ASCE Plot Points Podcast

Christine Rice, P.E., M.ASCE, is a project engineer for Wood Rodgers in Sacramento, California, and former governor for ASCE’s Region 9.But as of last week, her resume might have a new top line: game-show contestant.Rice competed on the June 3 episode of “Weakest Link,” hosted by Jane Lynch on NBC.She brought all of her civil engineering knowledge and experience with her. Would it be enough to prove that she was not the weakest link?In episode 168 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Rice details her “Weakest Link” experience and explains how being a civil engineer turns out to be a huge help on a game show.

May in Washington D.C., means United For Infrastructure Week.ASCE marked the occasion by releasing a new economic study called Bridging the Gap, analyzing the additional potential costs to both the U.S. GDP and the American taxpayer if IIJA levels of infrastructure investment aren’t continued beyond 2026.Infrastructure Week also is a great opportunity for collaboration. Case in point: ASCE and the Global Infrastructure Investor Association, an organization representing the private sector on a global scale.In episode 167 of ASCE Plot Points, ASCE President Marsia Geldert-Murphey talks with Jon Phillips, CEO of GIIA, about the effects of IIJA on America's infrastructure and where the United States stands on the global stage in terms of attracting private investment dollars.

Diniece Mendes is director for freight mobility at the New York City Department of Transportation and serves on the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute’s Board of Governors.She’s also – as of this spring – a movie star.Mendes is one of five ASCE members to feature in the new IMAX film Cities of the Future, playing on giant screens around the world.In episode 166 of ASCE Plot Points, Mendes talks about the movie experience, living and working in New York, and what she sees as the most important things that civil engineers need to do to bring the cities of the future to life.
 

Los Angeles is No. 1 on the 2024 list of ASCE Best Places for Civil Engineers.
That’s three straight years for L.A., if you’re keeping track at home.
So what’s the city’s secret to success? What’s so special about the civil engineering scene there?
Ruwanka Purasinghe, P.E., M.ASCE, civil engineering associate for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and president-elect of the ASCE Los Angeles Section, has some answers.
In episode 165 of ASCE Plot Points, Purasinghe talks about, yes, what makes Los Angeles such a great place for civil engineers.

Aaron Shavel is New York through and through. Born and raised there – and now works as a project manager for TCE, specializing in rail infrastructure.And New York breeds a certain kind of toughness.Where did Shavel learn his civil engineering toughness?From his civil engineering mom.
In episode 164 of ASCE Plot Points, Shavel talks about growing up around his mom’s civil engineering projects as a kid and why he thinks now is a golden age for civil engineering.

Erin Novini has blended chemical engineering with environmental engineering as an engineering specialist for consulting firm Trihydro since 2005.And in that nearly two-decade span, she’s seen sustainability develop in the corporate world quite a bit.In the conclusion of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee’s sustainability miniseries, Novini discusses her career, her work, and how she sees sustainability playing in the corporate space.

It's part two of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee’s sustainability mini-series on the ASCE Plot Points podcast.Christopher Chini started his undergrad studies at Texas A&M majoring in computer science. But found he wanted to make a more tangible, direct impact on communities and on the environment.Today, he’s a research scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Labs and a former chair of the EWRI Sustainability Committee.And in episode 162 of ASCE Plot Points, Chini talks with guest hosts Brianne Duncan and Wendy Cohen about his sustainability work.

This Earth Day, the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute’s Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee is a launching a sustainability mini-series on ASCE Plot Points.Three podcasts this week; three different sustainability professionals discussing how they’ve navigated their careers to keep issues of sustainability at the forefront.Up first is Emily Grubert, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, associate professor of sustainable energy policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.

Is civil engineering leadership about people? Or is civil engineering leadership about technical expertise?Yes.Civil engineering leadership is all of that and more in 2024.Lauren Taylor is a great example of civil engineering leader in the modern era, blending people skills with project management.Taylor Taylor works for WSP, based in Austin, Texas, as the Texas planning and advisory services lead.Last month, she was named an ENR Top 20 under 40 young professional.In episode 160 of ASCE Plot Points, Taylor discusses her approach to civil engineering leadership and why she loves it.

“We all want to do something that matters,” Isabella Salgado says.She is a civil engineer for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering and the social activities chair for the ASCE Los Angeles Younger Member Forum.And one way she’s found recently to connect to something larger is advocating for the profession as part of the ASCE Legislative Fly-In.In episode 159 of ASCE Plot Points, Salgado talks about her eye-opening trip to Washington, DC (including meeting one of her idols), and how she’s following in the footsteps of her civil engineering mother, Minerva Rodriguez.