Grounded in experience, growing through study

Growing up in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, Joey Kurincak often noticed orange streams running through his town, evidence of acid mine drainage and the result of decades of coal mining in the region. Later, during the natural gas boom of the late 2000s and 2010s, he saw how new extraction industries continued to shape his hometown.

“At the time, I didn’t fully understand it, but now that I understand the processes, its more meaningful,” he said. “The water wasn’t safe to drink. You could see how much the environment was suffering.”

Those early experiences, combined with a love of nature and outdoor activities like skiing, hiking, and visiting national parks, sparked an interest in how engineering could help restore and protect natural systems.

After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Systems Engineering from Penn State University, Kurincak entered the workforce, joining Pittsburgh-based environmental consulting firm Key Environmental as a Staff Engineer. For two and a half years, he worked on a range of remediation projects like power plant decommissioning and landfill capping, where he gained hands-on experience addressing contamination and designing containment systems.

“One of my first projects involved installing a geosynthetic cap on a landfill to prevent contaminants from entering the environment," he said. “Its the kind of work where you can directly see your impact protecting human health and the environment at the same time.”

The experience also showed him how many remediation systems weren’t originally designed with climate change in mind: “That’s what I want to help change. I want to design climate-resilient and adaptive systems that can withstand future challenges.”

CMU had been Kurincak's dream school since high school. When he decided to pursue his master’s degree, he was drawn to the department's flexibility and its focus on innovation and climate resilience. This, combined with the close partnership between the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Key Environmental, led him to pursue his M.S. in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on climate-resilient environmental systems and technologies.

Taking classes that connect directly to his career and interests, like Rick Weiss’s Remediation Engineering and Greg Lowry’s Chemical Thermodynamics and Mass Transfer, Kurincak has found a new appreciation for his coursework, contextualizing what he’s learning within the real-world cases he’s worked on. He found that the combination of professional experience and higher education has made him a stronger engineer. 

“My master’s is making me more technically capable, but also better at communicating ideas and collaborating with others,” he said. “I’m learning to evaluate problems more holistically and come up with more innovative solutions.”

Outside of the classroom, Kurincak stays active with CMU’s Running Club and enjoys skiing, hiking, and Pittsburgh's live music scene. After graduating in December, he hopes to continue to develop his expertise in remediation and climate adaptation by not only strengthening systems from past environmental damage, but also preparing them for the uncertain conditions of the future.