Where can you find a 3D-printed prosthetic hand, a floating concrete canoe and a self-driving car? These and a plethora of other exhibits greeted a group of Springfield, Illinois-area middle- and high-school students April 9 at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s annual Engineering Open House (EOH). Accompanied by Hanson employees and mentors from organizations including the Springfield Urban League and the Springfield chapter of Frontiers International, the students explored the diverse world of technology at the university’s Grainger College of Engineering.

Over the years, Hanson’s staff has included many family relationships — among them, parents and children, husbands and wives and siblings. With National Siblings Day falling on April 10, the time is right to spotlight several of our sibling pairs. How do they feel about working together? Where did they find their inspiration to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers? These strong family connections nurtured in childhood have flourished into productive professional relationships.

What would you do if your community came into extra money — gloriously unearmarked, full of promise for improvements, enhancements and growth?

For geographic information systems (GIS) specialist Josh Gray, using technology to solve simple or complex business or engineering challenges to help clients and colleagues drives his efforts on each project and is one of his favorite parts of his job

You’re standing at the front of a conference room with a PowerPoint presentation on a screen behind you and an audience in front of you. How do you feel? Calm and confident? Nervous but collected? Or a bundle of anxiety with shaking hands and a pounding heart? Did you consider at the outset that your career might require you to give presentations? Many young engineers don’t, but it’s important to be comfortable conducting an interview, pitching your firm for a new contract or speaking to a packed trade show audience about your experiences on a project. March 4 is World Engineering Day and National Speech and Debate Education Day, so it’s the ideal time to talk about the prevalence of public speaking in engineering — or any field that requires leadership and speaking abilities.

Last November, we said goodbye to and celebrated the life of one of our company’s former leaders, colleagues, mentors and friends, Leo “Lee” Dondanville. Lee dedicated his entire career to Hanson and led our firm through major growth during his tenure as president and CEO.

In a meeting a few years ago, a young engineer informed me that I had been selected to review a set of drawings, and she would send me the information in AutoCAD. I responded to her that I did not have AutoCAD on my computer; if I did, I would not know how to operate it, and that she would have to find another way to obtain my review, because I was from a generation that used crayons and big tablets. She looked at me inquisitively and asked, “Is that Android- or Windows-based?” I quickly responded, “Neither. It’s cellulose-based.” This resulted in an even more perplexed look. Clearly, we were not communicating.

Little did he know at the time, but a memorable trip to Alton, Illinois, following the Great Flood of 1993, would spark an interest in bridge building for then-6-year-old Jared Thoele.

Season’s greetings! It’s the time of year when we prepare to wrap up one year and look ahead with a renewed focus on health and wellness, opportunities to improve our communities and sustainable solutions that benefit us all.

A unique park in Jacksonville, Florida, provides a peaceful, commemorative haven for special groups of people, including a culture-rich community and U.S. military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).