Current Events:

Engineers — Key Players in Rebuilding New Orleans and Post Katrina Recovery

by Celeste Baine
Director, Engineering Education Service Center

Many of you may know me as the editor of the Pre-Engineering Times, but this year I am slipping into something more comfortable, getting closer to the action and hopefully, finding a new way to show you how engineers are some of the most helpful, creative, and innovative people around. I’ve moved to become the current event columnist for the Pre-Engineering Times. This is a brand new column — it’s a chance to stretch my wings and give you faithful readers the opportunity to embrace a new perspective on engineers and the ways that they move, change and create the world (and gadgets such as the iPod nano).

We start this month with something very obvious that you have heard about on TV, the newspapers, the radio and feel at the gas pump. Katrina. She was in every way, the worst hurricane to set foot in the U.S. and has done several billions of dollars of damage to New Orleans and the surrounding areas (the president just requested $51.8 billion in relief aid for the area). But, what does this have to do with engineering?

Just imagine for a minute that you are searching for a career that makes you feel like you are contributing to society and helping people. A career that is prestigious, pays well, and you work with other smart people. If this is a goal, you should be considering a career in engineering. Engineers are and will be involved in almost every aspect of the rebuilding — from rescue efforts to public health to new construction. Biomedical and chemical engineers are analyzing the water to figure out ways to clean it or to develop treatment for the people that became ill or developed rashes from drinking or touching it. Civil and mechanical engineers are trying to repair the levee systems. Transportation engineers are working on how to get the people out and repair the washed out roads. Roofs have to replaced; pumps are working 24/7 to get the water out; fresh water, ice and medical supplies are being dispatched to the afflicted and plans for rebuilding are already in the works.

Word is out that this disaster is providing the opportunity to completely redesign and modernize the city. Engineers are analyzing the old design to determine what worked and what didn’t. How can they make it better?

If you were an engineer for the City of New Orleans, what would you do? How would you make it different? New Orleans was founded in 1718 and has lasted almost 300 years. There is no doubt that for the time, it was a good design. But now, we are in the year 2005, our building materials are better and our knowledge is vast. What needs to be different to meet the expectations and demands of society today?

Hmmm, this sounds like the stirring of a Future City contest…..

Just can’t get enough? For an excellent article about the five-day levee repair, visit: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112595731871232
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Write to Celeste Baine at celbaine@engineeringedu.com