We’re in the season when many of us stop and think about the things for which we’re thankful. For some, it’s our family, our health, our jobs, our home. For others, it’s nature, the ability to travel, the freedom to speak. For some, it’s difficult…
Final Thoughts: Bridge Work: From Wooden Covers to Recycled Steel
As I was previewing this issue of Informed Infrastructure, I came across a brief summary of an article about the engineering of tall wood buildings. Although…
Final Thoughts: Millennials Are ‘Engineering: The Next Generation’
Many members of my generation think we Baby Boomers are the greatest generation. After all, we protested against wars, fought for civil rights, and invented…
Final Thoughts: The Evolution of Women in Engineering: Moving from Ground Zero
I have more years of experience than any woman engineer who I have worked with. Let that sink in … This wording is true, because when I started my career in 1971, there were no women engineers in the workforce at the Indiana Department of Transportation.…
Final Thoughts: Are We Really Entering a New Era of Infrastructure?
In the last few issues of Informed Infrastructure, I reminisced about what the work environment was like in my early career as a civil engineer in the infrastructure business and reflected on what has changed. Then I posed questions about what the future may…
Final Thoughts: The Tools Are Nothing Without the Engineer
In the September/October 2016 issue of Informed Infrastructure, I described showing up for my first day of work back in the early 1970s with my slide rule, mechanical pencil and scales. If I were to start working today, fresh out of college, I wouldn’t have…
Final Thoughts: The Joy of Witnessing Engineering’s Evolution
I consider myself lucky to have begun my career when I did, seeing firsthand so many dramatic changes in engineering. Let’s take a quick look back at how different things were in 1971, when I started, and how the work environment has changed during the 45…
Final Thoughts: Looking Backwards and Forwards
With 45 years in civil engineering behind me, I have the experience (or at least the tenure) to look back and reflect—as long as my memory doesn’t fail me. But I want to start by looking back even further than I can remember. Lasting Structures My wife…
Final Thoughts: Bridges: Overcoming Gaps Literally and Metaphorically
The main theme of this issue of Informed Infrastructure is “bridges,” which allow people to cross rivers that used to be barriers. They provide a way to span a gap or valley rather than travel long distances around them. Bridges allow different modes of…