Civl Engineering
November 2007

Civil Engineering

A publication of the American Society of Civil Engineers

November 2007  |  Volume 77, Issue 11


Tim Griffith 

ON THE COVER:
Exposed to the environment and designed to develop a natural patina as the building matures, the bronze exterior wall paneling of the museum suspended within the New Beijing Poly Plaza alludes to the priceless bronze artifacts displayed within. Cover Photograph by Tim Griffith

Features

Suspending the Limits

By Mark Sarkisian, P.E., S.E., M.ASCE, Neville Mathias, P.E., S.E., and Aaron Mazeika, P.E.

The New Beijing Poly Plaza, located northeast of the Forbidden City, is a unique structure in that it features not only a 90 m tall atrium enclosed by what may be the world’s largest glass wall to be supported by a cable net but also an eightstory museum that hangs from the main structure, protruding through the glass into the main structure’s lobby.

The 21st-Century Engineer: A Proposal For Engineering Education Reform

By Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE

This month ASCE Press will publish The 21st-Century Engineer: A Proposal for Engineering Education Reform, by Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the Nielsen- Wurster Group, Inc., and a former president of ASCE. In her book Galloway contends that the existing system for educating engineers must change, and she proposes a new master’s degree in professional engineering management. In this groundbreaking manifesto Galloway explains the global changes that are leaving many engineers unprepared and outlines a proposed master’s degree program, master of professional management. Chapters 7 and 8 are excerpted in this article.

What Lies Beneath?

By Bernard H. Hertlein, M.ASCE, and William H. Walton, P.E., S.E., M.ASCE

As urban renewal progresses, there are many good reasons to reuse existing foundations for new or expanding structures, including environmental stewardship and economic responsibility. The question of how sound these underground support  structures are—and how much load they can take—can be answered, in part, by state-of-the-art nondestructive testing methods. But each has its strengths and liabilities.

Instrumental Approach

By Marcelo Chuaqui, Samantha Ford, Ivan Barua, and Matthew Janes, P.Eng.

A new construction project at a Toronto water treatment plant had to be designed so that little or no movement would affect the existing structures. An extensive system involving various types of monitors helped to ensure that this challenge was met.

New Mexico Economical
Development Department                                                                      Luken Holdings

Ian Engstrom

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Sleek spaceport • Bridge tendons fail .• Railroad bridge replacement • Water supply expanded • Bascule bridge replaced • News Briefs