Matthew Landsman

Matthew Landsman has been fascinated by the built environment since childhood. He pursued this interest in high school and college as a surveyor and engineering intern at a civil engineering design firm run by his brothers.

Through his internship experience, Landsman gained an appreciation for civil and environmental engineering. Later, during his undergraduate degree studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, he gained an interest in research.

This interest drove him to return to the University of Maryland to complete a master’s degree program in civil engineering, then attend the University of Texas at Austin to study for his doctoral degree in civil engineering.

“I was welcomed during my first weekend at UT Austin by Hurricane Harvey,” Landsman says. “I was able to do some work related to how treatment plants recover from these kinds of natural disasters, and I was confident I wanted to continue this work in my career.”

Starting in spring 2025, he’s continuing his career as an assistant professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Before his new role, Landsman worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He’s decided to move his career to ASU to take advantage of the university’s diverse research and teaching opportunities while helping Arizona tackle its pressing water shortage issues.

“I am excited to get back to teaching, as this has been one of the things I have missed the most during my postdoctoral role,” Landsman says. “Also, I look forward to exploring new research directions that are relevant and important to water reuse in Arizona — such as water quality in communities that are impacted by acid mine drainage — so we can better prepare ourselves for our changing world.”

He plans to teach courses such as EVE 354 Materials in the Environment, EVE 304 Environmental Engineering Process Lab and CEE 506 Soil and Groundwater Remediation. Landsman says students should be ready to use their critical thinking skills to work on interdisciplinary research that will enable their academic and professional growth.

“I train students to be curious about the world around them and confident in their abilities to solve real-world problems,” he says.

When not working, Landsman enjoys running, mountain biking and spending time outside with his dog.

Meet the newest faculty members of the Fulton Schools of Engineering here.

Written by TJ Triolo