Episode 72. How to Ensure That US Infrastructure Remains Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts.

Bernie Fette (00:16):
Hey everyone. Welcome to Thinking Transportation — conversations about how we get ourselves and the stuff we need from one place to another. I’m Bernie Fette with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. In the transportation sector, we talk a lot about infrastructure. Roads, and bridges basically. But in the broader application, infrastructure is much more than that. It’s the widely diverse set of physical systems that enable something to function, whether that something is as small as a single building or as big as an entire nation. The infrastructure of this nation has been getting a lot more attention in recent years, including the establishment of the Center for Infrastructure Renewal. At the CIR, multiple members of the Texas A&M University System work together to improve the durability and efficiency of those interconnected systems that America runs upon. We’re visiting today with Edith Arambula Mercado, the deputy director of the CIR, to get a clearer picture of the future that she and her colleagues envision. Welcome back, Edith. Thanks for making time to talk to us.

Edith Arambula Mercado (01:34):
Thank you, Bernie. Appreciate the opportunity.

Bernie Fette (01:37):
And also belated congratulations to you on your appointment as Deputy Director of the Center for Infrastructure Renewal.

Edith Arambula Mercado (01:45):
Thank you so much.

Bernie Fette (01:48):
Okay. So our country has had an infrastructure network — roads, waterlines, electricity transmission and more for a very long time. But the Center for Infrastructure Renewal has been around for only several years, less than a decade. Why do we need the CIR now?

Edith Arambula Mercado (02:10):
That’s a very good question. I actually went and looked up the vision for the Center for Infrastructure Renewal or CIR and it reads, they wanna be a national leader in the development of transformative infrastructure solutions for Texas, the nation and global partners. So in other words, this is an organized effort to create methods and to develop technologies that can provide solutions to those infrastructure challenges. As you said, the need for infrastructure and development have always been there, and nowadays the need for infrastructure maintenance and renewal is even more critical. And the CIR is a way of achieving those goals by synergizing researchers, bringing them together, not only researchers, but also faculty members from multiple A&M System institutions. So if you wanna think of it as power in numbers, you bring this group of researchers and faculty together and then you can strengthen your approach to these challenges.

Bernie Fette (03:12):
So we’ve needed it for a while, but is it just that that need has been really emphasized or amplified in recent years with the condition of our infrastructure?

Edith Arambula Mercado (03:23):
I think so. I think, uh, the Texas Legislature and the A&M System had this idea of bringing people together of being leaders. It’s not that we were not before, it’s just that we wanted to group things together and create a bigger effort or a more concerted effort.

Bernie Fette (03:47):
Right. Okay. I was reading some background information to prepare for our conversation today, and I learned that the US federal government’s very first infrastructure project was not a road or a pipeline. It was the Cape Henry Lighthouse built on the coast of Virginia in 1789. Can you talk a little about how the whole picture of infrastructure in America has evolved or has changed since that time? Maybe give us just a little historical perspective.

Edith Arambula Mercado (04:19):
Yes. I believe as the nation has grown, the need for infrastructure development has grown with it. Initially, like you said, it could have started with some lighthouse, right? And maybe it was focused more on roads and canals, things to connect the vast territory from point A to point B and be able to move goods and people around. But as a nation has evolved, the infrastructure needs have evolved with it. So now it’s not only roads, canals, or railways, but also the electric grid, maybe telecommunications, water supply, sanitation, ports, airports. So the economic development of the nation and the growth of its infrastructure go hand in hand. So transportation, power, water among others are all public goods and needed to ensure that the basic needs of all citizens are being met. Moreover, nowadays, we have added challenges, right? We have a changing climate conditions which create the need for resiliency against drought, floods, fires, extreme heat, you name it. There’s a lot of things out there, natural disasters. So all those factors have changed. What are the needs for infrastructure as a nation?

Bernie Fette (05:33):
Mm-Hmm, <affirmative>. And if we look to more recent history, we have the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, congressional legislation, a historic level of investment at $1.2 trillion to pay for rebuilding roads, bridges, and a whole lot more. How does that legislation, that policy agenda, how does it influence the work of the CIR right now, specifically in the transportation sector?

Edith Arambula Mercado (06:02):
It’s just by understanding that these legislation has been the largest investment in infrastructure in maybe more than one century. And there is a direct impact from it because of federal spending on all these infrastructure initiatives. Not only transportation, but many others. The federal funding flows through grants to state and local governments, and then it’s applied to improve safety, maybe the conditions of roads and bridges, increased transit capacity, advance EV initiatives such as charging infrastructure and many other things. And I believe this is good news. It means that the federal government recognizes the importance of infrastructure for the well being of the economy and the quality of life of its citizens, and is willing to invest in these various strategies.

Bernie Fette (06:52):
Sounds like it’s no coincidence that the investment comes along at this time, because you were just talking earlier about how the need for infrastructure maintenance has, has really intensified.

Edith Arambula Mercado (07:04):
That is correct. As you know, while infrastructure is aging, maybe when you’re talking about the first infrastructure project back in 1789, well <laugh>, we are many years away from that moment, right? Right. So aging is a big challenge. Uh, maintaining or preserving the level of condition or service of existing infrastructure, as well as expanding the infrastructure, right? Right. So we, we need maintenance reconstruction and that strains available resources that can be used for this purpose. Demand is also a big challenge, right? Right. That being on roads or on electric grid as demand increases that capacity to strain and issues arise such as congestion or failures in the case of the electric grid. So, um, yes, there, there are <laugh> things that need to be addressed, and this funding will be important to address those challenges.

Bernie Fette (08:00):
Right. I’m glad that you mentioned the issue of aging because any discussion about American infrastructure invariably is going to touch on the issue of aging. Roads, water systems and more were built decades ago, many decades ago. And we can say that they were built to last, but they were not built to last forever. What else would you put on the list of challenges?

Edith Arambula Mercado (08:30):
Well, I think workforce training, it’s a big challenge for infrastructure right now.

Bernie Fette (08:35):
Workforce training?

Edith Arambula Mercado (08:37):
Yes, workforce training. We need the new generation of skilled technicians and engineers be able to understand the challenges at hand and be able to address them. That being aging, how do we serve the level of condition or service of that existing infrastructure, or how do we expand that infrastructure so that we can meet demand, like we were discussing just earlier. So the workforce training, I think it’s a big challenge right now for infrastructure as a whole.

Bernie Fette (09:07):
We’ve been talking about mostly so far about the transportation sector of our national infrastructure, but transportation’s not the only concern of the CIR, isn’t that right?

Edith Arambula Mercado (09:20):
Not only transportation. That is correct. There are other areas.

Bernie Fette (09:23):
Okay. Can you briefly touch on the other infrastructure pieces that the CIR researchers are focused on? What’s on the front burner right now with some of those other sectors?

Edith Arambula Mercado (09:34):
Yes. There are several areas that come to mind, maybe three or four that I would like to highlight. One is the Smart Grid Center. It’s a lab that provides visualization of that electric grid, and more importantly, training opportunities on power control centers for technicians and young professionals are working for electric companies. Another area is corrosions and material reliability. This is important because we wanna preserve and extend the integrity of multiple type of structures are, you know, made of metal and that are placed in the environment, that being buildings or pipelines or offshore platforms. And that lab takes care of that corrosion prevention. Another important lab that maybe doesn’t come to mind automatically is a Hyper Velocity Impact Lab.

Bernie Fette (10:27):
Could you say that again? Hyper velocity.

Edith Arambula Mercado (10:30):
Hyper Velocity Impact Lab, they are unique. They have a very large two stage light cast gun that is capable of launching projectiles at a very high speed. And what they do is they test an array of high strain rate materials and in their ability to mitigate these hypervelocity impacts. And this has direct applications on military aspects as well as space technology. One other aspect of CIR is the 3D printing, and also has a vast array of applications, not only in transportation, maybe health, but also as this new frontier of space exploration comes into the forefront.

Bernie Fette (11:17):
So that’s particularly interesting because we’ve heard about 3D printing a lot in recent years. I’m not sure that any of us who are not in your world would think of infrastructure as an application for 3D printing. Can you talk a little more about how that works?

Edith Arambula Mercado (11:35):
Yes, for sure. There are a lot of initiatives right now. 3D printing, for example, concrete is being 3D printed. Houses are being built through 3D printing. So it has a direct impact in the built environment. Maybe not roads per se, but things are related to infrastructure that will help deal with some of these challenges. Maybe as you recover from a natural disaster, how do you bring back housing, for example, or things of this nature.

Bernie Fette (12:07):
Could you also talk a little about, at least I believe that the infrastructure network for our country also includes, you mentioned the power grid earlier and also the access to broadband, which I know has been a growing concern, both at the federal and the state level. Could you talk a little about the power grid and broadband access in the context of what the CIR does?

Edith Arambula Mercado (12:31):
Well, as I mentioned, we have that Smart Grid Center. This is just a way of visualizing and sort of training folks on how to better manage resources and prevent those outages that sometimes are common when demand increases, either through extreme heat or extreme cold events. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and the broadband. I think it’s also important as more folks are tied into the internet and they need reliable access. It will be crucial for them to have that infrastructure available.

Bernie Fette (13:10):
So with the challenges that you’ve touched upon with those challenges in mind, and apart from what you’re doing right now, let’s look at what’s next for the CIR. If a research sponsor wrote a really big check and handed it to you today to fund whatever you thought was high on your list, where do you think you’d like to focus your attention, both near-term and longer-term?

Edith Arambula Mercado (13:34):
Well, I think new things are coming is artificial intelligence. And tied to that, maybe automation and robotics and artificial intelligence may sound like a hype word, I do believe is here to stay. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And we need to understand it and harness its power to our advantage. We need to gather adequate data so we can generate those training models for these computers that can be used maybe in remote sensing or maybe in autonomous systems or simulations, or how do we test noble materials? And I believe these are the next topics on the infrastructure agenda. And if I had a big check, I may be devoting some dollars in that area. Mm-Hmm.

Bernie Fette (14:19):
<affirmative> Here’s where I would invite you to, let’s call it your elevator speech. If there was just one or two things that you would hope that listeners would take from our conversation concerning our nation’s infrastructure and the work that you and your colleagues at the CIR are doing, what would that thing be? What would that one takeaway be? And the trick here is that your elevator ride is only about a minute long.

Edith Arambula Mercado (14:46):
<laugh>. Well, infrastructure is crucial to our economy and to our quality of life. So we need to develop tools and we need to apply technologies that would allow us to understand challenges and generate solutions to effectively solve those issues, while also considering sustainability in the sense of preserving natural resources. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and resiliency in the sense of adapting to the changing climate. And that’s gonna give us our best shot at having a better future.

Bernie Fette (15:18):
Last question, and I asked you this a couple of years ago, whenever you were a guest the first time on our show, what is it that motivates you to show up to work every day? So especially with this new role that you’re in, as deputy director of the CIR, has your motivation changed at all? What lights the fire for you these days?

Edith Arambula Mercado (15:39):
I think the motivation has maybe morphed, not changed. It is just that I see now a lot more areas that can be explored, if I can put it in different words. First, I was in a smaller universe and now I’m in a larger universe and I get to hear from all these researchers on things they’re doing, how they’re applying different technologies. And it’s very exciting for me because I’m a researcher at heart. So everything that people are innovative and wanna improve life or solve a certain problem, it’s just very exciting for me.

Bernie Fette (16:18):
Edith Arambula Mercado, the deputy director of the Center for Infrastructure Renewal at the Texas a and m University System. Thank you so much, Edith, for making time to visit with us.

Edith Arambula Mercado (16:30):
Thank you.

Bernie Fette (16:33):
More than ever before, we rely upon physical systems to provide public goods and services to meet the basic needs of society. Those systems face persistent challenges. Climate conditions conspire with physical aging to threaten infrastructure resilience. Maintenance needs become more complex, requiring a shifting emphasis in workforce training. Funding constraints make these and other dilemmas all the more daunting. And the search for research-based solutions all the more urgent. Thanks for listening. Please take just a minute to give us a review, subscribe and share this episode, and please join us again next time for a conversation about getting ourselves and the stuff we need from point A to point B. Thinking Transportation is a production of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a member of the Texas A&M University System. The show is edited and produced by Chris Pourteau. I’m your writer and host, Bernie Fette. Thanks again for joining us. I’ll see you next time.