ASCE Plot Points Podcast

Amid all the America’s 250th anniversary celebrations this summer, the Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Bridge marks its centennial. Thomas Murphy, Ph. D., P.E., S.E., a senior vice president and chief technical officer at Modjeski and Masters, is the perfect person to talk about the bridge’s legacy. His company’s namesake Ralph Modjeski was the chief engineer for the Benjamin Franklin Bridge back...

Infrastructure resilience is in a very enticing spot here in 2026. It’s arguably never been more important to ensure that your community’s infrastructure remains resilient. But the good news, meanwhile, is that you could make the case that it’s never been easier to make your infrastructure resilient. Technology is developing at such a rapid pace, and those new developments have made resilience far...

Earth Day 2026 finds the ASCE Plot Points podcast celebrating with a conversation between Xavi Fonoll Almansa, an assistant professor of environmental Engineering at the University of Texas, at Austin, and guest host Kuang Zhu of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute’s Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee. In episode 190 of ASCE Plot Points, they discuss resource recover...

Kristin Schultheis is a senior project planner at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. And that likely conjures images of urban areas, working across the biggest city in Wisconsin. And that would be accurate. But Schultheis' work encompasses a much larger area than the city proper with challenges and opportunities that extend into the surrounding rural areas and even active farmland. In e...

This week, in recognition of Earth Day, the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute's Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee is bringing three conversations to the ASCE Plot Points podcast. The first, in episode 188 of ASCE Plot Points, is with William Gonwa, Ph. D., program director for civil Engineering, civil and architectural engineering, and construction management at the M...

Something is happening this week at the American Society of Civil Engineers that hasn’t happened in nearly 12 years. ASCE has a new leader at the Headquarters building in Reston, Virginia. Peter O’Neil officially started as ASCE’s new chief executive officer March 30. This is big news for not only the organization but for the entire civil engineering profession. O’Neil brings a wealth of executive...

Civil engineering risk management is not only an important topic, it can be a nebulous one. Gray areas, assumptions, communication breakdowns, in other words: a real mess. So ASCE has launched a new  Risk Management Community of Practice  – a space for engineers to share and learn and compare notes in hopes of removing some of the confusion around risk. Bill McAnally and Mitch Winkler are members...

It’s snow season in a lot of places right now – which means salt season. And salt season isn’t great for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is contaminated water. So, Connie Fortin and Tim Olson have a new idea. They call it low salt design – a way of reducing the need for salt from the very start of the project. Fortin is a low salt strategist and Olson a water resources engineer, both...

After more than a decade of experience building teams that build airplanes, Lisa Schleuter has added a new job title to her resume: children’s book author. Schleuter has published a new book called Ollie the Civil Engineer aimed at entertaining and inspiring young children. In episode 184 of ASCE Plot Points, Schleuter talks about Ollie, her career in civil engineering, and how she came to find he...

AI takes up a lot of oxygen in the room right now. But when it comes to specific impacts, do we have a strong industry-wide understanding? Does anyone know? Mark Coates, vice president of the Infrastructure Policy Advancement team at Bentley Systems, set about finding out. His group helped lead a global study to better understand the topic , looking at AI in three main areas: readiness, risk, and...

This Thanksgiving week we’re reminded of the deep connection between civil engineering and community service. Which of course means the civil engineers who have made that kind of generosity a way of life. Aleesha Toteja is one such civil engineer. A project manager for Halff in Austin, Texas, Toteja devotes countless hours to help a variety of causes both through her employer’s outreach programs,...

Infrastructure is risky business. The money is big. The stakes are high. And it’s not something that always gets talked about, but issues of risk mitigation can be some of the most important aspects of a civil engineer’s career – learning how to navigate potential pitfalls and start the right conversations at the right time. Part of that skillset starts with having the proper risk mitigation tools...

Anna Lisonbee is a water resources professional engineer in training for Hansen, Allen, and Luce in Sandy, Utah. And while she is admittedly still early in her career, Lisonbee is not simply passing time waiting until she’s much older so she can assert herself as a leader. She’s doing so right now – at work, among staff, on projects, and with ASCE. Lisonbee is the president-elect of the Utah Secti...

There are a lot of ways to get your message out to the masses in 2025. Social media, videos, podcasts. But not everyone can say they’ve shared their love for community and civil engineering with a mural. Akhtar Zaman did exactly that. Born and raised in Bangladesh, Zaman found a home in northwest Indiana. He’s a principal engineer for Advanced Engineering Services in Hammond, Indiana – just outsid...

Rod Jones is a project manager for Holder Construction in Ashburn, Virginia. But even as he is progressing in his own career – ENR named him a Top 20 Under 40 in 2024 – he’s acutely aware of attracting more people to the profession and helping others follow his path. He’s an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Morgan State University, and his online “Rod the Builder” lifestyle brand – through You...

Isamar Escobar joined ASCE as a student several years ago. And since then, she not been a member in name only. She’s ranked among the most active of active ASCE members, planning this event, chairing that committee.  So much so that even as a younger member she joined the ASCE Board of Direction as an at-large director. With ASCE Election season nearly here (voting opens May 1), Escobar talked on...

With the AI revolution upon us, it’s easy to see technology and human beings on opposite sides of a spectrum. But for Duncan Griffin, director of sustainability for HDR’s Health Design Practice, technological developments only enhance the possibilities for human healing and comfort. In episode 176 of ASCE Plot Points, Griffin talks integrated sustainable design and why a holistic approach to poten...

ASCE members know Rossana D’Antonio as a member of the Society’s Board of Direction. She is the executive director for NV5, a global consulting firm. Prior to that, she was the deputy director of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works. And she's been very active throughout ASCE - especially in sustainability and advocacy efforts. But what you might not know is the tragedy that struck her famil...

Tania Stewart is a transportation engineer for the Maryland Department Of Transportation State Highway Administration. Tania Stewart is a professional photographer whose work has taken her across the globe. Both things can be true. The multitalented Stewart has been able to pursue both careers – civil engineering and photography – at the same time. In episode 174 of ASCE Plot Points, Stewart talks...

  The ASCE member mother-daughter team of Minerva Rodriguez and Isabella Salgado celebrated buying a new house last June in the very nice Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles. Rodriguez, P.E., PMP, M.ASCE, the mentorship chair for the ASCE Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch; Salgado, A.M.ASCE, the social chair. Both professional civil engineers. It was a storybook situation. Until last week.  The Eat...

It goes without saying. IRONMAN triathlons are intense. Cold-water swimming for 2.4 miles, followed by 112 miles on a bike, and capped off with a 26.2 marathon run. It takes someone special to conquer such a challenge. Perhaps someone like a civil engineer? Isaac Kontorovsky is a principal and vice president for BKF Engineers as well as vice president of the ASCE San Diego Section, and he recently...

This ASCE Day – coming up next week, Nov. 5 – will mark ASCE’s 172nd anniversary. And that’s a very long time. For an organization to last for so many years, it needs great leadership and great leaders who give back. Jean-Louis Briaud and Knut Eriksen are two such leaders. Each is a member of the ASCE Foundation’s 1852 Society, a very select group of people who have generously given more than $100...

A new school year is upon us. That is a very exciting proposition for civil engineering students worldwide, for ASCE, and for everyone lucky enough to use and enjoy the infrastructure these young engineers will design and build in the future. But what’s it like being a civil engineering student in 2024? What’s the most exciting part? “Being a civil engineering student at any time had to be amazing...

Artificial intelligence is changing the way civil engineering gets done. Ayanna Howard, Ph. D., serves as the dean of The Ohio State University College of Engineering and has been on the cutting edge of AI research for more than three decades. Named one of the most powerful women engineers in the world by Business Insider and a top 50 woman in tech by Forbes, Howard also will deliver the keynote a...

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...