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Most people want to learn more about and develop expertise in areas that interest them. Some of those people end up pursuing advanced academic degrees, much like Professor Rodrigo Salgado, J.D. ’22. He developed an interest in the law that led to him enrolling as a student at IU McKinney School of Law.

Civil engineering ran in the family, so there was little doubt Professor Salgado would pursue engineering as a course of study and as a career path. He is the Charles Pankow Professor in Civil Engineering at Purdue University. That’s not to say Professor Salgado is one-dimensional. Far from it. He’s had an interest in sports and was at one point a very good tennis player. He’s delved into understanding the effects of diet on well-being, physiology, and music, among other subjects. “It’s not that hard for me to want to go a little deeper into it,” Professor Salgado said of subjects that intrigue him. “I do have this tendency if something piques my interest to try and understand it better.”

Suffice to say, Professor Salgado achieved his goal of understanding the law better. His paper, “Risk Runs Through It: The Legal Framework for Dam Breach Failures” was published in the University of Louisville Law Review in Fall 2022. The article deals with a timely topic: the breach failure of traditional water dams and tailings dams. Tailings are the by-products of mining for metals such as iron, copper, or gold. Because the yield is so low (as an example, you need to mine of the order of nine tons of rock to produce a gold ring), mining companies often destroy entire hillsides when mining for these metals. The resulting debris (the tailings) are stored behind dams, which fail with some frequency, he said. The piece examines the history of dam failures and considers how courts would look at the failure of a dam now. Interim IUPUI Chancellor Andrew R. Klein supervised Professor Salgado’s research project during the 2021-20122 academic year. “Andy was a great advisor,” Professor Salgado said. “He gave me super good feedback. Andy really knows torts, so it was optimal.”

Professor Salgado sometimes works as a consultant with lawyers in a litigation support capacity, which made him interested in learning more about the law and ultimately enrolling in law school. IU McKinney was accessible from where he lives in West Lafayette, but Professor Salgado said he considered fully online legal education institutions, too.

“I did some research and learned that while there are fully online programs, some are only in the beginning stages,” Professor Salgado said. “IU McKinney offered a lot more choice in course offerings, and evening classes were essential to me completing the degree.” During his legal studies, he developed an interest in real property law, contract law, construction law, intellectual property law, torts, and higher education law. He says he also enjoyed courses in tax law, corporate law, closely held business organizations, payment systems, and international environmental justice.

All the studying wasn’t solely for his personal edification, Professor Salgado said. He sat for the Indiana bar exam and is admitted to practice in the Hoosier state. Although he currently has no plans to change careers, he says he is looking forward to using his knowledge of the law. Taking on cases that would match his capabilities or doing litigation support work that would draw on his scientific and engineering knowledge, he says, "would be enjoyable and rewarding."