Conditions necessary for successfully commercializing construction research are discussed in this paper. The paper starts with a definition of research as any investigation leading to development of new ideas, products, techniques, or approaches. Research may be either step change with focus on immediate paybacks, or longer‐term, more fundamental exploration. In construction, shorter investigations are the norm. An important benefit of research is the signal that the investment sends throughout the organization. Namely, that the process of change is supported. Supporting change in one area may encourage others in the organization to try new ideas. Such unpredictable benefits make it difficult to evaluate research investment on a cost basis. Change is often successful when conducted in partnership with other affiliated groups. In construction, owners, designers, labor, suppliers, and subcontractors might be brought into an investigation both to help bear the costs and to advise the direction of study. Finally, the paper reviews several approaches for identifying appropriate targets for research. Diversification of research efforts and a segmentation strategy have been found useful.

Engineers, accustomed to obtaining right answers by consensus from various experts, often assume that professional ethicists can help them solve problems related to professional ethics. Unfortunately, engineers invariably find it frustrating to work with ethicists who refuse to provide the right answers to such problems. Conversely, ethicists are uncomfortable working with engineers who demand solutions to problems that ethicists recognize as the responsibility of each individual. This paper explores what engineers can realistically expect of ethicists and how ethicists can best respond to the needs of engineers. Case studies are used to illustrate the principles and conflicts in the resolution of value laden‐problems.

The construction industry faces a major shortfall in needed technical manpower over the upcoming decades due to demographic trends. There will be fewer college‐age students in the educational pipeline, and a higher percentage of those who are available for technical educations will be from groups who are not attracted to them—minorities and women. In addition, students currently attracted to technical fields are less likely to choose an emphasis in civil engineering or construction than in competitive areas. The cumulative impact of new placements needed and growth of the construction field is projected to lead to a shortfall of several hundreds of thousands of technical people in the construction industry by the early part of the 21st century. Such projections can be impacted by actions taken over the next few years. Leaders in the construction industry are encouraged to pursue a more aggressive path for recruitment and retention in their industry, including specific programs aimed at attracting minorities and women, co‐op programs and summer jobs for technical students, support for programs in the civil engineering and construction fields at universities, and public education through the media.

Because of the apparent increase in unprofessional conduct, oversight of research is being considered as an alternative for enhancing professional integrity in research. Since those who have been involved in unprofessional conduct often cite pressure as the driving force underlying their conduct, two types of pressure, overt and perceived, are defined. The use of rationalization in defending unethical behavior is also discussed. A recent Institute of Medicine report has proposed a number of oversight mechanisms for medical research. Because similar oversight mechanisms may be given consideration in engineering research, the pros and cons of institutional oversight are addressed. Discussions on the responsibility for oversight and the initiation of oversight are provided. Four forms of oversight are discussed: Organizational codes of ethics; appointment of an ombudsman for oversight; value education; and supervision and mentoring. The voluntary adoption of internal oversight programs can reduce the likelihood of mandatory external oversight programs.

The National Society of Professional Engineers has initiated a dialogue on political contributions and their relationships to engineers' contracts with governmental agencies. Triggered by newspaper headlines and stories that link the two, the dialogue is a sensitive exercise. The profession is forced to question its constituent behavior, or the relevance of codes of ethics that prohibit these relationships. To a man, individuals deny participation in quid pro quo arrangements, but the existence of institutional quid pro quo systems of acceptability for contracts can hardly be disputed. From important quarters, the dialogue is punctuated by silence on a subject that deserves much greater general understanding. Because of the dialogue, NSPE contributes to understanding, and meets a test of self‐regulation. The profession of politics itself is addressing campaign spending and fund‐raising as a national issue of great concern. Greater participation by associated engineering societies is urged.

This paper assists engineers in the conversion of the complicated foot‐pound‐second (FPS) system to the simplified System International (SI), expressed in meters‐newtons‐seconds. It is useful in both analytical and dimensional domains. A short history of the methods is given for general information. The masses of some elements, compounds, liquids, and gases are given, and are expressed in “dimensionless” units as ratios of their unit mass densities, and those of the unit mass density of water, which equal unity. Eight examples are given, showing the precise method of conversion. The examples also provide analyses to be used for checking the answers to the problems. This method of conversion will help engineers acquire the skill of its application, and also will provide a basis for checking and controlling the creation of formulas that are elaborated upon in the analytical and dimension domains. Furthermore, a new parameter of solidity is also introduced as a ratio of the volume of solids to that of the total unit volume. Solidity is inversely proportional to porosity.

There have been several debris torrents down steep cracks along Howe Sound, near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A debris torrent is a rapid surge of water, mud, and rocks down a steep creek. Debris torrents only occur under special circumstances and are not yet fully understood, although knowledge about them has been growing rapidly. The way in which the professionals who are responsible for public safety responded to the growing knowledge about debris torrents and the risks that they pose is examined. Civil engineers are used to uncertainty and deal with it by using a variable safety factor that depends on the level of uncertainty and the sequences of failure. This approach worked well in the case of the Howe Sound debris torrents, but did not in those cases where the engineers felt little sense of direct responsibility.

AS the world becomes more technical and complex, there is an increasing and expanding need for engineers with doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees, to serve in capacities beyond traditional research and educational facilities. Events around us indicate a serious need for encouraging candidates with substantial professional work experience to enter Ph.D. programs and become a select group of superior professional engineers. Once a bachelor or master of science engineer leaves the university and works for 10 or more years, it is all but impossible to overcome a number of roadblocks and return to a Ph.D. program for further graduate studies. By exploring these roadblocks experienced professionals face when considering the career move into a Ph.D. program, solutions can be developed that will allow our best engineers to become our leaders of tomorrow.

Municipal governments are becoming involved in hazardous‐waste issues that have in the past been addressed primarily at the state and national level. Often, the expertise and protocols have not yet fully developed at this level to provide an appropriate response to these problems. Unfortunately, the nature of the hazardous‐waste problem is such that without immediate response the problems often become exponentially harder to deal with. Many urban universities now have specialized expertise in hazardous‐waste management and spill response. This situation provides an excellent opportunity for the urban university to interact with the local municipality. Although this interaction can take many forms, the one examined in the paper involves a half‐day training session in hazardous‐waste recognition and response. Over 400 personnel from various departments in the City of Detroit registered for the sessions. Although the personnel had widely ranging educational and professional backgrounds, a curriculum and format was developed that provided useful information to all participants.

The number of cleanup sites is growing. Federal, state and private cleanups must be undertaken. Impediments to hazardous‐waste construction such as fear of liability, lack of insurance, and lack of direction, are identified. The perils of cleaning up hazardous wastes are examined. Engineer and contractor liability for cleanup of hazardous wastes, the concept of joint and several liability, and the operation of statutes of limitation and repose are discussed. The variations in statutes of limitation for toxic torts are identified, by state. Reasons for the loss of insurance coverage are given. Insurers believe that liabilities thrust upon them were not contemplated when they entered into their insurance contracts. Insurers, rather than face additional losses because of judicial activism, have withdrawn from the field, leaving engineers and contractors without protection. Strategies in use, such as risk‐transfer ploys, self‐insuring, governmental indemnification, expendable subsidiaries, and going bare, are analyzed. After considering the causes of the problems, several solutions, including two Utopian ones that bypass the tort system and eliminate the tort system, are proposed.

The first Sumerian city‐states, which knew no centralized authority, emerged around 3500 B.C. in the lower part of Mesopotamia, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers merge before flowing into the Persian gulf. This region, believed to have been the biblical Garden of Eden, is modern‐day Iraq. At the time, Sumer was a fertile and a difficult land: There was too much water at the wrong time; the topography was flat; and building materials consisted exclusively of clay, asphalt, and vegetable fibers, with no timber or stone. Fierce competition among the cities for favorable location, the inventiveness of the Sumerians, their strong religious beliefs, and their understanding of and respect for organized society led them to the creation of an urban society and the development of technology as a social system. It is in this context that this paper suggests that engineering, as a concept of social progress through technology, started in Sumer.