It goes without saying. IRONMAN triathlons are intense.

Cold-water swimming for 2.4 miles, followed by 112 miles on a bike, and capped off with a 26.2 marathon run.

It takes someone special to conquer such a challenge.

Perhaps someone like a civil engineer?

Isaac Kontorovsky is a principal and vice president for BKF Engineers as well as vice president of the ASCE San Diego Section, and he recently took on IRONMAN California. Swim, cycle, run – all of it.

And he found a lot of common ground between his civil engineering career goals and the challenge presented by the most grueling of endurance sports.

In episode 172 of ASCE Plot Points, Kontorovsky talks about the why and how of his IRONMAN experience and why it might be more relatable to civil engineers than most realize.

Learn more about Isaac and his journey at his website.

This ASCE Day – coming up next week, Nov. 5 – will mark ASCE’s 172nd anniversary.

And that’s a very long time.

For an organization to last for so many years, it needs great leadership and great leaders who give back.

Jean-Louis Briaud and Knut Eriksen are two such leaders.

Each is a member of the ASCE Foundation’s 1852 Society, a very select group of people who have generously given more than $100,000 to the Foundation during their lifetimes.

In episode 171 of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, Briaud and Eriksen talk about their career trajectories and how they came to find that giving back was the best way forward.

A new school year is upon us.

That is a very exciting proposition for civil engineering students worldwide, for ASCE, and for everyone lucky enough to use and enjoy the infrastructure these young engineers will design and build in the future.

But what’s it like being a civil engineering student in 2024? What’s the most exciting part?

“Being a civil engineering student at any time had to be amazing, but being a student, particularly in 2024, is fantastic because of all the new opportunities and technology out there,” said Maxwell Fletcher, a third-year civil engineering student at the University of Florida.

“We try to push the boundaries of what’s possible with what we know. So being able to use new technology, new modeling software, and even AI to improve our work is truly incredible.”

Fletcher is one of 27 ASCE Student Ambassadors this school year, ready to share with the world all the coolest parts about being a civil engineering student in 2024. ASCE Student Ambassadors represent ASCE on their campuses and through social media, promoting Society events and resources that can help their fellow students advance their careers.

It’s an exciting group of future leaders and an exciting time to be a civil engineering student.

“We’re in an age where civil engineering is, honestly, boundless,” Fletcher said. “I’m very excited for what the future holds for my career and everyone else I’m in school with.”

Fletcher joined fellow ASCE Student Ambassadors Mariana Vega, a civil engineering and surveying student at New Mexico State University, and Cing Kim, a civil engineering student at Illinois Tech, on the ASCE Plot Points podcast to discuss their favorite aspects of 2024 civil engineering student life.

Artificial intelligence is changing the way civil engineering gets done.

Christine Rice, P.E., M.ASCE, is a project engineer for Wood Rodgers in Sacramento, California, and former governor for ASCE’s Region 9.

May in Washington D.C., means United For Infrastructure Week.

Diniece Mendes is director for freight mobility at the New York City Department of Transportation and serves on the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute’s Board of Governors.

Los Angeles is No. 1 on the 2024 list of ASCE Best Places for Civil Engineers.

That’s three straight years for L.A., if you’re keeping track at home.

So what’s the city’s secret to success? What’s so special about the civil engineering scene there?

Ruwanka Purasinghe, P.E., M.ASCE, civil engineering associate for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and president-elect of the ASCE Los Angeles Section, has some answers.

In episode 165 of ASCE Plot Points, Purasinghe talks about, yes, what makes Los Angeles such a great place for civil engineers.

Aaron Shavel is New York through and through. Born and raised there – and now works as a project manager for TCE, specializing in rail infrastructure.

In episode 164 of ASCE Plot Points, Shavel talks about growing up around his mom’s civil engineering projects as a kid and why he thinks now is a golden age for civil engineering.

Erin Novini has blended chemical engineering with environmental engineering as an engineering specialist for consulting firm Trihydro since 2005.