Future Forward: Solar Charging Stations Reduce Impact of Damaged Power Grids
This page profiles innovative and impactful applied research in civil and structural engineering to spur continuing thought and dialog to create a better industry. 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. Fred Stampone is the CEO of Sunbolt, which has installed solar-powered mobile device charging stations throughout the United States and Mexico. Hope in Dire Circumst...
Future Forward Full Interview: Solar Charging Stations Reduce Impact of Damaged Power Grids
This page profiles innovative and impactful applied research and development in civil and structural engineering to spur continuing thought and dialog to create a better industry. 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. Fred Stampone is the CEO of Sunbolt, which has installed solar-powered off-grid workstations throughout the United States and Mexico. V1 Media: Pleas...
Change Leader: Humans Really Can Beat Climate Change
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. Bruce Nagy is the author of The Clean Energy Age: A Guide to Beating Climate Change as well as more than 150 feature articles on clean technology, government programs and energy economics. He is a speaker for Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, and develops reports and communications for clean technology firms, professional and tra...
Change Leader Full Interview: Humans Really Can Beat Climate Change
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. Bruce Nagy is the author of The Clean Energy Age: A Guide to Beating Climate Change as well as more than 150 feature articles on clean technology, government programs and energy economics. He is a speaker for Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project and develops reports and communications for clean technology firms, professional and tra...
Cell Tower Inspection and Maintenance: UAV Reality Capture and Digital Twin Pilot Project Suggest Major Efficiency Gains
Telstra’s complex cell-tower arrays typically are mounted at the top of 25-meter, non-climbable steel monopoles. Determining the precise number of cell towers in the world is a difficult task, complicated by the lack of coordinated international reporting and the difficulty of distinguishing between base stations (which may or may not be sited on a tower-like structure) and actual towers (which may host several base stations). But reasonable estimates for the global number of cell towers...
From the Editor: Inspiration from Comic Books, Construction and Pencils
When I was 15 years old, I decided I wanted to be an engineer. It was 1985, and I had just read the March issue of OMNI magazine, “Special Edition: Japan 2000,” about the “future” of innovation. I was mesmerized by the impact engineers would have on the world of tomorrow. (Full disclosure: I wanted to be a robotics engineer and ended up a civil engineer, but that’s a story for another day.) Although I knew from a young age which profession I would pursue, from an even younger age, I developed...
Panel Discussion: How Can We Improve U.S. Transportation Infrastructure?
Introduction The title question for this feature has been discussed and debated countless times by countless people and organizations in many formats. But a letter Informed Infrastructure received and published in its July/August 2018 issue sparked our own questions about how we can better discuss and analyze this problem as well as come up with some real, actionable solutions. The letter was from Mike Lawrence, the CEO of Tensar Corp., which produces geosynthetic technologies for infrastructu...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Don’t Overuse Boilerplate Specs and Details in Engineering Documents
In fall 2018, I was asked to go to a meeting to help one of our clients. It was a small project but rather unique: a 100-foot-long structure to support a sanitary sewer line across a creek. We had completed a couple of these for other people through the years as well as one recently with this particular client. The RFP for the project included some bridging drawings (no pun intended) prepared by another engineering firm. I didn’t get to see the bridging drawings myself, but I had been told th...
February 2019 TRENDS
In this section, Informed Infrastructure compiles infographics from trusted sources that reveal insight on infrastructure spending. We also compile some of the top infrastructure stories that shouldn’t be missed. For ongoing news coverage, turn to Informed Infrastructure online (www.informedinfrastructure.com), our Twitter feed (@IInfrastructure) and our weekly e-newsletter. New Report Identifies Corrosion as Major Threat to Public Health NACE International, a nonprofit...
Final Thoughts: The Reasons for Speed Bumps on the Road and in Life
Speed bump—the new term might be speed hump or traffic-calming device. Whatever they’re called, we’ve all come across them. Most of the time, speed bumps have a specific purpose, and they’re usually effective. Speed bumps cause you to slow down and take a little extra care. They slow traffic down in a school zone or a residential area or in a parking lot. But occasionally, they just seem to be bothersome. Either way, we notice they’re there. I’m troubled by the parents in my neighborhood who dr...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
