From the Editor: Will Politics Erode Infrastructure Standards?
My wife and I are planning a road trip from the Midwest to the East Coast. Since we now own an electric vehicle that comes with free charging at certain stations, our road trip will have zero emissions and no fuel costs. Some things are taken for granted when traveling from one place to the next. Some consistency in products and environment is easier to deal with and also convenient. That’s one of the major advantages of commercial chain stores; you pretty much know what to expect from a certai...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Getting Started on the Right Foot(ing)
As a young engineer, starting on a project always seemed daunting. I’d receive plans and elevations (or a 3D model) from the architect or MEP engineers that typically didn’t have much detailed information. I may have been to a couple preliminary meetings discussing the project, but it rarely felt like enough. If the other designers are worth their salt, however, that early information can hold clues to the project’s major elements and help us get started on the right foot. Designs are always e...
Executive Corner: Focus On Three Key Areas to Prepare for the Future
As A&E firms are planning the remainder of 2022 and beyond, it’s critical to be informed on today’s industry trends. As growing pipelines and increased revenue projections increase across the industry, firms are focusing on their people, their technology and how these can work better together. For this installment of “Executive Corner,” Russ Ryan, principal at Rusk O’Brien Gido + Partners (email: rryan@rog-partners.com), interviewed Bret Tushaus, vice president of product management at Deltek (e...
Thoughts From Engineers: The Supreme Court Kicks the Climate ‘Ball’ Back to Congress
Many predicted in the days leading up to the release of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in West Virginia v. EPA that something “big” was about to happen. In any other decade, I think the decision would’ve been characterized as “business as usual,” but times are different now. In this particularly tense political climate, stakes are high. The ramifications of this SCOTUS decision in late June 2022 have been widely discussed, and much more analysis will undoubtedly be fort...
From the Editor: Message to Graduates (and All Engineers): Go Out and Do Good
I was pleased to attend the annual meeting of the Indiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which included a competition among college students who presented their senior design projects to an audience and a panel of judges. The senior civil engineers in the four colleges—University of Evansville, Purdue University, University of Notre Dame and Valparaiso University—showed a wide range of civil knowledge, and their presentation skills were admirable. The design projects includ...
Executive Corner: An Inside Look at the Landmark ESOP Valuation Case
For over a decade, the Department of Labor (DOL) has carried out a controversial and aggressive enforcement effort targeting valuation issues in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). The DOL did not lose a major ESOP case on a valuation issue until the recent case of Walsh v. Bowers. The case involves many key valuation issues, and BVR was fortunate enough to have two of the testifying experts for the defense give the inside story of the case. Background. The case involves Bowers + Kubota, an...
Thoughts From Engineers: When Cities in the Midwest Run Dry
The states surrounding the Great Lakes have always been a bit smug about the bounty of freshwater on their doorstep. These states have been equally vigilant about keeping this resource close and have drafted laws to protect this enormous concentration of freshwater from being siphoned off or sold to thirsty neighbors. Many cities in Wisconsin and Illinois fueled their growth with the region’s seemingly limitless supply of groundwater. At the turn of the last century (1900s), after many of these...
Transportation Troubleshooting: Meet Paula Hammond: 40 Years of Engineering Experience to Share
Paula Hammond will write a recurring column for Informed Infrastructure, beginning with the August 2022 issue. This introductory column is based on an interview by Todd Danielson, the editorial director of Informed Infrastructure. You can view a video of the full interview above or by visiting bit.ly/37ARKn3. Paula Hammond’s career is going strong after more than 40 years, and she’s long been committed to sharing her experience with fellow engineers and decision makers. For 34 years she w...
Leap Forward: Digitizing Construction Will Transform the Safety and Efficiency of Project Delivery
Digital technologies are transforming all aspects of daily life, helping to keep communities healthy, safe, connected and more sustainable. In the construction sector, continued efforts to increase site safety, coupled with rising expectations for speed of delivery, are driving a transformation. Add to this an intense focus on eliminating waste across projects—prompted by soaring energy prices, labor shortages, supply chain disruption and a significant global increase in infrastructure investmen...
ReEngineering the Engineer: The Needle in the Haystack
Every now and then, I find myself reminiscing about how we designed buildings back in the “dark ages” when I was a young engineer. Our engineering tools were much less sophisticated, unless you consider a slide rule sophisticated. When you think about some of the innovative buildings that were designed back when high-rise construction started, the engineering effort required to pull off some of those signature buildings is remarkable. In those days, all designs were recorded on sheets of mylar,...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
