Executive Director of Bridges to Prosperity Named New Face of Civil Engineering

Reston, Va. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) today announced that 26-year-old Avery Louise Bang of Broomfield, Colo. has named a New Face of Civil Engineering.  Bang is the executive director of Bridges to Prosperity.  An integral part of ASCE’s 2011 National Engineers’ Week (Feb. 20-26) initiatives, the New Faces program promotes the achievements of young civil engineers by highlighting their contributions to and impact on society.

Avery trained as a geo-technical engineer and she joined Bridges to Prosperity shortly after completing her undergraduate education. Bridges to Prosperity is a non-profit organization that builds cable-stayed pedestrian bridges throughout the developing world. With design, program development and construction experience in nearly a dozen countries she has more than doubled the size of the operation. When describing what she does, Avery asks people to imagine what it would have been like for them to get to their elementary school if the infrastructure they had – bridges, roads, etc – didn’t exist. She explains that she helps people in the developing world build projects that many people oftentimes take for granted.

Seeing her field as way to help people on a large scale, Avery is excited at the prospect of bringing more people, particularly women, into engineering fields—particularly civil engineering. She cites as valuable learning experiences being able to do practical work with organizations such as Engineers Without Borders while still in school. Avery also is inspired by contemporary projects, such as the new bypass bridge built over Hoover Dam.

Avery has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and studio art from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Each year, ASCE names ten New Faces of Civil Engineering, some of whom are also submitted to the New Faces of Engineering program run by the Engineers Week Foundation. This inclusive national program includes representatives from the civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, industrial and manufacturing engineering professions. Selected New Faces profiles are featured in a USA Today ad during Engineers Week and are profiled on the National Engineers Week website at www.eweek.org, as well as at www.discoverengineering.org.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 140,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.