Gresham Smith Partners with Carnegie Mellon to Shape the Future of Design and Engineering

Partnership Begins with Hackathon in Early 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Gresham Smith is excited to announce that the firm has entered a formal industry partnership with Carnegie Mellon University.

As a part of the agreement, professionals from Gresham Smith will collaborate with students in Carnegie Mellon’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to address some of the biggest challenges within the design industry, explore emerging trends and drive innovation in the field of engineering.

“Carnegie Mellon has a world-class engineering program, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with their faculty and students to come up with bold ideas to some of the biggest challenges our industry faces and lead through change,” said Mike Sewell, Director of Innovation at Gresham Smith.

The first major initiative under the partnership will be a hackathon held at Gresham Smith’s headquarters in Nashville in February 2026 during Engineers Week. Cross-disciplinary teams made up of students from Carnegie Mellon and professionals from Gresham Smith will collaborate on two big-picture engineering challenges shaping the built environment: data center sustainability and resiliency, and next-generation energy delivery and support. 

• Data Center Sustainability & Resiliency: As the demand for data grows, so does its environmental impact. Teams will consider how to design site infrastructure wisely under water and grid pressures to serve communities more responsibly  

• Next-Generation Energy Delivery & Support: Grid demand is rising, and clients are looking for smarter, more resilient solutions. Teams will investigate flexible, forward-thinking strategies that can be created to help meet rising energy demands and keep progress powered. 

The teams will research these challenges with subject matter experts and pitch their ideas. This also paves the way for additional academic research aligned with these topics to be studied further.

“At Carnegie Mellon, we place a significant value on giving our students hands-on, real-world experience while they’re a part of our engineering program,” said Burcu Akinci, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Hamerschlag University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “That’s why we’ve partnered with Gresham Smith to work together to advance solutions to some of our industry’s most pressing problems.”

Gresham Smith is one of just a few organizations around the world who have established an industry partnership with the prestigious university. As part of the agreement, Gresham Smith will also participate in recruitment and networking sessions with students from Carnegie Mellon.

About Gresham Smith
Gresham Smith is a premier architecture, engineering and consultancy services firm providing a full suite of solutions to private- and public-sector clients. With $355 million in annual gross revenue and 27 offices throughout the United States, we operate across eight strategic sectors: aviation, building engineering, healthcare, industrial, land planning, life and work places, transportation, and water and environment.

Recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and repeatedly listed as a “Best Place to Work,” we are committed to delivering on our Core Purpose—to plan, design and consult to create healthy and thriving communities—through our brand promise of Genuine Ingenuity. Learn more at GreshamSmith.com.

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