KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A veteran-owned engineering and sciences firm that is focused on sustainable water resource management and environmental restoration and is based in two of the nation's most water-dominated states is the newest corporate partner in Western Michigan University's Business Technology and Research Park.
The Michigan office of Drummond Carpenter is now housed in the WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine Innovation Center, located at the BTR Park. The office provides an operational base for the firm's focus on assessing water resources and implementing green infrastructure. The firm's other office is in Orlando, Florida. Together, the two offices serve the federal government and communities and organizations around the nation, in such states as Washington, California and Tennessee.
The Michigan office is under the direction of the company's vice president of water resources, Dr. Donald D. Carpenter, an award-winning civil engineer with a long background in consulting and academia. He and his partner, company president Chad Drummond, launched their firm in 2016.
The work of the Michigan office, Carpenter says, revolves around best practices in storm water management, hydrogeological modeling and design, sustainability, green infrastructure and community engagement. Carpenter also serves as the director of the Great Lakes Storm Water Management Institute at Lawrence Technological University, where he taught civil engineering from 2001 to 2016. Earlier this year, he was named the 2017 Educational Professional of the Year by the Michigan Water Environment Association.
Carpenter says the firm's clients include municipal, state and federal governmental organizations; educational institutions; attorneys; private industry; and nonprofit organizations. Some of the firm's work involves developing comprehensive decision-making models that include social, economic and environmental components. Helping corporations "green up" and restoring watersheds are among the initiatives Drummond Carpenter routinely undertakes, he says, noting that green infrastructure work, such as using natural systems to capture and treat rainfall, can relieve pressure on traditional infrastructure elements.
"We use our expertise to provide quality places for people to live, work and play," Carpenter says. "Human health and well-being are dependent on the type of environment we're building."
While the Michigan office focuses on watershed planning and management, environmental restoration and proactive design work to implement best practices, Carpenter says the Florida office is focused on water assessment and remediation, treating groundwater and surface water for such contaminants as PCBs, petroleum hydrocarbons, metal, and radionuclides.
"The two offices complement each other very well," Carpenter says.
The Drummond Carpenter leadership is planning to recruit WMU students as interns in the coming months—taking advantage of their new office's proximity to the WMU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. They also hope, Carpenter says, to mentor students through the college's Senior Design Projects, a capstone engineering effort in which seniors work with industry sponsors to find solutions to real-world problems.
WMU's Business Technology and Research Park
WMU's Business Technology and Research Park focuses on the life sciences, advanced engineering and information technology. The park shares the University's 265-acre Parkview Campus with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Launched in late 1999, the BTR Park is home to nearly 50 private-sector companies directly employing more than 850 people. Phase II of the BTR Park is planned for the near future on a nearby parcel of land. Learn more at wmich.edu/btr.
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