Transcript THE FUTURE OF ENGINEERING

ENVISIONING THE FUTURE
ASCE’s Role in Civil Engineering Research
Blaine D. Leonard, P.E., D.GE., F.ASCE
- ASCE 2009 President-elect
- Utah Dept. of Transportation Research Division
May 27, 2009
ASCE Department Heads Council
“Change is constant, but, on an absolute
basis, our world has changed more in the
last one hundred years than in all those
preceding. “
– The Engineer of 2020,
National Academy of Engineering
Civil Engineering in 2025
Broadly speaking, there are only two futures
for civil engineering:
the one the profession creates for itself or,
in the void,
the one others create for civil engineering.
- The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 - ASCE
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE CIVIL ENGINEER OF 2025
VISION STATEMENT:
Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world
and enhance the global quality of life, civil
engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and
ethically as:
• Master builders,
• Environmental stewards,
• Innovators and integrators,
• Managers of risk and uncertainty , and
• Leaders in shaping public policy.
Civil Engineering in 2025
ACHIEVING THE VISION
Numerous steps to achieve the outcomes
outlined in the Vision
Major trends within those steps:
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Education
Innovation
Environment
Public Policy / Leadership
Civil Engineering in 2025
Where do these trends apply
to current ASCE initiatives?
Civil Engineering in 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE
Overall Grade:
Aviation
D
Bridges
C
Dams
D
Drinking Water DEnergy
D+
Hazardous Waste D
Inland Waterways DLevees
D-
D
Public Parks &
Recreation
Rail
Roads
Schools
Solid Waste
Transit
Wastewater
CCDD
C+
D
D-
Civil Engineering in 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE
Severe highway bottlenecks
have increased by 40%
during the past five years
Americans spend 4.2 billion
hours per year stuck in
traffic at a cost of $79.2
billion in wasted time and
fuel
Civil Engineering in 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE
27% of the 590,750 bridges
nationwide are structurally
deficient or obsolete
Blocked or broken pipes
result in 10 billion gallons of
raw sewage flowing into US
surface waters annually
Civil Engineering in 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE
A five year investment of $2.2 trillion is
needed to remedy our current
infrastructure condition
– Only 45% of that is currently in the federal,
state, and local budget now
• 2009 Infrastructure Report Card, ASCE
Civil Engineering in 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE
“You cannot solve a problem with the same
sort of thinking that created the problem”
- Albert Einstein
Civil Engineering in 2025
INFRASTRUCTURE
New Technology & Innovations
Nanomaterials
Larger Bandwidths / Wireless Technology
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
Radio-frequency Identification (RFID)
3-D & 4-D Modeling
Advanced Sensing
Cloud Computing
Civil Engineering in 2025
GRAND CHALLENGES OF ENGINEERING
Make solar energy
economical
Provide energy from
fusion
Provide access to clean
water
Reverse-engineer the
brain
Advance personalized
learning
Restore and improve
urban infrastructure
Engineer the tools of
scientific discovery
Develop carbon
sequestration methods
Advance health informatics
Engineer better medicines
Prevent nuclear terror
Secure cyberspace
Enhance virtual reality
Manage the nitrogen cycle
Civil Engineering in 2025
NSF RESEARCH DIRECTION WORKSHOP
Focus Areas:
– Renewal, Management and Protection of Complex
Systems
– Sustainability
– Global Impacts
– Energy
Urgent need for leadership and expansion of
research in these four areas, among others
• Final Report: Workshop on Frontier Research Directions in Civil
and Environmental Engineering (2007)
Civil Engineering in 2025
INDUSTRY LEADERS COUNCIL (ILC)
The entity previously known as CERF (roughly)
Priority Issues:
– Infrastructure (no. 1)
– Project Delivery Improvements (no. 3)
– Climate Change (no. 4)
Civil Engineering in 2025
SUSTAINABILITY
ASCE’s Vision:
– Become educated and educate others on
environmental and resource issues
– Take the lead on sustainable solutions
– Incorporate renewable materials and
practices into our projects
Civil Engineering in 2025
SUSTAINABILITY
ASCE Task Committee on Sustainable Design
Five key objectives:
– Define role of ASCE in advancing sustainability
– Define sustainability in terms appropriate for
civil engineering
– Evaluate existing certification programs
– Determine if sustainable civil engineering
certification is viable and needed
– Develop an action plan for ASCE
Civil Engineering in 2025
RESILIENCE
Critical Infrastructure
Research Areas:
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Risk Assessment / Management
System-wide Evaluation and Design
Performance Monitoring / Metrics
Relationship between Maintenance & Performance
Civil Engineering in 2025
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Trends:
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Increasing pressure to construct faster
Innovative Contracting
Need to reduce impact on the public
Context Sensitive Issues
Sustainable and resilient design
• Reuse of materials on site
• Hardening (to natural & manmade disaster)
– Asset Management
Civil Engineering in 2025
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Accelerated Bridge Construction
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE CHALLENGE
“Sustain and strengthen the nation’s
traditional commitment to long-term basic
research that has the potential to be
transformational to maintain the flow of
new ideas”
-
Rising Above the Gathering Storm,
National Academy of Sciences
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE CHALLENGE
“The period from 2004 to 2007 may
represent the first continuous decline in
federal investment and basic R&D in
universities in the past 25 years.”
- Arden Bement, Director, NSF
in Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Two Years Later,
National Academy of Sciences
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE CHALLENGE
– “There will never again be a shortage of engineers
in America to perform routine engineering
functions. Such work will simply be shipped
abroad . . . to the hordes of engineers now being
produced in several other countries . . .
But, there will always be demand for superbly
educated engineers who are capable of
performing in an innovative, creative, and
entrepreneurial fashion.”
• Norman R. Augustine, former CEO, Lockheed Martin, Prism Magazine, Feb 2009
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE CHALLENGE
Innovation:
– Take a leadership role in encouraging
research and implementation
– Expand cooperation in research
– Aggressively envision innovative techniques
– Improve adoption of innovation
– Implement “smart” applications in
construction and maintenance
– Integrate risk management into our practice
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE PROMISE
“We are not at the beginning of the end,
but at the end of the beginning.”
– Shane Robison, VP Hewlett Packard
Civil Engineering in 2025
THE PROMISE
“I am here today to set this goal: we will devote
more than three percent of our GDP to research and
development. We will exceed the level achieved at
the height of the space race, . . . in basic and
applied research, . . . To promote breakthroughs in
energy and medicine, and improve education in
math and science.”
- Pres. Barack Obama
Apr 27, 2009 to the Nat’l Academy of Sciences
Civil Engineering in 2025
“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a
matter of choice.”
-- Statesman William Jennings Bryan
Civil Engineering in 2025