2017

Empowering Budding Engineers to Power Up Villages in Nepal

jriceenr@gmail.com (Justin Rice) — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 07:16:00 -0500

Hiring good high-school engineering teachers is harder than ever these days, but David Mangus is an outlier.

Engineer Led Miami Beach's Effort to Brace for Rising Tides

judys@enr.com (Scott Judy) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:15:00 -0500

Ask engineer Bruce Mowry how much land should be given up to sea-level rise, and he gives a quick answer: “Not one inch.”

Partnering With the Robotics World to Improve Construction

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:10:00 -0500

In 2015, Stephen Muck was sitting in a Carnegie Mellon University seminar on robotics, and he could not stop thinking about how the technology might benefit the construction industry, which suffers from a labor shortage, especially for backbreaking work like tying rebar.

Engineer Finds That What Goes Down Can Be Made to Go Up

rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:08:00 -0500

Containing debris and providing a safe worksite were the key goals of the Despe Top-Down demolition system, a self- contained, six-story metal cocoon that can hydraulically lower itself around a tower as the structure is demolished floor by floor.

Developer's Tenacity Crucial for San Francisco's Standout Building

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:06:00 -0500

All ended well this month, with the opening of San Francisco’s tallest landmark.

Led Sprint to Repair Oroville Spillway Before Winter Rains

blairs@enr.com (Scott Blair) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:02:00 -0500

Designing and building California’s $500-million Lake Oroville Spillways Emergency Recovery Project in just nine months—a job that typically would take 10 years—required an army of engineers and workers.

Overseeing the Engineering Feat of Raising a Roadway

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 13:00:00 -0500

In three decades of projects with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, chief engineer James Starace has no doubt that the “Raise the Roadway” project is the most challenging he has ever worked on.

Sounding the Alarm About Problematic Parking Garages

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 10:52:00 -0500

Jason Reigstad is on a crusade to warn about lurking danger in more than 100 parking garages, each with an underdesigned—and non-code-complaint—precast double-T slab system.

Bringing Construction and Design Skills to Future Parolees

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 10:37:00 -0500

Having spent the early part of his career as a military police investigator and as a narcotics officer in Alabama, Charles Pattillo has seen firsthand how job skills, particularly high-level skills, can make the difference between a repeat convict and a rehabilitated individual with a new career.

Clear-Headed Engineer Saves Houston's Drinking Water

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 15:24:00 -0500

On Aug. 27, Hurricane Harvey’s rains flooded a critical backwash pond at Houston’s smallest water plant.

Reaching Out to Public Schools With Engineering 'Dream' Movie

tuchmanj@enr.com (Janice L. Tuchman) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 15:10:00 -0500

Passion and persistence from Jane Howell Lombardi, chief communications officer for the American Society of Civil Engineers, were critical in bringing “Dream Big: Engineering Our World,” an IMAX movie about engineering, to the big screen.

Lending Skills and Experience to Complete Greek Roadways

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:52:00 -0500

George Leventis is no stranger to Olympian feats—literally.

Fanning the Flames for Structural Fire Engineering

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:44:00 -0500

On Jan. 9, the American Society of Civil Engineers approved for publication its first manual of practice for performance-based structural fire engineering.

Practitioner Relies on Research to Validate Daring Structure

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:37:00 -0500

On Jan. 3, Ron Klemencic, who turned 55 the next day, got an early birthday present.

Gutsy Barge-Delivery Strategy Propelled Modular Lab Job

postn@enr.com (Nadine M. Post) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:25:00 -0500

Prefab, preassemble, disassemble, barge in, lift, swing, set, fit and connect.

Guided Dam Team to Mitigate Geologic, Environmental Risks

blairs@enr.com (Scott Blair) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:16:00 -0500

Due to geologic hurdles, the Calaveras Dam project in northern California grew to an $810-million budget and an eight-year schedule from a planned $416-million budget and four-year schedule.

Innovation Addresses Multiple Problems in Hampton Roads

McFarlandP@enr.com (Pam Hunter McFarland) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:10:00 -0500

Industry officials credit Ted Henifin, general manager of the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, with conceptualizing an innovative initiative that addresses multiple issues under one program: meeting ever-toughening water-quality requirements, ensuring sufficient supplies of drinking water, and slowing and potentially even reversing dramatic land subsidence due to sea-level rise and groundwater over-pumping.

Exec Turns Unknowns to Action to Speed Rebuild of Damaged Span

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:03:00 -0500

As darkness fell on fire-damaged I-85 in downtown Atlanta last April, uncertainty was as pervasive as the smoke and rubble.

Found Solution for Using Fixed Rail on Floating Bridges

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 13:57:00 -0500

Transitioning rail to a floating bridge that is constantly bobbing and swaying at the whims of the water required a first-ever solution for Sound Transit.

Advocating for Women's Rights in the Ironworkers Union

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 13:39:00 -0500

Ironworkers typically end up plying their trade at the very top of under-construction buildings, notes Eric Dean, adding, “And the view from the top is pretty good.”

Exec Shares Launch of Software With Entire Industry

shawm@enr.com (Mark Shaw) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 13:31:00 -0500

Four or five years ago, just as the industry was emerging from the recession, PCL Construction Services Inc. President Deron Brown and his team decided to invest in a project-delivery software called PartsLab.

Architect's Energy-Positive K-12 Schools Offer a Twist

judys@enr.com (Scott Judy) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 13:18:00 -0500

Architect Robbie Ferris is on a mission to alter radically the delivery model and performance of K-12 schools.

Unity of Action Finally Delivers Delayed Locks and Dam

yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 13:12:00 -0500

On Dec. 28, crews placed the final concrete shell in the Olmsted Locks and Dam.

Bringing 3D-Printing Techniques to Meet Demands of Designers

rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 13:04:00 -0500

Getting 3D-printing technology to work for construction has been a struggle for decades.

Committee Pushes Climate Guidelines to Engineers

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 12:48:00 -0500

Designing to address climate change will require a paradigm shift for engineers who must plan for rainfall, floods, drought and sea-level rise without historical models to guide them.