DFI Magazine May/June 2020 - 77

MEMBER

PROFILE

Matt Meyer, Langan Engineering,
Well-Suited to Go the Distance
Charleston, South Carolina, is a picturesque
city of 138,000 along the Cooper River. It is
known for many things, including its
charming antebellum architecture, excellent restaurants and the oft-profiled
Cooper River Bridge, a prominent structure
in the geo-industr y based on the
geotechnical challenges its design and
construction presented. Another event of
geotechnical and historical note was the
6.9-7.3 magnitude earthquake of 1886,
which destroyed over 100 buildings and
was felt as far away as Ohio.
Charleston also happens to be the
birthplace of Matt Meyer, P.E., D.GE. At the
time of Meyer's "arrival," his father, a WWII
U.S. Navy veteran who was pursuing a
career in the engineering field, was
employed at the Charleston shipyard. His
mother, admired for, among other things,
her entrepreneurial spirit, owned her own
public accounting firm. Meyer credits his
folk's model work ethic as setting the tone
for his own success-filled life. Based in
Miami, Florida, now, he is vice president and
principal at the DFI member firm, Langan
Engineering and Environmental Services.

It Happened This Way
As a boy, Meyer was interested in sports and
in becoming an accomplished crosscountry and long-distance runner. Perhaps
the words "running" and "distance" were
portents of his future. His 25-year professional life has had him crisscrossing the
U.S., taking on responsibility for multiple
high-profile projects of every stripe. After
graduating from high school, he remained
in his beloved Charleston where he
attended The Citadel, an engineeringoriented military college much like West
Point. After graduating with a bachelor's
degree in civil engineering, he then went on
to Virginia Tech where he received his
master's. At Virginia Tech he studied under
some of the profession's greats, including
Jim Mitchell, Michael Duncan, George Filz,
James Martin (himself a Citadel graduate),
and Tom Brandon, all of whom he credits
with having had a major influence on his
own path. Meyer's fervor for education is
evidenced by his serving as an adjunct
professor at Florida International University, and by his support of the Geo-

Institute of ASCE's Advanced Specialty
Certification program.

Challenges Aplenty
Since joining Langan in 1996, Meyer has
played a significant role in over 100 major
deep foundation projects throughout the
U.S. His work has involved just about every
conceivable type of deep foundation
application. Among the most notable are the
new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the
NFL's Atlanta Falcons in Georgia; the Port of
Miami Tunnel in Florida; the Four Seasons
Hotel and Tower (the tallest structure in
Florida at the time of its construction); the
Atlantis Phase II expansions on Paradise
Island in the Bahamas; and the iconic guitarshaped Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
buildings in Florida.
As one of his colleagues at Langan,
Rudy Frizzi, says, "Matt isn't wed to one
foundation type, but is open to the
utilization of whatever system is most
suited to the project at hand." This is
evidenced by the range of projects in which
he has taken a leadership role.
While on the subject of leadership, all
who have worked with Meyer have
described this very trait as that which most
typifies his career and his persona. Frizzi
notes that, "Matt is an extremely hardworking professional. He leads by example.
He is a person that people want to work
with. His actions inspire others to achieve."
Matt Meyer and daughter, Samantha,
during a Colorado ski trip

AUTHOR

S. Scot Litke, Hon. D.GE

DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2020 * 77
DFI Magazine May/June 2020

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