ASCE Plot Points Podcast

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.

Travis St. Louis and Michael Palmer are evangelists of sorts for modular construction and design.Each took their backgrounds in architectural engineering and moved into the modular construction practice from different angles – St. Louis on more of the civil engineering side as an enclosure engineer and associate principal for Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger based in Oakland, California; and Palmer more on the business side as head of strategy and real estate for the Volumetric Building Companies, headquartered in Philadelphia.In episode 158 of ASCE Plot Points, St. Louis and Palmer discuss all things modular, and why it might be the future of construction.

Alyssa Sooklal, P.E., M.ASCE, has accomplished a lot early in her career.She works as a water resources engineer for McCormick Taylor in Baltimore, and serves as president of ASCE’s Maryland Younger Members Group.But it hasn’t come without moments of frustration or insecurity.Office politics are a real thing, especially when you’re a woman in the civil engineering industry – and especially if you’re a woman sensing competition with other women in your industry.It’s not always easy to navigate.In episode 157 of ASCE Plot Points, Sooklal discusses how she’s worked to avoid those situations and focused on building partnerships not rivalries.

Can you be a good parent and a good engineer at the same time?
Ravi Shah thinks so. Or at least he’s trying his best to do both.
Shah is a longtime active ASCE member in Orange County, California, where also works as a senior project manager for Mark Thomas.
And more recently, he’s a father.
In episode 156 of ASCE Plot Points, Ravi Shah talks about work-life balance and what he’s learned about juggling priorities.

Even in this era of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, every project can use more money.
It’s why grant writing is such a valuable skill in the world of civil engineering.
Rebecca Neilon is a senior transportation engineer in Dewberry’s Sacramento office.
And over the years she has developed a reputation of sorts as a go-to for grant writing. She has proven herself as someone who delivers the goods – she writes proposals and she wins grants.
In episode 155 of ASCE Plot Points, Rebecca Neilon outlines the skills it takes to consistently win grants to help fund your project.

In episode 154 of ASCE Plot Points, we celebrate the season of gratitude by hearing what civil engineers are thankful for this Thanksgiving.