l to r Sandy Rosenthal and HJ Bosworth Jr, P.E.
At the 18th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures in New Orleans, Levees.org held a press conference to kick off a national campaign.
“Engineering schools in the U.S. are not systematically providing instruction to their students about engineering failures and the lessons they teach,” said H.J. Bosworth Jr., P.E., civil engineer and senior member of Levees.org. “That needs to change.”
At the press conference, held at the breach site of the London Avenue Canal in New Orleans, Levees.org detailed its plan.
“We need to create a world where, if engineering schools do not provide instruction on engineering failures then the schools won’t be accredited,” said founder Sandy Rosenthal.
Levees.org revealed a growing list of experts and engineers in support and a list of organizations in support.
The group also announced a manifesto on RallyStarter.org where any citizen can add their name in support.
The site of a major breach event was selected for the press conference because it represents the worst engineering disaster in U.S. history, according to Ray Seed, P.E. co-author of the National Science Foundation-sponsored investigative report of the levee breaches.
