ASCE Plot Points Podcast

Issues of workforce dominate the conversation around civil engineering in 2023.And one of latest workforce trends is the notion of quiet quitting.Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, is an engineer and project manager for Cypress Environment and Infrastructure in Jackson, Mississippi, and an ASCE Region 5 governor.In episode 136 of ASCE Plot Points, Ziegler talks about quiet quitting and why she thinks it might be an essential strategy for the modern civil engineer.

Sustainability has come a long way over the course of Antoinette Quagliata's career – from project add-ons to default requirements.
A ​manager of sustainability services for Dewberry, Quagliata, ENV SP, talks on episode 135 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast about the changes she's seen and how current sustainability tools are making her work better than ever.

Brian Brenner, P.E., F.ASCE, is a professor of the practice at Tufts University and a principal engineer with Tighe & Bond in Westwood, Massachusetts. He’s published three collections of essays through ASCE, and he has a new monthly column, “More Water Under the Bridge,” on Civil Engineering Source.Remarkably, all these accomplishments – the teaching, the work, the writing – springs from the mind of a 4-year-old. Well, that is to say, Brenner fell in love with bridges as a toddler has managed to maintain that childlike wonder for his work ever since.In episode 134 of ASCE Plot Points, Brenner breaks down his bridge engineering origin story and why finding the humorous side of things is his natural writerly point of view.

Michel Bruneau, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng, F.SEI, Dist.M.ASCE, returns to the ASCE Plot Points podcast to discuss his new book, "The Blessings of Disaster." In part one, he argued why learning from extreme weather events and other disasters is essential. In part two, he outlines how such learning can be done.

Michel Bruneau, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng, F.SEI, Dist.M.ASCE, has a new book out today, “The Blessings of Disaster,” that argues the best way forward – if not the only way – is by learning from the extreme weather events and other disasters that beset us.
In episode 132 of ASCE Plot Points, Bruneau discusses his new book, the “Three Little Pigs” fable, and why we must find blessings in disasters.

The ASCENT Tower in Milwaukee – at 25 stories – is the world’s tallest timber building.
In episode 131 of ASCE Plot Points, the architect behind the ASCENT, Jason Korb of Korb and Associates, talks about the unique challenges inherent to the ASCENT and how collaboration and innovation helped make history possible.

Duncan Wardle, former head of innovation and creativity at Walt Disney Company, will serve as the closing speaker at the ASCE 2022 Convention, Oct. 26 in Anaheim, California.In episode 130 of ASCE Plot Points, Wardle talks about innovation and how to do it.

Colette Easter is not a native Kentuckian. But she’s lived and worked there a long time now, and she cares about the state.
An engineer with the Metropolitan Sewer District in Louisville, she played a huge leadership role in the 2019 ASCE state infrastructure report card for Kentucky. So when floods tore through parts of Eastern Kentucky this summer, it spoke to Easter both professionally and personally.
In episode 129 of ASCE Plot Points, Easter talks about the work she’s doing in Louisville to ensure water resilience for her county, and why that resilience so often starts with public awareness.

Sarah McEwen has worked as a water resources engineer in Jackson, Mississippi, for nearly a decade.
Shawn Miller, entering his senior year as a civil engineering student at Jackson State University, has called the city home his entire life.
In episode 128 of ASCE Plot Points, the two ASCE leaders share stories from the recent water crisis as the city seeks a pathway toward resilience.

Stu Walesh is an ASCE distinguished member; a longtime civil engineer specializing in water with experience in the public sector, the private sector, and academia.
Through it all, he's approached every day as a chance to learn something new.
In episode 127 of ASCE Plot Points, Walesh talks about how he developed that growth mindset and how it helps create positive disruption.