Alum Christopher Dianora built a career underground

Christopher Dianora '10, M.S. '11 has spent his career building infrastructure that most people will never see.

From helping design portions of the water supply system that serve more than half of New York City's daily water demand to working on one of the world's largest-diameter tunnel projects in Australia, his work has taken him deep beneath cities around the globe.

But when he first chose engineering, underground construction wasn't part of the plan.

"I have always been interested in building things, even from a young age. My decision to become an engineer was based on trying to continue doing what I enjoyed doing," said Dianora. "But if you had told me then that I would be designing concrete structures underground, with heavy influence from environmental and geotechnical engineering, I would not have believed you."

A 2010 graduate with bachelor's degrees in civil and environmental engineering (CEE) and computer engineering, followed by a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering in 2011, Dianora now serves as an associate structural engineer with Delve Underground in New York City. He also owns CED Engineering and Consulting, a consulting firm based in Miami.

His day-to-day work centers on designing complex underground structures, including support systems for excavations, vertical shafts, and tunnel intersections, for projects including water supply and wastewater systems, subway networks, and highway tunnels. Through his consulting business, he also reviews residential remodeling projects in the Tampa Bay area.

The why behind underground engineering 

The work is technically demanding — and that's exactly what drew him to it.

"Underground engineering is some of the most complicated structural engineering because there is no standard design code or method," Dianora said. "You have to rely on engineering fundamentals and apply those fundamentals to each unique design problem."

That emphasis on understanding the why behind engineering is something he credits directly to his Virginia Tech education.

"Virginia Tech's civil and environmental engineering program places a strong emphasis on fundamental theory and structural behavior," he said. "My education from Virginia Tech taught me how engineering fundamentals are applied to structures beyond everyday beams and columns and that has been invaluable throughout my career." 

Lessons beyond the classroom

Outside the classroom, Dianora's favorite Virginia Tech memories include Hokie football during an era of 10-win seasons and a graduate trip to Switzerland to study bridges in the Swiss Alps. He also remembers the collaborative atmosphere of the structural engineering master's degree program, particularly Advanced Steel Design, taught by Matthew Eatherton, the Montague-Betts Professor of Structural Steel Design, which often felt more like a roundtable discussion than a traditional lecture.

Another defining experience came when he coordinated the 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers Virginias Conference, hosted by Virginia Tech.

"The support I had from the CEE department to raise funds and utilize campus resources was impressive," he said. "It gave me an opportunity to experience project management, logistical coordination, and to work with many local industry leaders."

Engineering for generations to come

Although Dianora always imagined himself designing iconic steel bridges after graduation, his career ultimately took him in a different direction, and it is one he now can’t imagine leaving.

"The work I do serves the public for multiple lifetimes," Dianora said. "To me, this is the epitome of civil engineering — it's literally engineering for the people."