Curmudgeons see just fun and games at student-run concrete canoe and steel bridge contests. You often hear criticism that these annual competitions distract faculty and students from serious academic pursuits. But I believe that any structured activities that help students develop a "hands-on" feel for modern materials, design processes and construction practices are as important as any course that develops an understanding of underlying physical laws and design principles. In many ways, practical experience may be even more valuable to engineering practice. Although I don't speak for most of my faculty colleagues, I'm an advocate of student competitions such as

No wonder that so many construction engineers complain about the poor quality of design drawings; no wonder that construction and design engineers rarely see eye-to-eye in dispute resolutions; no wonder that construction engineers often propose methods different from what design engineers feel comfortable with. It's because of polarized hemisphericities. In a recent study that I did with funding from the Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, I found that most construction engineers are left-brained and most design engineers are right-brained. BALANCE. For the past 200 years, researchers have been developing the field of hemisphericity. A breakthrough came in

Project owners often write onerous contracts to shield themselves from risks. But one-sided contracts may leave them with higher bids from fewer qualified bidders. Realizing this problem more than a decade ago, the New York City Transit Authority began rethinking its contracting schemes. Until then, one-sided contract language was used "to protect us from ourselves," said Mysore Nagaraja, senior vice president and chief engineer at NYC Transit, as he helped me look into the consequences of such contracts. SURVEY. At Columbia University during my master’s program in civil engineering, I wrote a 30-question survey that I sent to contractors and

Even as an architecture student at the University of Kabul, I wanted to help preserve my cultural heritage. But in 1978 I left for Denmark–with a scholarship to study historic building restoration. Soon after, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, causing unfathomable destruction and bringing restoration projects to a complete halt. Of course, my plans changed. In 1980, after completing my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, I came to visit my brother in the U.S. and for the first time became aware of the atrocities taking place in Afghanistan. Advised not to go back, I stayed in the

Several days ago I was working late on a proposal. Stuck with writing a section on how a prospective client could benefit from using Web-based technologies, I decided to take a break to grab a hamburger across the street. Although it had been a long time since I had eaten at a McDonald's, the company had been on my mind ever since I had read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Several sections of the book, but mostly the discussion of the McDonald's empire, had made me think about my own industry—environmental management—and its identity and perception problems. These problems

As someone who embraces technological advances, I felt genuinely excited by an invitation last year to submit a construction bid proposal over the Internet. The client, a blue-chip firm for which we had previously worked, told us the deal during a conference call with three other invited bidders. We were to participate in a new process called "auction bidding." We listened carefully to the rules. "Although each bidding contractor's identity remains guarded, the low bid is immediately posted on the auction site...for all invited contractors to view," the rules stated. "Contractors are allowed to underbid...by any dollar value and in

Not willing to sit for a professional-level exam? Then imagine yourself as an accomplished professional who's successfully completed hundreds of construction projects and who's now being called as an expert witness. Imagine, too, that the judge discounts your testimony because he recognizes the architect and the engineer as the only "professionals" who testified. That unfortunate experience happened to Walter Nashert, founder of Nashert Constructors Inc., Oklahoma City. How did he respond? By laying the groundwork for the courts to recognize constructors as members of a profession. Nashert recruited the support of colleagues on the construction education committee of the Associated

Not willing to sit for a professional-level exam? Then imagine yourself as an accomplished professional who's successfully completed hundreds of construction projects and who's now being called as an expert witness. Imagine, too, that the judge discounts your testimony because he recognizes the architect and the engineer as the only "professionals" who testified. That unfortunate experience happened to Walter Nashert, founder of Nashert Constructors Inc., Oklahoma City. How did he respond? By laying the groundwork for the courts to recognize constructors as members of a profession. Nashert recruited the support of colleagues on the construction education committee of the Associated

In Georgia, where I oversee the majority of the state's major construction projects, general contractors are not performing their duty to provide quality construction. My agency, the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, sells approximately $500 million in general obligation bonds annually, primarily for new construction. This year, our governor recommends doubling that sum. But even as a fairly large player, my agency struggles to ensure quality construction. DEFECTS. Almost every project that we build has construction defects. Some are fairly major, such as in a multistory building where a contractor failed to install 98% of the brick ties needed

Several days ago I was working late on a proposal. Stuck with writing a section on how a prospective client could benefit from using Web-based technologies, I decided to take a break to grab a hamburger across the street. Although it had been a long time since I had eaten at a McDonald's, the company had been on my mind ever since I had read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Several sections of the book, but mostly the discussion of the McDonald's empire, had made me think about my own industry—environmental management—and its identity and perception problems. These problems