Change Leader: The Power of Education to Change Lives
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. This particular webcam interview was recorded by Todd Danielson, the editorial director of Informed Infrastructure. You can view a video of the full interview in the window at the top of this page. Vinayak Trivedi is vice president of Bentley Education Education, in all its forms, may be the most-important factor in the...
Sustainable Infrastructure: Informed Path To Net Zero: From Building Design to Operation
Greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions are agreed to be the culprit that shifts global weather patterns, threatens climate systems and endangers human health. Long-term effects of GHGs only can be reversed by global proactive actions focused on emission reduction. The Paris Climate Agreement is one such solution, wherein 200 countries worldwide signed an initiative to keep rising temperatures below 1.5°C. Net zero is the first goal to reduce and reverse climate change. The definition of net zero varies...
From The Editor: Climate Change Now Is ‘The Issue’
My October 2020 column was titled “Engineers Need to Lead the Way on Climate Change Mitigation,” and I tried to make the point that our profession has a responsibility to maintain an environment that’s best for the world, and we need to do more than just sit back and watch. I also noted that many areas were reporting improved climate conditions due to the fact that more people were staying home because of the pandemic, and there was hope we could continue some of that progress. This morning, I...
Executive Corner: 2021 Mid-Year Executive Outlook
As the disruption and severity of the global pandemic continues to fade, A/E leaders across the country are ready to take on the challenges and opportunities left in its wake. I recently connected with several CEOs from coast to coast for our annual Mid-Year Outlook to glean insights as to what they’re facing today. I asked how they’re handling office-reopening efforts, which client and business opportunities are emerging, how the pandemic shaped them as leaders, and what their plans are for the...
Sustainability in the Solar Industry
Figure 1. Projected growth of various fuels. By Chris Kline and Dan Salas Utility-scale solar power in the United States is projected to continue growing for the next several decades in support of national energy goals. The primary purpose of utility-scale solar is to produce safe electricity at scale while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions as compared to emissions from fossil-fuel-powered facilities that solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is replacing. However, solar PV growth is comi...
Managing Water Assets with Reality-Capture Technologies
Maintaining water and wastewater infrastructure often is challenging. Water facilities rely on large, often-complicated networks of piping, steel structures, equipment and tanks that aren’t always easily accessible. These elements often are located in areas difficult to reach, and therefore it can be difficult to confirm measurements and verify accuracies of existing drawings. They also can be located underground and behind facility walls, and it can be difficult to create maintenance schedules...
Return to Glory: Notre Dame’s Restoration Is On Track
Interior bracing was installed during the safety phase to stabilize stone arches. Notre Dame de Paris is not the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, or in France. It’s not even the largest cathedral named for “Our Lady” in France; Notre Dame de Amiens, Notre Dame de Chartres and Notre Dame de Reims are all larger and considered (by many) to be finer examples of Gothic architecture. And, to continue running down this UNESCO World Heritage Site for one more sentence, it’s not the oldest...
Lessons Learned from Campus RainWorks 2020 Winners
The University of Pennsylvania redesigned a K-8 campus in West Philadelphia with green infrastructure, raised garden beds and a food forest. At college and university campuses throughout the United States, students compete in the Campus RainWorks Challenge, an annual green infrastructure design challenge from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create innovative stormwater management techniques. In so doing, the challenge engages the next generation of environmental professional...
Adapting to Climate Change
New York City projects protect against rising tides and ensure long-term usability. On Aug. 9, 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first part of its much-anticipated “Sixth Assessment Report” (www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1), which reinforced the fact that sea-level rise is leading to substantial impacts on coastal communities, including a near-doubling in the frequency of coastal flooding since the 1960s in many sites around the world. The report confirmed that...
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Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
TriMet’s Banfield Type 1 Substation Replacement Project
February Issue 2026
