I learned at a young age the three Rs that are commonly related to sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But I believe there is one more very important “R” that is missing, and that is Responsibility. Engineering is a caring profession, and specifically civil engineering stresses that we protect and advance the welfare of the public. As such, we have the responsibility to manage our personal consumption as well as the consumption of resources in the projects we work on.
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Today is International Women in Engineering Day, and to celebrate the amazing work that women engineers around the world do, we talk to Natalie Carmen, P.E., as part of our Women in Civil Engineering Series. Natalie is a civil engineering project manager with the design, engineering, and planning firm Stewart, and talks about her experience of working in a multi-disciplined civil engineering project design team, and more specifically, about her involvement in the Riverfront Park project, a new, seven-acre destination park on the Wilmington, NC, riverfront.
[Read more…] about TCEP 176: Working in a Multi-Disciplined Civil Engineering Project Design Team
In design visualization for engineering firms, everyone knows that innovation is mandatory for the survival of an engineering firm. BIM is fantastic. Lidar usage is now ubiquitous. And if you are buying a drone in 2021, then your firm is behind.
But rarely does the AEC sector evolve the way that we win our projects, inspire our team members, and connect with the communities we work with.
Besides, what good is a showcase project finale if no one knows about it because the only way to demonstrate its success is through a crinkled-up Polaroid that you carry around in your pocket?
What if you could highlight your projects like in this demo reel here?
Design visualization has become something that Pennoni is known for, and the use of our tools internally has promoted the creation of a department that we call Pennoni FX Studios (PFX).
In fact, to win certain poster-child projects like Winter Haven Central Park in Florida, we have beaten creative design shops that would be considered Goliath when compared in the ring.
As consumption of resources continues to increase, creativity in engineering will be even more important to ensure longevity for future generations. The ability to generate and implement creative solutions can ultimately decide the fate of the future, especially when it comes to dealing with some of the world’s biggest challenges like failing infrastructure and global warming. As cheesy as this may sound, we need to embrace creativity as a necessary skill set and not let it fall by the wayside with other skills that were nurtured in our youth, such as imagination and curiosity.
That being said, what is the biggest barrier to harnessing creativity in your own civil engineering career or within your organization as a whole? My guess for most people it is a mix of things, with ego standing front and center. Ego often stands in the way of accepting new ideas and taking constructive criticism. Doing something successfully, in repetition over time often breed’s ego. When you’re experienced in a certain field, you don’t often seek others’ opinions. When you’re inexperienced, you don’t get stuck in the trap of doing something the way it’s always been done. As a newcomer, you don’t know everything, but you know those who do. So, you seek information.
[Read more…] about The Importance of Creativity for Civil Engineering Firms and Professionals
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In this episode, I answer a question that I get from civil engineering students almost daily. Should they seek full-time employment immediately after completing their undergraduate studies or go to grad school and pursue a master’s degree? And I promise you, whether you are a student, a project manager, an owner, or a CEO, you will take something out of this episode because I get into the decision-making processes.
Graduate school and professional engineering licensure are invaluable — but, as with any career, it is more a question of timing, and the answer to this question is different for every civil engineering graduate, depending on their situation.
[Read more…] about TCEP 161: Should I Go to Grad School or Apply for Civil Engineering Jobs?
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In this week’s episode we provide you with the latest news in the Civil Engineering industry including covering how Purdue University engineers have developed sensors that could safely speed up construction schedules by determining concrete strength directly onsite in real time.
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In this week’s episode, we provide you with the latest news in the Civil Engineering industry including covering how the researchers at Old Dominion University are working to develop a system that can — on its own, through artificial intelligence — detect spots that have flooded and send alerts to drivers notifying them of problems on their route. We also talk about how Olmsted County (Minnesota), Cenergy, and People’s Energy Cooperative has partnered to turn a contaminated site into new energy, and much more interesting stories.
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In this episode, I talk to Melody A. Gonzalez, E.I., a civil engineer at Black & Veatch about how she went from an immigrant single mom to civil engineer, and today is living the American dream. She also talks about work-life balance and the importance that mentors play in your civil engineering career.
[Read more…] about TCEP 159: From Single Mom to Civil Engineer: A Journey to Success
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Welcome to This Week in Civil Engineering (TWiCE), the first weekly audio and video podcast covering weekly news stories and events related to civil engineering and its sub-disciplines. In this week’s episode, we provide you with the latest news in the Civil Engineering industry including covering how the founders of Niricson, a Victoria. British Columbia-based Technology Company have developed a novel drone-based collection and damage assessment software system to inspect and detect problems with aging infrastructure. We also cover how Thornton Tomasetti’s CORE lab, designed a computer vision, machine-learning algorithm that can identify damage to building exteriors in photos or video.
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Welcome to This Week in Civil Engineering (TWiCE), the first weekly audio and video podcast covering weekly news stories and events related to civil engineering and its sub-disciplines. In this week’s episode, we provide you with the latest news in the Civil Engineering industry including covering how the Biden-Harris transition team released documents laying out the incoming administration’s early priorities that include a blueprint for “tackling the climate crisis”.
[Read more…] about TWiCE 11: This Week in Civil Engineering – Biden Set a New Tone on Climate Change
