Ryan Witters

Thanks to my M.Eng.., I have created the foundation to become an expert in this field, which will help me carve a niche in my career moving forward.

Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Occupation: Senior Consultant and the LitCon Group, LLC

Ryan Witters implements his advanced engineering and project management skills by retracing the past. As a Manager at The LitCon Group in Alexandria, VA, Witters and his team work in construction delay and damages: When third-party construction projects don’t finish on time or on budget, Witters is called on to review the project’s history step by step, assist in deciding who is at fault for the failure, and testify during the
litigation process to hold those responsible accountable.

“At the most basic level, engineers are problem solvers,” says Witters. “We’re taught from the beginning and on the job to be efficient, develop detailed plans, and cut the fat so we can maximize productivity and minimize waste and cost. Every day, I analyze what went wrong to cause a change in the outcome of the plan.”

While Witters learned some of these organizational, technical, and critical thinking skills as an undergraduate civil engineering student at the University of Evansville in Indiana, hefurther sharpened them at the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering. Witters was drawn to the M.Eng. in Civil & Environmental Engineering in part because he could pursue a concentration in Environmental and Water Resources. He had been interested in water as an important resource for the future—its scarcity, cleanliness, maintenance, and management—since his undergraduate years, and his degree was a great chance to delve into that passion and guide his career in this growing area of interest.

In addition, Maryland appealed to Witters because of the personal connections he knew could foster with professors. “During my time in the program, I developed relationships with many of my instructors,” says Witters. “Ultimately, these bonds led to an independent study with Dr. Gerald Galloway, a highly regarded and well-respected engineer in his field, which encompassed a statistical analysis of nationwide flood deaths between 2015 and 2016.”

While he was obtaining his M.Eng., Witters also pursued a graduate certificate in project management, which relates directly to his responsibilities at his current job at The LitCon Group. Eventually, he aims to bring on more projects from the water resources sector to the company, such as levees, dams, and watershed management.

“I’ve been lucky to work on a few water resource issues here at The LitCon Group,” says Witters, “and it’s been gratifying to use the knowledge gained from my Maryland degree to help explain some of these complex processes to my bosses and peers alike. Thanks to my M.Eng., I have created the foundation to become an expert in this field, which will help me carve a niche in my career moving forward.”