ASCE Plot Points Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Infrastructure resilience is in a very enticing spot here in 2026.

It’s arguably never been more important to ensure that your community’s infrastructure remains resilient.

But the good news, meanwhile, is that you could make the case that it’s never been easier to make your infrastructure resilient.

Technology is developing at such a rapid pace, and those new developments have made resilience far more accessible and affordable than ever.

A new white paper – written by ASCE in partnership with Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainabilty, Bentley Systems, AECOM, and Microsoft – maps a path for smaller and mid-size municipalities to build more resilient infrastructure systems.

“Built to Endure: A Smart Guide for U.S. Cities to Build Resilient Infrastructure that Lasts” is available now as a free download.

And in episode 191 of ASCE Plot Points, two of the papers authors – Bentley’s Rory Linehan and Duke’s Elizabeth Losos – talk about the new technology making resilient infrastructure more accessible than ever and cite some of the paper’s case studies where these new ideas and innovations are already being put into practice.

Earth Day 2026 finds the ASCE Plot Points podcast celebrating with a conversation between Xavi Fonoll Almansa, an assistant professor of environmental Engineering at the University of Texas, at Austin, and guest host Kuang Zhu of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute’s Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee. In episode 190 of ASCE Plot Points, they discuss resource recovery, future technologies and processes, and Fonoll Almansa’s cutting edge research right now into hydrothermal liquefaction, converting organic waste into biocrude.

Infrastructure is risky business. The money is big. The stakes are high. And it’s not something that always gets talked about, but issues of risk mitigation can be some of the most important aspects of a civil engineer’s career – learning how to navigate potential pitfalls and start the right conversations at the right time. Part of that skillset starts with having the proper risk mitigation tools at your disposal. Jerry Cavaluzzi and Dan Harpstead, members of the ASCE Committee on Claims Reduction Management, recently wrote an article for Civil Engineering Source about project management tools that you can use to help mitigate risk. In episode 181 of ASCE Plot Points, Cavaluzzi and Harpstead bring that article to life in podcast form, discussing risk mitigation tools and why they’re essential to making any infrastructure project work.

Civil engineering is a tricky balancing act between relying on what has worked for infrastructure in the past and predicting what infrastructure will need decades into the future.

A new book prepared by the ASCE Task Committee on Future Weather and Climate Extremes, Impacts of Future Weather and Climate Extremes on United States Infrastructure: Assessing and Prioritizing Adaptation Actions, helps civil engineers thread that needle.

On episode 91 of ASCE Plot Points, co-authors Jason Giovannettone, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE, and Mari Tye, Ph.D., C.Eng, M.ASCE, talk about their new book and how it can help civil engineers make intelligent infrastructure decisions for the future.

Claudia Gunsch is the Theodore S. Kennedy Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University, where she also serves as the associate dean of research and infrastructure for the Pratt School of Engineering. She says her favorite part of engineering is "defining the problem, solving the problem." In a sense, it's the same process she's applied to finding the right career path of her.

On episode 90 of ASCE Plot Points, Gunsch speaks with Brianne Duncan and Lauren Redfern of the EWRI Environmental Health and Water Quality Committee.

Katie Bowman, P.E., M.ASCE, is a graduate research assistant at the University of Memphis, vice president of the ASCE West Tennessee Branch, and a newly elected governor-at-large for Region 4.

None of it has come easily, though.

On episode 89 of ASCE Plot Points, Bowman talks about the twists and turns that have led her to career happiness.

One of the most useful aspects of ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure is the way it takes in a lot of complex information and turns it into a very simple, easy-to-understand grade.

So for instance, the rail category received a grade of B on the 2021 edition of the report card.

But of course as with anything, it’s important to dig a little deeper. On episode 88 of ASCE Plot Points, Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, helps to break down the nuance behind that grade.

The nation turns its attention to Capitol Hill this week, as the House of Representatives reconvenes for what may be one of the busiest weeks of legislative work in recent memory. Meanwhile, the focus of Capitol Hill’s attention turns to infrastructure with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is slated for a vote this Thursday.

Regardless of the result this week, it’s a huge step forward for ASCE and its decades of advocacy for infrastructure investment.

Rebecca Shelton is one of the real champions of that advocacy work, as a co-chair of the Georgia Infrastructure Report Card and is a member of the ASCE Committee for America’s Infrastructure.

On episode 87 of ASCE Plot Points, Shelton talks about her work and what a potential infrastructure bill would mean for civil engineers.

Hurricane Ida hit the United States earlier in the month to tragic effect – damage, displacement, and even death. Today, on episode 86 of ASCE Plot Points, Jim Heeren, a senior associate and environmental engineer for Dewberry and president of ASCE’s North Jersey Branch, and Ronnie Schumann, vice president of quality engineering and technical services for Integrated Logistical Support Inc. in New Orleans and a governor-at-large for ASCE Region 5, talk about how Ida has affected their communities and their profession. This episode of ASCE Plot Points is supported by Maplesoft. Visit maplesoft.com/mapleflow.

Paul Mlaker is an ASCE Distinguished Member with more than 40 years of service with the United State Army Corps of Engineers, now in the role of Engineer Emeritus for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

And 20 years ago, he led the ASCE team investigating the damage done by the Sept. 11 attack at the Pentagon.

In episode 85 of ASCE Plot Points, Mlakar looks back on that investigation, Sept. 11, and how the profession has changed.

This episode of ASCE Plot Points is supported by Maplesoft. Visit maplesoft.com/mapleflow.

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