Future Forward Full Interview: Most People Want to Help You
Erin Rothman is the founder of StormSensor and a former environmental consultant. V1 Media: Please provide a brief background of your education and career before StormSensor. Rothman: I received my undergraduate degree at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in environmental science, and technical and scientific communication. I received my master’s degree in natural resources and wetland ecology at The Ohio State University, and then I spent about 15 years as an environmental consultant....
BIM Methodology Helps Design the World’s Longest Double-Decker Bridge, Saving Time and Costs
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Central Park Tower Pushes the Limits of Skyscraper Design
New York City’s Central Park Tower, the tallest residential building in the world, reflects state-of-the-art engineering techniques and environmentally conscious construction. For more than a century, New Yorkers have found space by building upward. Now Central Park Tower, a new sky-piercing megastructure soaring 1,550 feet above Manhattan, is the latest in a series of super-slender residential towers to appear on the New York City skyline, as developers seek to drive value from small...
From the Editor: Time to Enjoy Nature for Its Beauty … and Engineering
The last few months have certainly been different. Many people are working from home, and there’s much less travel leading to jokes about commute times to the office and how many weeks per gallon cars are reporting as their efficiency standard. This different way of work life also has had effects on nature and our environment. Areas of the globe are reporting cleaner air (New York estimated a 50-percent decrease in pollution) and more wildlife roaming the cities and towns. There are fewer vehicl...
Thoughts From Engineers: Dam Management in the 21st Century: Collaborative and Community-Based
The breach of the Edenville Dam in Michigan, which sent floodwater over the downstream Midland Dam and forced thousands to evacuate on May 19, 2020, tragically captures the catastrophic risk posed by aging dams with absentee or financially strapped dam owners and a history of neglect. Within a short amount of time, floodwaters bypassed the spillways, drained the lakes and caused millions in property damage downstream. As we now know, this particular set of conditions could be replicated in coun...
Restoring and Reinforcing Slopes in Houston’s Hurricane Country
By using a green solution, the city of Houston was able to save money and prevent future damage to slopes along Buffalo Bayou. The video at the top of this page is an interview with Charlie Penland, P.E., senior principal for Walter P. Moore & Associates, the project’s engineers of record. By Adam Dibble, CPESC, CESSWI, and Matt Skinner, CPESC Houston’s Buffalo Bayou runs through downtown and right along the theater district—home to some of the most popular entertainment venu...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Engineers Are Experts at Following the Rules
Well, here we are in August. It’s hard to believe the year is more than half over, and many of us spent about two thirds of that time working out of our living rooms and kitchens. It’s almost become normal, although I know working that way isn’t going to be a good long-term solution for us—at least not our office. We haven’t officially gone back to the office yet. A couple of our people went back as soon as they could. Most of the rest of us have children and working spouses, which makes things...
Video: Restoring and Reinforcing Slopes in Houston’s Hurricane Country
This video created by Profile Products shows how the city of Houston was able to save money and prevent future damage to slopes along Buffalo Bayou.
Video: Interview with Civil Engineer Charlie Penland
Charlie Penland, P.E., worked on the project featured in an article in the August 2020 issue of Informed Infrastructure: “Restoring and Reinforcing Slopes in Houston’s Hurricane Country.” To supplement the feature and learn a little more about Penland's role, Todd Danielson, the magazine’s editorial director, interviewed him via webcam.
Infrastructure Outlook: The Mysterious Breakdown of America’s Bridges
Alarm bells are ringing desperately as disasters are waiting to happen on America’s bridges. According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, more than 47,000 of the country’s 616,087 bridges are “structurally deficient” and need urgent repair. In addition, four out of every 10 bridges are at least 50 years old and are endlessly subjected to traffic loads and vibrations greater than intended in their initial design capacity. Extreme weather conditions multiply the problem...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
TriMet’s Banfield Type 1 Substation Replacement Project
February Issue 2026
