"Most people think of building engineering as simply the structure and parts that make up a building…we get to be involved with real fun complex projects."

Craig Martin: From the South Pole to the Space Shuttle

With a childlike curiosity, Engineer Craig Martin marvels at the complex systems at work in the natural world—and helps design some of the most complex systems at work in modern scientific facilities.

In his 33 years with AECOM, Craig has had the chance to do some very interesting things in some very exciting places. Of time spent in Antarctica, he reflects, "I will never forget standing on top of an active volcano looking down in the cauldron at the lava lake; flying through the dry valleys in a helicopter; standing near emperor penguins while they watch you curiously, flying low across the world's largest glacier; watching whales surfacing while sailing through ice filled Antarctic waters. What an adventure!"

Craig's degrees as a civil and structural engineer have given him the ability to get involved with projects as simple as small roads and as complex as state of the art research facilities at the South Pole or projects supporting testing of thermal protection systems for the space shuttle. In addition, Craig has enjoyed working on radar sites in the high Arctic and facilities that support the defense of the United States.

Craig currently manages the Central Region for AECOM's Building Engineering practice, including offices in Albuquerque and Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Richland, Washington that support Department of Energy (DOE) work along with our contract with NASA at their Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. He lives and works in Colorado Springs, Colorado, enjoying the office's views directly to 14,000-ft Pikes Peak, with the Garden of the Gods in the foreground.

Craig began his career with AECOM legacy companies in 1977 and stayed on through the evolution of legacy firm DMJM H&N to the modern-day AECOM. "Most people think of building engineering as simply the structure and parts that make up a building, however, besides the simple part of building engineering, we get to be involved with real fun complex projects," says Craig. "These projects usually have very specialized requirements for research or are located in some of the most remote places on earth."

Having worked on hundreds of projects over the years, Craig notes that some stand out as particularly exciting. He was involved in the design of a research station for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The buildings sit on skis with hydraulic lifts that allow them to be elevated as the snow depth increases and allow them also to be relocated as necessary. He was also involved in designing N232, NASA's 'Sustainability Base' at the Ames Research Center, a LEED Platinum Building now under construction.

As site director for the AECOM NASA Ames contract, Craig enjoyed some good times. "Where else can you get to walk through a wind tunnel and see the massive blades of the compressor; work on systems to test shuttle tiles; plan systems to support one of the world's largest supercomputers; or have a fun barbeque lunch on a sunny day with great friends and great food?"

Craig fondly recalls his work designing research facilities in Antarctica for the US Antarctic Program. "This got me to some of the most remote parts of Antarctica," he says. "It also got a geographic feature named after me: Martin Cirque, Lat 77° 28' 00.0" S Lon 162° 40' 00.0" E." Craig and team had the opportunity to design some the finest science research facilities, including telescope facilities used to look into deep space to answer questions on the origins of the universe, or the first large solar-heated structure at the South Pole, one of the coldest places on Earth.

Other projects included designing systems for the NASA ArcJet facilities that have extreme power and cooling requirements; systems for NASA's Columbia Super Computer, one of the largest supercomputers in the world; a modular Childcare facility; and shielded facilities and mission control centers for the Consolidated Space Operations Center. "I even get to look at projects like the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF) that is being designed by our Albuquerque, Los Alamos, and Richland offices," says Craig.

In his free time, Craig loves hiking, camping, boating and visiting the National Parks. "I love every park I visit, but I particularly love Glen Canyon National Recreation Area/Lake Powell," he says. "There is nothing better than sitting on a houseboat in a remote high walled canyon, just watching the rocks grow older."

Jake Herson