PROFILE Matthew Janes: Renaissance Man, Resonance Technology Matthew Janes’ name conjures a list of superlatives among long-time colleagues: “modern day Leonardo da Vinci, football hero, sculptor, unrelenting scientist,” are a few descriptions from Nadir Ansari, Isherwood Associates, who has known Janes since graduate school at the University of Western Ontario. Peter van Engelen, who works with Janes at Resonance Technology International (RTI), adds more attributes, saying that Janes has “incredible intelligence,” and immediate credibility —“when he describes an idea, no one can doubt that it can be done.” Brian Isherwood, Isherwood Associates, adds an unusual assessment: Janes has “the mind of a quarterback,” and is one of the “brightest engineers I have ever met.” Did these traits develop while he was building “oddball” Lego constructions as a child? Probably not, but the toy seems the only construction-related item in Janes’ childhood. He describes Legos as a child- hood favorite. He was born in Canada and he and his siblings moved around a lot because his father was a mining geologist and relocated to where the metals might be. No one pushed him toward engineering, he says, and he originally thought about being an architect. However, he entered engi- neering as an undergraduate at Cornell University where football and engineering could co-exist. Janes later returned to Canada to complete his B.E.Sc. and M.E.Sc. degrees in geotechnical/structural engineering at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, where he also played football and was captain of the team. He won several awards for football, including one for “Excellence in Combining Academics and Athletics.” However, a severe knee injury forced Janes to give football a pass. Next, Janes worked for several firms, including Deep Foundation Contractors in Toronto where he met Brian Isherwood who later formed Isherwood Associates, for whom Janes worked for again, later in his career. Isherwood commented on Janes’ proficiency at modeling soils and his “sensitivity to risk.” Janes brings a fresh perspective to work many other firms would avoid, he says. The Bermingham Influence The person who most influenced Janes was, “without a doubt,” William Bermingham, the third generation leader of the Bermingham firms, and incidentally an early DFI president and founding member. Janes says Bermingham was a “great mentor,” who taught him an incredible amount about engineering, discipline, management and working in a team environment. He was an excellent teacher, as others testify. Nadir Ansari cites Janes as an “inclusive team player,” one who can criticize and fortify simultaneously. RTI co- worker van Engelen calls Janes a “natural leader.” William Bermingham also introduced Janes to DFI, where he headed up the 2004 DFI Annual Conference in Vancouver. Janes is now a trustee, and comments that the DFI staff is “specta- cular.” As a trustee, he says, he enjoys “seeing what’s going on in the industry and helping it to grow.” Janes worked for Berminghammer two different times and “loved” working with both William and his son Patrick, currently a DFI vice president, recalling his experiences at the firm as “wonderful fun.” Janes worked with both men on Statnamic, the load testing device now used all over the world, saying he enjoyed working to improve hammers. He also worked on the construction side of the Bermingham firm; he was sent to “challenging jobs to consult on which technology to apply.” Discovering Resonance Technology Describing the work, Janes says he and Patrick Bermingham, would “write down several great things” to research, then Patrick would realize they needed to focus, saying “you can’t do it all.” One thing Janes did focus on was resonant vibrator technology, and he recalls seeing the poten- tial early on. He researched Bodine vibra- tors in the U.S. and Canada and sonic drills, but everything “needed work.” Then in Australia he saw a group working on a mechanism similar to the Bodine vibrator. At that time, Berminghammer was busy with Statnamic and underwater pile driving; “their band width was full,” he says. Berminghammer made a business decision not to pursue the work on resonance with Matthew, according to Bermingham, but they did work together on Statnamic. “It typically takes seven or so years to get a new idea to the production stage,” he adds, saying that he and the Berminghammer company “watched and applauded” Janes’ work on resonance technology. Bermingham also mentioned Matthew’s different hats, referring to his current work at Isherwood and simultaneously, that with RTI. Janes, he says, has “formidable intelli- gence,” combined with an appetite for problems, numerical or conceptual. Janes works vigorously to find solutions, says Bermingham, and the pair shared a passion for new ways to do things. When Janes left Berminghammer and went out on his own to develop the new equipment, he joined Isherwood Associates, intending to stay for just a year to focus on his resonant DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2012 • 39