Progressive Engineer is an online magazine and information source covering all disciplines of engineering. We show the fun in engineering and the cool jobs engineers have, all while promoting sustainability in the profession.
Looking for a consulting engineer? Looking to market an engineering firm? Try our Engineering Firm Directory with its searchable database.
Engineering News
Why we need more STEM students to study abroad
Contributed by Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd CollegeStudents majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are much less likely to participate in study abroad programs during their college years than students in other majors.According to Open...
Wave energy converter successfully tested for powering oceanographic instrumentation
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (EXWC) has announced the most recent round of wave energy converter (WEC) testing at the U.S. Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) off Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH),...
Daikin announces first U.S. supermarket retrofit of R-22 to Creard R-407H refrigerant
Daikin America has partnered with TOPS Friendly Markets to complete the first refrigeration conversion of a U.S. supermarket from R-22 to Creard R-407H refrigerant. At the TOPS store in Alden, NY, 1200 pounds of Creard R-407H has been used to provide more than 25...
Three ways to boost STEM education to prepare the workforce of the future
By Brad AndersonEditor-in-chief of ReadWriteIt’s obvious: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are integral parts of everyone’s life. Since 2009, STEM has accounted for more than 800,000 new jobs in the United States, more than double the number...
Chemical engineer documents drop in plastics recycling
According to a post in WasteAdvantage magazine, the Plastic Pollution Coalition has published a new engineering estimate showing plummeting recycling rates for plastic in United States. Author Jan Dell, a consulting chemical engineer, used U.S....
Searching for new bridge forms that can span further
Newly identified bridge forms could enable significantly longer bridge spans to be achieved in the future, potentially making a crossing over the Strait of Gibraltar, from the Iberian Peninsula to Morocco, feasible. The new bridge forms – identified by a team of...
New ASTM International standard helps in construction of geosynthetic clay liners
A new ASTM International standard will help those who construct and install geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs), which are used to help with containment for landfills, coal combustion residual storage cells,mining operations, and remediation and environmental protection...
Uplift Data Partners integrates with PlanGrid to give builders immediate access to drone imagery
Uplift Data Partners, the data capture pilot platform for enterprise businesses, recently announced it has integrated with PlanGrid, which specializes in construction productivity software. Uplift's 2D and 3D aerial drone imagery is now accessible directly into...
The world has embraced robots; should the U.S. should follow suit?
America has long been a forerunner in other revolutions — industrial, technological and digital. But, is the United States prepared for the robotic revolution? As other countries embark on initiatives to encourage the adoption of automated technologies, Ryan Gutherie,...
Engineering Firms
Schnabel Engineering employees serve in key DBIA-MAR leadership positions
Schnabel Engineering’s commitment to the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) continues, as three employees will serve in key leadership positions in the mid-Atlantic region. The DBIA Mid-Atlantic Region covers the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland,...
Cardno’s Matt Herman earns Professional Engineer license in California
Cardno has announced that Matt Herman has earned his licensure as a Professional Engineer in the state of California. He has more than 15 years of experience providing engineering support for a variety of environmental assessment and remediation projects...
Tom Faucette to lead SmithGroup Science & Technology studio in Washington, DC
SmithGroup, an integrated design firm, has elevated Tom Faucette to lead its Science & Technology studio in Washington, DC. Adding Faucette to this role strengthens the company’s position as a designer of cutting-edge research environments in the Mid-Atlantic,...
Brown & Caldwell begins environmental work at Iron Creek cobalt mine
First Cobalt Corporation has announced that it has engaged Brown and Caldwell at the Iron Creek Project in Idaho to provide guidance on permitting and to develop an environmental baseline study strategy. Trent Mell, First Cobalt President and Chief Executive Officer,...
HNTB adds a new region, an operating division, and four presidents
Keith HinkebeiJim ThomsonMichael InabinetJohn FrielResponding to ongoing growth and a robust U.S. transportation market, HNTB Corporation added a new region and operating division and named these presidents to its leadership structure: Michael Inabinet, PE,...
Chris Ferguson named central region transit and rail market lead at WSP
Chris Ferguson has been appointed central region transit and rail market lead for WSP USA, an engineering and professional services consultancy. In his new role, Ferguson, based in the firm’s Chicago office, will drive business development and pursuits and strategy,...
Sarah Wilson elected board chair at McMillen Jacobs
The McMillen Jacobs Associates board of directors has elected Sarah Wilson as board chair. Wilson is a vice president at McMillen Jacobs, where she has worked in tunnel design and construction management for more than 19 years, and she has spent the past five...
TKDA names Andy Wagstrom vice president of its Rail Division
TKDA, an employee-owned provider of engineering, architecture, and planning services, has named Andy Wagstrom, PE, as vice president of the firm’s Rail Division. A TKDA employee for several years, he has extensive experience serving the rail industry across the United...
Matt Cole starts new electrical engineering firm in Chattanooga, TN
Matt Cole, an electrical engineer with nearly 23 years of engineering experience, has turned entrepreneur by launching 3 Phase Associates, a new electrical engineering consulting firm in Chattanooga, TN. Cole finally said “life was too short” in leaving a high-salary...
Engineering Schools
Ivory Coast, VCU form partnership to improve access to lifesaving medicines
Officials representing Virginia Commonwealth University and the government of Ivory Coast have signed an agreement to train researchers in the West African country to develop high-quality pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities. VCU and its College of...
Interdisciplinary UA researchers get tangled up in quantum computing
Good neighbors often share resources: a cup of sugar, extra lawn chairs, a set of jumper cables. Researchers across campus at the University of Arizona will soon be able to share a less common but far more valuable resource to help them further their research:...
Parfait Masungi escapes the Congo to find opportunity
By Milady NazirParfait Masungi is one of the lucky ones. At the age of 15, he won a green card lottery visa and with it, a ticket to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This was his chance to escape the country embroiled in “Africa’s World War,” the...
Engineering capstone project saves MSU researchers time and money
Countless hours spent hunched over petri dishes, using needles to pluck tiny samples from bacteria colonies and place them in test tubes, are not the most exciting experiences for researchers in Seth Walk's lab at Montana State University. Walk, who studies the...
NCSU researchers improve food bank effectiveness and equity
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed new computer models to improve the ability of food banks to feed as many people as possible, as equitably as possible, while reducing food waste. Food banks serve as networks, collecting food from many...
VCU School of Engineering receives GO Virginia funding
GO Virginia has announced that the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Engineering has been awarded a grant intended to spur economic development across the region. The $500,000 grant will support commercialization efforts to implement FDA-approved,...
NJIT’s Kamalesh Sirkar wins award for Innovation in Membrane Science and Technology
Kamalesh Sirkar, a chemical engineer at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), has won the 2017 Alan S. Michaels Award for Innovation in Membrane Science and Technology. Sirkar is known for his innovations in industrial membrane technology used to separate and...
University of Illinois launches first U.S. nanomanufacturing node
Mechanical engineering professors Placid Ferriera, Kimani Toussaint, Narayana Alura, and Elif ErtekinUniversity of Illinois researchers have been awarded a 5-year, $4M grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch the country’s first computational...
CollegeChoice.net ranks the 20 Most Affordable Online Bachelors in Engineering Degrees
College Choice, an authority in college and university rankings and resources, has published its ranking of the 20 Most Affordable Online Bachelors in Engineering Degrees for 2017. You can see it at...
Green Building
Green building engineer Jerry Yudelson comments on Jay Inslee
Here's an entry from Reinventing Green Building, the newsletter published by Jerry Yudelson, president of green building firm Yudelson Associates in Carlsbad, CA. Yudelson has a B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from Caltech, an M.S. in Water Resources...
ASHRAE hires McLennan Design, Houser Walker Architecture, and Integral Group to design its world headquarters
Nine renewable energy highlights of 2018
By Jeff Deyette Despite the Trump administration's ongoing attempts to prop up coal and undermine renewables—at FERC, EPA and through tariffs and the budget process—2018 should instead be remembered for the surge in...
University of Massachusetts Boston facility attains LEED Gold certification
Capstone Development Partners recently announced that the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) Dining and Residence Hall project has achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). "We are thrilled," says Jeff Jones, principal,...
Husson University holds its first Green Jobs Fair
Husson University held its inaugural Green Jobs Fair recently on its Bangor, Maine campus. Organized by AmeriCorps, the job fair provided students and other individuals interested in internships or employment the opportunity to meet with representatives from a variety...
USGBC announces LEED initiatives and updates at Greenbuild
The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, presented by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), concluded recently in Chicago, where thousands of members of the global green building community gathered. The theme for this year’s Greenbuild was Human X...
GAI Consultants tells how green infrastructure meets Pittsburgh stormwater challenges
Green infrastructure solutions are both functional and attractive and are coming into use more and more in Pittsburgh, PA and beyond. The water staff at GAI Consultants describe how these innovative strategies work to manage stormwater—naturally. GAI Consultants is an...
StormwateRx introduces Purus Nitrate for stormwater treatment
StormwateRx, a stormwater treatment and filtration company based in Portland, Oregon, has announced the development and release of a new product in its line of Purus advanced polishers, Purus Nitrate targets soluble nitrate in industrial stormwater runoff. This system...
GHT achieves LEED Gold certification for its Arlington, VA headquarters
GHT Limited (GHT), a DC metro area mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering firm, has announced it has achieved LEED Gold certification for its Arlington, VA headquarters under the Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) rating system. The 19,100 square-foot...