In Remembrance of David Good

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved alumnus and CEE Industrial Advisory Board member, David Good, on January 23, 2023. David received a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from NJIT in 1978 and 1992, respectively. He had a renowned career as a geotechnical engineer and received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020 from the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He was a member of the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s John A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) since 2012. He was known for his out-of-the-box and visionary ideas that brought numerous improvements to his alma mater. David was instrumental in creating the “Resilient Systems Planning and Design” course. This course was the first of its kind that touches on multidisciplinary aspects related to natural hazards, flood risks, and climate change considerations from planning, design, and management perspectives.

David joined Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers in 1980 and was promoted to Principal in 2015. He has conducted subsurface investigations in many soil profiles and defined design parameters for a wide range of geotechnical projects. He produced and managed a variety of designs, including excavations and foundations for new construction, underpinning, retrofits and rehabilitation. He was an accomplished trouble-shooter, because he was adept at defining the geotechnical problem – a rare capability in the world of complex engineering projects. Dave helped better define construction problems, provided inventive solutions, and served as an expert to define and effectively argue changed conditions claims and to resolve construction disputes.

Throughout his academic career, he undertook many notable projects, held widespread memberships, and received many honors. He has been either the author or co-author of articles and papers on geotechnical engineering topics, such as slurry walls and slurry trenches. He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Pile Driving Contractors Association. He had a hand in the Manhattan West Development, the Edge Waterfront Development, the Manhattan West Development over the Penn Station rail corridor, and the New York-Presbyterian Hospital David H. Koch Ambulatory Care Center, among other projects. His legacy lives on. 

Renaming the 3D Printed Bridge Competition

Dave had an incredible impact on not only the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NJIT, but on everyone he encountered. He was the visionary behind NJIT’s 3D Printed Bridge Competition, both the collegiate and high school divisions, which took place in November 2021 at NJIT’s Makerspace. It made history as both the first intercollegiate and the first intermural 3D printed bridge competition on record. Dave championed this idea with CEE’s Industrial Advisory Board and contributed to every stage of the planning and execution, including the competition rules, the bridge testing procedure, promotion of the competition and judging. The collegiate competition was piloted as an ASCE student competition to explore its viability as a national competition to complement classic events, such as steel bridge and concrete canoe.

This year's high school division 3D competition is being held Sunday, April 30 and will honor Dave and his contributions. His vision for the competition was not simply a novel competition to advance emerging technologies for the built environment, but as a vehicle for social change. Seeing a gap in STEM outreach to high school students, Dave saw this as a way to help industry professionals partner with high school students to provide mentorship and material support for schools with limited resources. NJIT CEE continues to strive to achieve Dave’s vision of holistic and effective STEM outreach. His exceptional vision, motivation and eagerness to improve education, propose new ideas and engage in discussions, have substantially contributed to modernize and add practical and industrial dimensions to the civil engineering curriculum at NJIT. Therefore, it is my pleasure to announce, according to the Industrial Advisory Board, the renaming of our high school 3D Printed Bridge Competition to the “David Good 3D Printed Bridge Competition” in honor of our memorable colleague, companion, and friend.