We Make Civil Engineering Look Good | Working to Make Transportation and other Civil Engineer Projects Better through Outreach, 3D Visualization and More!

COVID has disrupted the ways we used to do things, both professionally and personally. The worldwide standard has shifted from in-person meetings and "recharging time" away from a computer screen to virtual meetings and constant use of technology. In fact, this shift will most likely be the driving force behind tomorrow's public outreach within the civil engineering sector, and how professionals a...

Today's special guest is Nathan Ledbetter, a skilled and passionate professional when it comes to making civil engineering projects look good. Considered a pioneer of SketchUp , he and Sam have known each other for as long as the 3D modeling tool has been around, so to speak. They both met while working at Kimley-Horn, and Nathan was the one who introduced Sam to Lumion . Nathan is a college-train...

Back when Sam was part of Civil FX (now a division of Parametrix ), he and his team started working on a totally different kind of project than the ones they were already used to — which they mentioned in episode #4 of this podcast. This project was the Simulator for Active Distracted Driver (SADD) , in which they aimed at " using fortnight to save lives ". Today's show is an update on the status...

As a podcast entirely dedicated to making civil engineering projects look good through 3D visualization, landscaping and aesthetics, interactive visualization, and more, we often talk about why the visual side of projects is just as important as the other aspects, as well as what the currently available and upcoming pieces of software used in the industry are. However, if you thought the standard...

Today's special guest is Dr. Cody Pennetti, a professional engineer, university-level instructor, and researcher. Cody and Sam have similar stories about how they got into the visualization industry, with both of them being somewhat influenced by their brothers' work in the animation and gaming industries, respectively. Cody received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and had an...

Within the civil engineering field, we definitely need our structures to function properly and be safe to use. However, while many notable breakthroughs have already been accomplished in almost every single one of the field's disciplines, some aspects are not as optimized as they could ― or even as they should. Sam has been in the visualization industry for 10+ years, providing 3D visualization se...

As mentioned in previous episodes, visualization in the civil engineering industry may not be as 'advanced' as that in the architecture world. Fortunately, there are some visualization firms that we can hire to provide 3D models, renderings, videos, etc., to make our projects look good and help us communicate to all stakeholders what the project will look like. Although 3D visualization services s...

Whenever we talk about 3D visualization tools, most people immediately think of 3D renders and high-quality images displaying how the future, real version of a project currently in construction or about to break ground will look like, as well as its impacts on the surrounding environment. However, today's guest goes beyond the common use of such tools for the presentation of a specific project its...

On a previous episode of the podcast, Sam shared a presentation he gave alongside Nick Johnson, the chief of project management at the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), that focused on the future of 3D visualization tools and how they can be used to make public outreach more engaging and actually helps all stakeholders understand an engineering project, from commercial to infrastructure....

Government agencies all over the country have now been more frequently using interactive visualization and 3D models after noticing the huge impact it can cause on public engagement, and the benefits the agency can reap back from an investment in such tools. Today, we hear from someone within such an agency about how these visualization tools have enhanced the perception of their engineering proje...

When it comes to the infrastructure industry, everyone has already been to, or even presented, one of the 'old-school' public meetings, where there were big boards and huge maps all over the room in an attempt to show the different aspects of a project and how it'll affect the public, both directly and indirectly. However, with all the latest progress in technology, " how can the public experience...

While a civil engineering project should definitely pay attention to the functionality and behavior of its structure, making sure it's safe and functioning properly, an outstanding project also draws attention to how it will be perceived and understood by the public. On today's episode, Sam provides us with a preview of a presentation he will be giving later this week as part of the Civil Engineer...

Architecture and civil engineering are two professions that go hand in hand. While architects design with a focus on aesthetics, usage and space, civil engineers oversee the entire design-to-completion process with a focus on materials, construction and structural stability. However, the visualization field within civil engineering is still behind that of architecture, just as architecture is stil...

Today's guest is Majed Agha of Agha Engineering , a civil engineering firm headquartered in Houston that specializes in transportation, drainage and site development, and incorporates BIM technology in order to provide high-quality designs. Despite being the principal PE at his own engineering firm today, Majed started out his career by going to business school. After a six-month period, he decide...

Almost everyone has already been into sports as a kid. But, as we grow older and find out the huge range of activities we can devote our time to, not all of us develop the exact same interest in athletics. Today's guest, however, managed to keep his life-long love for sports, and integrated that with his passion for games and 3D visualization. Austin Reed is a 3D visualization specialist at HNTB,...

Photo rendering, 3D models, and interactive visualization are some of the many ways we can make civil engineering look good, from an architectural design to a brand new infrastructure project. However, today's guest goes beyond the common uses of these tools and applies illustrations and graphics to the Mining Industry . Olga Krelin is a graphic, industrial, and information designer at Mining Illu...

Last week, we covered the official announcement of the acquisition of Civil FX by Parametrix. Today, Sam explains a bit further not only the reason why he accepted their offer, and specifically why he did it now, in the midst of a pandemic and economic uncertainty, but also some other aspects that immediately come up as a consequence of this merger. Will Civil FX change the way in which it's been...

Today's episode is the announcement of the merger between Civil FX and Parametrix, a Seattle-based company that has recently started doing business in Las Vegas. The merger will be mutually beneficial, allowing Parametrix to increase its presence in the market and adding to the work of Civil FX in interactive and 3D Visualization. Even though upcoming episodes will dig deeper into the nuances of t...

Today's episode touches on the ever recurring, and fascinating, topic of drones, both in relation to their potential general uses and their particular, and very niched, uses within civil engineering. Even though the specific terminology for this type of hardware has not yet been officially reached, ranging from Quadcopters , Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs), etc., the name that seems to have caught...

State Departments Of Transportation (DOTs) are critically important agencies whose work includes, but is not limited to, planning, maintaining and improving the complex infrastructure of a state's land, air and sea-based travel systems. However, given the scale and complexity of the projects they work on, they face unique challenges that are intrinsic to the job's nature. Whether it's reaching pla...

In today's fast-paced and connected world, most professionals are almost always on the go and do not have the "free time" to sit down and grab the latest issue of one of the many technical magazines, newspapers, and newsletters available on their specific field. Therefore, podcasts have shifted from an entertainment tool to an easy-access resource that allows professionals to keep up to date with...

With a "bowl-like" geographical shape and a soil that does not absorb too much water, Las Vegas has a tendency to experience much more floods than any other place in the country, making it a necessity to not only develop and invest in infrastructure, but also to educate its residents about the dangers of driving through flooded roads. And, while this is precisely one of the goals of the Regional F...

Today's guest is Carrie Wiley, a technical sales engineer who has been working with Nearmap for over a year now. Nearmap is an Australia-born company focused on imagery technology and location data, that provides frequently-updated and high-resolution geospatial data of countries like Australia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Carrie's interest in the subject began while still in her so...

Today's episode is the second part of our two-episode series with Terry Walters, a technology evangelist at HW Lochner. This final episode focuses on Terry's work in Blockchain and how this can be truly useful in civil engineering, especially in the discipline of transportation engineering. Roughly speaking, Blockchain is a series of records cryptographically linked together, which makes it easier...

This week's episode is the first part of a two-episode series with Terry Walters. Terry has been a technology evangelist at HW Lochner since 2014 and he lives in a RV, traveling all over the country and visiting various offices along the way. His passion for technology started out when he was just five years old, after getting his first computer, and, even though he ended up in the transportation...