I remember hearing “the only constant is change” when I was in college, and it caused me to think about how I could make myself ready for evolving change. I couldn’t have imagined in the 1980s just how quickly the world would change in my lifetime—and…
Engineering The Future: Does Civil Engineering Have the Courage to Change (Redux)?
We’re being bombarded daily with AI bots and news. Everyone in the profession sees it as a blessing and a curse. I see it as similar to the revolution…
Engineering the Future: Just Do It!
I remember when Nike launched its “Just Do It” media campaign—it was brilliant! The application to infrastructure was obvious to me. Three words…
Engineering the Future: Does Civil Engineering Have the Courage to Change?
About a year ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) executive committee established the task committee on “Transforming our Workforce.” It was to be a “blue-sky” exercise, first to use a blank sheet of paper to design how we would…
Engineering the Future: Public Safety Is Paramount in All Aspects of Engineering
Nothing is more important than the core tenet of our profession’s ethics: protecting public health, safety and welfare. When we do not do our jobs right, people can die. I remember a few years into my career, on Dec. 3, 1984, more than half a million…
Engineering the Future: Engineers Need To Be Among the Leaders and Decision Makers
“You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” That’s my one-line, takeaway quote to students and younger engineers when they ask for one piece of advice. In today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world, if you stand still, you’re falling behind.…
Engineering The Future: End of March Brings 2025 ASCE Report Card
Drumroll please, it’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) infrastructure report card time … By the time this column is printed, but before it was written, ASCE will have released its 2025 report card at https://infrastructurereportcard.org.…
Engineering The Future: Build a Workforce Pipeline That Doesn’t Leak
As our nation works to improve aging and crumbling infrastructure, assembling and retaining the workforce needed to achieve those goals remains a major challenge. Never in my lifetime has the need for civil engineers and all the trades that support them…
Engineering The Future: Where Have All the Workers Gone?
Infrastructure is at an inflection point. Never have we needed it more, as you can’t support a healthy economy on a crumbling infrastructure. At the same time, we have an incredible workforce shortage across the entire spectrum—from bus drivers and…
Engineering the Future: Streamlined Contract Documents Will Revolutionize Infrastructure Project Delivery
While you were sleeping, Santa brought an early present this year: federal acknowledgement that there are high-quality, balance-risk contract documents that can be used as templates and model language in infrastructure delivery. The Engineering Joint…
