They are responsible for some of the great American landmarks: the San Francisco Bay Bridge, Hoover Dam and the Empire State Building. They design roads, bridges , dams and similar structures, along with a good dose of "courage and inspiration". They are America's engineers.
In 1952, the U.S. Post Office designed a stamp to celebrate the Centennial of Engineering. A century before in New York City, twelve engineers and architects assembled to form the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects. While the architects formed their own society in 1857, the engineers remained. Their purpose of the society is "to provide essential value to its members and partners, advance civil engineering, and serve the public good" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers).
Today, the American Society of Civil Engineers oversees 36 peer reviewed journals including the Journal of Architectural Engineering, the Journal of Bridge Engineering and the Journal of Aerospace Engineering.
In 1999, with the century drawing to a close, the ASCE selected Monuments of the Millenium, the top ten civil engineering feats of the 20th Century that demonstrated a "combination of technical engineering achievement, courage and inspiration, and a dramatic influence of the development of their communities." They are:
- Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan
- Hoover Dam
- Interstate Highway System (under President Eisenhower)
- Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
- Eurotunnel Rail System
- sanitary landfills & solid waste disposals
- Empire State Building, Manhattan, NYC
- Chicago Wastewater System
- California State Water Project
- Panama Canal
Construction of the Hoover Dam circa May 1935 courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam.
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