Next Level
by Garland L. Thompson
PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA PROMISES TO REBUILD AMERICA
For students interested in science, information technol-
ogy, math, or particularly engineering careers, and professionals
already established in these careers, Obama’s vision may serve
the same purpose as President Franklin Roosevelt’s infrastruc-
ture-building programs of the 1930s. It set the foundation for
the nation’s economic rebirth and growth then. And now?
In 2009, the Obama administration will call upon an army
of contemporary public and private engineers and technologists,
many trained by the Historically Black Colleges and Universites’
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs, to
fi x America’s crumbling infrastructure.
President-elect Barack O bama, center left, m et w ith the nation’s governors
in Philadelphia to discuss the econo my.
When the president-elect met with the state governors,
Photo by The National G overnors Association
he outlined broad proposals for major strategic investments in
public works — repairing and replacing bridges and highways,
T
o many observers, the roaring tsunami of the Wall the long-overdue rehabilitation of water and sewerage systems,
Street panic of 2008 rouses a frightening echo of and the rehabilitation and expansion of mass transit systems,
the Great Depression, as corporations fi re hundreds coupled with equally vast workforce-training initiatives.
of thousands of workers, mortgage defaults spike, and the job-
No one expects every Roosevelt-like program to be resur-
less rate hits a 15-year high of 6.7 percent. Black unemploy-
rected. But studies written by the American Society of Civil En-
ment is generally double that percentage.
gineers (ASCE) and the American Association of State Highway
In December, President-elect Barack Obama, fi rst at a and Transportation Offi cials (AASHTO) call for public-works
meeting with governors of the 50 states, and later in his weekly initiatives that are as comprehensive as Roosevelt’s. For example,
radio address, began to unveil his economic plan. Through it, the ASCE in its annual report card for America’s infrastructure
he said, “we will create millions of jobs by making the single reported that $1.6 trillion is needed to be spent over a fi ve-year
largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the period to bring the nation’s infrastructure to a good condition,
creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s.” The result of the above actions could, among other things,
shorten commutes, increase the fl ow of clean water, reduce
the number of delayed fl ights, and keep dams from failing —
The Obama administration will
all of which will contribute to the nation’s economic growth.
Here’s a small sample of Obama’s infrastructure to-do list:
need an army of contemporary
• The Environmental Protection Agency estimates it
will cost about $1 trillion to overhaul potable water-
public and private engineers and
and wastewater-treatment plants during the next 20
years.
technologists, many trained by the
• AASHTO says $155.5 billion is needed to upgrade
HBCUs, to fi x America’s crumbling
our highways and bridges that currently carry 246
million cars and trucks; additionally, truck and train
infrastructure.
tonnage is also soaring.
• Getting the right mix of education and job-train-
ing programs to complement the vast new spending
envisaged, however, will require even more thoughtful
The multi-year goal is to renovate roads, bridges, railways, planning to ensure that, as Roosevelt’s New Deal did
tunnels, airports and harbors, upgrade the electrical grid, ex- in the 1930s, African Americans get a fair share of the
pand high-speed Internet access to every public school and opportunities all this new growth will propel.
hospital, and modernize “green” public facilities. The invest-
ment in federal and state projects, says Obama, will bolster
consumer confi dence by creating 2.5 million jobs and boost
the nation’s technological and commercial competitiveness.
http://www.blackengineer.com
USBE & Information Technology I WINTER 2008 13
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