Indigenous fire management
Growing up in California, I remember summer as fire season. Every year the vegetation in the hills around us would dry out. Then it would take just one careless camper […]
Insights
Sustainability is good engineering
Engineering has always been about the wise use of resources. Traditionally, the profession focused on resources in the microeconomic sense. That is, the economic interests of the owner, employer, or […]
Yellow dirt: the environmental legacy of the Manhattan Project
Through my work on several National Academy of Sciences committees I’ve come to appreciate the lasting effects on tribal lands—and the peoples who lived there. Several sites around the United […]
Science and advocacy
Previous blogs have cautioned against crossing the line between science and advocacy. But what does that mean in practice, and why is it a problem? For one thing, it’s contrary […]
The National Academies
The National Academies are a private, nongovernmental organization advising the federal government on science, engineering, and medicine. Abraham Lincoln authorized the creation of the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. […]
Clarence Wigington, architect
A contemporary of Julia Morgan, Clarence Wigington was the nation’s first African-American municipal architect. Despite a lack of formal training, he became a senior architectural draftsman in the office of […]
Can we restore coral reefs?
Coral reefs are home to a vast diversity of marine life. Like rainforests, they act as “lungs” for the planet, providing 70% of our oxygen. They’re dying out, so we […]
Saint Regis Tower
At 101 stories, the Saint Regis Tower in Chicago is the world’s tallest building by a woman architect, Jeanne Gang. Previous blogs have discussed the work of women architects—both contemporary […]
Engineers aid in urban search and rescue
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the National Urban Search & Rescue Response System in 1989. Engineers started serving on urban search and rescue teams the following year. Disasters […]
Science and magic
The British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke developed three laws, the most famous of which is, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Isaac Asimov expressed a similar […]