Please excuse me for jumping straight from day one on the Annual Conference all the way to the closing remarks.  I was deathly ill err…busy.  It’s along story, but here are the highlights: an 80 mile round trip joy ride to set up for the service activity in a Chevy Cobalt (alas the Cameron’s father’s Ferrari was in Chicago); a costume party in the Negro Baseball League Museum (contains almost as much history as Wrigley field); and diner with author Brian Brenner (not quite as prestigious as Abe Froman, sausage king of Chicago).

Why all the Ferris Beuller jokes?  Ben Stein was the final speaker at the conference.  Far from the monotone sleep inducing lectures attended by the Wonder Years’ kids, his talk was very entertaining.  He woke everyone up by starting, “I like you guys because your job’s not B.S.”  As opposed to the entertainers with which he frequently works, he expressed thanks that engineers work “real jobs with exactitude.”

An economist by training, Mr. Stein then gave a quick history of economic policy in this country.  There was something for people of all political orientations to cringe at.  His take on supply-side (a.k.a. trickle down or Reganomics): “it doesn’t work.”  He’s no lover of the Obama administration’s economic policy either.  But to explain why we find our selves in this current economic malaise, he offered this analogy to civil engineering: “credit default swaps are as if every time you built a bridge, you were required to attach a land mine that would explode at some random point in the future.”

Finally, he turned his cynical gaze toward education.  Having worked a quiz show and a reality program about the intelligence of Hollywood models, he is quite terrified about the state of education in America.  Several anecdotes backed up this impression.  Even among college graduates, he lamented, “you can be pretty drunk and hung-over and get a C in college.”

Lest we all despair about the future of the country, he did end the conversation with the inspirational stories of the men and women in the armed forces.

The connection between his various stories and civil engineering was subtle but important.  People from all walks of life are seeking answers to the complex questions of our day.  Engineers are viewed as an elite team of problem solvers with the education and creativity to solve these problems.  It is a lofty charge but one we can achieve if we accept this vision for the profession.

The closing of the conference represents the end of our “day off.”  Like Ferris Bueller’s friends, we’ve learned more about ourselves and the expectations for our profession.  Monday will come and we’ll be back at school or work, but perhaps the conference attendees will be better able to tackle the daily challenges and make the most of the rest of the year.

The demographics of the nation and ASCE are changing.  While a steady stream of grey-haired or no-haired men still appear prominently throughout the conference agenda, a subtle change is taking place among the attendees.  This became clear to me at the leadership luncheon on Thursday, where I was the only white male sitting at my table.

To my right were two gentlemen who had traveled from Nigeria and Uganda to participate in the society. They have actually been ASCE members for several years and hoped to bring ideas back to their countries for growing the professional organization.  A lively discussion about education advocacy also piqued their interest.  Though they come from the same continent, they expressed real differences between their nations.  I was surprised to learn that Nigeria is actually more densely populated than China.  Meanwhile the gentleman from Uganda told of his struggle to technically educate people from the more remote regions of his country.

On the other side of the table, there sat two students from the University of British Columbia.  We don’t usually think of Canadians as minorities, but these students actually called China home.  Rounding out the table were three younger members from San Diego, a local engineer and one ASCE staff member - all female.

We all enjoyed a lively conversation and sought out our similarities: the reasons we became engineers, our professional passions and hobbies.  I left with a standing invitation to go snowboarding in Vancouver, surfing in California and hiking in Africa.

The opening session of the ASCE Annual Conference began with a wake-up call to all in attendance.   Wayne Klotz declared, “modern society cannot exist without infrastructure,” in his final presentation to the society as President.  The mega-cities in which we live are fueled by a constant intake of water, food and energy.  These resources must travel fantastic distances and undergo many purifying processes.  Civil engineers are the stewards of this  high speed conduit. We should be self-aware and proud of the vital importance of our profession.  Wayne urged the incoming leadership and all in attendance to embrace the ABCs of ASCE: advocate for, believe in and commit to advancing the profession and protecting the nation’s infrastructure.

The importance of advocacy was driven home by Jim Suttle, professional engineer and mayor Omaha.  He reminded us that the qualities of successful engineers are necessary to face the problems of the day.  There is a need in policy development for analytical evaluation of facts.  Engineers also serve as a model for politicians when applying an ethical reverence for the public health and safety.  Finally, we were reminded that engineers who engage in the political process succeed by tailoring their practices to the political realities of government decision making.  In short, we all lose when engineers shy away from advocacy and the public debate.

Later, Eric Peterson, representing a Washinton, D.C. think tank for strategic international studies, gave a litany of reasons why engineers must recommit themselves to solving societal problems.  Or in Wayne’s words, “building our way out of the problem.”  Eric’s main points did not specifically call out engineers, but we can read between the lines to find areas requiring engineered solutions.  He isolated seven drivers of massive social change by 2025: 1) population trends, 2) resource allocation, 3) technology, 4) knowledge distribution, 5) global economic integration, 6) conflict and 7) governance.

The first three points speak directly to infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.  How do you support 6.8 billion people, and rising at a rate of 152 people per minute, disproportionately concentrated in large urban centers?  What infrastructure changes will be required when the aged population exceeds the youth?  Will it be possible to transport more resources farther and by sustainable means?  What opportunities are opened when micro computing provides a chip capable of running a thousand thousand trillion processes per second (that’s not a typo)?

Looking deeper down the list, we’re confronted with questions like the one posed by Thomas Friedman, “is it better to be a B student in Bethesda or a genius in Banglore?”  In the flat world, historic geographical, political and socio-economic barriers matter less.  How will America compete with the rapidly growing economies of Brasil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC nations)?  Are they more committed to growing and modernizing their infrastructure than the US?

Eric didn’t offer many solutions to these questions.  He admittedly took the easy way out and declared that the world of the future would be one of great potential and great peril.  Which ever side of the coin we fall on might well depend on how much we believe in the ABCs of the profession.

During the run up to the 2008 presidential election, people were surprised to learn that bloggers were routinely granted access to the candidates.  At the Democratic National Convention, about 120 bloggers received press passes.  In 2009, ASCE has followed suit.  I was the first blogger to be granted press credentials to the annual conference.

Really, this just allowed me to roam around the conference without getting hassled for registration documents.  I was also entitled to the free coffee, tea and eavesdropping in the press room.

I met writers for ASCE News and Engineering News Record. Additionally, I was among the first to know that Andrew Herrmann, who worked on the the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, was going to appear on Good Morning America to discuss the damage cause by a failed reinforcing collar on the San Francisco Bay Bridge.  However judging by the immediate buzz in the room, the story of the day was the disappearance of several small bean bags used for a game at the Geico Insurance booth.

It may not have been the CNN Situation Room, nevertheless I’ve enjoyed an interesting behind the scenes look at the messages being formed at the Annual Conference, not too bad for my first assignment in the field.

Since July, I’ve been living in the South of France, exploring the local culture, geography and historic marvels.  In the next few blogs, I’ll try to share some of the interesting engineering-related stories that I’ve uncovered.  You can read about more of my ongoing adventures at http://mistralwriter.blogspot.com

Les Salins de Camargue
It’s said that the Roman engineer Peccius was the first to organize the salt production efforts in the Camargue, an area of southern France near the mouth of the Rhone River. The natural salt marshes and higher-than-normal natural salt content make the region an obvious place to harvest sea salt. Around the city of Aigues-Mortes, meaning “dead water,” 500,000 tons of salt are collected annually. While some of the process occurs naturally, capturing the quantities of salt demanded by human appetites requires an engineered process.

First, the salt is collected in vast evaporation pools. More than 45 million cubic meters of seawater must be pumped during the month of March. Throughout the spring, the evaporation process increases the concentration of salt 9-fold, to about 260 grams per liter. By mid-summer a thick cake begins to form on the surface of the water. The concentrated brine can grow to 20 cm thick, 9 cm of which is harvested as sea salt. The top of the cake takes on a bright red hue due to the presence of a special kind of algae that turns brighter as the salt concentration increases. Some of the algae and waste sediment can be collected and used as fertilizer. Lower quality salt is sold for road de-icing.

In September, the salt is harvested. Quality control measures ensure that the table salt is 99.5% pure sodium-chloride. Some salt is shipped on flat bottom barges along the shallow canals to the port, while another portion is loaded onto rail cars and sent in land. Several special bridges and conveyor systems are placed in service specifically for the once-a-year collection.

Having harvested salt from these marshes for over a thousand years, the Camargue salt farmers have struck a symbiotic balance with nature. While many industrial processes pose a threat to the local ecosystem, salt farming in the Aigue-Mortes salt marsh has actually led to greater preservation of the indigenous wetlands. Of course, the salt companies probably exaggerate the extent of this success. Nevertheless, this is a model for living sustainably with nature.

According to USA Today, about 1 in 6 students enrolled in higher education registered for an online course this semester.  Growth in such classes surprises some experts, but as online teaching tools become more refined, students and teachers are finding advantages to this form of learning.  Geographical freedom is one advantage of online courses.  This fall I plan to teach a math course to American students all the way from France.

Distance learning is new for me.  Initially, I was skeptical about the effectiveness of the learning environment.  How does the teacher establish a rapport with the students?  How does one explain complex concepts over email?  How can the teacher tell when an explanation didn’t really make sense?  Fortunately, the university that I’ll be teaching at has put me through a four-week online training program.  During this course, I’ve been asked to participate just like a prospective student, completing assignments meant to teach me how all of their online tools work.  It has been an eye-opening experience.

Through discussion board participation, live videoconference “office hours” and prompt email responses I really do feel a personal connection with my instructor and classmates.  Detailed tutorials and relevant web links have also enabled me to get up and running with the complicated software.  Plus, I feel much more responsible for the quality of my education.  As a teacher, if I don’t do all my homework and make sure that I understand the concepts, that first course could be as difficult for me as for the students.

Degreed professionals might also benefit from online learning.  The required breadth of knowledge for civil engineers is constantly increasing. At the same time, a shrinking economy makes it difficult for employers to offer in-house training.  However, for companies and individuals to remain competitive in the marketplace, this knowledge must still be obtained.

Some organizations are beginning to offer free tutorials, marketed to specifically to professionals in need of upgrading their skills.  The Be Employable program, offered by the Bently company, provides “outplaced infrastructure professionals” free access to software and training. Meanwhile, Autodesk users can take advantage of free Civil 3D training by Engineered Efficiency, Inc.

Other companies have gone further, building on the lessons learned from online universities. Retrieve Media Inc has developed unit-based courses that combine educational videos with practice problems and online help.  In the demo videos that I viewed, the instructor is visible standing in front of a live screen shot of the program window that he’s operating, simulating a live classroom environment.  Their complete lineup ranges from cooking lessons to information modeling tutorials.  Clearly they understand the needs of the engineering demographic.

Given the potential for online education, an MSN Money article goes so far as to suggest that this current generation of students may be the last to attend college in the traditional sense.  Do you agree?  Is that good or bad for the profession?  What online courses would be immediately beneficial to you?  Post your thoughts.  One lucky contributor, chosen at random, will receive a free vBooks subscription from Retrieve Media.

As a perfect segue from my last post, think about entering this contest about designing a sustainable village:

WHAT ARE WE AFTER?

This is a contest for the visions of an ideal sustainable village: a place where you would want to live, study, work and experience the challenges and rewards of an ecologically durable lifestyle. In other words: to define the future of living.

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?

You can draw, sketch, take photographs, paint, use digital design tools to create  images, or even submit poetry (however, poetry must make a visual statement  as well as all entries will be treated as images). You can be as creative as you like, but please keep in mind the key words and goals of the CLEAR Village.

Distill your vision in to a 600dpi horizontal A4 image and send it through sendspace.com, following the instructions mentioned underneath.

I became a civil engineer because I wanted to make a big impact on society. Over time, I’ve become particularly concerned with society’s impact on the environment. I find large-budget LEED certified “green” projects to be incredibly important steps toward sustainable development. In my current position, however, I’ve been more involved in smaller rehabilitation and renovation projects. Though smaller in scope, these projects are equally important to the environment, because it’s almost always more efficient to re-use our existing building stock.

On a number of occasions, I’ve even had the opportunity to work directly with a company that provides solar panel roof-mounting solutions. We help ensure that the existing structure is capable of supporting the new equipment. I can’t think of a simpler way to help make our buildings greener.

Jeremy Jones, VP of strategic development for SoCore Energy, recently took the time to answer some of my questions about solar power and the future of “green” industries in America.

1) How much power can a solar installation generate?

In the U.S., each kilowatt of solar generating capacity that you install will generate between 1,100 and 1,600 kilowatt hours per year (with Northern latitudes at the low end and say Arizona at the high end). A typical residential system would be about 5kW while commercial installations are typically anywhere from 25kW to 1,000kWs or more.

2) What kinds of engineering challenges has your company faced in attempting to achieve your mission to make solar energy more flexible, more accessible, and more affordable?

Our business is built around trying to eliminate the barriers to more widespread solar adoption. We see the major barriers as a) lack of standardization and b) difficult project requirements. Ultimately, we need to drive down the cost of solar and the lack of standardization both within the system designs as well as the incentives from one state to another prohibit these reductions. Further, there are so many requirements that a project has to meet in order for it to be “viable” that it greatly limits the market expansion. For example, if every project needs to be with a customer who has a AAA credit rating (in order to qualify for financing), 20 years left on their roof warranty, and happens to own their building, solar can never really contribute to our energy mix. Our approach has been to standardize installation practices, increase system portability, and create shorter more flexible contracts for customers so that we can overcome many of these initial sales barriers.

3) How prominent a role do government rebates and tax credits play in people’s decision to install solar panels?

Today, they are absolutely critical. These incentives are creating the economies of scale required for us to reach grid parity and not need incentives in 5-10 years.

4) How will legislation currently under consideration (including cap and trade proposals) affect your industry?

Regarding cap and trade we’ll need to figure out how “Carbon Credits” will ultimately relate to “Solar Renewable Energy Credits,” which are the more common commodity for trading the “renewable” attributes of renewable energy. Separate from cap and trade, we’re very interested to see if a nationwide Renewable Portfolio Standard “RPS” gets passed as this would require all utilities to have a certain portion of their generation from renewables like solar.

5) What role do you think civil engineers will play in developing a new green energy infrastructure?

Civil engineers are playing a key role. As the cost of the technology (the actual photovoltaic cells) decreases, it becomes increasingly important to be very cost efficient with the other components of the system. As part of this, the ability for a project to be efficiently installed (and code compliant), is increasingly important. Civil engineers will play an important role in continuing to innovate on how systems are installed on rooftops and ground racks.

6) How have people’s perceptions of solar energy changed since you first became involved in the industry?

In my nine years in the solar industry, the market has completely changed. What was once an extremely niche product for municipalities and very early adopters is now becoming mainstream. Today, most customers still value the sustainable aspect of the project, but the projects have to make economic sense. In a few more years, I suspect the market will be purely cost based.

Please click here to read Jeremy’s responses to more questions, including:

• How does a solar panel generate electricity?

• How long does it take a solar installation to pay for itself?

• Are solar panels effective in northern climates?

• Is solar energy still “green” after considering life-cycle costs?

• Has social media changed how you do business?

www.asce.org/professional/educ/

According to a diverse group of civil engineers who met to discuss the future of the profession, by the year 2025 a civil engineer will be:

Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life.  Civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master: planners, designers, constructors… stewards of the natural environment… innovators… managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events and other threats, and leaders in decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.

Wow!  That’s a really tough charge.  The statement is a great rallying cry for the importance and prestige of civil engineers, but can one realistically master so many subjects?  In 2008, an ASCE committee was tasked with determining the Body of Knowledge necessary to meet these ideals.

The resulting document spells out 24 different areas for prospective professionals to study.  Subjects like math, mechanics, and technical specialization are common to most traditional degree programs.  However, the committee suggested many new topics that weren’t even on the radar when I was in school.  10 Sustainability – Analyze systems of engineered works for sustainable performance; 17 – Public Policy – Apply process techniques to simple problems related to civil engineering works; and 19 – Analyze engineering works and services in order to function at a basic level in a global context.

Collectively, the new Body of Knowledge asks engineers to, “master more mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering science fundamentals; maintain technical breadth; acquire broader exposure to the humanities and social sciences; and achieve greater specialization.”

Colleges already struggle to integrate practical tools and procedures used by industry into the curriculum.  How do you fit all of these new subject areas into a degree program?  For one, engineering students should get used to the idea of going on to pursue a master’s degree.  More on the job training and exploratory learning is also suggested.  However, the authors of the Body of Knowledge purposefully want to raise the bar. More responsibility is placed on students and young engineers to actively seek education in these competencies.

Fortunately, some advice is given.  Take advantage of on-campus resources and challenges like the concrete canoe and steel bridge.  Study abroad.   Engage in conversations about sustainability, building information modeling and other new topics that are becoming more important in the industry.  Volunteer for community and professional organizations.  Demand feedback and diverse project assignments from teachers and employers.

Most importantly, take charge of your future.  Six months after starting my first job, I did not feel that I was getting the experience I needed to meet my career goals.  Throughout 18 years of school, someone had always told me what the next step would be.  However, at that point, it was entirely up to me make a move that would broaden my body of knowledge.  Be ready for that decision.  If you choose to continue learning throughout your career, then it’s likely that you will fully meet the charge for the civil engineer of 2025.

On a hot summer night, an air-conditioned movie theater is a good place to go for entertainment.  The studios understand this and typically roll out their most costly blockbusters.  Movies with comic book heroes and tons of explosions are a certainty.  It’s also a good bet that the laws of science will be suspended for about two hours, while heroes race through time and defy gravity and geeky computer hackers get the girl.

But when will they make a movie with an accurate portrayal of the exciting life of an engineer?  Oxymoronic as that may sound, I’ve heard it expressed at multiple conferences by well-meaning engineers who feel that, “if only we had a suitable role model, then kids would flock to engineering.”  First of all, the examples set for stockbrokers and lawyers in movies like Wall Street (1987) and The Devil’s Advocate (1997), respectively, don’t seemed to have dampened the attraction of these high-paying professions.  Secondly, if you think about it, there are quite a few movies featuring engineers and engineering themes.

Blockbuster season is a great time to learn about the fringes of scientific possibility.  The Star Trek (2009) franchise consistently incorporates the engineered possibilities of the future, albeit while taking a few creative liberties with special relativity.  Meanwhile, Terminator (2009) explores the darker side of technological advancement.  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Contact (1997) more thoughtfully consider the confluence of science, emotion and faith.  While these movies are quick to exploit engineering, they don’t offer the leading role an engineer.

You need not look far, however, to find an engineering superhero.  Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man (2008), is best described as a genius engineer.  Who else could have created an impenetrable mechanized suit out of bazooka tubes and jihadi camping gear?

J. H. Patterson, the real-life inspiration for The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), may not have had the technology, but I’m sure he had the mettle to face those foes.  He was tasked with overseeing the construction of a rail line over the Tsavo River in Kenya, when a pair of man-eating lions went on a 9-month killing spree.  After several attempts to engineer a means of capturing the lions, the lieutenant-colonel tracked and killed the lions himself.  The hides are still on display in Chicago’s Field Museum.

Engineers and engineering make for good cinema and TV.  Need more proof?  Check out the weekly cable listings for Junkyard Wars, Myth Busters, Modern Marvels and countless others.  But, does the media really influence kids’ career choices?  An old study by the National Institute of Education  seems to suggest: no.  When high school juniors were asked who most influenced their career choice only 8.1% indicated the media.  About double that percentage were most influenced by family members, while even non-family mentors ranked above the media.

While it may not be practical for engineering societies to enter the business of Hollywood, it is worthwhile for engineers to enter classrooms or otherwise mentor students.  ASCE can provide the know-how and a network of fellow members to make outreach easy.  Outreach volunteers can even register to win an Ipod by taking a survey about their experience. http://content.asce.org/pre_college_outreach/index.html

Don’t wait for Hollywood to come calling, get out there and sell your own exciting story to the next generation of engineers.

Please comment with your own recollections of great engineering movies.  Need more inspiration?  Here are a couple of other websites that have tackled the question of naming the best movies about engineering:
http://www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/Newsletters/METoday/Articles/Top_10_Favorite_Films_by_Tom.cfm
http://www.designnews.com/blog/Electronics_News_and_Comment/582-The_Best_And_Worst_Engineering_Movies.php