Roundup of Recent News

Construction

Roman Cement Studied

One could argue that the durable cement developed by the ancient Romans helped them build a lasting civilization because they could build lasting structures. Scientists have recreated the mix and studied its properties. You can find the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or a summary in the Washington Post.

Engineering

Be An Engineer Web Site Features Women Engineers

BeAnEngineer.com has profiles of notable engineers, many of them women. Here are links to some of the profiles:

Patricia Galloway, first woman president of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Margaret Petersen, hydraulic engineer

Marilyn Jorgenson Reece, highway engineer and first woman registered civil engineer in California

Ellen Swallows Richards, sanitary engineer and founder of home economics

Engineers are Human, Too

Check out former ASCE president Patricia Galloway’s TED talk about the profession of engineering. Engineers care about solving real problems that help real people.

You can see Galloway’s speech here.

Safety

New Reporting Requirements Take Effect January 1

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated it rules related to injury reporting. Though many employers will not be affected by the rule change, it will not be required that all employers report all work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours to OSHA.

Find out more here.

Transportation

Investing in Transportation Good for the Economy

A recent study by the Transportation Construction Coalition touted the benefits of investing in surface transportation infrastructure. These benefits include more jobs, increased incomes, and increased government revenues without tax increases.

You can read the report here, or find a summary at Fleet Owner.

60 Minutes Looks at Crumbling Infrastructure

60 Minutes ran a story on America’s aging and slowly failing transportation infrastructure. You can see the story here.

Wonders in the Sky

Slate named the U.S. Aviation Control System one of its seven wonders of the modern world. America’s airspace is one of the busiest and one of the safest.

Read more about it at Slate.

Water

New York’s Wonderful Water

Slate named the New York City water system one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It is a massive engineered system for a massive undertaking.

Read Daniel Glass’ appreciation of the system here.

Sewers Have Limits: Can’t Handle Grease

I’ve seen shelves of congealed grease on the walls of sewage pump stations. Yes, it is gross. WAMU posted a story of the grease problem in the Washington DC sewers.