Gene McLinn; Featured Alumni
Awards:
- ACEC Wisconsin Honor Award: Phytoremediation at a chemical distribution facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2001)
- ACEC Wisconsin Grand Award: Sediment remediation on the Penobscot River in Bangor, Maine (2011)
- Environmental Business Journal Remediation Technology Award for NAPL Trapping Cap, Bangor, Maine (2010)
- RMT Mentoring Award (1996)
- RMT Agent of Change Award (2008)
- What is your hometown?
International Falls, MN
- Where do you reside now?
Madison, WI
- What degree(s)did you obtain from UWM and when?
MS Geology. I defended my Master’s thesis in 1986.
- What was your field of interest in Geology at UWM?
I studied hydrogeology under Doug Cherkauer and Carl Palmer.
- What brought you to UWM to study Geosciences for your degree?
Financial aid.
- What did you enjoy most about the department, UWM, and Milwaukee?
I enjoyed field camp with RAP and Rachel Paull, as well as Doug Cherkauer. I liked the interdisciplinary nature of the geophysics and hydrogeology groups at UWM, and the setting near Lake Michigan. Milwaukee is a city of neighborhoods, and I enjoyed the mix of amenities and cultures.
- What is your current job (or field of study) and how would you describe it to one of our current students (e.g. what do you do, how rewarding is it)?
I am the National Market Leader for Sediment Remediation at Burns & McDonnell (an employee-owned engineering consulting firm) in Madison. I have been able to combine research with my consulting practice at a number of sites, and have been able to take a deep dive evaluating the mechanisms of NAPL migration from sediment, and multi-phase flow in low-pressure systems. I am co-inventor for two sediment remediation techniques. I make extensive use of physical modeling techniques to address remediation design problems in my own lab now. The physical modeling aspect is particularly fun – the first physical model I constructed for my own purposes was a model aquifer in Dr. Lasca’s Ice Lab at the Great Lakes Research Facility as part of my Master’s thesis.
- Why did you choose this career?
I liked environmental geology problems.
- What's been your best experience in geology (or your career) so far?
It is a gas to have designed and constructed a full-scale sediment remedy (the NAPL Trapping Cap), and to have the cap perform so well.
- In your career, have you gotten the opportunity to travel or to work with people as part of your job?
My job has involved a fair amount of travel in the US. I have had the pleasure of working with excellent teams of in-house and external professionals at my different employers.
- What trait or thing(s) that you learned while in Geosciences at UWM has allowed you to succeed in your career?
Stay curious.
- Do you have any advice that you would give to our current students about their education or in selecting a career once they graduate?
Keep an open mind. Be brave.
- What is/was the hardest thing that you had to do in your career?
It’s always been a challenge to hold my tongue.
