Infrastructure Outlook: Analytics Must Drive Next-Generation Infrastructure
There’s no question that America’s infrastructure is antiquated and in vital need of modernization. If we want our infrastructure to be more efficient, cost-effective and secure, however, we must prioritize mathematical and analytical insights that enable a smarter and more-innovative infrastructure system to meet myriad complex and evolving demands as well as help secure the nation’s global competitiveness for generations to come. Infrastructure policy too often is structured around a series o...
How Steel Deck Is Shaking Up Cold-Formed Steel Framing Design
All too often, we get stuck in the mindset that the way we currently do things is the way we must continue to do them. An example that hits close to home is the way steel deck is underutilized by designers in the low- and mid-rise construction market. Current practice favors the use of plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing on cold-formed steel (CFS) floor and roof trusses, because that’s how things have been done for years. But why not shake things up and consider using steel deck...
Thoughts From Engineers: Spinning Gold: Desalination Steps in to Alleviate World’s Water Crisis
A scenario reminiscent of Garret Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons” plays out quietly around the globe. Proof that swelling populations in bone-dry regions of the world can no longer survive on existing reserves of freshwater, technology (and money) step in to mute hard reality. According to the International Desalination Association (IDA), there are 20,000 desalination plants in operation today worldwide. Not surprisingly, more than 70 percent of them are located in the Middle East, a region wit...
Executive Corner: What Is Your Ownership Strategy?
Does your firm have an ownership strategy that clearly defines how you will be able to exit your firm? Are you relying on selling your firm to a third party or the next generation of leaders? According to the Census Bureau (and assuming age 67 for retirement), more than 9,000 people each day are hitting retirement age, and this is expected to increase to more than 12,000 per day by 2028. During this same period, the gap between the number of buyers and sellers will likely narrow and, in some ye...
From the Editor: Is the ‘Scary Season’ Over or Just Beginning?
I started thinking about my column for this issue when I received an email from Todd Danielson, the editorial director, with the subject line reading: “Next scary column deadline.” Obviously, it was due near Halloween. A year ago, I wrote about the various “costumes” we wear or characters we play as engineers and how that might change during our careers. This year, when I received that “scary” email about the deadline, I remembered some of the times during my work life where I was scared or afr...
Engineered Solutions: Sustainability in Practice
Sponsored by: What the United States Can Learn From the Dutch In many countries worldwide, infrastructure is a critical topic, and the United States is no exception. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) scrutinizes U.S. infrastructure every two years, and we’ve consistently been given an almost-failing grade. Most recently, the 2017 report card gave the overall condition of the nation’s infrastructure a “D+.” Based on data reported by the ASCE, more than 200,000 bridges...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Not ‘My’ Job? Engineers Don’t Have that Luxury
One of our architectural clients approached us with an interesting renovation of an existing building. It was a relatively older building with an existing tenant in one half of the building and several vacant suites in the other half. The owner had purchased the unoccupied half of the building and wished to turn it into a nightclub. Of course, no existing drawings were available. It sounds simple enough, until they tell you a true firewall was required to separate the two occupancies. That mean...
Change Leader: Maintain a Mindset of Continuous Learning
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. To learn more about the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the latest trends in engineering technology, Todd Danielson, the editorial director of Informed Infrastructure, interviewed Babak Beheshti, IEEE senior member and dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the New York Institute of Te...
Change Leader Full Interview: Maintain a Mindset of Continuous Learning
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. Babak Beheshti is an IEEE senior member and dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the New York Institute of Technology. V1 Media: Can you describe your education and career before Stewart Engineering? Beheshti: IEEE has been part of my life since I was an undergraduate student in college. I’ve been a me...
Code Update: EC-017: The Evaluation Criteria for Field-Applied Fire-Protective Coatings
During seven months from 2006 to 2007, three firefighters—in three separate fire-related incidents—died from injuries sustained after falling through the floor on which they were walking. Each tragedy had one thing in common: the floors were constructed with lightweight engineered-wood floor systems. These firefighters’ experiences with conventional solid sawn lumber provided guidance on how long one could be near such construction when it was on fire. Engineered wood, however, which has lon...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
TriMet’s Banfield Type 1 Substation Replacement Project
February Issue 2026
