When John Hillman’s cell phone rings, out comes the tune of “Tom Sawyer,” released by the rock band Rush in 1981. The song is not just a favorite of Hillman’s—it comes as close to summing up his philosophy and personality as any one song could. A tribute to a “modern-day warrior,” it has inspired him to shrug off petty politics, win over skeptics and rebound from setbacks—all for the sake of an “obsession” that sets out to transform the infrastructure world for the better.
Creating change took about 14 years for Hillman and his patented creation, a structural beam consisting of a corrosion-resistant fiberglass box containing self-consolidating concrete, steel strands, foam and a pink and frilly-looking inflatable plastic bag. The Hybrid Composite Beam (HCB) is the result of endless sketches, headaches and hope. It took passion and persistence to sell the innately conservative world of public infrastructure owners and engineers on the lightweight HCB, which can carry fully loaded freight trains and last a century.