MEMBER PROFILE Jesús Gómez: A Thirst for Knowledge Described by col- leagues as a person with insight and imagination, great intelligence, and devotion to his profession, Jesús Gómez has another facet in his personality. Miguel Pando, a former graduate school classmate, comments on his soccer. Pando says that despite Gómez’s modest demeanor, “you’d be crazy to try to get past him on the soccer field — he is ruthless.” Pando, now an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, also says Gómez is “super smart — I am lucky to be able to pick his brain from time to time.” Gómez’s story begins in Venezuela, where he was born. He grew up in modest surroundings and constantly moved from place to place. Through it all, his parents always stressed the importance of study and hard work. “You can lose everything but knowledge,” his mother used to say. This was a family with high expectations for their son, vividly evidenced by an astronomy book given to Gómez as a present when he was about 13. Written in French, the book so entranced him that he learned to read French, dictionary in hand. He aspired to be an astrophysicist himself. Instead, he studied civil engineering. Why engineering? Gómez says it came down to the fact that he liked to solve problems. Problem Solving on a Napkin Javier Rodriguez worked with Gómez at Schnabel Engineering, and offers a revealing quote: “If you are not able to solve the problem on a napkin, you are making it more complicated than it needs to be.” Rodriguez, who is now senior geostructural designer and partner at Geostructural Group, Puerto Rico, adds that Gómez “not only can write a solution on the corner of a napkin, but more admirable, will also work as a mentor so that you can solve the next problem yourself.” Gómez received his engineering degree at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello when he was 20. Despite his attraction to structural engineering, he opted to pursue a career in geotechnical engineering because “it involved outdoor work and imagina- tion.” He was “lucky,” he says, to get a posi- tion at Ingeotec, a leading geotechnical engineering firm in Venezuela. The collegi- ate atmosphere at the firm and the com- plexity and magnitude of its projects had a profound impact on Gómez. Venezuela has a very diverse geological environment, he says, and in Caracas, there are significant problems related to slope stability and deep foundations. Gómez had the opportunity to tackle these under the firm’s mentorship. The Construction Side After several years at Ingeotec, Gómez felt he needed to learn more about the con- struction side of engineering. He found an opportunity with Prefabricados Marcotulli, a contractor that specialized in precast concrete structures and foundations. The owners of the firm, very competent engineers with a keen sense of efficiency, taught him a lot, says Gómez, who left the firm in 1989 to pursue graduate work in Barcelona, Spain. However, the death of his father prompted his return to Venezuela, still without a graduate degree. Back in Caracas he was hired by Franki Pile, Venezuela, “a great opportunity — the firm had a tremendous amount of urban foundation work, performing deep excavations within congested and historic areas in difficult soils.” At the firm, every proposal was accompanied by a full design package completed in house. It was his responsibility to develop foundation and excavation support designs using construc- tion techniques available within the firm. “It was an exciting place to work; there was a high level of ingenuity, innovation, as well as business sense.” Gómez learned impor- tant lessons about competitive construction environments and risk, he says. His five-year tenure at Franki stretched his technical abilities to the limit, according to Gómez. Pursuing a graduate degree where he could “do high-quality research and expand his knowledge of geotechnical engineering” was more important than ever. After applying to several schools in the United States, he found an opportunity at Virginia Tech. In 1995, Gómez left for Virginia, where he ended up working two “half” assistantships with a full academic load. His previous practical design experi- ence helped him, he says, in part because Virginia Tech emphasized “practical application of sound theory.” Gómez says he loved the experience — the opportunity to conduct fundamental research, numerical modeling, and the hands-on experience building laboratory equipment and running tests. Under the guidance of Professor George Filz, he worked on the behavior of manmade materials-to-soil interfaces in the context of analysis of very large retaining walls. This research was sponsored by the Corps of Engineers. Filz notes that Gómez’s “level of insight and imagination required him to treat his student as a colleague.” He also describes him as “extremely intelligent, hard working and personable,” but particularly applauds Gómez’s contributions to the profession through engineering societies and as adjunct professor at Drexel University. Schnabel Engineering In 2000, close to graduation from Virginia Tech, a fellow student and friend introduced him to Allen Cadden and Gordon Matheson. They had a vision to expand Schnabel Engineering’s practice into full design of geo-support systems, which went well with Gómez’s interest in geotechnical construction in urban areas. The newly formed Geostructural Group at Schnabel Engineering started small, with Gómez doing most of the design work himself, but developed into a dedicated force of 15 engineers with diverse backgrounds. The group includes people who have worked in contracting firms in the U.S. and abroad, scientists, structural engineers, and even a geologist turned engineer. “We have gone from small geotechnical specialty projects to large design-build engagements with heavy civil DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2013 • 49
