November 2025
As we enter the fall season and many prepare for Thanksgiving travel, whether by air, water, rail, bus, or car, I hope each of you are safe! This is a time to pause, reflect, and recognize the communities around us.
We mourn the loss of lives from the recent UPS crash and …
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the Caribbean community recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Melissa. The Caribbean remains one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions. An estimated 70% of the region’s population lives in coastal areas, where most critical infrastructure is concentrated. The Inter-American Development Bank anticipates the Caribbean will likely need to invest anywhere between $470 billion and $1.3 trillion in infrastructure to better protect communities. As a native of the Caribbean—Trinidad and Tobago, to be exact—I have seen firsthand the profound effects these natural disasters can have on communities, infrastructure, and their economy. The events underscore why infrastructure resilience, emergency preparedness, and effective disaster response are essential. ASCE provides many avenues to support disaster-affected regions, including those impacted by recent hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and floods.
Through the ASCE Disaster Mitigation and Response Fund, civil engineers conduct essential post-disaster assessments that help us better understand infrastructure performance under extreme conditions. This work directly informs improvements to the standards, publications, workshops, and continuing education programs that strengthen the resilience of our built environment.
Earlier this month, the FY26 T&DI Board of Governors met (see below) at ASCE Headquarters in Reston, VA, for our first of two in-person board meetings. Our discussions focused on advancing the T&DI Strategic Plan—strengthening our workforce, integrating AI into civil infrastructure systems, enhancing infrastructure resilience, and expanding strategic partnerships to broaden our impact. We will be working closely with the technical councils and committees to make the strategic plan a reality. More on this soon!
As we look ahead, I hope this season of gratitude reminds you that your contributions as civil engineers make communities safer, stronger, and more resilient every day. Thank you for all you do in service to the profession and the public.
— Diniece Mendes
President, Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)