Change Leader Full Interview: Humans Really Can Beat Climate Change
These profiles are based on interviews, and the opinions and statements are those of the subject and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by this publication. Bruce Nagy is the author of The Clean Energy Age: A Guide to Beating Climate Change as well as more than 150 feature articles on clean technology, government programs and energy economics. He is a speaker for Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project and develops reports and communications for clean technology firms, professional and tra...
Cell Tower Inspection and Maintenance: UAV Reality Capture and Digital Twin Pilot Project Suggest Major Efficiency Gains
Telstra’s complex cell-tower arrays typically are mounted at the top of 25-meter, non-climbable steel monopoles. Determining the precise number of cell towers in the world is a difficult task, complicated by the lack of coordinated international reporting and the difficulty of distinguishing between base stations (which may or may not be sited on a tower-like structure) and actual towers (which may host several base stations). But reasonable estimates for the global number of cell tower...
From the Editor: Inspiration from Comic Books, Construction and Pencils
When I was 15 years old, I decided I wanted to be an engineer. It was 1985, and I had just read the March issue of OMNI magazine, “Special Edition: Japan 2000,” about the “future” of innovation. I was mesmerized by the impact engineers would have on the world of tomorrow. (Full disclosure: I wanted to be a robotics engineer and ended up a civil engineer, but that’s a story for another day.) Although I knew from a young age which profession I would pursue, from an even younger age, I developed...
Panel Discussion: How Can We Improve U.S. Transportation Infrastructure?
Introduction The title question for this feature has been discussed and debated countless times by countless people and organizations in many formats. But a letter Informed Infrastructure received and published in its July/August 2018 issue sparked our own questions about how we can better discuss and analyze this problem as well as come up with some real, actionable solutions. The letter was from Mike Lawrence, the CEO of Tensar Corp., which produces geosynthetic technologies for infrastr...
ReEngineering the Engineer: Don’t Overuse Boilerplate Specs and Details in Engineering Documents
In fall 2018, I was asked to go to a meeting to help one of our clients. It was a small project but rather unique: a 100-foot-long structure to support a sanitary sewer line across a creek. We had completed a couple of these for other people through the years as well as one recently with this particular client. The RFP for the project included some bridging drawings (no pun intended) prepared by another engineering firm. I didn’t get to see the bridging drawings myself, but I had been told th...
February 2019 TRENDS
In this section, Informed Infrastructure compiles infographics from trusted sources that reveal insight on infrastructure spending. We also compile some of the top infrastructure stories that shouldn’t be missed. For ongoing news coverage, turn to Informed Infrastructure online (www.informedinfrastructure.com), our Twitter feed (@IInfrastructure) and our weekly e-newsletter. New Report Identifies Corrosion as Major Threat to Public Health NACE International, a...
Final Thoughts: The Reasons for Speed Bumps on the Road and in Life
Speed bump—the new term might be speed hump or traffic-calming device. Whatever they’re called, we’ve all come across them. Most of the time, speed bumps have a specific purpose, and they’re usually effective. Speed bumps cause you to slow down and take a little extra care. They slow traffic down in a school zone or a residential area or in a parking lot. But occasionally, they just seem to be bothersome. Either way, we notice they’re there. I’m troubled by the parents in my neighborhood who...
Infrastructure Outlook: How Location Intelligence Can Accelerate High-Speed Rail
When it comes to updating and innovating our nation’s infrastructure, the challenges involve much more than just construction. Environmental, safety, and other regulatory concerns require developers to ensure that each aspect of the project goes through lengthy approval processes and compliance reviews. This can make even the prospect of initiating a large-scale public work daunting. A long-time advocate of one such infrastructure project—a high-speed rail system in California—Governor Jerry...
Fairfield Glade: Pressure Sewer System Perfect Fit for Tennessee Retirement Locale
In the early 1970s, a flashy promotional campaign launched Fairfield Glade, a private retirement enclave atop East Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. It was the first step of a marathon project that developers likely knew would take generations to complete, but the momentum of its expansion and allure has never wavered. Today, the 12,000-acre enterprise (population about 8,200; average age 68) is consistently lauded as one of the best retirement spots in Tennessee, and reviewers reg...
Code Update: New Manual Simplifies Steel Deck on Cold-Formed Steel Framing Design
Although cold-formed steel (CFS) trusses and steel deck applications have been available for years, many designers continue to use either plywood deck on CFS trusses or design steel deck applications in the same way they would plywood, without taking full advantage of steel deck’s capabilities. This lag has been due in large part to a lack of comprehensive, user-friendly information sources on how to implement steel deck on CFS trusses, as opposed to wood deck on CFS trusses or steel deck on...
Video: Crashes Drop Measurably After Rural Road Safety Improvement Project on US 521 in Lancaster County
AdventHealth Weaverville Hospital
June Issue 2026
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