Talks about civil engineering in a different way.
How We Build...
Claim This Podcastby Nevena Vajdic
6 episodes
Updated Daily
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Podcast Overview
Talks about civil engineering in a different way.
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
9/28/2025
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Recent Episodes
May 31, 2026
S1E5 Ethics
<p>What does the way we build say about what we value?</p><p>In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Azita Hirsa, engineering ethics professor at RPI and host of the National Academy of Engineering's Online Ethics Center webinar series, to unpack what ethical responsibility really looks like in engineering practice.</p><p>From historic bridge collapses to everyday project decisions, we explore why ethical failures rarely start with a dramatic moment, and why the small compromises are the ones to watch. We also get into organisational culture, the gap between compliance and true safety, and the skills engineers will need for the decade ahead.</p><p>If you work in infrastructure, construction, or engineering, this one's for you. 🎧Azita Hirsa, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer in the Industrial & Systems Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Engineering, where she teaches Management of Engineering & Technology, Engineering Ethics, and Professional Development. Her work is grounded in the belief that technical excellence and ethical responsibility must go hand in hand. In her classroom, students engage real-world case studies, national competitions, and conversations with leaders who have navigated complex decisions under pressure. She founded and hosts Leaders in Action Conversations, a speaker series connecting students with alumni and industry executives to explore leadership and ethical decision-making in practice. She also advises RPI’s team for the Lockheed Martin Ethics in Engineering Competition, where her students recently earned a Top 4 national finish among 72 universities nationwide. Dr. Hirsa is the past Chair of the Ethics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and has served as Webinar Host for the Online Ethics Center (OEC) since 2023, moderating national discussions on engineering ethics across industry, government, and academia. She is a recipient of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)'s 2024 School of Engineering Faculty Education Innovation Award and RPI Alumni Association Teaching Award. Above all, she is committed to preparing engineers to lead with judgment, courage, and integrity.link to Online Ethics Center: https://onlineethics.org/This episode was orinigally recorded in March 2026.Music: "C-Funk" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License</p>
March 5, 2026
S1E4 Cognitive Civil Systems
<p>Rohan Singh Wilkho is a Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University. Holding a PhD in Civil Engineering and an MS in Computer Science from Texas A&M University, he works at the intersection of physical infrastructure and digital intelligence. Rohan develops 'Cognitive Civil Systems', infrastructure designed to perceive and adapt to its environment like a living organism. He applies AI-driven methods to surface critical behavioral and distress patterns in infrastructure networks, ensuring they remain resilient in an unpredictable world.</p><p></p><p>An example of a Cognitive Civil System is a Road-Lens available at https://road-lens.infraframe.com/</p><p>Road-Lens uses an advanced artificial intelligence pipeline to transform standard commercial satellite imagery into highly detailed roadway assessments. This allows cities to monitor their entire road network from space without the prohibitive logistics and costs of physical ground-based inspections. By reconstructing street-level surface details, the platform identifies pavement damage with the same accuracy as a human inspector performing a windshield survey. Ultimately, it generates a continuous digital replica of a city's road network, empowering local governments to shift from reactive, complaint-driven repairs to predictive governance, and democratizing infrastructure.</p>
January 15, 2026
S1E3: Bildung with Prof Anders Buch
<p>What if engineering was about more than efficiency, skills, and problem‑solving?</p><p>In this episode, Professor Anders Buch joins Nevena Vajdic to unpack the concept of <strong>Bildung</strong> and why it matters for engineers, especially in an age of AI, automation, and global technological impact.</p><p>From the roots of Bildung in philosophy to its relevance for engineering education, responsibility, and care, this conversation invites us to rethink what it means to build, not just technically, but ethically, socially, and collectively.</p><p><br></p><p>Professor Anders Buch has spent more than 35 years exploring how work and professional education intertwine in social contexts, shaping the production of experience, expertise, and knowledge. His research spans education, philosophy of technology, science and technology studies, engineering studies, the sociology of professions and professionalism, working life studies, organization studies, and practice-based theory. He has held positions at the Danish Society of Engineers, the Technical University of Denmark, and Aalborg University, and is currently Professor at VIA University College in Denmark and affiliated with Jönköping University in Sweden. His recent publications focus on the role of digitalization and AI in professional work and education, as well as the evolving character of engineering professionalism in contemporary society.</p><p>Learn more about Bildung: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-86581-7</p><p>This episode was originally recorded in September 2025.</p><p><br></p><p>Music: "C-Funk" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
6 total episodes available
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