Construction Division Input to ASCE Conference on Civil Engineering in the 21st Century

Construction can be viewed as the manufacturing arm of civil engineering, since civil engineers not only provide planning, analysis, and design for new facilities, but are the dominant profession in construction engineering and management as well. Construction will thus be central to many activities of ASCE in the twenty‐first Century. Both the design and the construction parts of the profession face many hurdles to the adoption of these advanced technologies. To remain competitive advanced technologies must be incorporated into civil engineering practice. Computer‐based tools offer the clear potential to improve the efficiency of current operations and may even bring revolutionary new capabilities to civil engineers. Civil engineering also must provide the leadership to advance the profession and make it responsive to future societal needs, not just those of the past and present. Our challenge is to keep our profession as vital, stimulating, prestigious, and rewarding for future generations of civil engineers as it was for those in the past, and to make civil engineers the leaders in improving the quality of life.