Thursday, 3 May 2007
Celebrating Our Profession
I recently returned from this year's Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala. This is certainly the premier civil engineering event in our country. Winning an OPAL award is one of the highest recognitions that a person or project can receive on a worldwide scale. OPAL presents an excellent annual opportunity to celebrate the civil engineering profession and bring the status of civil engineers to the forefront of our country's professionals.
During the gala, we celebrated engineering achievements including the OCEA Award finalists and winner-the Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project, in addition to honoring five individuals for their lifelong contributions to the civil engineering profession. I believe it is important that our professional colleagues participate in this type of event because in a sense, this event allows us to tell the world what we do, how it is important and its impact on making the world a better place. Without our ports, international commerce would be greatly reduced. Without airports and highways, travel would come to a screeching halt. I think that when concluding an awards ceremony such as this, it is important to not only look at whose names appear on the plaques, but in the overall, collective contributions to society that we in the design and construction industry make each and every day. As civil engineers, we should look to the future with great anticipation...to dreams not yet built, to projects not yet conceived.
What do you think are some of the leading contributions that civil engineers have made to society?