Engineering Influence from ACEC

A Conversation with Economist Marci Rossell

At the 2023 Spring Convention and Legislative Summit, we sat down with keynote speaker Dr. Marci Rossell, former CNBC Chief Economist. We covered a wide range of issues, including how people's perceptions on the economy can actually result in that perception becoming a reality, as in the case of interest rates. 
Snapshot of Dr. Rossell's Address:
Dr. Rossell told the convention audience that talk of a recession was premature and such fears will be history by the end of 2023.
“A recession requires a decline in economic activity spread across several sectors such as housing and unemployment, and that lasts six months,” she said. “In 2022, we had two consecutive negative quarters of GDPs (Gross Domestic Product) and the fears began.” She said consumer spending also must start to decline, but that also hasn’t happened.
“Has anyone flown this year? Were there a lot of empty seats? Of course not.”
The former host of the pre-market morning news show Squawk Box also emphasized that inflation is much more an economic negative than a recession, but even current inflationary impacts are starting to ease.
“Inflation peaked at 9 percent last year and the alarms went off,” she reflected. “The Feds raised interest rates 10 times over 18 months to address the increase. Since then, the rate of inflation has gone down about 1 percent each quarter. It should be back to its normal 2-3 percent range by the end of the year.”
She added that the economy today is vastly different than past years, such as with the U.S. becoming an oil producer now.  “The result is that the global price of oil today has a net zero impact on our economy compared to 15 years ago.”

What’s Ahead for the GEO Coalition with Andrew Pennoni

Incoming Geoprofessionals Coalition Chair Andrew Pennoni joined the podcast at the 2023 Annual Convention and Legislative Summit to discuss the year ahead for the Geo Coalition.

EEA Spotlight: Stantec’s Bridging Kentucky Project

ACEC member firm Stantec won an Honor Award at the 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards for its "Bridging Kentucky" project, which replaced, repaired, or improved more than 300 structurally deficient bridges in the state. Wendy Harper with Stantec joined the podcast to discuss the project.
Stantec is also a sponsor of this year's EEA Awards.

Update from the ACEC Retirement Trust

Deb Stevens, Executive Director of the ACEC Retirement Trust, joined the podcast to discuss the benefits of Trust membership. Visit the Trust at www.acecrt.com.

Discussing the Q2 2023 Engineering Business Sentiment Survey

Joe Bates with the ACEC Research Institute joined the program to discuss the release of the upcoming Engineering Business Sentiment Survey for Q2 2023.

Engineering Excellence Awards Spotlight: HDR

ACEC member firm HDR is showcasing three projects that earned honors at this year's EEA Awards - one Grand Award and two Honor Award-winning projects - the Hugh Leatherman Terminal in Charleston, SC, the City of Billings Nutrient Upgrade, Expansion and Improvements project in Billings, MT, and the I-579 Open Space Cap in Pittsburgh, PA.

An Interview with Rep. David Rouzer (NC-07)

Congressman David Rouzer, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resource and the Environment of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, joined us on the podcast. During the interview, Congressman Rouzer covered several hot topics facing the engineering industry, including WOTUS, the outlook on a new Water Resources Development Act reauthorization, IIJA implementation, and more.

POWER Engineer’s Jason Pfaff on Disruptive Tech and Engineering

We were joined on the program by Jason Pfaff, VP of Innovation for POWER Engineers to discuss the impact disruptive technologies like AI have on the engineering industry and how A/E firms can harness their power for new business opportunities.