Geosyntec is built on innovation. Our founder and earliest employees developed the ground-breaking methods now commonly used to design geosynthetic liner systems.
In the years since, our innovations have included new methods and cultures for bioremediation of chlorinated solvents and other contaminants, in situ smoldering combustion to treat contaminants like PFAS, many developments in the treatment of vapor intrusion, information management advances like wall trackers for dams, development of a comprehensive stormwater database for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and gravel-bed bioreactors to treat inorganic contaminants, to name a few.
Our Commitment
Professionals throughout the firm work to develop and commercialize leading-edge solutions.
This work creates a culture of innovation that enhances our project execution, recruiting, client service, practice evolution, financial success, and reputation.
We foster new ideas, test them, and bring them to market, often partnering with universities, researchers, and clients. We support our practitioners as they explore new ideas, find new uses for established technologies, and develop more efficient ways of serving our clients.
Through innovation, we find new ways to help clients meet aggressive carbon-neutral targets and make their businesses resilient to water shortages, sea-level rise, droughts, forest fires, and other severe weather events. We also help them address emerging contaminants, tightening regulatory regimes, economic pressures, and evolving stakeholder demands.
Our Programs
Our companywide Innovation Council encourages our people as they pursue innovative technologies and methods.
Through several interconnected programs, the Innovation Council supports projects from inception of new ideas through successfully marketed products and technologies:
- Our University Collaboration Initiative builds bridges between clients, Geosyntec, and university partners to foster groundbreaking research and development (R&D) projects.
- Our Technology Advisory Council leads internal R&D, helping fund the development of new technologies, practices, and products.
- Our Commercialization Advisory Panel provides entrepreneurial guidance and mentoring to help commercialize technologies and products and start new ventures.
- Our University, Diversity, Outreach, and Engagement Initiative partners with academic institutions and student organizations to recruit a broad spectrum of candidates and create strong teams that are well positioned to think in new ways and develop innovative solutions.
Advancing the Practice of Groundwater Remediation through Research and Publication
Advancing the state of the practice in all consulting areas is a long-standing value and priority for Geosyntec. According to analysis in Environmental Science and Pollution Research that considered worldwide publications over two decades, Geosyntec practitioners were the eighth-largest source of research articles on groundwater remediation for chlorinated solvent plumes. This distinction places us alongside leading universities and regulatory agencies like USEPA and highlights our continued commitment to advancing science and providing innovative solutions to our clients and partners.
This designation also reflects our decades of work in tandem with our colleagues in academia, industry, and government. In fact, many of our collaborators are also listed as top global contributors. Notably, our specialists frequently collaborate with those at the University of Waterloo (listed as the leading contributor), the Technical University of Denmark (second), the University of Toronto (fourth), the United States Geological Survey (fifth), and USEPA (seventh).
Innovative Solutions
Evaluating and Practicing Innovative Conservation (EPIC) Project Missouri Innovative Nutrient Trading (MINT) Project
Water and Natural Resources
Columbia, Missouri, USA
Evaluating and Practicing Innovative Conservation (EPIC) Project Missouri Innovative Nutrient Trading (MINT) Project
The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Missouri NRCS offices awarded Conservation Innovation Grants to the Environmental Resources Coalition and Geosyntec Consultants for two projects aimed at introducing water quality trading concepts in Missouri.
Mixed NAPL Source Area Investigation and Alternative Groundwater Remedy at the Cortese Landfill NPL Site
Contaminated Site Assessment and Cleanup
Village of Narrowsburg, New York
Innovative Evapotranspirative Monocover and Groundwater Remediation at the Operating Industries, Inc., Landfill Superfund Site
Contaminated Site Assessment and Cleanup
Monterey Park, California, USA
Comprehensive Environmental Management Support for River Birch Landfill
Water & Wastewater, Waste Management, Environmental Management, Civil Sites, Air Quality
Avondale, Louisiana
Geosyntec’s Innovation Council
Geosyntec’s Innovation Council creates value for our clients, colleagues, and stakeholders by supporting programs that address the entire path a new idea takes to become a useful technology, from conducting proof-of-concept R&D all the way to full commercialization.
Through its three programs, the Innovation Council provides research grants to our colleagues and research collaborators to test out and advance ideas, helps build partnerships with leading-edge research universities, and supports commercialization of new technologies, providing entrepreneurial guidance, mentoring, and funding.
The Innovation Council enhances our culture of thought leadership, rigorous research, and practical application, fostering this mindset among employees at every level of the company.
The Innovation Council’s mission is as follows:
- To strengthen the company’s culture of innovation
- To promote a holistic innovation culture spanning the firm’s geography and encompassing our business’s technical, administrative, managerial, and operational aspects
- To develop training programs that instill a firmwide innovative and entrepreneurial ethos
- To track the return on investment to Geosyntec from our innovation programs
- To support innovation-focused marketing materials
- To encourage employee engagement by highlighting stories about innovation and by educating employees about our innovation programs
- To reward exceptional R&D projects, publications, and commercialization successes; recognize achievements; and encourage involvement of more practitioners in our innovation programs
- To be a resource for and advisor to Geosyntec’s senior leadership
In addition to coordinating and connecting the three partner programs, the Innovation Council works closely with Geosyntec’s marketers, the University Diversity Outreach and Engagement team, the talent acquisition team, and the Diversity Council to communicate our efforts externally and within the firm.
University Collaboration Initiative
The University Collaboration Initiative program broadens, deepens, and leverages our relationships with student organizations, universities and colleges, and other research partners, including research institutes, professors, graduate students, and clients.
We do this by developing a network of university partners and increasing collaboration among academia, Geosyntec, and our clients as we undertake leading-edge research.
The Mission of Geosyntec’s University Collaboration Initiative
Strong collaborative relationships with university partners help us to develop better solutions for our clients’ challenges, create intellectual property that allows us to enter or develop new market areas, and help us to recruit and retain exceptional employees.
The program’s primary objectives are threefold:
- Inspiring a what’s next? approach by working with clients to identify where better solutions are needed, building bridges with universities conducting related research, and working to develop practical solutions from this research
- Supporting the company’s technical and business evolution by investing in leading-edge research in key growth areas
- Building innovation-focused teams by supporting the recruitment of exceptional and diverse candidates from university programs who will lead our current and future practice areas
Technology Advisory Council & Commercialization Advisory Panel
Since its inception in 2013, the Technology Advisory Council (TAC) has provided millions of dollars of seed funding for more than 50 internally funded projects. More recently, the Commercialization Advisory Panel (CAP) was created to help bring such projects successfully to market.
The TAC comprises practitioners with proven records of R&D and innovation, representing many practice areas, market sectors, and geographic regions. The CAP includes practitioners with experience driving commercial applications of innovative technologies and expanding into new market areas. These practitioners also represent our many practice areas, markets, and regions.
Geosyntec’s TAC Awards
To support R&D, we solicit awards in three categories:
- Improvement/Proof-of-Concept Awards. These winning projects test concepts, conduct analyses and market evaluations, and establish merit.
- Commercialization Awards. These winning projects receive monetary and other kinds of support, including help establishing strategic partnerships and accessing government programs. The outcome of these awards should be market-ready products and technologies.
- High-Impact Awards. This award supports winners as they solicit and engage with clients and government programs. The winning projects are expected to have game-changing outcomes and include well-developed business plans and market strategies.
Geosyntec’s CAP Resources
We work with successful R&D projects, bringing them to market in one of three ways:
- Traditional Markets. For projects that align with Geosyntec’s core businesses, we help develop business plans and paths to commercialization and identify funding vehicles.
- Lean Start-ups. For projects that are well-suited to self-deployment, we provide training on the lean start-up model, help identify and test critical business assumptions, track progress, and support pivot/persevere decision-making.
- Strategic Partnerships. For appropriate projects, we help evaluate and prioritize strategic partners, develop approaches and pitches, and make connections with potential partners.
