Emily McCarthy
Year Graduated: 2014
Degree Received: PhD
1. What is your current position?
I am a Senior Project Manager with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH). I primarily work in the structural investigation and advanced analysis field. My clients are private and public owners/operators/contractors and attorneys. In general, I work on cross-disciplinary projects that are collaborative with our building science, engineering mechanics, and new design practice groups. About 35% of my time is spent in the field, collecting and investigating structural and material issues with buildings and building-like structures. I then perform desktop work to assess field data and other background information to understand the cumulative impact of that information on system and building performance considering operational, environmental, and extreme hazard loads (like high-wind, earthquake, blast, surge, and fire).
I am involved in committee work improving the seismic guidelines for petrochemical and other industrial facilities. I volunteer with local associations and am a past president of the Structural Engineers Association of Texas. I write and present on projects at national and international conferences. SGH is a seller-doer consulting firm, which means I am given opportunities to network with and build a client base and then execute the work I promote.
I work with diverse and knowledgeable colleagues who I am always learning from and who challenge me to improve professionally and technically by fact of their worth ethic. I love what I do, and I love working for SGH.
2. Who or what impacted you the most while you were a student at Rice?
My family impacted me the most as a student. They encouraged me to excel and work hard. They were always on my side when I struggled and cheered me when I succeeded. My dad would help me with my math and science classes and my mom would help me with my English classes. My brother would coach me in professionalism and critique my writing to help me hone my communication skills. My family helped instill in me a vision of excellence and ambition. I take pride in a job well done, whether that is cleaning my house or performing a seismic nonlinear time history analysis on a 16-story high rise or crawling under pipelines to inspect surface conditions. I owe much of my life success to their continuous support. Life success is so much more than excelling in your career, it is being satisfied with your life choices and being content with where you are in life now, at this moment.
3. What advice do you have for current CEE students?
Work hard and surround yourself with people who are better at what you want to do than you are now. It's amazing how much you can learn by associating with others and being inquisitive. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow, even if it doesn't seem like an opportunity at the time.
Don't be afraid to ask questions and take the time needed to find the right answer. Every life circumstance is a means of you developing integrity, morals, work ethic, work life balance, and a sustaining social structure. Engineering is a challenging career path, do it because you love that challenge and are satisfied with doing this work well. Find the field of work you see yourself investing your time and energy in for decades to come and don't settle.
4. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love to travel, scuba dive, hike, ski, eat good food, meet interesting people, be with my family and friends, read good books and watch good movies. I have traveled all over the world for work and fun. I try not to waste any opportunity to explore new places. I have gone scuba diving in New Zealand, Hawaii, Indonesia and Japan. I have hiked Mt. Fuji in Japan twice, hiked all over New Zealand, Hawaii, New Mexico, S. Korea, and California. I love Houston restaurants and try to go to one new interesting restaurant a month with good friends. My brother cooks amazing BBQ, family cook-outs are personal favorite.
Thank you for allowing us to learn more about you, Emily! Students can contact Emily McCarthy at ermccarthy@sgh.com. We’re so glad you are a part of the civil and environmental engineering community at Rice.