WRA) in Baltimore, MD, USA. In this role, he performs structural design, analysis, construction administration, and project management for waterfront and heavy structure projects. Over the past 8 years at WRA, Matt has demonstrated versatility to quickly transition across different project types, such as inspection and analysis of aging shipyard infrastructure; design of seismic, blast, and progressive collapse building renovations; design and construction administration of new light rail stations; and study and design of FRP energy absorbing berthing dolphins.
Matt actively participates on code and technical committees to improve safety of structures and uniformity of design and analysis procedures. He is a member of COPRI/ASCE’s Dry Dock Standards Committee, ASCE/SEI’s Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings Committee, and PIANC’s Composites for Hydraulic Structures Working Group. He has also been selected to present at various conferences, most recently at the 2016 and 2013 ASCE/COPRI Ports Conferences on his dry dock and fender projects. In addition to his involvement with various professional organizations, Matt also strives to engage other young professionals in the industry as vice chair of ASCE/SEI’s Young Professional Committee. He has also been previously selected to share his career insights to young engineers as a speaker and panelist, including as a speaker for the 2016 and 2015 SEI Structures Congress, a panelist for the 2015 Johns Hopkins University Civil Engineering Career Fair, and panelist for the 2013 inaugural meeting of the ASCE Catoctin Branch Young Member Group.
In addition to his work at the national and international level, Matt actively leads and participates in his local ASCE and SEI groups. As President of the Maryland chapter of SEI (SEI-MD) for the past two years, Matt found yet another way to combine his technical skills with outreach to engineers and the public. He pioneered a new focus for the local chapter, centered on hands-on learning via various project site visits and collaboration with professionals from a wide spectrum of engineering/construction fields.
Matt is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering.