American Society of Civil Engineers

Civil engineers thrive on problem-solving. The greater the challenge, the greater the engineering innovation. So designing for the most extreme conditions – whether it’s the vacuum of space, the depths of the ocean, or the unpredictability of climate – only brings out the best in civil engineers. It makes sense then that “engineering at the edge” is one of the seven topical themes shaping the program for ASCE2027: The Infrastructure and Engineering Experience.

ASCE has honored Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP, BC.WRE, M.ASCE; Erin M. Steever, P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE; and Berrin Tansel, Ph.D., P.E., BC.WRE, F.EWRI, Dist.M.ASCE, with the 2026 William H. Wisely American Civil Engineer Award.

Recently deemed at risk for partial collapse during an office-to-apartment conversion, the former Pfizer building in New York City has been stabilized. Veteran engineers say such conversions can be done safely. When a high-profile office-to-housing conversion in New York City was at risk of partial collapse this month, the national media took notice.

Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles, by Mike Colias. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2025; 320 pages, $32. The global share of electric vehicles sold reached an all-time high of 26.1% in May. Given the rapid rise in oil and gas prices due to the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, combined with the increasing number of EVs available, such growth should not be surprising.

Zekkos Dimitrios Zekkos, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and founder of ARGO-E Group, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction. Zekkos has established a distinguished career defined by a sustained commitment to sustainability and resiliency of civil infrastructure.

As bridges across the country continue to age, transportation agencies are looking for practical ways to maintain their safety and keep them in service for as long as possible. One common challenge is corrosion at the ends of steel bridge girders, often caused when water and deicing salts seep through deteriorated expansion joints. Over time, this corrosion can weaken critical bridge elements and increase maintenance needs. Anna Tarasova, Deven Kanakamedala, Jungil Seo, Amit H. Varma, and Robert J.

Sandra Knight-Helms, a former ASCE Board of Direction member, Tennessee Section president, and Region 4 governor with an expertise in transportation has died. She was 64. Most recently, Knight-Helms, P.E., F.ASCE, was project manager and estimator with Caldwell Paving and Grading in Charleston, Tennessee. “Sandra was very special and a greatly loved member of the Caldwell Paving family,” the firm said in a statement.

ASCE has honored Fernanda Leite, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, with the 2026 Peurifoy Construction Research Award for advancing construction engineering through research in building and infrastructure systems information modeling, Scan-to-BIM, visualization and collaboration technologies, and circular economy in the built environment. Leite is the Joe J. King Professor in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She has graduated 16 Ph.D. and 49 M.S. students.

ASCE has honored Irfan Abid, Ph.D.; Terry W. Sturm, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE; Bruce W. Melville, Ph.D., M.ASCE; and Seung Ho Hong with the 2026 Karl Emil Hilgard Hydraulic Prize for their paper “Interaction between Pier Scour and Other Components of Scour under Clear-Water Conditions,” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, September 2024.

A self-propelled agricultural sprayer spreads fertilizer on crops. Machine learning-based models are helping researchers better predict nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use. Carbon emissions are not the only culprit for climate change. Pound-for-pound, nitrous oxide has a global warming potential that is 273 times that of carbon dioxide, according to 2021 data adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency.