Staff Writer
Shelbie Harris
Albert Einstein once said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
The very large desk with stacks of neatly packaged miscellaneous papers, separated into sections by three-inch binder clips, scattered atop assorted books and research notes didn’t appear at all to have been placed there haphazardly.
A man with over 30 years of experience as a geotechnical consultant, Jim Mahar, a Senior Lecturer for the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at ISU, is the owner of the desk and speaks in a slow, meticulous manner.
“I came back to [ISU] to teach and do research,” said Mahar. “After 30 years I thought I probably have some experience and some background from which I can educate students. It’s all about giving back.”
Mahar’s office is situated within Colonial Hall. At the time he first came to ISU in 1962, he actually knew the students that lived in the exact dorm room where his office is today.
He spent a total of five years at ISU before meeting his wife and graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1967.
Together the couple traveled to Colorado State University where Mahar worked as a teaching-research assistant in hydrology.
At the same time he finished his Master’s degree in 1972, Mahar also started his consulting firm, Geotechnical Engineering, Inc.
“I was involved in teaching and research from 1969 to 1990 at the same time I had my own engineering consulting firm,” Mahar said.
“Primarily [I handled] heavy civil works projects such as tunnels, bridges, dams, underground caverns, highway work, and mines and quarries,” explained Mahar. “Basically it’s rocks and dirt. I teach rocks and dirt here.”
Mahar still owns the consulting firm, one in which he has never had to advertise for based on his level of expertise in the field.
Being known as one of the world’s foremost experts in tunneling and subsidence pays dividends.
He only works on the consulting projects during the summer months when he is not teaching, however the work that he is doing still makes its way into the classroom.
“On those projects that I work on during the summer, I bring back and teach from them,” Mahar said. “In all the courses that I end up teaching they’re real life projects so that students have that kind of exposure.”
If a job has a problem or a particular requirement that needs met, Mahar is the person people come to for a solution.
Depending on the extensiveness of the issue, Mahar considers whether or not the problem is something he can take care of or not.
“I make a decision whether or not to take on the job,” said Mahar. “What I don’t want to do is compromise my teaching. My responsibilities at the university come first. The students always come first.”
The consulting firm allows for Mahar to stay abreast to what’s going on within the profession while also allowing for students to gain real life experience in their future careers.
Mahar is able to hire graduate students at ISU through his consulting firm to assist in projects out in the field.
“I have had several graduate students work on projects that are later used for their thesis during their Master’s program,” said Mahar. “I believe that it helps overall. The ability to teach from the standpoint of practical experience compliments their academic education.”
Civil engineers are essentially responsible for projects involving building things while also protecting the environment at the same time.
Some of these projects have a larger impact than others.
Two weeks after hijackers crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center complex, Mahar was at ground zero evaluating the structural damage to subways caused by the collapse of the twin towers above them.
“I was responsible for making some decisions in regards to the types of investigations that needed to be carried out in the process of rebuilding subways that had collapsed,” said Mahar. “It was one of the most emotional times of my life. Driving through there you could still see the smoke coming off the areas that had fallen.”
As Mahar drove by the fire stations, there were memorials for the people who had lost their lives during the tragedy.
Mahar has a passion for helping people and a passion for using his knowledge and expertise for the greater good of not only the students that he teaches but also everyone around him.
His career choice has landed him in so many different countries he couldn’t remember all of them off hand. Working all over the world seemed so natural with New Zealand, Bolivia, Egypt, and Greece acting as just a few examples.
Of all the things he’s done, the places he’s seen and the people he has met along the way, Mahar believes ISU has some of the greatest people he’s ever met.
“I can say one thing. When it comes to the people here in Civil Engineering I can say [ISU] has some of the best individuals I have ever worked with, the best engineers,” said Mahar. “Students who come here have an absolutely wonderful educational opportunity.”
