Shows
The Future. Built Smarter.From scholarship recipient to designer: ‘Every day I’m learning something new’This episode is a conversation with Juan Moreno, an electrical designer at IMEG and a past recipient of the firm’s engineering scholarship program. Juan received one of the thirty $10,000 scholarships awarded when the program was launched in 2023.
Born in Miami, Juan spent his childhood and teen years in Colombia. In 2021 he enrolled at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, where one of his older sisters, a UNF graduate, was living at the time. Engineering, he explains, was always a likely path as the profession runs in his family.
“My dad is a civil engi...
2026-01-3010 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Planning early is critical for achieving mass timber’s benefitsConsidering using mass timber for the first time? IMEG’s Robert Norton provides key considerations in this episode of The Future Built Smarter. A senior structural engineer working out of IMEG’s San Francisco office, Robert has more than a decade of experience designing with mass timber. He says the material is more than a trend—it transforms how a building is experienced. “Being in a wood building makes you much more comfortable. The wood provides a lot of warmth and it feels homier.”
Mass timber also changes how a building is designed and constructed, he adds. “I...
2026-01-1623 min
Alumni AloudUrban Planning at FHI Studio (feat. Kelsey Kahn)Alumni Aloud Episode 108
Kelsey Kahn earned her MA in Urban Planning from Hunter College and now works as a planner at FHI Studio, now IMEG. In this episode of… Read the rest
The post Urban Planning at FHI Studio (feat. Kelsey Kahn) appeared first on Career Planning and Professional Development.
2025-12-1532 min
The GeoholicsWomen Surveyors Summit - Day 1 from Las Vegas!Check out these highlights from Day 1 of this year's awesome event!!!
04:00 - Heather Markley, Vice President @ Future Surveyors Foundation and Sr Vice President @ LJA Surveying, Inc.
16:00 - Natalie Martinez-Vega, Land Surveyor @ US Army Corp of Engineers & Jade Castillo, Topography Technician @ V. Seda & Associates PSC
37:00 - Trisha Lund, Owner of WLG Surveying Solutions
51:00 - Jeanette Harley, Owner of Harley Surveying & DeeDee Frasure, Surveyor @ Timmons Group
1:02:15 - Schuyler Sears, Survey Field Technician @ IMEG Corp
1:17:00 - Marissa Almiron, Phase Manager @ SAM & Ruth Trujillo Rodriguez, President & CEO @ Ruth L. Trujillo Rodriguez...
2025-12-121h 45
The Architecture of HealingHealthcare Technology, The Patient Experience, and...Airports In this episode of The Architecture of Healing, host Chase Miller sits down with Corey Gaarde, Principal at IMEG, to discuss how thoughtful integration of technology can profoundly impact healthcare design and delivery. Corey shares how his early fascination with science and engineering eventually led him to a career in healthcare technology. Together, they explore how the physical environment and care delivery models must be aligned with evolving clinical technologies, from supporting virtual nursing to reducing alarm fatigue and enhancing code response. Corey emphasizes that technology isn't just about devices and data; it's about supporting clinicians, improving patient safety, a...
2025-11-1739 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Small modular reactors: A potential new power source for industrialMike Walsh, IMEG Senior Director of Industrial, joins this episode to discuss small modular reactors (SMRs) and their potential for becoming an integral source of power for manufacturers and industrial campuses.
SMRs typically produce 50 to 300 megawatts of power, unlike traditional nuclear plants that generate between 1,000 and 1,500 megawatts. Mike is quick to clarify, however, that the adjective “small” is relative in comparison to traditional reactors. “They’re not small—they’re just smaller,” he says of SMRs. “They’re still large, sophisticated facilities. But their modular construction changes everything.”
SMRs work on the same basic principle as traditional react...
2025-10-2217 minThe Future. Built Smarter.AI-driven site design: Fast, interactive, and often revealingThis episode features IMEG civil project manager Matt Pohlhaus in a discussion on how artificial intelligence is transforming site design. Based in the Washington, D.C., metro area, Matt leads land use and civil engineering projects across Maryland and West Virginia. Increasingly, he says, AI is becoming as much a part of his toolkit as CAD software or site surveys.
“We use artificial intelligence daily,” Matt explains, describing how it’s woven into tasks both big and small—from communication to design. “If you’ve ever been stuck trying to get some language out the right way, just throwin...
2025-09-1118 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Federal healthcare leader: Providing positive outcomes is a missionArmand Harpin, Director of Federal Healthcare at IMEG, joins this episode to discuss the firm’s extensive work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Defense Health Agency (DHA), and Indian Health Services. Under Armand’s leadership, IMEG has been ranked the top Veterans Affairs engineering firm by BD+C Magazine.
“We serve the VA across probably 75 percent of the campuses throughout the country,” Armand says. These projects span a range of services, from facility condition assessments and master planning to infrastructure upgrades like boiler and chiller plants. “We've also spent a great deal of tim...
2025-08-0710 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Parametric engineering: Design solutions in a fraction of the timeThis episode of The Future Built Smarter examines parametric engineering, which transforms design from a static, linear process to a dynamic, adaptive one. “By leveraging specialized 3D software like Rhino, Grasshopper, and Karamba, engineers can create flexible and intelligent design models that respond instantly to changes in parameters as opposed to building a model using fixed dimensions,” says Michael Kilkelly. A member of IMEG’s Innovation Team, Michael has been working with others on a new structural service for clients that has just been launched: Project SPEED, which stands for Structural Parametric Engineering for Efficient Design.
“Building owners w...
2025-07-2116 minThe Future. Built Smarter.From dorms to trout ponds: Leveraging waste heat from AI computingThis episode of The Future Built Smarter examines modern high performance computing facilities and the opportunity to use their waste heat as an energy source.
“High performance facilities for computing are different than what most people would consider a data center,” says Brandon Fortier, IMEG's Director of Science and Technology. “Data centers serve general purpose IT needs for a building or a company, things like web hosting, cloud storage capabilities, et cetera. High performance facilities for computing serve more of a scientific or other research need. They use significantly more computing power because they're doing things like climat...
2025-06-1823 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Healthcare market leader: Less carbon, more AI on the horizonThis episode of The Future Built Smarter explores the evolving landscape of healthcare design and engineering with guest Eric Vandenbroucke, Vice President of Healthcare at IMEG. “2025 started with a lot of optimism, but it’s definitely been a roller coaster,” he says.
Despite uncertainty in the market amid potential federal reductions in Medicare reimbursements, Eric says many healthcare clients remain focused on sustainability initiatives. “Healthcare contributes about 5 percent of global emissions,” he says. “Owners are committed to reducing their carbon.” Resiliency and future proofing are also critical. From extreme weather to human threats, resilience demands a layered approach, incl...
2025-06-0916 minThe Future. Built Smarter.UNLV grad designs alma mater’s ENR ‘Best of the Best’ lab buildingThis episode of The Future Built Smarter features Robbie Jones, an IMEG project executive and mechanical engineer who led the firm’s design of the new Advanced Engineering Building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas—ENR’s 2024 Best of the Best Project in the higher education/research category.
The Advanced Engineering Building (AEB), located in the university’s “Innovation Corridor,” is designed to foster innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration within UNLV’s Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. The AEB supports growing enrollment, education, and research in robotics, cybersecurity, biomedical engineering, energy and water, and artificial intelligence. The three-story...
2025-05-0809 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Extended reality experiences put clients inside designIn this episode of The Future Built Smarter, Abby Coleman discusses IMEG’s use of immersive extended reality experiences, thousands of which have been provided by the firm to project stakeholders. “Extended reality is an umbrella term for virtual reality and augmented reality,” says Abby. “I essentially use those technologies to help our clients and engineers visualize their design before anything is even built.”
As IMEG’s Innovation Extended Reality Specialist, Abby also incorporates VR and AR technology into the firm’s engineering workflow to revolutionize the design process and bolster IMEG project team collaboration. “Whether reviewing...
2025-04-0818 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Rapidly evolving industries make proactivity critical for successThis episode of The Future Built Smarter—one in a series of conversations with IMEG’s market leaders—examines the industrial and manufacturing sector with Mike Walsh, Senior Director of Industrial. The teams under his leadership work on a broad range of projects from aerospace to wastewater treatment facilities. "The diversity of our work is what makes it exciting—every project has its own set of challenges and opportunities," he says.
Challenges currently facing industrial and manufacturing clients include speed to market (proper planning is critical to avoid delays that can cost companies millions); talent shortages (a lack of...
2025-03-3116 min
KP UnpackedThe Secret to Making an Impact in AEC (Even If Your Boss Hates It)In this episode of KP Unpacked, we dive into one of the biggest mindset shifts that can define your career: Are you high agency?Host Jeff Echols sits down with Abby Coleman, a rising force in AEC and an Innovation XR Specialist at IMEG, to unpack KP Reddy’s latest Sunday Scaries article: Are You High Agency? What About Your Team? They explore why some professionals take ownership, push boundaries, and disrupt industries—while others settle into the status quo.They discuss:🔹 What it really...
2025-03-0732 minThe Future. Built Smarter.ENR Best Project elevates Garden’s visitor experienceThis episode examines the Missouri Botanical Garden’s new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center in St. Louis, winner of ENR’s National 2024 Best of the Best Project Award in the cultural category. The LEED Gold project houses an event center, gift shop, meeting spaces, restaurant, and auditorium, and included the renovation of the historic Linnean House, the oldest continuously operated public greenhouse west of the Mississippi. Insight into the project is provided by guests Zach Carter of IMEG and Deniz Piskin, Vice President for Facilities and Construction at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
The decision to build the new c...
2025-03-0522 minThe Future. Built Smarter.‘Cautious optimism’ the sentiment in hospitality marketThis episode of The Future Built Smarter examines the state of the hospitality market with IMEG’s Bob Winter—one in a series of conversations with the firm’s market sector leaders.
Most recently serving as an IMEG client executive in southern California, Bob is now turning his full attention to the growth and continued development of IMEG’s portfolio in the hospitality sector—a market he has led for several years and in which he has vast experience. “I absolutely am excited,” he says of his re-established focus.
“Our hospitality group includes MEP, structural, technology, and...
2025-02-2416 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Transportation Market Leader: Roads, bridges improving; much more to comeThis episode of The Future Built Smarter features Steve Meyer, IMEG’s Transportation and Bridge Market Leader. “I try to get to know all of IMEG’s client executives and business developers to see where we can help fill the needs of our clients,” Steve says. This holistic approach, he adds, allows IMEG to provide comprehensive engineering design and services as needed for any project—from roadways to bridges to buildings—creating a seamless process for clients. “It makes it easy for the client that they can just hire one firm and fulfill quite a few services. Not only can we design...
2025-01-2916 minThe Future. Built Smarter.VC firm VP: AI tech should solve problems, not create themThis episode of The Future Built Smarter examines the intersection of AEC technology and artificial intelligence (AI) with guest Alice Leung, Vice President at Brick and Mortar Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on construction technology. Alice explains that the firm invests in startups that address existing productivity challenges within the industry. "We're here to invest in startups that are trying to solve real problems in the construction industry—not just crazy solutions looking for problems to solve.”
Alice says the industry is seeing an influx of interest and investment in technology—noteworthy at a ti...
2024-12-1020 minThe Future. Built Smarter.IMEG Labs: Early validation for technology and integrationThis episode of The Future Built Smarter features Matt Malcolm, leader of IMEG’s newest service, IMEG Labs. “With IMEG Labs we are able to offer our clients third-party unbiased evaluation of technology as part of the design process—ahead of actual construction events or implementation on a client's site,” says Matt. The evaluations and demonstrations are conducted at the IMEG Labs testing site in the firm’s office in Naperville, IL. “We can take the different technologies that we're describing as we talk about integration and smart buildings and bring them into our small-scale environment. We can leverage the agile fr...
2024-11-1417 minThe Future. Built Smarter.AEC firms need a ‘culture of innovation’ to leverage AIThis episode of The Future Built Smarter features Dr. Sam Zolfagharian, president of the AI consulting firm YegaTech, which helps AEC companies adapt to the era of disruption caused by the introduction of artificial intelligence into the industry. A keynote speaker and author of the forthcoming book, “Disrupt It,” Sam also holds a Ph.D. in design computing and construction management and has over 20 years of experience developing technologies for the industry. Of six essential elements AEC companies should focus on when creating an AI strategy, she says the first step is establishing a culture of innovation. “If we can’t...
2024-10-1816 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Labs2Zero aims to help owners decarbonize their laboratoriesDecarbonization of energy-intensive laboratories takes center stage in this episode featuring guests from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL).
“Laboratories are one of the highest consumers of energy because of the needs around safety,” says Gordon Sharp, I2SL president. “We’re talking about wet labs, which typically deal with hazardous materials or chemicals and require large amounts of ventilation. They also have other needs such as fume hoods and exposure control devices. Their unique design and operational requirements make them very different from other types of buildings.”
The I2SL’s Labs2Ze...
2024-09-2020 min
Engineering Management InstituteHow to Maximize the Transformative Impact in the World of VR and AR Technologies – Ep 046In this episode, I talk with Mike Lawless, P.E., FPE, LEED AP, vice president of Innovation at IMEG, about the transformative impact of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, the groundbreaking IDEA Program, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) through MEG, an internal chatbot. ***The video version of this episode can be […]
The post How to Maximize the Transformative Impact in the World of VR and AR Technologies – Ep 046 appeared first on Engineering Management Institute.
2024-06-2400 min
AEC AI and Tech Strategy PodcastHow to Maximize the Transformative Impact in the World of VR and AR Technologies – Ep 046In this episode, I talk with Mike Lawless, P.E., FPE, LEED AP, vice president of Innovation at IMEG, about the transformative impact of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies, the groundbreaking IDEA Program, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) through MEG, an internal chatbot. ***The video version of this episode can be […]
The post How to Maximize the Transformative Impact in the World of VR and AR Technologies – Ep 046 appeared first on Engineering Management Institute.
2024-06-2431 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Antarctica or bust: Site visit sends IMEG to penguin paradiseIMEG’s Peter Monroe joins this episode of The Future Built Smarter to share the experiences of his recent site visit to Antarctica. A former client executive and a structural engineer for 55 years, Peter made the journey from Denver to Antarctica in early 2024 to visit a project at McMurdo Station, a National Science Foundation research facility on Ross Island. McMurdo is undergoing extensive updates, and Peter’s visit was to observe the structural construction of the station’s new dormitory, one of two buildings for which IMEG has provided structural construction documents.
Established in 1955, McMurdo consists of numerous...
2024-05-2019 min
AEC Unscripted: M&A EditionEp 1: You Must Be Doing Something Right!In our inaugural episode of AEC Unscripted: M&A Edition, Jeff Adams, CPA, CM&AA, Director, M&A at Stambaugh Ness chats with Dan Huntington, Executive Vice President of the M&A Synergy Team at IMEG, a leading national engineering and design consulting firm. Dan discusses the secrets behind their impressive M&A growth, having grown from just 3 deals in 2018 to integrating 19 firms in just 28 months! He emphasizes the importance of cultural fit and building strong partnerships as key factors in their success.You'll also learn about IMEG's vast network. With a national presence of...
2024-05-0739 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Part 4 | IMEG Sustainability Champion Olivia Paxson: ‘One person can only do so much’The final episode in a series about IMEG’s refreshed Sustainability Plan features Olivia Paxson, a structural engineering designer with the firm. Olivia is also the Sustainability Plan’s champion in IMEG’s St. Louis office, where she collaborates with her co-workers to implement the plan’s mandated and optional initiatives.
“We’ve already switched to LED lighting and that's thanks to the people we rent from,” she says. “We have a dishwasher, and we have reusable utensils, and we’re really close to a metro line as well as bus stations.” Like most IMEG offices, the St. Louis team is a t...
2024-04-1709 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Part 3 | IMEG Sustainability Champion Anchila Monks: ‘This is the right time’IMEG’s Anchila Monks is featured in the third episode in a series about the firm’s refreshed Sustainability Plan. A business developer with IMEG, Anchila is also the Sustainability Plan’s champion in the firm’s office in Portland, OR, where she collaborates with her co-workers to implement the plan’s mandated and optional initiatives.
Anchila recalls what her grandmother told her at a young age: “She said that heaven and earth and humanity are different manifestations of one life energy, and that we only have one planet—and there is no Planet B.” For Anchila, this was the begin...
2024-04-1708 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Part 2 | IMEG Sustainability Champion Jessica Lee: ‘It’s really inspiring’The second in a series of episodes on IMEG’s refreshed Sustainability Plan features Jessica Lee, a sustainability and energy consultant with the firm. Also the Sustainability Plan champion in IMEG’s Chicago office, Jessica collaborates with her co-workers to implement the plan’s mandated and optional initiatives.
Jessica’s passion for the environment began as a child growing up within an indigenous community in Hawaii. “Being surrounded by the greenest greens and the bluest blues in the world made me appreciate nature and respect nature,” she says. “So, growing up I was just surrounded by the idea that the ea...
2024-04-1709 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Part 1 | Power in numbers: IMEG offices rally behind firm’s sustainability planIn the first in a series of episodes on IMEG’s refreshed Sustainability Plan, Adam McMillen, director of sustainability, and Taylor Gawthorp-Cruse, senior sustainability and energy consultant, discuss key aspects of the initiative. Designed to integrate environmentally friendly practices at the firm’s offices, the updated plan builds upon the original version, released in 2018, and promotes conserving energy and water, lowering carbon emissions, and reducing waste. The 2024 version includes new mandated initiatives (such as tracking office energy usage) as well as optional initiatives (such as providing in-office composting) that allow each location to take actions best-suited for their office, whet...
2024-04-1719 min
The Matthew Byrd PodcastEric Vallejo: How We Scaled Reality Capture Across the Country!In Episode 55 of the RCN Podcast, Eric Vallejo, Director of Reality Capture and Geospatial Solutions at IMEG Corp, shares his experience on technology learning curves, collaboration and workflows, and finding success through failures.
2024-04-041h 12The Future. Built Smarter.AI in practice | Part 2: IMEG chatbot gets smarter by the dayIn the second of a two-part episode, IMEG software development team lead Steve Germano continues his conversation about IMEG’s internal, AI-powered chatbot, Meg. After a year-and-a-half of development, Meg is now live and serves as a search engine for the firm’s engineering teams and other departments, drawing from the company’s vast amount of stored data.
Built as a large language model, or LLM, questions can be asked of Meg by anyone in the company on a variety of engineering and non-engineering topics, from “How do I submit my expense report?” to “Where can I find guidance...
2024-04-0114 minThe Future. Built Smarter.AI in practice | Part 1: IMEG chatbot brings decades of data to engineers in secondsIn the first of a two-part episode, IMEG software development team lead Steve Germano joins Mike Lawless and Joe Payne for a conversation about IMEG’s internal, AI-powered chatbot, Meg. After a year-and-a-half of development, Meg is now live and serves as a search engine for the firm’s engineering teams and other departments, drawing from the company’s vast amount of stored data.
Built as a large language model, or LLM, questions can be asked of Meg by anyone in the company on a variety of engineering and non-engineering topics, from “How do I submit my expense re...
2024-04-0110 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Phius leader keen on passive building’s role in decarbonizationKat Klingenberg, executive director and co-founder of the non-profit organization Phius, talks about the history and current state of passive building in this episode of The Future Built Smarter. “Passive building principles are not rocket science,” she says. “We're talking about continuous insulation, airtight construction, no thermal bridging in the envelope, good fenestration components, and minimized mechanical systems. It's all about holistic integrated design, and once that is all implemented correctly, we get the result of super-low energy buildings that are pretty much zero-energy ready.”
Kat also directs the technical and research programs at Phius, which certifies passive bu...
2024-03-1829 min
ConfluenceBuilding IMEG’s AI-AssistantSteve Germano of IMEG joins the show to talk about developing an in-house AI assistant named Meg, which functions as a conversational chatbot and search engine for company data running within Microsoft Teams. We talk about the goals and capabilities of the first release and how the dev team is considering adding workflows to Meg's capabilities. We also discuss the platform they have chosen to build on, what the biggest challenges have been getting to this point, early feedback from staff and leadership, what the potential ROI on a project like this is, and more....
2024-02-141h 14The Future. Built Smarter.Northridge at 30: Seismic design advances benefit buildings across U.S.This episode of The Future Built Smarter podcast provides a high-level look at seismic design and preparedness 30 years after the Northridge earthquake rocked Southern California in 1994. Joining the discussion is IMEG structural engineer and client executive Craig Chamberlain, president of the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California, which hosted the Northridge30 Symposium on the anniversary of the event in January. “The symposium brought policymakers, city government officials, building officials, and engineers together to help make sure we're still moving ahead even 30 years after the earthquake, and that we don't forget what happened on that devastating day,” he says.
T...
2024-01-3116 min
The Consulting-Specifying Engineer PodcastRichard Vedvik discusses the future of building automation with AIAI can help create building automation systems that are predictive, rather than reactive, which will save energy, can simplify tasks and save workers from overly repetitive tasks. Richard Vedvik, PE, senior electrical engineer and acoustics engineer at IMEG Corp. talks about how AI can be integrated into current building automation systems and what benefits it might bring.
2023-11-2813 minThe Future. Built Smarter.IMEG CEO reflects on firm’s growth and career of 47 years (and counting)IMEG President and CEO Paul VanDuyne talks about the trajectory of his career and the firm’s growth during his 20-year tenure as CEO in this special episode of The Future Built Smarter.
The recipient of ENR Midwest’s 2023 Legacy Award, Paul entered the industry as a design electrical engineer 47 years ago when he joined IMEG—then KJWW Engineering. In 2003 he became president and CEO, and in 2015 led a merger between KJWW and TTG Engineers of California, which ushered in the creation of IMEG. Since then, IMEG has completed 35 acquisitions and has gone from 800 staff members in the Mi...
2023-11-2719 minThe Future. Built Smarter.How Ann Arbor seeks to lift up an underserved neighborhood through community geothermalThis episode features Missy Stults, Sustainability and Innovations Director for the City of Ann Arbor, MI, one of 11 communities being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office to design a community geothermal heating and cooling system. Joining the conversation is IMEG Sustainability Director Adam McMillen, who is leading the analysis and design portion of the project.
“In Ann Arbor we have the goal of achieving a just transition to communitywide carbon neutrality by 2030,” said Stults. “One of the things that is really critical is centering equity in our work, and so from the very be...
2023-11-1021 min
More than Construction: A Journey Group Podcast about Building CommunityEpisode 18: Winter Work Is Possible and Better for the CommunitySFC Civil thrives on exceeding expectations and accomplishing the impossible, and one of those great impossibilities is building bridges in the middle of the South Dakota winter! Winter work actually comes with many advantages for both construction and the surrounding community! In this episode, our own Jared Gusso and Josh Dede share the secrets of just how possible winter civil construction actually is. A major factor is our team's depth of experience and our partnership with people like Steve Myer from IMEG, who also sees the immense benefits of winter work and enjoys giving our SFC Civil teams the "...
2023-10-2420 minThe Future. Built Smarter.UW Health bringing a proton center powered by the sun to MadisonThis episode offers a preview of UW Health’s Eastpark Medical Center in Madison, WI. Expected to be fully open by Fall 2024, the seven-story outpatient facility will offer advanced imaging and lab services, destination services, multidisciplinary adult specialties, and women’s complex care. The center also will feature the state-of-the-art UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center, one of the few in the country to offer proton therapy and, in collaboration with Leo Cancer Care, the first healthcare facility in the U.S. to offer upright proton therapy.
Discussing the new center and proton therapy aspects of the project are Je...
2023-10-1218 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Housing director: ‘We’re providing homes where people can thrive’Scott Campagna, Senior Director of Housing at IMEG, is featured in this episode—one in a series of conversations with the firm’s market leaders. Scott talks about the subsectors of IMEG’s housing work—neighborhoods, multifamily, student housing, and senior living—and the challenges and opportunities facing the market overall. “It's an interesting time,” he says. “There's a huge housing demand in all sectors but in the current environment, with the lending being pulled back, projects in all sectors generally are moving a bit slower.” Scott also discusses office-to-residential conversions, a trending topic in the market. He cautions that such pursuits...
2023-09-2813 min
EC&M On AirElectrical Design Trends with EC&M’s 2023 Top 40In Episode 31 of “EC&M On Air,” a podcast series from EC&M magazine that shares industry intelligence, insights and opinions on all topics electrical, Ellen Parson, editor-in-chief of EC&M, sat down with a few top executives whose engineering firms made our Top 40 Electrical Design Firms list in 2023: Jason Wollum of Henderson Engineers; Brian Leavitt of IMEG; and Darin Anderson of Salas O’Brien. Not only do they cover some of their firms’ secrets to success, but they also talk about the latest trends they’re seeing in the industry as well as the biggest challenges they’re facing in the ne...
2023-09-2549 min
BUILD St. LouisEpisode 26: IMEG: The Critical Importance of Big Data with Brendon BuckleyIn this episode of the BUILD St. Louis podcast, host Kerry Smith interviews Brendon Buckley, leader of building intelligence and integration services at IMEG. They discuss the topic of big data and its life-saving power in the context of design and construction. Brendan explains the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how it relates to big data. He shares examples of how big data and IoT are being leveraged in different industries, such as airlines and theme parks, to enhance the consumer experience.
For more information, check www.informationworks.org
2023-09-2120 minBUILD St. LouisEpisode 26: IMEG: The Critical Importance of Big Data with Brendon BuckleyIn this episode of the BUILD St. Louis podcast, host Kerry Smith interviews Brendon Buckley, leader of building intelligence and integration services at IMEG. They discuss the topic of big data and its life-saving power in the context of design and construction. Brendan explains the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how it relates to big data. He shares examples of how big data and IoT are being leveraged in different industries, such as airlines and theme parks, to enhance the consumer experience.
For more information, check www.informationworks.org
2023-09-2120 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Planning is essential for meeting education market challengesIn a continuing series of discussions with IMEG’s market leaders, this episode of The Future Built Smarter features John Holbert, vice president of education. John discusses the challenges facing the market, primarily those for higher education institutions, which face ever-increasing enrollment competition, changes in student demographics, limited resources, aging infrastructure, and difficulties with facility staff retention. Many higher education institutions, as well as K-12 school districts, also face challenges in meeting sustainability and environmental initiatives as well as the need to improve safety and security in their buildings and on their campuses. “Security has become a big topic, and...
2023-09-1912 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Keeping K-12 students safe demands a holistic security approachHolistic security considerations for K-12 school design are examined in this 17-minute episode featuring Ryan Searles, IMEG’s security consulting group leader. Ryan spends an average of three weeks of each month traveling the country presenting at conferences or training organizations in crisis management, active shooter mitigation, and other security preparedness—with a growing number of school districts seeking his team’s services. “We keep seeing a rise in violence in the United States and more violent events occurring at places of education,” he says. “In K-12, particularly, it's really about what we can do to mitigate it from happening.”...
2023-09-0617 min
T-Square Dad's Brown Bag#031 - I didn't know what to do afterwards - An Engineer's StoryWelcome to our podcast. If you're new to our podcast, the podcast was created by two Architect that felt they needed to share their experience and hardships not only in our profession but in life and family.On today's episode we invited Carminda (Mindy) Day. She works with Schmidt Consulting Group Inc. and now the new IMEG. She is a licensed engineer and she specializes in mechanical engineering. Graduated from the University of Alabama. Licensed in the State of Florida.Grab a seat and some coffee and take a few minutes to join us in ou...
2023-08-2818 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Water, water everywhere—with many improvements neededThis episode—another in a series of discussions with IMEG’s market leaders—features Jack Kusek, market leader for water and wastewater. Listen to the episode and you’ll learn:
What PFAs are and what can be done about them
Which U.S. city has the largest concentration of lead pipes
Why security is a big concern for water and wastewater facilities, particularly in smaller communities
How two communities collaborated to ensure their water resiliency
Why outsourcing facility operations is a necessity for many small municipalities
How IMEG has helped restore Frenchman’s Reef resort on St. Thomas in the U.S. Vi...
2023-08-0915 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Industrial market challenges: Project pace, scramble for resources, ESG goalsThis episode—part of a series of conversations with IMEG’s market leaders—features Kelly Altes, the firm’s industrial market leader. Kelly discusses the firm’s industrial teams’ areas of expertise— agriculture, aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, and general manufacturing—as well as challenges facing industrial clients. These include the pace of project delivery, the lengthy process of capital expenditure decisions, and the push to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. She also talks about the difficulty of meeting and funding ESG and corporate sustainability goals and the importance of master planning to help clients achieve those go...
2023-08-0113 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Used as a ‘copilot,’ AI can positively assist designersNote: In keeping with the topic of this episode—artificial intelligence—the following summary has been generated by ChatGPT using a transcription from the podcast.
In this podcast episode, host Joe Payne and co-host Mike Lawless discuss the topic of AI and its impact on the design profession. Their guest, Michael Kilkelly, is a registered architect and member of IMEG’s internal Technical Operations team. He shares insights on how AI is being used in the field of architecture and engineering.
They discuss the initial fears and concerns architects and engineers may have about AI taking ov...
2023-07-1817 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Bridge market update: Many projects, higher construction costsIn a continuing series of conversations with IMEG’s market leaders, this episode of The Future Built Smarter features Bridge Market Leader Steve Myer. Steve discusses his background, the types of services that IMEG’s bridge engineering team provides, challenges facing the market, and often-heard questions from clients. “The common questions from our clients include how to extend the life of their bridges,” he says. “They also often ask for rough cost estimates for their bridges and what they can do to make their money go further. We provide quite a few estimates, either for rehabilitation of existing bridges or for rep...
2023-07-1812 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Transportation market update: Infrastructure bill projects ramp upIn a continuing series of conversations with IMEG market leaders and directors, Corey Stout discusses the transportation market with host Joe Payne. Corey touches on several topics, including the effects to date of the federal government’s massive infrastructure funding made available in late 2021.
“Aside from repair and maintenance work, most of the projects have been in the planning stages and we’re seeing these projects go out for bid, two years later,” he says. Labor shortages have added to the slow-down of the process. “The state agencies have to assign the contracts and they're short-staffed; consultants have to do t...
2023-06-2118 min
Na jednej vlneAko sa zmenili slovenské umenie a kultúra? (25.5.2023 15:39)Posledná časť mesiaca o histórii patrí umeniu a kultúre. Ako sa zmenili za posledné desaťročia a v čom bol pre umenie prelomový rok 1989?
Hosť:
Igor Šimeg (herec)
Moderuje:
Alexander Ernest
2023-05-2526 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Innovation ends the game of ‘Frogger’ at site assessmentsThis episode examines an innovative and integrated application of reality capture technologies that has been developed by IMEG to improve exterior lighting and security site assessments. Explaining the components, applications, and benefits of the ALL (Accurately Locating Light) Meter are guests Eric Vallejo, Director of Reality Capture and Geospatial Solutions, Ryan Searles, Security Consulting Group Leader, and Shanna Olson, Architectural Lighting Team Leader. The ALL Meter combines an illuminance meter, 3D camera, GIS, and drone photography to gather more accurate and robust data in a vastly more efficient and safer manner compared to conventional site assessments. “The traditional methodology fo...
2023-05-2312 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Environmental issues, expanding specialization key topics in S&T marketIn the first of a series of conversations with IMEG market leaders and directors, Brandon Fortier, Director of Science & Technology, joins podcast host Joe Payne and series co-host Steve Rhoades, Vice President of Market Development and Federal Solutions. This episode, like the others to come in the series, provides a high-level view of the trends, challenges, opportunities, and topics that are top-of-mind for IMEG’s clients and partners.
“Science and technology intersects many different vertical markets and a lot of our clients’ questions and needs are very specific to their program,” says Brandon. “But the continuity between them is en...
2023-05-1519 min
The Structural Engineering ChannelEngineering Across Continents: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Working Abroad – Ep 102In this episode, we talk to Joseph Camajani, SE, a principal and client executive at IMEG Corp about his global engineering experiences across five continents. He highlights the challenges he encountered, and how working abroad influenced his outlook on engineering and project execution. He also provides some great advice for aspiring engineers looking to explore […]
The post Engineering Across Continents: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Working Abroad – Ep 102 appeared first on Engineering Management Institute.
2023-04-2722 minEngineering Management InstituteEngineering Across Continents: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Working Abroad – Ep 102In this episode, we talk to Joseph Camajani, SE, a principal and client executive at IMEG Corp about his global engineering experiences across five continents. He highlights the challenges he encountered, and how working abroad influenced his outlook on engineering and project execution. He also provides some great advice for aspiring engineers looking to explore […]
The post Engineering Across Continents: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Working Abroad – Ep 102 appeared first on Engineering Management Institute.
2023-04-2700 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Decarbonization in Healthcare: Why it’s needed, how to get startedMany in the healthcare industry have come to recognize the significant and symbolic role that healthcare organizations, their designers, and builders, can play in reducing the carbon emissions, or greenhouse gases, introduced by the built environment of their facilities. In this podcast episode, IMEG Senior Director of Healthcare Eric Vandenbroucke and Director of Sustainability Adam McMillen discuss why decarbonization is needed in healthcare, the challenges and opportunities that will be encountered along the way, and how organizations can start down the path. For additional information, listeners can read the free IMEG executive guide, “Decarbonization in Healthcare: A Practical Approach fo...
2023-04-2019 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Data is the key to getting more help from your buildingThe amount of data available from multiple building systems continues to grow exponentially. What this data is and how to decide what to do with it is examined in this two-part episode of The Future Built Smarter. Our guest on these episodes is Brendon Buckley, IMEG Protect Executive for Building Intelligence and Integration. In Part 1, Brendon discusses building system data and the potential it presents to owners for not only improving their building’s operational performance but their business outcomes as well. “Even though it's an amazing thing to be able to maintain a comfortable, safe, sustainable environment, there's a lo...
2023-04-1212 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Digital twin uses building data to model effects of system changesThe amount of data available from multiple building systems continues to grow exponentially. What this data is and how to decide what to do with it is examined in this two-part episode of The Future Built Smarter. Our guest on these episodes is Brendon Buckley, IMEG Protect Executive for Building Intelligence and Integration. In Part 1, Brendon discusses building system data and the potential it presents to owners for not only improving their building’s operational performance but their business outcomes as well. “Even though it's an amazing thing to be able to maintain a comfortable, safe, sustainable environment, there's a lo...
2023-04-1214 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Team Commissioning Part 2: Applying the concept to federal projectsThe concept of team commissioning, the benefits it can bring to any large project with multiple stakeholders, and its application in the federal sector are examined in this two-part episode of The Future Built Smarter. Our guests are Thom Kurmel, President of TDK Consulting—a VA Certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business specializing in health systems design, organizational performance, business and operational planning, and infrastructure strategies—and Armand Harpin, IMEG Director of Federal Healthcare.
Similar in some respects to building commissioning—in which a third-party consultant verifies that a building is operating to its fullest potential as designed...
2023-03-2815 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Team Commissioning, Part 1: Maximizing the ‘Power of the Team’The concept of team commissioning, the benefits it can bring to any large project with multiple stakeholders, and its application in the federal sector are examined in this two-part episode of The Future Built Smarter. Our guests are Thom Kurmel, President of TDK Consulting—a VA Certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business specializing in health systems design, organizational performance, business and operational planning, and infrastructure strategies—and Armand Harpin, IMEG Director of Federal Healthcare.
Similar in some respects to building commissioning—in which a third-party consultant verifies that a building is operating to its fullest potential as designed...
2023-03-2812 min
2023-03-0929 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Hospitality update: Growth in demand, wellness, and sustainabilityThe state of the hospitality industry—and the trends to watch—are discussed with IMEG Director of Hospitality Bob Winter in the first in a series of episodes featuring the firm’s market leaders.
“Last year, 2022, was a tremendous year in the market for design and construction,” Bob says, citing the recovery of occupancy rates as the industry emerged from the pandemic. “I have seen a little bit of a headwind this year with some of our projects due to the cost of construction and the cost of money.” However, he adds, there are still a lot of “pent-up oppo...
2023-03-0816 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Microgrids: Taking emergency power beyond code and beyond carbonWhat is a microgrid? What are its benefits? Does it offer a good return on investment? Answers to these questions and more are discussed in this episode featuring Mike Zorich, IMEG’s Vice President of Healthcare, and Eric Vandenbroucke, Senior Director of Healthcare. “A microgrid is a collection of power sources in addition to your normal utility source,” explains Eric. “It could include things like a generator, solar power, wind turbines, battery backup. It's a collection that is able to be decoupled from the grid if you have a power surge or problems with the grid (occurring more frequently due to w...
2023-02-1517 minThe Future. Built Smarter.From balsa airplanes to a lifetime achievement award: An interview with Cliff SchwingerIn this episode we visit with IMEG’s Cliff Schwinger, a senior structural engineer in Philadelphia and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Steel Construction. Cliff has more than 40 years of experience, is a nationally recognized quality assurance expert, and presents at seminars nationwide, including the NASCC Steel Conference, where he has been a speaker for 10 years.
Cliff’s interest in engineering sprouted when he was a little kid. “I used to build these model airplanes out of balsa wood, and they were like mini structures,” he recalls. Though he originally had designs...
2023-02-1312 minThe Future. Built Smarter.‘Unique moment in history’ gives engineers a critical taskThis episode of The Future Built Smarter features a 15-minute conversation with Robin Greenleaf, an IMEG managing principal and the immediate past chair of the American Council of Engineering Companies—the first woman to hold that position. Robin shares her key takeaways from her time on the ACEC board and her career in general, including her insights on the challenges and opportunities that face U.S. engineering firms. “There's such a large range of engineering companies, ranging from size to where they are to what they do,” she says. “We're dealing with workforce issues and supply chain issues and inflatio...
2022-12-0216 minThe Future. Built Smarter.A PDQ summary of Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy provisionsIMEG Director of Sustainability, Adam McMillen, joins this 14-minute episode to provide a summary of the clean energy and climate provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. “At a high level, the act has really opened the door for taking advantage of these incentives while also trying to stimulate economic activity,” he says. One of the biggest aspects of the act is that, in addition to offering these provisions to the private sector, the IRA offers a “direct pay” incentive to non-profits—entities that could not take advantage of previous renewable energy technology tax credits due to their lack...
2022-11-1513 minThe Future. Built Smarter.CPTED: A holistic strategy in the growing quest for safer buildingsSecurity continues to become an ever more important aspect of building design, and in this episode, we focus on the security strategy known as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED. Our guest is Ryan Searles, a senior security consultant at IMEG and certified CPTED professional. Ryan has also written about the strategy for the IMEG blog and says it is much more than just “large boulders and trees”—it also leverages architectural elements, social programs, colors, lighting, natural surveillance, natural access control, and even traffic curbing. “We’re seeing CPTED being applied a lot more now,” he adds. “We live in cra...
2022-11-0414 minThe Future. Built Smarter.IDEA! Part 1: Freeing up minds to help foster innovationIn the first of two related episodes, structural engineer Laura Hagan talks about her participation in IMEG's internal IDEA! program, designed to foster innovation and sustainability across the firm and investigate future trends in the AEC industry. The program also frees up participants to focus on their areas of interest and take what they have learned or developed back to their team. "A big part of what I've been working on is accessing, calculating, and tracking embodied carbon on projects and developing a tool to visualize and communicate the information to a client early on to help make project...
2022-09-1314 minThe Future. Built Smarter.IDEA! Part 2: Using AR to ‘translate’ project designUsing a HoloLens to provide an augmented reality (AR) experience is discussed in the second of two episodes on IMEG's internal IDEA! program. This segment features guest Abby Coleman, an IMEG intern who participated in the program, which is designed to foster innovation and expose participants to future trends in the AEC industry. Abby describes the HoloLens and AR as a "translator" between designer and client, and discusses several AR experiences she and others in the program created, including an educational STEM-themed AR tour of a library and a portrayal of how a HoloLens allows clients to immerse themselves...
2022-09-1312 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Equity in healthcare: Caregivers discuss inclusion, diversity, and biasThis episode of The Future Built Smarter examines equity in healthcare. Providing the caregiver perspective on the topic are guests Dr. Anne Doran, a pediatric hospitalist at Advocate Children’s Hospital, Chicago, and Dr. Megan Morgan, a registered nurse and pediatric nurse educator at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Both share their views and experiences on equity, inclusion, diversity, and bias within the healthcare environment. “We've seen a big push to have a more astute awareness of where the gaps in care are and how we address diverse populations so that we are inclusive of all—culturally, spiritually, and even among po...
2022-08-1115 minThe Future. Built Smarter.New R&D center a true garden of innovationIn this episode of The Future Built Smarter, Jeff Ryan, Managing Principal for Design at Christner Architects, joins us for a discussion on the Ball Helix Central Research & Development Center, winner of a 2022 Design Excellence Merit Award for Innovation from Lab Manager magazine. Christner was the architect, lab planner, and interior designer for the project, and IMEG provided structural, MEP, fire protection, and civil design, in addition to commissioning services. The center transforms the research culture and the scientific capabilities of Ball Horticultural Company, the world’s largest ornamental seed producer. In collaboration with Ball’s steering committee, the desi...
2022-07-1919 minThe Future. Built Smarter.The Quadruple Aim & the Built Environment, Part 5: Improving provider satisfactionImproving provider satisfaction is examined in the final episode in a series of podcasts based on the IMEG executive guide, “Enhancing the Quadruple Aim through Data-Driven Decisions in the Built Environment.” This episode features two healthcare providers—Dr. Anne Doran, a pediatric hospitalist at Advocate Children’s Hospital, Chicago, and Dr. Megan Morgan, a registered nurse and pediatric nurse educator at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Both share their experiences as healthcare providers who have worked in a variety of settings. “The caregiver experience has evolved over time as we've become more patient- and family-centered and try to deliver care in a way whe...
2022-06-1018 minThe Future. Built Smarter.SE 2050: A Call for Structural Engineers to Eliminate Embodied CarbonIn the first of two episodes on reducing embodied carbon in structural systems, IMEG structural engineer Laura Hagan joins Mike Lawless and Joe Payne in a discussion about SE 2050, which calls on all structural engineers to understand, reduce, and ultimately eliminate embodied carbon in their projects by the year 2050. The SE 2050 Challenge was developed by the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) and the SE 2050 Commitment Program developed by the Sustainability Committee of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). IMEG joined the Commitment in April. “Structural engineers have always played an important role in th...
2022-06-0315 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Life Cycle Analysis: Calculating the embodied carbon in building materialsIn the second of two episodes on reducing embodied carbon in structural systems, IMEG structural engineer Laura Hagan discusses life cycle analysis (LCA), which, in the context of the built environment, examines the lifetime environmental impacts of the different materials used in a building’s construction. The analysis provides data on the embodied carbon arising from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and eventual disposal or reuse of structural and architectural materials. This information enables clients to understand and compare the potential embodied carbon of various design options. “We’re looking at each and every structural and architectural component—that’s the indu...
2022-06-0315 minThe Future. Built Smarter.The Quadruple Aim & the Built Environment, Part 4: Enhancing Joe’s experiencePodcast co-host Joe Payne recently spent a fitful night in the hospital. How his experience—and that of all patients—could be improved is examined in the fourth of a series of episodes based on the IMEG executive guide, “Enhancing the Quadruple Aim through Data-Driven Decisions in the Built Environment,” Guest Corey Gaarde, a biomedical engineer and healthcare information technology specialist at IMEG, discusses how the built environment can help healthcare organizations improve the Quadruple Aim’s third goal, enhancing the patient experience. “The patient journey starts at home and ends at home,” he says. “If there are ways that we can brin...
2022-04-1418 min
Securiters1x17 Introducción al Blockchain con Maritere Nieto (@_mtnietoE)En este episodio nos acompaña Maritere Nieto a la que tuvimos el placer de tener como invitada en el evento especial #8m que hicimos en el canal de #twitch.Si te lo perdiste puedes disfrutar de todo lo que pasó en youtube:MariTere Nieto (@_mtnieto): Introducción al blockchain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L_TB8jYvpQIago Rodriguez (iagorguezgarcia): inclusión en el entorno laboral - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsx1IA-akiEGema Pérez (@GemaPec): Debate sobre la mujer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39OfhkU3-7Y
2022-04-1256 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Mass timber is hot and getting hotter. Here’s why.This episode of “The Future. Built Smarter.” examines mass timber — a sustainable, fire resistant, and aesthetic building material that is rapidly gaining use across the globe. Our guest for this episode is Matt Cloninger, a structural engineer for IMEG in Montana who has a lifelong passion for buildings made of wood and who has witnessed mass timber’s recent rise in popularity. “There has been a great fundamental shift in using mass timber in the last couple of years that has made it easier to use structurally,” he says. “More engineers and more owners are designing with cross laminated timber — or CL...
2022-03-3116 minThe Future. Built Smarter.The Quadruple Aim & the Built Environment, Part 3: Reducing the Cost of CareIn the third of a series of episodes based on the executive guide, “Enhancing the Quadruple Aim through Data-Driven Decisions in the Built Environment,” Joel Yow, co-founder of linear A, discusses how the built environment can help healthcare organizations achieve the Quadruple Aim’s second goal, reducing the cost of care. “You don’t want to make an investment in a new building that’s meant to reduce the cost of care, and then misplace it or mistime it and then just generally increase the cost of care by not really thinking through the data enough,” he says. “When looking at patie...
2022-03-2916 minThe Future. Built Smarter.The Quadruple Aim & the Built Environment, Part 2: Improving Population HealthNumerous healthcare organizations have adopted the guiding principles of the Quadruple Aim—a framework for healthcare excellence, the goals of which can be greatly supported through an intentionally designed built environment. In the second of a series of episodes based on the executive guide, “Enhancing the Quadruple Aim through Data-Driven Decisions in the Built Environment,” IMEG Director of Sustainability Adam McMillen discusses how the built environment can help healthcare organizations achieve the first goal, improving population health.
2022-03-0314 minThe Future. Built Smarter.The Quadruple Aim & the Built Environment, Part 1: Healthcare’s Dynamic DuoNumerous healthcare organizations have adopted the guiding principles of the Quadruple Aim, a framework for healthcare excellence that focuses on improving population health, reducing the cost of care, enhancing the patient experience, and improving provider satisfaction. Many of these organizations, however, are missing out on opportunities to support these desired outcomes through an intentionally designed built environment. In the first of a series of episodes based on the executive guide, “Enhancing the Quadruple Aim through Data-Driven Decisions in the Built Environment,”IMEG Director of Healthcare Mike Zorich provides a high-level explanation of the Quadruple Aim and offers examples of vari...
2022-02-1614 minThe Future. Built Smarter.5 steps to begin the process of decarbonizing your buildingIn the final episode in our series on sustainability strategies of the future, IMEG Director of Sustainability Adam McMillen discusses five steps any owner can take to begin the process of decarbonizing their building. “There's a lot of discussion today about decarbonizing — the push to make sure we all electrify our buildings because the grid will get cleaner in the future. This is a big change, and a lot of owners are wondering how to wade into it without a lot of risk,” says McMillen. “So, we’re summarizing five things owners can do today that don't cost a lot of mon...
2021-11-2414 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Battery storage: Clean energy for a rainy day — and peak demand reliefBattery energy storage is examined in part five of our series on sustainability strategies of the future. “Most of us in the industry have had a lot of questions about batteries,” says IMEG Director of Sustainability Adam McMillen. “When does it make sense? When will they be cost competitive? How do they fit into the big picture? These are all good questions because the last thing you want to do is put some expensive, embodied-carbon heavy, lithium-ion batteries on your campus and then have them not really do much for you.” Co-host Mike Lawless, IMEG Direction of Innovation, joins Adam in...
2021-11-0112 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Call in the reserves: Thermal energy storage to the rescueThe fourth episode in our series on sustainability strategies of the future examines thermal energy storage. To illustrate, consider hospitals and industrial facilities that use heat pumps to create the large amount of heating hot water needed for their buildings. This type of heat pump can’t operate when temperatures dip below 15 degrees, however, and a gas-burning boiler is typically used as back-up. Thermal energy storage provides a carbon-free alternative. In this strategy, the heat pump generates additional heating water during the warmer part of the day and stores it in a thermal energy storage tank. That water can th...
2021-11-0113 minThe Future. Built Smarter.3-2-1: How commercialization launched IMEG into the aerospace industryThis episode takes a brief look at how the commercialization of the aerospace industry has opened the doors for more engineering firms to become engaged in such projects. Guest Ed Dean, an IMEG structural engineer who has designed several launch facility projects, discusses how IMEG entered the market, and the benefits commercially oriented firms bring to aerospace clients. “Commercial buildings and structures are not done in an institutional way, but rather on a very rapid schedule; things are very much fast-tracked and you’re delivering certain ‘just-in-time’ design elements. We apply this approach to the design of launch facilities, saving c...
2021-10-1312 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Cold Climate Electrification: A Path Toward ‘Clean’ HeatingIn the third episode of our series on sustainability strategies of the future, IMEG’s Adam McMillen discusses cold climate electrification. Essentially, this is a means to providing heat in cold climates without burning carbon-emitting fossil fuels. In areas with cold winters, McMillen explains, we currently use natural gas-burning furnaces or boilers for heat. Electricity, however, is used to power our cooling systems in the warmer months. While electricity is produced predominately by coal-burning plants, there is a trend by utilities toward greater use of renewable energy as a source. “We see our electric grid getting cleaner, year after year...
2021-09-2311 minThe Future. Built Smarter.The Chiller Reality: Your MEP Equipment is Full of Embodied CarbonIn the second episode of our series on sustainability strategies of the future, IMEG’s Adam McMillen discusses embodied carbon in chillers, boilers, and other MEP equipment. “Naturally, engineers put a lot of equipment into buildings,” he says. “That equipment contains a lot of steel and comes from all over the world, so it obviously has a carbon footprint.” Quantifying that footprint is critical. “It’s starting to become clear that the amount of carbon a company has on its books is going to be a liability in the future, from a climate change perspective, a dollar perspective, and a regulations...
2021-09-2014 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Embodied Carbon: In the Crosshairs of Designers, Bill Gates, and Girl ScoutsIn the first of a series on sustainability strategies of the future, IMEG Director of Sustainability Adam McMillen discusses embodied carbon. “We have pretty much figured out how to reduce operational carbon,” he says. “Now the AEC industry is ready for the next step — reducing embodied carbon in steel, concrete, and wood.” Getting these materials to a construction site requires extraction or harvesting, processing, and transportation — each of which requires energy, mostly from burning fossil fuels, which in turn releases CO2. These emissions combined make up the carbon footprint, or the embodied carbon, of a material. “People in the industry and e...
2021-09-1314 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Keeping the Plants Happy: Cultivation Space Design for Cannabis and other CEA FacilitiesWith legalized medical and recreational marijuana continuing to expand across the U.S., many new grow facilities will be licensed and constructed in the coming years. This episode examines important infrastructure considerations that are critical for “keeping the plants happy” and achieving successful harvests — not only for cannabis but also for other crops grown within controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities. “Our experience designing these facilities allows us to provide valuable information and lessons learned for owners who will be venturing into this market for the first time,” says IMEG’s Luke Streit, a project manager for several cannabis grow facilities...
2021-08-2430 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Carbon-free, Net Zero, One Water: Grand Conceptor Project Shows the AEC Industry Can Deliver It AllThe 2021 National ACEC Engineering Excellence Grand Conceptor Award – which honors the year’s most outstanding engineering achievement in the U.S. – was presented to IMEG Corp. for its design of the Denver Water Operations Complex Redevelopment. This episode examines the project’s extensive water and energy efficiency goals and challenges from the perspective of Ken Urbanek, who led the IMEG team on the $205M redevelopment featuring a 186,000-sf LEED Platinum, net-zero energy and “One Water” administration building. “This project is a testament to what we in the AEC industry can do,” says Urbanek. “It demonstrates that given the right drive from ownershi...
2021-07-1333 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Charging Ahead with EVs: From Restaurant ‘Plug-ins’ to Powering our HomesAll signs point to an exponentially increasing number of electric vehicles on U.S. roads in the coming years. What this monumental automotive revolution will look like and the changes it will bring — from roadside restaurant charging stations to EV-provided emergency back-up power for homes — are discussed in this podcast featuring Keith Vandenbussche, Automotive R&D Market Leader for IMEG. “Some automotive manufacturers are projecting 100 percent EV production within 10 years,” says Vandenbussche, adding that some forecasts call for 1 million new EVs on the road this year alone. “In addition to solving the R&D and manufacturing challenges this will bring, on...
2021-06-1626 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Back to the Office, Part 2: Crisis Management and Taming the Lizard BrainThe role of crisis management in helping employees feel safe and secure is examined in part two of an IMEG podcast based on the executive guide, “Back to the Office: Key Steps for Safeguarding Health, Well-being and Continuity.” This episode features Ryan Searles, a security, threat assessment, and emergency preparedness expert — and who, in a former life, earned two Purple Hearts while in special operations and chased pirates in the Indian Ocean. Ryan draws on his vast security experience in the private sector to explain how organizations can help employees be prepared for and recover from crisis situations — from COVID-19...
2021-06-0331 minThe Future. Built Smarter.Back to the Office, Part 1: Helping Employees Feel SafeHelping employees feel safe and secure as they return to the workplace is discussed in part one of a two-part IMEG podcast based on the recent executive guide, “Back to the Office: Key Steps for Safeguarding Health, Well-being and Continuity.” Part 1 features guest Charles LeBlanc, an IMEG security expert and a co-author of the guide. Charles, who is also an electrical engineer, looks at security not only from the technical side but also from the behavioral side and how each perspective affects the other. “People are feeling a lot of discomfort right now in regard to returning to work,” he says...
2021-05-2130 min