As project design and construction continue to develop and change, the importance of quality control only increases. Tara L. Cavalline, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, Dennis Morian, P.E., M.ASCE, and Clifford J. Schexnayder, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, have authored a book to help engineers keep pace with changing construction landscape. It's called "Construction Quality in the Alternate Project Delivery Environment," and, in episode 116 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, the authors discuss some of the key p...
May 10, 2022•14 min•Ep. 116
ASCE’s Transportation and Development Institute’s Technical Committee on CAV Impacts has prepared a new ASCE publication called Disruptive Emerging Transportation Technologies. In episode 115 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, one of the book's co-editors Heng Wei, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a professor of transportation engineering at the University of Cincinnati, discusses some of the key technologies and their implications for civil engineers.
May 03, 2022•17 min•Ep. 115
Tanesa Kassa is a structural detail designer for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. That wasn't exactly where her career started, though. She's been adding new skills and learning new technology for two decades, adapting her skillset to the changing engineering environment. In episode 114 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Kassa shares her journey and discusses the importance of being a lifelong learner.
Apr 26, 2022•12 min•Ep. 114
Elyssa Dixon, P.E., M.ASCE, is an environmental engineer who is very active in ASCE – she is the chair of ASCE’s Committee on Younger Members and the presidet-elect of the Seattle Section. And more recently her focus has been on mental health. She started her own business – called Fleece and Forests – to share her training as a mindfulness and meditation coach. In episode 113 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Dixon discusses stress in the civil engineering profession and some straegies specifica...
Apr 19, 2022•19 min•Ep. 113
Last December, the ASCE International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure brought sustainabilty thought leaders from around the world together. And now, ASCE has published a book collecting selected papers from the conference. In episode 112 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, the book's co-editor Michael Bloom, P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE, discusses the special collection and what he calls a "tipping point" for the state of sustainable infrastructure.
Apr 12, 2022•12 min•Ep. 112
It's what many civil engineers strive for early in their career: the promotion into a management role. But how do you navigate the job after you've earned it? In episode 111 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Assunta Daprano, A.M.ASCE, a project engineer and deputy project manager at AECOM in Philadelphia, discusses the transition into a management role, especially at a young age.
Apr 05, 2022•17 min•Ep. 111
There is perhaps no transition period in one's career more rich with emotion – excitement, anxiety, optimism – than the months just before college graduation. Cameren Lewis, S.M.ASCE, a fifth-year civil engineering student at Drexel University, is at just such an inflection point. In episode 110 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Lewis discusses his civil engineering journey and what he hopes for as he prepares to enter the workforce this summer.
Mar 29, 2022•17 min•Ep. 110
Entering the civil engineering workforce is very different from life as a student. Matthew Jacobson, EIT, ENV SP, A.M.ASCE, knows. He works as a civil analyst for Kimley-Horn and Associates in Los Angeles, less than a year after graduating from Cal Poly Pomona. In episode 109 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Jacobson discusses that transition from student to professional, offering advice on how to make it work as smoothly as possible.
Mar 15, 2022•14 min•Ep. 109
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law last November. But that doesn't mean ASCE's infrastructure advocacy work is complete. Far from it. Eric Czerniejewski, P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE, was among the 225 ASCE members who attended the 2022 Legislative Fly-In last week to keep the advocacy momentum going. Czerniejewski is director of traffic engineering for the Corradino Group in Miami, a past ASCE Region 5 governor, past president of the Broward County Branch, and past vice pres...
Mar 08, 2022•18 min•Ep. 108
Shirley Clark, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, D.EWRI, M.ASCE, is a professor of environmental engineering at Penn State Harrisburg and vice president of ASCE's Environmental and Water Resources Institute. Recently, her work has included research into the potential connections between wastewater and COVID. In episode 107 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Clark talks with guest hosts Brianne Duncan and Wendy Cohen, of the EWRI Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee, about her work and career.
Mar 01, 2022•14 min•Ep. 107
ASCE launches the Future World Vision desktop app today, Feb. 22, at the new Future World Vision website. In episode 106 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Jimmy Bennett, a project engineer in Minneapolis who is among the core team working on Future World Vision from the outset, talks about the new platform and how Future World Vision can help engineers expand their work every day to incorporate vital big picture thinking.
Feb 22, 2022•19 min•Ep. 106
Vatsal Shah, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, M.ASCE, had a nugget of wisdom he’d sometimes to refer to: “Change is uncomfortable, but you only grow when you’re uncomfortable.” The philosophy certainly was put to the test these last two years, as the pandemic and a family health scare turned his life upside-down. In episode 105 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Shah discusses how the last two years have reframed his priorities and his career.
Feb 15, 2022•18 min•Ep. 105
Maxx Taga is an onsite integration manager and facility manager for NASA in Lompoc, California. It's the latest step in a career that has taken many twists and turns but is firmly a product of Taga's make-your-own-luck approach. If he wants to know about something, he finds out. If he wants to do something, he tries it. Even if it's new. Even if it's intimidating at first. In episode 104 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Taga discusses his career and how other young civil engineers might make som...
Feb 08, 2022•15 min•Ep. 104
RoadBotics won five awards at the 2018 ASCE Innovation Contest. Since then, the company has only grown. In episode 103 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, RoadBotics CEO Ben Schmidt talks about his company and how he's navigated the pandemic and continued innovating through a changing industry.
Feb 01, 2022•16 min•Ep. 103
Natalie Palmquist is unique. She has had a plan for her life’s work since she was a teenager. And she’s living out that plan. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in civil engineering, got her master’s in international development studies at the University of Grenoble Alpes in France, and recently started a position with Samaritan’s Purse. The driving force behind all of this? Her faith as a Christian. In episode 102 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Palmquist talks about how faith ...
Jan 25, 2022•14 min•Ep. 102
Aimee Corn wasn't sure where her career would lead, even after she fell in love with civil engineering. But she's happy with the way it worked out: dams. Corn, P.E., M.ASCE, is a civil structural engineer for Gannett Fleming in Denver, Colorado. She's also in her fourth term on the ASCE Structural Engineering Institute Board of Governors. In episode 101 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, she talks about her career, why she loves dams, and where she sees the industry going.
Jan 18, 2022•17 min•Ep. 101
Applied research is one of the most exciting topics in all of civil engineering. It also can be very complicated to secure the necessary funding. In episode 100 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Monique Head, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE, associate professor and associate chair in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Delaware, talks about what the funding landscape looks like in light of the recent bipartisan infrastructure law.
Jan 11, 2022•15 min•Ep. 100
It's one thing to acknowledge that the recent bipartisan infrastructure law will change the civil engineering industry. But, looking deeper, what do those changes mean for the everyday work of civil engineers? How will their lives and careers change? In episode 99 of ASCE Plot Points, Del Shannon, P.E., M.ASCE, principal and senior vice president for Schnabel Engineering, discusses those potential changes as well as the skills civil engineers may need to further develop to better align themselve...
Jan 04, 2022•11 min•Ep. 99
Kristina Swallow, P.E., Pres.18.ASCE, worked for years to advocate with ASCE for infrastructure investment. Now, as director of the Nevada Department of Transportation, she is excited about the opportunity presented by the recent bipartisan infrastructure law to improve her home state. In episode 98 of ASCE Plot Points, Swallow discusses the various ways the new law will reshape the civil engineering profession. And the student ambassadors discuss their favorite engineers in civil engineering hi...
Dec 14, 2021•16 min•Ep. 98
It's an enticing question to ponder. What would Robert Moses do? How would he navigate the infrastructure landscape of 2022? John Williams, the CEO of Autocase and board chair for the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, discusses in today's finale of a three-part series. Williams is speaking at the 2021 ASCE International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure, Dec. 7, in a session called "Post-Black-Swan-Event Infrastructure: Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future."
Dec 07, 2021•22 min•Ep. 97
What is anti-fragile infrastructure? And what's the business case for its design? John Williams, the CEO of Autocase and board chair for the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, answers both questions in today's second part of a three-part series. Williams is speaking at the 2021 ASCE International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure, Dec. 7, in a session called "Post-Black-Swan-Event Infrastructure: Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future."
Nov 30, 2021•17 min•Ep. 96
John Williams is speaking at the 2021 ASCE International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure, Dec. 7, in a session called "Post-Black-Swan-Event Infrastructure: Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future." So, today kicks off a special three-part series, Williams, the CEO of Autocase and board chair for the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, talks about some of the key ideas from the session. But the conversation also becomes almost a roadmap toward a new civil engineering philosophy f...
Nov 23, 2021•17 min•Ep. 95
The holiday season is a great time to catch up on podcasts, and bridge engineer Luis Duque, P.E., M.ASCE, has a great podcast for your queue. It's called Engineering Our Future , and he talks about the show on Episode 94 of ASCE Plot Points.
Nov 16, 2021•16 min•Ep. 94
Mel Butcher is someone who believes that, as she says, "Everyone has something to offer this world to make it a better place." It's the driving philosophy behind Underdog Engineers, her new community-based learning space for early career engineers. A group lead in Carollo Engineers' Private Sector Group, Butcher talks today on Episode 93 of ASCE Plot Points about Underdog and what young civil engineers should be doing to find the right job for them.
Nov 09, 2021•20 min•Ep. 93
Community has been the driving force in Donya Amiri's career. Especially now. After more than a decade working in the public sector, Amiri has started her own consulting firm, AIM Professional Engineers in Northern California. On episode 92 of ASCE Plot Points, Amiri talks about her new business and how her childhood in Afghanistan helped shape her civil engineering dreams. Plus, the ASCE student ambassadors are back to talk sustainability.
Nov 02, 2021•19 min•Ep. 92
Civil engineering is a tricky balancing act between relying on what has worked for infrastructure in the past and predicting what infrastructure will need decades into the future. A new book prepared by the ASCE Task Committee on Future Weather and Climate Extremes, Impacts of Future Weather and Climate Extremes on United States Infrastructure: Assessing and Prioritizing Adaptation Actions , helps civil engineers thread that needle. On episode 91 of ASCE Plot Points, co-authors Jason Giovannetto...
Oct 26, 2021•13 min•Ep. 91
Claudia Gunsch is the Theodore S. Kennedy Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University, where she also serves as the associate dean of research and infrastructure for the Pratt School of Engineering. She says her favorite part of engineering is "defining the problem, solving the problem." In a sense, it's the same process she's applied to finding the right career path of her. On episode 90 of ASCE Plot Points, Gunsch speaks with Brianne Duncan and Lauren Redfern of the EWR...
Oct 19, 2021•12 min•Ep. 90
Katie Bowman, P.E., M.ASCE, is a graduate research assistant at the University of Memphis, vice president of the ASCE West Tennessee Branch, and a newly elected governor-at-large for Region 4. None of it has come easily, though. On episode 89 of ASCE Plot Points, Bowman talks about the twists and turns that have led her to career happiness.
Oct 12, 2021•10 min•Ep. 89
One of the most useful aspects of ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure is the way it takes in a lot of complex information and turns it into a very simple, easy-to-understand grade. So for instance, the rail category received a grade of B on the 2021 edition of the report card. But of course as with anything, it’s important to dig a little deeper. On episode 88 of ASCE Plot Points, Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, helps to break down the nuanc...
Oct 05, 2021•10 min•Ep. 88
The nation turns its attention to Capitol Hill this week, as the House of Representatives reconvenes for what may be one of the busiest weeks of legislative work in recent memory. Meanwhile, the focus of Capitol Hill’s attention turns to infrastructure with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is slated for a vote this Thursday. Regardless of the result this week, it’s a huge step forward for ASCE and its decades of advocacy for infrastructure investment. Rebecca Shelton is one of the real...
Sep 28, 2021•11 min•Ep. 87
