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...
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...
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...
Executive Corner: Three Critical Actions Will Help Your Firm Survive … and Thrive
In 2008, I had just taken a position with a large, international engineering firm as chief financial officer. The firm was coming off a good run of profitable years, solid cash flow and expansion into new markets, but it was starting to feel the strain as the world’s financial markets were deteriorating. Before the Great Financial Crisis finally ended, more than 65 percent of the firm’s revenue flow had evaporated, and, more troubling, the firm’s cash position had dwindled to perilous levels. W...
From the Editor: Graduating Engineering Students Face New Challenges
The stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic are beginning to be relaxed in some places. For me, at least for some time yet, I’m choosing to act as if everything is not yet back to normal. Whatever I’m called—baby boomer, dinosaur or grandpa—I’m at a high-risk age, so I prefer to be safe for a little while longer. Although my lifestyle has been altered, the negative effects are not as great for me as for many others. One group that COVID-19 certainly affected negatively is the graduating class o...
Thoughts from Engineers: More than a Pump and a Toilet: Communities Worldwide Need Critical Water Supply and Sanitation Systems
A day rarely goes by in the United States without some news about drinking water and the physical, social and administrative systems needed to deliver it. We hear about lead contamination in Newark, N.J., Flint, Mich., and other cities. We hear about water mains that break annually as a result of age, weather or neglect. We hear about the substantial investment needed to fix the many problems that inevitably surface. In short, the delivery of drinkable water and the removal of wastewater are no...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Have We Learned Anything Yet?
One of the qualities of a good learner is being able to take in information, process it and use it to your advantage. Failure often is just as helpful as success. Having an example of “what not to do” can be just as beneficial as having a great “what to do” example. A learner always is on the lookout for both types of information and willing to take action with each. As I write, we’re now in week seven of working from home in North Carolina. Although the “move” to home was relatively easy for o...
Project Management Insights: Where Does Project Management Fit into a Strategic Plan?
I was recently working with a 250-person engineering firm, helping them develop a new strategic plan. In the ramp up before the meetings, I sat with leaders and managers across the company, talked to them individually about the future, and listened to their concerns about what needed to be addressed before the vision could be realized. There’s always a temptation to place so much focus on operational, quick-fix issues that higher-level initiatives hardly land a place in the discussion. When thi...
Executive Corner: You Just Revalued Your Share Price as of the Year-End, Then This Happened …
So 2019 was your firm’s best year EVER, and with the stock market soaring and the economic outlook for 2020 looking strong, your share price also hit an all-time high. And then this happened: A viral pandemic sweeps across the globe, states begin shutting down schools and non-essential businesses in response, the stock market drops by one-third, and oil prices plummet. Your share price was valued at $100 at year-end, but is that what it’s realistically worth now? MICHAEL O'BRIEN, ASA, CM&AA...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
