Civil Engineers: Guardians of the Infrastructure

By Reed Brockman, PESr. Structural Engineer / Inspection Specialist

DMJM Harris

Before I start preaching to the converted…

• Who am I?– An engineer inspecting and designing for

DMJM Harris– A volunteer, working to make sure we

have a great next generation of civil engineers

– A dad

Once upon a time…

And along came us

And we developed…

And developed…

Mostly good

Some things needing work…

So here we are today

Heroes?

• Do we keep the public safe?

• Do we solve problems thatmake real differences?

• Do we leap tall buildingsin a single bound?

Infrastructure TLC

• Maintain what was built in the PAST

• Alter or add in the PRESENT

• Make sure it will be maintained in the FUTURE

Taking care of the PAST

• Not just inspection

• How ARE things?– Be part of the public!– Sense the symptoms

early– Was it good to begin

with?– Understand the past and what has changed!

Alter or add in the PRESENT• Solve the right problem

– We don’t design in a vacuum– Not all infrastructure is good infrastructure– Why are we doing this?

• Make it SUSTAINABLE• Make it INSPECTABLE• Make it both FUNCTIONAL and

AESTHETIC• Let the world know what you’ve done!

Think to the FUTURE!• Be a MENTOR

• Provide TRAINING opportunities

• Encourage kids

• Work with college students

• I consider it an important part of our job

Problems with the FUTURE

• TECHNOLOGICAL ILLITERACY

• Misconceptions of Engineering

• Fighting against “easy-way-out” mentality

Technological Illiteracy

• “Black box” products

– Dispose over fix

– Can’t fix it yourself

• Few out there explaining their work

• Students hungry for hands-on design challenges

Misconceptions of Engineering

• “Really complicated and hard work, with lots of math & science”

• “Not a job that makes any money”

• “Doesn’t do anything to help people”

• “Just sitting in front of a computer all day”

Easy–way-out Mentality

• Bring communities together with your projects; have people help others

• Avoid too many virtualmodels

• Remember how everything got here

• Encourage thoughts of the Future!

Ways to Reach Out – Easy Starting Points

• Start local West Point Bridge Contest– Meet many schools quickly

• Run a regional Future City or Model Bridge Contest– These are more “face-to-face”– Get to know the teachers

• Join educational committees or Start a TV Show

THANK YOU!