Help Me Please?
I don’t particularly like asking for help. Unfortunately the career development buzzwords – knowledge sharing, collaboration, networking and mentorship – require one to overcome the difficult barrier...
View ArticleBuild a Mentor Relationship in ASCE’s eCareerMentor Program
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin There is value in mentoring relationships both for mentees and mentors. Throughout your career, you...
View ArticleMaking Value Instead of Making Things: Important Lessons for America
Globalization, developments in technology, and new business models are changing the way products and services are conceived, designed, produced, and distributed around the world. These forces are also...
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Letter to a Young Engineer
This letter, from a father to a son, was written by professional engineer Bob Breeze upon his son’s graduation as a mechanical engineer. The letter was published in a collection entitled, Letters to...
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Sparking Brilliance in Yourself and Innovation in Your Company
Brent Darnell, Aff.M.ASCE, is president and owner of Brent Darnell International in Atlanta. Both author and presenter, Darnell presented at the ASCE 2015 Convention in New York and took part in the...
View ArticleTrust Your Engineer’s Ethical Compass, Don’t Lead by Deceit or Dishonesty
This guest column is by David Lutz, P.E., M.ASCE, manager of the geotechnical and tunneling group for the southwest U.S. for WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff in Dallas, TX. Imagine being at a new job on your...
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Letter to a Young Engineer Shares Seven Pieces of Advice
This letter, from a father to a son, was written by professional engineer Bob Breeze upon his son’s graduation as a mechanical engineer. The letter was published in a collection entitled, Letters to...
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Bridge Inspector Finds His Passion Over the Bay
Taka Kimura, P.E., F.SEI, M.ASCE, is a lead bridge engineer for CH2M in Honolulu, HI. Active in ASCE, he is a member of the Structural Engineering Institute’s Public Relations Committee, for which he...
View ArticleThree Keys to Success Young Engineers Need to Know
David Kubala, P.E., M.ASCE, public works department manager for R.G. Miller Engineers Inc., a Houston-based civil engineering firm, offers advice to engineers just starting their careers in this guest...
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ASCE Branches Train and Deploy California Wildfire Damage Evaluators
Sudi Shoja, P.E., F.ASCE, principal for Engineering Solutions Services, serves as the disaster preparedness chair for the ASCE Orange County Branch. Unfortunately, it’s a role that has been called...
View ArticleSpring Leadership Training Opportunities
It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ‘n roll or lead an engineering firm. Few things substitute hard won experience, but some insight from leaders who have already made the climb...Read More...
View ArticleSix Essential Traits of Effective Managers
This look at the management/leadership career track builds on last week’s post. Frequent contributor Rachel Cantor Fogarty explores the traits of successful managers and identifies ways that engineers...
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King County, Washington to Try New Envision Rating System for Infrastructure
Heathfield Pump Station in Bellevue will be upgraded as part of a wastewater project that will be tested under the Envision rating system. King County invests hundreds of millions each year on major...
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Leadership for Dreamers: Three Simple Principles to Drive Change
Can you imagine how big the dreams of leaders were to spur the necessary innovation and make such incredible progress to get us where we are today?
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It Pays to Broaden Your Expertise Beyond Engineering
Richard Weingardt was CEO and chairman of Richard Weingardt Consultants, Inc., a Denver-based structural engineering firm. He spoke and wrote eloquently and prolifically on leadership and the critical...
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Field Report: Post-Disaster Assessment of Typhoon Haiyan, Day 1
Last November, the Philippines was devastated by the strongest, deadliest typhoon in the nation’s history, the most powerful to make landfall anywhere ever. With wind speeds reaching 195 mph, Typhoon...
View ArticleField Report: Post Disaster Assessment in the Philippines, Day 2
As an introduction to the ASCE team, quite a collection of capable engineers have been assembled for the Philippines field effort. The team is certainly a research-focused group, with many academics...
View ArticleField Report: Post Disaster Assessment in the Philippines, Day 3
The production work of surveying buildings began in earnest today. The first area the team visited was Dulag, a town about 25 miles south of Tacloban. The team was accompanied by local civil engineers...
View ArticleField Report: Post Disaster Assessment in the Philippines, Day 4
Another day of building surveying was completed. The assessors are gaining familiarity with the construction types and materials. That made things easier and allowed patterns to be detected between...
View ArticleField Report: Post Disaster Assessment in the Philippines, Day 5
The first thing to mention about conducting building surveys in the Philippines is that it is hot and sunny and sunscreen is recommended. For those engineers that are used to driving a desk all...
View ArticleField Report: Post Disaster Assessment in the Philippines, Day 6
Our team had another successful day of surveying damaged buildings in Tacloban, Philippines. The engineers have done enough of the survey work now that they know what to look for, noting similarities...
View ArticleField Report: Post Disaster Assessment in the Philippines, Final Day
To study the strength of Hurricane Yolanda, team members Andrew Kennedy and Shenen Chen traveled to Guiuan, Eastern Samar, to measure the rock movements. Because of the tidal waves, many large...
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What is the Carbon Footprint of a Concrete Canoe?
The victor of the 2014 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition will be decided this weekend in a no-holds-barred competition at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, culminating what has been a...
View ArticleNew Open Forum Site Invites Input on Philippines Hurricane Post-Disaster...
On May 5, 2014, the Philippines Hurricane Yolanda Structural Analysis (PHYSA) field team of 7 civil engineers began a week-long, post-disaster damage assessment of the impacted regions on Leyte and...
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Developing the Next Generation of Engineers
I believe our profession is at a crossroads. The positive path of this fork in the road offers the next generation of engineers a tremendous opportunity to meet its vision to be leaders in helping...
View ArticleGoldilocks and the 3 Books: Lessons in Project Management
Leading is a challenge for everyone. Some seem to be born with the DNA to lead while others have to work at it. At the Younger Member Leadership Symposium held Sept. 21-22 at ASCE’s northern...Read...
View ArticleChina Ministry OKs Code for Structural Health Monitoring Systems for Large...
During the summer, I had the privilege of being the only non-Chinese attendee at a meeting in which the Chinese Ministry of Transportation gave final approval to a first-of-its-kind national design...
View ArticleNetworking, Networking, Networking
So you entered your first job and started your engineering career, now what? Part of a necessary next step in establishing your career is building the foundation for your future. Have you heard the...
View ArticleInnovation as an Asset
ASCE’s 1st International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure was held in Long Beach, California, November 6-8, 2014. The conference had many notable highlights and I thoroughly enjoyed every...
View ArticleThe Abbreviated Guide to New Years for Enginerds
Happy New Year! One end-of-year poll found that 72% of Americans who made a new year’s resolution claimed they kept it. Not bad considering most resolutions focus on improving oneself or one’s life....
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