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Engineering News
Stan Brown, P.E. assumes presidency of APWA
The American Public Works Association veteran has worked in local government for more than 34 years, holding various public works, engineering, and management positions in Georgia, Colorado and Wyoming.
Fullerton water treatment plant makes history as Orange County’s first PFAS extraction plant
The plant uses an ion exchange treatment system made of highly porous resin that acts like powerful magnets that adsorb and hold onto contaminants, removing PFOA and PFOS.
USDA civil engineer named a finalist for a prestigious medal
Sherry Hunt is a finalist in the Science and Environment category for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for developing innovative design techniques to rehabilitate and reinforce aging dams
ASCE releases its infrastructure report card
The American Society of Civil Engineers has released the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, its latest quadrennial assessment, and gives the United States an overall C- grade
Engineer takes readers on a historical journey through ancient civilization measurement in new book
Author Roland Boucher has released his debut book “Ancient Measurement: How Ancient civilizations created Precise and Reproducible Standards.”
VDOT approves start of $3.8-billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion
The project will increase tunnel and interstate capacity along 9.9 miles of Interstate 64 between Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia, reducing congestion and easing access to the Port of Virginia and the world’s largest Naval base.
Historic bridge in Chelan, Washington transformed by a rehabilitation project
Built in 1927, the historic Woodin Avenue Bridge stretches 450 feet over pristine Lake Chelan in Washington and serves as a grand entrance to the city of Chelan’s downtown
Triggo reveals micro-electric car for global launch across major cities in 2021
The engineering design company founded in Poland has announced the launch of its first electric urban mobility vehicle, combining the safety and comfort of a car with the maneuverability and parking benefits of a scooter.
Defining moment for STEM
Nearing its 30th anniversary, STEM finds itself converging with educational technology such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and extended reality.
Engineering Firms
Air quality engineer warns that the COVID-19 pandemic won’t end until Americans clean up our indoor air
Jeremy McDonald of Guth DeConzo Consulting encourages improvements to ventilation and the use of high-performance air filters and other air purification technologies
HMMH receives NASA X-59 Quiet Supersonic Flight Community Testing contract
Data collected could allow supersonic flight over land, dramatically reducing travel time to anywhere in the world
Environmental engineer Ali Sharif joins Cardno’s Glendale, CA office
He joins the international infrastructure and environmental services firm as a project engineer, bringing 12 years of civil, water resources, and environmental engineering experience.
In memoriam: Celebrating the life of Alfred “Pete” Petrofsky
McMillen Jacobs Associates announces that the accomplished tunnel and dam engineer has passed away at 92
Fugro to provide quality assurance testing services for Dallas airports
The firm has been awarded a 5-year contract to provide services for all upcoming construction projects at Dallas Love Field Airport, Dallas Executive Airport, and Dallas Vertiport
Greg Stukel, P.E. joins Bowman Consulting Group’s Lisle, IL office
As a principal and civil engineer, he will assist in business development, participate in the company’s Illinois Tollway initiatives, and provide design plan quality assurance leadership.
Engineering firm RETTEW joins with SolMare to construct one of the nation’s largest floating solar arrays
The project will provide all the power needs for Clayton Sand Company’s sand mining facility in Jackson, New Jersey.
Site work begins on Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Project with Brown and Caldwell providing engineering
Designed to reduce harmful discharges to estuaries and send clean water to the Southern Everglades and Florida Bay, the project includes canals, stormwater treatment areas, and a storage reservoir.
ColeBreit Engineering hires mechanical engineer William Caron, P.E.
In his senior-level role with ColeBreit, a full-range mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design and engineering firm in Oregon, Caron will help expand the team’s portfolio with larger, more diverse engineering projects.
Engineering Schools
SMU professor awarded NSF grant for models to better evacuate natural disasters like hurricanes
He will investigate integrated evacuation planning and disaster preparedness models that offer relief to evacuees in a more robust, predictive, timely, and cost-effective manner
UC Riverside engineers create activated carbon from corn stover that filters 98 percent of a pollutant from water
They’ve come up with an energy-efficient way to put corn wastes back into the economy by transforming it into activated carbon for use in water treatment.
Rensselaer researchers to build biosensor capable of measuring critical nutrients in water
Engineers are teaming up with a metal-breathing bacterium to try to dramatically improve biosensors for aquatic ecosystems
Missouri S&T wins grant for high-resolution 4-D X-ray CT scanner
Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology who study materials will soon have a highly sophisticated scanning tool available to help them
Bucknell University gets $2-million grant to create a new engineering education model
The National Science Foundation awarded it so faculty can incorporate societal problems and the interdisciplinary approach they demand into the department’s curriculum
Cornell College engineering major becomes ABET accredited
The school in Mount Vernon, Iowa has secured accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology for its bachelor of science in engineering (B.S.E.) program
Utah State launches engineering research center for electrified transportation
The National Science Foundation has awarded Utah State University a five-year, $26 million grant to develop a research center dedicated to advancing sustainable, electrified transportation.
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers to develop next-generation, long-lasting batteries
Ram Gupta and Mo Jiang will receive a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new rechargeable lithium-ion batteries
Sacred Heart University opens its IDEA Lab
Now that the University in Fairfield, Connecticut has officially opened the IDEA (Innovate|Design|Engineer|Apply) Lab at its West Campus, students have 11,000 square feet of space to exercise their creativity, explore their ideas, and develop new concepts.
Green Building
University of Missouri engineers are working with Dow and the Missouri Department of Transportation to test the use of plastic waste in road pavement
Testing on a local roadway, engineers and students are determining how to incorporate single-use, polyethylene plastic waste into asphalt
Engineers develop concept for rechargeable concrete-based batteries
With this research from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, concrete buildings and other infrastructure could store huge amounts of energy
Report on indoor air quality in schools released
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and ASHRAE have released survey results from school districts, detailing measures they have taken to improve indoor air quality in schools in response to the pandemic.
Two developers selected to design rooftop solar arrays for 51 New York City area public buildings
After installing them, Ameresco, a clean technology integrator headquartered in Framingham, MA, and ENGIE North America with national headquarters in Houston, TX will manage the projects.
Hillsboro, Oregon begins generating renewable electricity from an underground water pipeline
The Hillsboro In-Pipe Hydroelectric Project features the In-PRV, a new smart water and micro-hydro system that generates electricity by harvesting excess pressure from a city water pipeline.
Researchers discover an eco-friendly way to recycle the silicon in solar panels
Scientists at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, Russia have figured out how to convert silicon into silicon oxide nanoparticles, which can then be recycled
Los Angeles, DC, and San Francisco lead EPA’s 2020 Top Cities list for ENERGY STAR certified buildings
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently unveiled its annual ENERGY STAR Top Cities list, showing which U.S. metro areas were home to the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings last year.
Developers and designers sought for rooftop solar arrays at dozens of New York City schools and other sites
The New York Power Authority and the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services have announced the planned installation of 16 megawatts of solar energy on the rooftops of 46 New York City buildings.
LEED strategies promote higher quality of life for Westminster, Colorado as an apartment community advances access to healthy homes
As the top state in 2019 for LEED-certified green building, Colorado has a strong commitment to the sustainability and health of its communities. In working to advance green building for its state, USGBC Colorado celebrates the people, firms, and projects leading the way in achieving these goals.