Exactly 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina slammed New Orleans leaving 1,800 people dead, Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds.

I’m feeling pretty somber as I sit here writing this month’s column. Latest reports indicate 152 people remain unaccounted for following the partial collapse of a 12-story residential building in Surfside, Florida, on June 24. 

School may be out for the summer, but for the facilities themselves, the work is just beginning. 

Climate change. Global warming. These continue to be “controversial” terms in today’s world. 

Though I don’t claim this often, I am, in fact, part of the millennial generation. 

As I sit writing this column, it has been almost exactly one year since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and states started implementing lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. 

Remember a time when people used to travel mask-less and carefree? It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic swept around the world, changing life as we knew it. 

Happy New Year! I bet all of you are as thrilled as I am to put 2020 in the rearview mirror. 

Earlier this year, I wrote a column about plumbing and mechanical engineers playing an important role in natural disaster mitigation. 

You may (or may not) have noticed your October PM Engineer digital edition copy looking much different than previous issues.