ASCE Plot Points Podcast

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.

Shofiq Ahmed was a 2023 ASCE New Face of Civil Engineering honoree.
So it’s clear that the traffic engineer for HDR, born in Bangladesh and now based outside Washington, DC, has made quite a name for himself.
But it hasn’t always been easy.
In episode 153 of ASCE Plot Points, he reflects on his journey and talks about how he’s adjusted his goals and plans along the way to stay on the path of success and happiness.

A new book from ASCE Press called IRP 8, Infrastructure System Resilience: An Engineering Framework for Assessment, Management, and Governance, breaks the big picture of system resilience into interlinked elements, making application much easier for practitioners.
It's a strong case for incremental progress in the face of complex and complicated problems.
Craig Davis is a founding director of ASCE’s Infrastructure Resilience Division and the book’s lead editor.
In episode 152 of ASCE Plot Points, he explains the eight elements of infrastructure system resilience and how practitioners can begin to employ this framework in their projects.

The best thing you can do for your career is to make consistently smart, thoughtful decisions that align with what you are trying to accomplish in this life.
But what exactly are you trying to accomplish? What makes you happy? Who are you?
Nalah Williams is still early in her career, but she’s already got a great understanding of herself. She’s the owner Golden Mane Property Management in Dallas, Texas; she’s been active in the ASCE Dallas Branch as deputy treasurer and younger member chair; and she’s a past governor of the Construction Institute’s Young Professionals Council.
All of this has been done with an eye on who she is, what she likes, what she doesn’t like, what she’s good at – crucial learning opportunities as she builds her own unique career arc.
In episode 151 of ASCE Plot Points, Williams talks about the experiences that have helped her shape her career and how knowing who she is has guided those decisions.

ities of the Future, a new film for IMAX and giant screens, is on its way.
The second in a partnership between ASCE and MacGillivray Freeman Films, following 2017's rousing success Dream Big: Engineering Our World, the film is scheduled to premiere in early 2024.
Cities of the Future, inspired in part by ASCE's Future World Vision initiative, takes viewers into the future of what's possible for our built environment. Several ASCE members feature in the film, including Paul Lee, a young engineer from Los Angeles who has spent his career fighting climate change through different renewable energy and sustainability projects.
In episode 150 of ASCE Plot Points, Lee talks about his work and what it has been like filming a new movie all around the world.

Julia Williams has never done anything exactly as you might expect.
So when she got her Ph.D. in English, she took a professor job at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and has spent the past decades teaching writing and communication skills to STEM majors.
And now she’s written a book about her experiences innovating and shaking things up in academia. It’s called “Making Changes in STEM Education: The Change Makers Toolkit.”
In episode 149 of ASCE Plot Points, Williams talks about her new book and why teaching communication skills to STEM majors is so important.