M.V. Martello, PhD, PE

About Me

I'm a civil engineer interested in solving problems at the intersection of infrastructure, climate change, and economics. Much of my work focuses on quantifying the costs of flood risk to infrastructure systems, valuing flood risk reduction efforts, and more generally supporting project teams as they make the case for investments in flood risk reduction (i.e., climate change adaptation).

In my current role as Senior Climate Resilience Engineer at HNTB, I'm helping to solve problems at the intersection of transportation infrastructure and climate change as part of their Resilient Infrastructure Solutions (RIS) practice.

Previously, I served as a Civil Engineer in the Planning Division at the US Army Corps of Engineers New York District, where I assisted in the planning of coastal flood protection and navigation projects in the greater NYC area. I also advised project and research teams outside the NY District on issues relating to flood risk assessment for critical infrastructure. I was also involved in the revision and drafting of national coastal storm risk management and sea level change guidance.

My prior work has focused flood risk quantification for rail rapid transit infrastructure (i.e., figuring out how tunnels flood and what gets damaged as a consequence). During my time as a member of the MIT Transit Lab working under Professor Andrew Whittle, I conducted interdisciplinary research developing climate adaptation planning tools for Boston's regional transit authority (MBTA).

Resume

Interests

Flood Risk Analysis
Infrastructure Resilience
Climate Adaptation
- - Transit

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D. Civil & Environmental Engineering (2023)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, S.M. Civil & Environmental Engineering (2020)
Manhattan College, B.S. Civil Engineering (2018)

Licenses and Certifications

Professional Engineer (PE), New York State (no. 110286)

Skills

Engineering Software: OptumG2 | Plaxis 2D | ArcGIS Pro | EPA SWMM 5.1 | AutoCAD

Professional Experience

USACE (United States Army Corps of Engineers)

Civil Engineer, New York District

July 2023 - Present

Actively engaged with senior leadership in the development and revision of nationwide guidance for coastal storm risk management planning and incorporating sea level rise in project analysis.
Planning, scoping, and executing research quantifying direct and indirect costs of flooding for critical infrastructure assets.
Assist in the planning of coastal flood protection and navigation projects in the greater NYC area, ensuring compliance with relevant policy and engineering guidance.
Analyze and characterize fragility of critical infrastructure to flood exposure. Advise and collaborate with project delivery teams across North Atlantic Division to quantify flood risk to critical infrastructure assets.

DoD Smart Scholar, New York District

June 2022 - August 2022

Gained familiarity with USACE processes, planning guidance, and flood risk reduction valuation practices.
Investigated fragility of aboveground storage tanks within the New York and New Jersey Harbor Area Tributaries (NYNJ HATS) study area.
Conducted closure frequency analysis for NYNJ HATS alternatives, investigated discrepancies in coastal flood risk data.
Worked closely with plan formulators and planning division section chiefs to help prepare feasibility studies and draft reports.

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) - Transit Lab

Research Assistant

September 2018 - June 2023

Directly collaborating with the MBTA's Department of Environmental Affairs to investigate the climate change vulnerability and resilience of the MBTA's rapid transit network.
Developing tools to quantify the costs of climate change to infrastructure systems, and methods of valuing climate change adaptation projects.
Developing decision support tools to prioritize adaptation investments given competing objective and an uncertain future.
Conceived, designed, and coded web-based planning and assessment tools including CRaVAT transit (Climate Resilience and Vulnerability Assessment Tool for transit) for evaluating projected impacts of coastal flood risk and sea level rise on the MBTA's rail rapid transit system.

MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)

Climate Change Resiliency Intern

(June 2020 - Aug. 2020)

Continued to develop a web-based climate resilience and vulnerability assessment tool (CRaVAT transit) for evaluation of capital improvement projects.
Conducted a preliminary climate change vulnerability assessment for the MBTA's bus facilities.
Contributed to project meetings for ongoing climate change vulnerability assessment work conducted by contracted engineering design firms.
Collected relevant geospatial data in preparation for the MBTA's participation in the Resilient Mystic Collaborative’s Storm-resilient Infrastructure Assessment.

MRCE (Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers)

Geotechnical Engineering Intern

(June 2018 - Aug. 2018)

Worked closely with 8 engineers and 3 associates in the evaluation and analysis of problems pertaining to soil behavior, foundations, and underground structures.
Responsible for research aimed at predicting soil-pile interaction and comparing to pile load tests conducted by MRCE. Predicted pile settlements using various methods while also considering shear modulus degradation of soil under monotonic loading.
Cooperated with the MTA MOW division and assisted in deployment of vibration monitoring services for ongoing construction at the Hudson Yards development in Midtown, NYC.
Gained field experience monitoring geotechnical borings; generated boring logs, classified soil retrieved from SPT tests, and characterized rock coring samples.