The Future of Infrastructure is Inspiring

In the summer of 2024, I was one of approximately 50 students chosen from across the United States to participate in a course at Purdue University entitled: Developing Tomorrow's Infrastructure: An Introduction to Civil Engineering. The course explored the exciting innovations happening in Civil Engineering, Infrastructure, and construction. 

One core theme was infrastructure resiliency. As the effects of climate change worsen, the need for infrastructural resistance to natural hazards has become even more apparent. New composite materials are maximizing the benefits and balancing the weaknesses of their more conventional counterparts. Green roofs, large-scale water retention systems, and permeable pavements are being deployed to improve stormwater management. One of the most elegant underlying ideas is that the ultimate infrastructure resilience is not achieved through designing systems to overcome or 'outcompete' the forces of nature, but rather by designing systems that embrace them. The most rigid structures are often perceived as the sturdiest, but in reality, they perform poorly in earthquake prone regions because they are effectively brittle. There is nowhere for the kinetic energy delivered by seismic waves to go other than into the building as a whole. That's why newer structures in these regions are actually being designed to be flexible. By allowing the structural members to oscillate controllably, seismic vibrations can be 'diffused' and 'absorbed' by the building. But of course, ensuring forces remain appropriately balanced in a flexible, oscillatory system is substantially more complex than in a stationary one. As is the case with many grand engineering challenges, the increasing power and use of computation and computer modeling has enabled such systems to be developed safely and efficiently.

To return to water, homeowner Kent Hicks--who lives in a hurricane prone region--modified his basement with flaps that would actually let water in instead of keeping it out. Why? Because it would allow fluid pressure on the inside and outside of the house to equalize, meaning that while he would have a flooded basement in need of pumping, his house, unlike the others around him, would not wash away. And once again, with the increasing power of computer simulation, it will be possible to safely deploy concepts such as this one at city scale. You can read about Kent's story here.

I also got the opportunity to design my own resilient infrastructure through the lens of a tiny house. You can check out that project here.

But it isn't just engineering that computing has revolutionized. It's also construction--an industry that has remained frighteningly stagnant over the past several decades. Augmented reality (AR) and building information modeling (BIM) form a nexus that enables easier site communication and productivity than ever before. Now, workers can view a model of the project they are working on in as many or as few layers as they wish. They can see the structure, the plumbing, and even the finished room. They can measure distances using the model, and everyone on site can collaborate in the same augmented workspace. BIM provides all of the benefits of computer aided drafting and design (CADD), accept that it adds a dimension: time. Imagine digital models of buildings where water actually flows, people actually move, and life cycle assessments and projected degradation are integrated. The technology will lead to an unprecedented infrastructure future. Using instrumentation, a physical building could be linked to its BIM model, enabling remote monitoring in real time. Imagine this: the water supply on a floor of an office building goes out, leaving workers unable to wash their hands or flush the toilet. Flow sensors along the pipe diagnose the stretch where a leak must have occurred, and that information is quickly and automatically reflected in a linked BIM model. A maintenance crew arrives to repair the leak, which they quickly locate using augmented reality that allows them to see the affected pipe. The leak is patched, and no valuable time had to be spent locating (or noticing) the problem. BIM gives us a window into the future. And in combination with AR, the technology will change the way we manage our cities.