Matthew Chen is an environmental scientist with experience in ecosystem ecology, water quality, and contaminated sediment issues. Specific areas of expertise include development and execution of environmental investigations and environmental data analysis and visualization. With EHS Support, his primary responsibilities fall within the Technical Expertise and Execution focus area as part of the core technical team within the Sediment and Risk Assessment service line, including Ecological Risk Assessment, Allocation & Litigation Support, Water Quality Compliance, and Ecological Services.
Matthew also serves as the project manager for the urban waterways strategic growth project (SGP), where EHS Support is focused on becoming the recognized expert on a large urban waterway. To support these efforts, he has been collaborating with internal resources and leading teams of interns focused on compiling a large environmental database, building a document repository, and advancing the conceptual understanding of the waterway.
What do you find most rewarding about the work that you do?
I find that the ever-changing nature of the work I am involved with is the most rewarding aspect of the job. I am constantly engaged in a variety of projects where I am always working on new and complex problems, which continuously stimulate and challenge me.
What are you currently working on?
I am engaged in a variety of projects spanning several technical areas, including ecological risk assessments, water treatment process evaluation, and data visualization and management.
I am also involved with the urban waterways SGP, where I have been leading and supporting aspects of a new project where we are focused on becoming technical experts on an urban waterway in USEPA Region 6. I led our 2025 internship cohort of nine interns, four of whom will be starting in full-time roles on the Remediation and Sediment and Risk Assessment service lines over the next few months. We are kicking off our 2026 summer internship program on June 8 with a team of seven interns, including environmental scientists, aquatic chemists, and engineers, who will continue to compile large amounts of publicly available information and data to support our database and knowledge-building process on this urban waterway.
How can our clients benefit from this service/particular innovation?
The technical support that I provide is often associated with remedial investigation or remedial design planning, where strategic frameworks are implemented to support our client’s decision-making through the regulatory process.
The urban waterways SGP is focused on benefiting our clients by developing an early understanding of waterways that we view as potential regulatory focal points through an uncertain future. We also view our internship program as a tool to develop and ultimately hire talented environmental professionals who will eventually support our clients in the long term.
What is a little-known fact about you?
I competitively play pickleball on a team called “Jersey Devil,” and I am an avid rock climber.
