What civil engineers are reading this week

• There’s still time for members to vote in the ASCE election

  The ballot is topped by the contest for 2027 president, plus this year features a proposed constitutional amendment to simplify member grades. Find out who's running and what’s at stake before voting.

• 33-inch-long ‘woolly’ mountain rat photographed for first time

  The world's second-biggest rat species – a gargantuan woolly beast – was caught on camera in the mountains of New Guinea.

• Solar storm during ice age offers future worst-case scenario, say space scientists

  Scientists in Finland have identified the most extreme solar storm to hit the Earth from radiocarbon analysis of tree rings. It struck in 12,350 B.C. during the dusk of the last ice age.

• It helps to assert yourself early if you’re driven to succeed, young engineer says

  For water specialist Anna Lisonbee, standing front and center wasn’t in her original career vision, but she found passivity and leadership don't mix. Hear her advice in a new ASCE Plot Points podcast.

• Using a dishwasher to clean plastic containers leaches microplastic pollution

  Washing household plastic containers in a dishwasher releases nanoplastic and microplastic pollution into wastewater, University of Queensland researchers find.

• With goal of advancing fusion power, largest tritium facility underway in England

  The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and a private company have partnered to build the UKAEA-Eni H3AT Tritium Loop Facility in Culham, England. What will it mean in the push for fusion power?