Linda Seymour, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

How can we design durable, sustainable infrastructure? Starting at the material level and progressing through structural design, construction and maintenance, this is the question I seek to answer in my career. Ancient materials and infrastructure are lasting for centuries or millennia and this serves as a point of inspiration for me.My undergraduate studies focused on structural design. Take the suspension bridges of the Inka. Made from renewable resources, the grass bridges were an engineering necessity to traverse the sharp canyons of the Andes. My work with Prof. John Ochsendorf at MIT and the Smithsonian Institute highlighted the inspiration that we can take from Inkan engineers.As an engineer for ExxonMobil, I focused on the maintenance and construction projects of a 750 acre industrial site. I realized that as engineers we need to think about how our structures will be maintained and re-used over time. Our duty the client does not end after construction.Now, as a PhD Candidate at MIT, I study ancient Roman concrete at the material level to design new, durable construction materials. Inspired by structures from the Pantheon to aqueducts, I have patented a self-healing concrete and characterized materials from dozens of structures.

Listed skills include Life Cycle Assessment.