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Hector Medina
As a boy in Puerto Rico, Hector Medina was fascinated by bridges. He studied the great bridges of the world and knew that he would be a bridge builder himself one day. He studied civil engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor's degree and began a career as an engineer.Hector has worked on bridges in many parts of the United States and in the Caribbean, including the Virgin Islands, Panama, Connecticut, North Carolina, and his native Puerto Rico. One of the most interesting parts of the job for him is the idea that each bridge is custom-made to fit the specific location and the needs of the area. Each bridge is years in the making, from the initial design phase through testing and simulation with models to the final construction. As the bridge engineer, Hector must be able to prove that the bridge will not only be strong enough to support its load, but be attractive as well. He must satisfy his own goals as well as those of government officials and clients.
With new technologies available, bridges can be made much stronger than they have in the past. As shown in the BreakThrough program, one of Hector's projects features a new type of concrete bridge construction known as post-tension, which allows engineers more freedom in their designs. His interest in bridge building still as strong as when he was a boy, Hector often shares his ideas with his own son, who may someday be a bridge builder, too.
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