David Odeh can’t help but chuckle at the irony inherent in his statement.
“The one thing we can say with certainty,” Odeh says, “is that whatever future scenario we predict, that scenario will not be the future.”
Odeh, a technical region director on the ASCE Board of Direction, is referring to Future World Vision, ASCE’s bold, comprehensive scenario-planning tool that helps civil engineers strategize for an...
ASCE News Future Forward highlights civil engineering projects, practices, ideas, and technologies that are future-focused and forward-looking.
Given the current infrastructure crisis in the United States, where need outpaces funding by a wide margin, the so-called win-win project is critical.
These are the projects that solve two problems at once, and one such win-win opportunity may be as close as your local city park.
“Parks can be...
The Midwest has been battered by the aftermath of last week's “bomb cyclone” snowstorms. The resulting combination of fast-melting snow and additional rains has led to significant flooding across several states.
Unfortunately, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and other affected states may not see the unprecedented flooding levels recede until May, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast.
In Nebraska alone, 74 cities have declared states...
The Fourth National Climate Assessment sounded alarm bells about climate change’s effects, both current and future, upon its release last November by the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Civil engineering, of course, is at the forefront of this discussion. After all, it is civil engineers – planning, designing, and constructing infrastructure – who have to account for these climate change effects.
But how can civil engineers...
Daniel Nichols’ garage is still standing. Granted, it smells strongly of salmon now. But it’s still standing.
The magnitude-7.0 earthquake that shook Anchorage, AK, Nov. 30, did significant damage, make no mistake. One highway ramp interchange was nearly totally destroyed, among plenty of property damage. That it wasn’t much worse, though, is a point of pride for Alaskan civil engineers.
“Considering how strong it was, how...
It's been 15 months since Hurricane Harvey pelted Southeastern Texas with historic levels of rain.
The resilience efforts continue, led by civil engineers like Carol Haddock.
Haddock, the director of public works in Houston, gives us an update on the progress made in her hometown since Harvey .
In this week's Changing the World segment, University of Central Florida student Zachary Loeb talks about how his love...
Doug Taylor, P.E., M.ASCE, Region 9 disaster preparedness chair, has been rallying ASCE members to help assess and tag structures in Paradise, CA, site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history. Taylor provided ASCE News with the following update on the group's work:
We just completed Day 5, and it's been a fascinating and wearying experience. Roughly 30 volunteers started on Thursday morning (11...
For civil engineers climate change is more than a social obligation, it's a matter of business.
As Terry Neimeyer, CEO of KCI Technologies, said at the 2018 ASCE Industry Leaders Forum, "In my own company, we're being asked by our clients to design projects and facilities that are resilient and sustainable – and to account for future climate change."
Neimeyer hosted the ILF panel discussion, "From Disasters to...
Upholding the public’s safety, health, and welfare is an everyday charge of civil engineers. So when a storm event strikes, it’s only natural that they are among those on the front lines to help with resilience and recovery efforts.
John Fleming, P.E., M.ASCE, an ASCE Region 4 governor in South Carolina, is among those civil engineering superheroes lending a hand this week in the aftermath...
