Think first, then do
“Plan ahead” is advice you occasionally hear from friends or see on posters. It’s not easy to get a tautology into a two-word sentence, but this is one of them. […]
Engineering education
ASCE Code of ethics
Several previous blogs have cited the NSPE code of ethics to set the ethical context for technical writing. Not surprisingly, the American Society of Civil Engineers also has a code […]
The scientific method
In its most basic form, the scientific method is a process that allows us to understand the physical world. Anecdotal observations lead you to formulate a hypothesis. The hypothesis may be in the […]
Writing from the reader’s point of view
As a former editor, I often find myself wondering why so many writers don’t seem to consider the reader’s point of view. It’s the editor’s job to advocate for the […]
How engineers came to understand sulfate attack
We’ve discussed the mechanisms of sulfate attack in a previous blog. Soils in the western United States and the prairie provinces of Canada often contain high concentrations of sulfates. The […]
What can we learn from the Vasa?
In the 1620s, Sweden—at the time a regional power—had concluded its wars with Denmark and Russia, but was still at war with Poland. In 1625, King Gustav II Adolf signed […]
Technical presentations
In addition to technical writing, engineers need to be able to make good technical presentations. We’ve all experienced the proverbial death by PowerPoint, so we know what makes a bad […]
First things first
Although I’m not a devotee of business books, I reread First Things First by Steven R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill every few years. When it came […]
How to overcome writer’s block
A few weeks ago I gave my students their first lecture on technical writing. As part of their two-semester capstone course, they produce a comprehensive report for their client. The […]
How natural experiments inform public health
Previous posts on this blog have explored learning—or failing to learn—from experience. Ultimately, survival and flourishing depend on being able to extract the right lessons from experience. Ideally, experiences would […]