Spring is a season when natural activities lead to new growth. Similarly, T&DI activities this season offer opportunities for professional growth of members, the Institute, and ASCE. Here are some examples:
From June 8 to 11, the co-located 2025 International Conference on Transportation & Development (ICTD) and International Airfield & Highway Pavements Conference (Pavements 2025) will be held in Glendale, AZ. These conferences are being held in partnership with the Arizona Department of Transportation and will bring together over 1000 transportation industry practitioners, researchers, operation managers, project and construction managers, academics, consultants, and contractors from around the world.
The continuing education and networking opportunities provided at these conferences are essential elements for career resilience. Advanced registration rates, which are discounted from onsite registration prices, are still available.
Building upon ASCE’s experience developing standards meeting the requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), T&DI is participating in a nascent effort to develop standards for wildfire resilience and recovery. As wildfires significantly impact transportation infrastructure, operations, and development, the time is right for T&DI to review the need for standards to reduce risk and speed recovery.
Thanks to Shams Tanvir, PhD., P.E., M.ASCE, for volunteering to serve as T&DI’s representative to the ASCE-NOAA Task Force for Climate Resilience in Civil Engineering Practice. The task force, made up of ASCE, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the University of Maryland Center for Technology and Systems Management, was established to help the nation account for climate change in future infrastructure design and construction. The main functions of the task force include:
- Promoting an understanding of the needs of the civil engineering community, especially with regard to weather and climate information in support of the establishment and application of codes and standards
- Providing clear identification and description of specific capabilities within NOAA or NIST that may be relevant to the establishment of ASCE codes and standards that consider a changing climate
- Promoting a unified approach by communicating these needs and capabilities across the broad landscape of NOAA and NIST programs
- Promoting unified approaches across ASCE to understanding future changes in weather and climate extremes as appropriate
In closing, I would like to remind ASCE members to vote in the upcoming elections for the Society’s Directors starting May 1 and continuing throughout the month. As I have previously noted, Lenor M. Bromberg, P.E., F.ASCE was endorsed by the T&DI Board for the Technical Region Society Director position, so please consider voting for her. For more information, please see https://www.asce.org/about-asce/elections.
Respectfully,
Scott Murrell, P.E., M.ASCE
President, Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)