WHITEPAPERS BY RORY LINEHAN
March 2025
The U.S. Is Falling Behind in the Global Infrastructure Race Can We Make a Comeback?
I recently joined a room full of energetic infrastructure professionals for the release of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for U.S. infrastructure. Released every four years, the report gives an overall grade for U.S. infrastructure, as well as a grade and comprehensive assessment across 18 major infrastructure categories.
The good news is that U.S. infrastructure received its highest ever overall grade: C. The 2025 grades range from a B in ports to Ds in stormwater and transit. This is an increase from the 2021 Report Card’s overall grade of C-, and 2017’s D+…
March 2025
Smart Heat: Digital twin helps college town move toward carbon neutrality. Are big cities next?
Ithaca is a picturesque town in upstate New York famous for its waterfalls and gorges, and the world-renowned Cornell University. The area has long been hailed as a beacon of progress. Cornell’s students and scientists, for example, helped discover that water once flowed on Mars, built the first fully functioning synthetic human ear, and learned from famed astronomer Carl Sagan.
Now, Ithaca and its 32,000 residents have big plans to extend their innovative legacy by leading in urban decarbonization. The city has decided to replace its fossil fuel-burning infrastructure, like boilers and stoves, with electric-powered heat pumps and induction cookers. The work is planned for all of the city’s 5,500 buildings, with the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030…