Friday, October 5, 2012 - 4:00pm
Seminar Event
The Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Vecillio Construction Engineering and Management Program invite you to attend the Vecillio Distinguished Lecture given by Janice L. Tuchman, entitled "5 Critical Issues and 5 Good Ideas for the Next 10 Years of Construction".
The lecture will be held Friday, October 5th at 4:00 p.m. in 2150 Torgersen Hall. A reception in Torgersen Hall Lobby will follow from 5-6 p.m.
Abstract: From her vantage point as editor-in-chief of Engineering News-Record, Janice L. Tuchman sees the construction industry from high altitude. After covering construction for 35 years, she also brings perspective to its challenges and its future. This talk will explore five critical issues challenging the industry and the nation—from the accelerating pace of technological change to the country’s stalemate over infrastructure funding to the constantly changing dynamics of working in an ever more globalized business.
The talk will balance critical issues with good ideas. Where do good ideas come from? Who is taking risks but creating value—and how have they managed to make change happen? Here’s one example: Despite the ailing economy over the past four years, the state of Missouri has managed to finance and repair its 800 structurally deficient bridges. In a more controversial example, Texas driller George Miller began to experiment in the 1980s with ways to perfect horizontal drilling to extract oil and gas from shale rock. It took 30-plus years, but hydraulic fracturing now is bringing the U.S. to a tipping point where it is becoming a net energy exporter rather than importer. Can the environmental issues be resolved as well? Changing the energy equation can change everything. Could a commercial fusion reactor be on the horizon in 10 years?
Ten years from now, the students attending the Vecellio Distinguished Lecture this October at Virginia Tech will be in responsible roles of all kinds at engineering and construction firms around the country. Tuchman is confident that, once again, we will look back at a whole new world.
Contact: Sandy Simpkins
Email: sandy@vt.edu
View Full Calendar ->
