A New Age of Engineering Tools: More Time to Engineer
Engineering often requires managing enormous amounts of information. Regulatory requirements, expectations for precision, documentation, calculations, project data, and administrative responsibilities all compete for a resource that remains finite: the engineer’s time. The challenge, then, is not simply how to work faster, but how to make better use of that finite resource. How can we increase […]
Assessing Transportation Infrastructure Asset Resilience using a Data-Driven Framework: A Case Study for Harris County Precinct 4 (HC PCT 4)
As extreme rainfall and urban flooding increase across Texas, state and local governmental agencies must prioritize transportation investments using clear and defensible methods to enhance their asset resilience. This presentation describes an application of the Criticality–Vulnerability (C–V) framework developed by Houston Galveston Area Council to three specific infrastructure assets identified by HC PCT 4: 137 […]
Enhancing Seawall’s Resiliency against Coastal Erosion
From Insight to Investment: Using Data to Drive Resilient Transportation Decisions: Bridging Data, Policy, and Planning to Guide Transportation Investment Decisions
Moderator: Ram Maddali As transportation needs continue to evolve, agencies must make investment decision to make investment decisions that balance mobility, safety, resilience, environmental stewardship, and fiscal responsibility. At the same time, the volume of available transportation data – from traffic and freight movement to land-use trends, travel demand, and asset condition-continues to expand. The […]
Legacy Stormwater Infrastructure Meets Modern Reality: A Multi-Objective Decision Framework for Prioritizing Stormwater Infrastructure Upgrades
ASCE Texas J Walter Porter Memorial Fellowship 2026 recipient An extensive system of stormwater infrastructure manages and protects urban communities from the risks associated with flooding. These systems are primarily governed by local stormwater regulations, which continue to evolve in response to historical performance and extreme weather events. However, a substantial amount of existing stormwater […]
Assessing Roadway Flood Risk with Crowdsourcing and AI
Floods can disrupt urban road networks by slowing down traffic, forcing reroutes, changing daily travel routines, and loss of life. This study uses crowd-sourced data, INRIX traffic data, and hydrologic information and AI models from Houston, Texas, to identify significant risk of flooding. The goal is to uncover hidden travel patterns, assess rerouting behavior, and […]
Reviving AWWA D101: Advancing Inspection Protocols for Reliable Water Storage Infrastructure
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) reintroduced the AWWA D101 standard in October 2024, reinstating a document that had been withdrawn in 1998 and later incorporated into Appendix C of AWWA M42. In 2013, AWWA formed a Revision Task Force to reestablish D101 as a standalone standard, culminating in this current “first edition.” This version […]
GeoAI: An Intelligent Automation Platform for Geotechnical Data Processing, Subsurface Modeling, and Report Generation
Geotechnical engineering practice remains disproportionately labor-intensive at the data processing layer. From raw boring log digitization to subsurface profile interpolation to final report production, the workflow between field investigation and deliverable output is dominated by manual, error-prone transcription that consumes engineering time without adding interpretive value. GeoAI is a purpose-built artificial intelligence platform designed to […]
Seawater Desalination: Resilient Drought Proof Water Solutions for Corpus Christi and the Texas Gulf Coast
As Texas faces unprecedented growth and climate variability, traditional water sources are under stress. Seawater desalination has emerged as a critical “drought-proof” strategy, with the 2022 Texas Water Plan prioritizing the Corpus Christi region for the majority of the state’s future seawater supply. This presentation moves beyond the theory of desalination to address the practical […]
Structural Rehabilitation Strategies for Offshore Oil & Gas Platforms
Structural rehabilitation is a critical facet of offshore structural engineering, aimed at ensuring the continued resilience and integrity of offshore installations exposed to harsh marine environments. These installations are susceptible to degradation over time due to factors such as corrosion, fatigue, structural damage due to accidental loading, and extreme environmental loading during hurricane events. Timely […]