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Infrastructure Bill Becomes Law, Here is a Look Inside

08 Nov 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an over $1 trillion infrastructure package just before midnight on Friday, November 5, 2021. The bipartisan bill, which already passed the Senate in August, now moves on to the Executive branch for President Biden’s signature. While intraparty challenges among Democrats kept the bill from…

Lowcountry Flooding Challenges and Solutions

02 Nov 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts

The state of South Carolina is no stranger to extreme weather. South Carolina is especially vulnerable to flooding hazards with its subtropical climate, low-lying topography, severe thunderstorms, numerous rivers, and large coastal zone. As of 2020, the state had experienced six major flood-related disasters in five years, resulting in the…

Robert Sumwalt Joins Aii Board of Directors

29 Oct 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts, Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: November 1, 2021 Contact: John Cassibry, jcassibry@aii.org   WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 1, 2021) – Former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Robert Sumwalt, joins the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure (Aii) Board of Directors. “Robert will be a wonderful, and prestigious addition to…

6 Carbon Market Solutions… and Counting

25 Oct 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Climate, ESG, sustainability, resilience – these themes dominate the culture from boardrooms to academia and even confront us through our televisions and social media platforms. The most consistent thread of all these concepts is the emphasis to mitigate, remove, and reverse atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases….

Celebrating 7 Years Since Our Founding

21 Oct 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts, Press Releases

Today, the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure celebrates the seventh year since its founding. On October 21, 2014, Aii launched operations as an independent, non-partisan organization focused on researching America’s infrastructure deficiencies, creating awareness of these deficiencies, and finding solutions to critical public policy challenges.  In the seven years since,…

Aii’s Benjamin Dierker Speaks on Panel to Graduate Students

06 Oct 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Press Releases

Aii Director of Public Policy, Benjamin Dierker, recently spoke to graduate students at Texas A&M University alongside fellow alumni on the topic of research careers outside of academia. Sharing his experience and insights from the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, Mr. Dierker explained the nature of research in the think…

Technology Highlight: Dig of the Future

29 Sep 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

        This blog series Technology Highlight has explored many of the ways that investments in innovation lead to better outcomes for infrastructure and public safety. When technology advances, it often becomes cheaper, more widely available and accessible, and helps facilitate faster, safer, and greener projects. This is…

Technology Highlight: GPR for Drone Usage

24 Sep 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts

        This blog series Technology Highlight explores some of the ways that investments in innovation lead to better outcomes for infrastructure and public safety. When technology advances, it often becomes cheaper, more widely available and accessible, and helps facilitate faster, safer, and greener projects. Aii has looked…

Over 99.999% of all U.S. Hazardous Material is Transported Safely

21 Sep 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Massive oil spills, natural gas explosions, produced water leaks, and train derailments are environmental and human tragedies. These rare but terrible events grab headlines and linger in the public memory for years or even decades. The extent of these issues are often difficult to conceptualize – and that is part…

Technology Highlight: AI Applications for Damage Prevention

16 Sep 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts

      Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed the way companies update, monitor, and build infrastructure. In the damage prevention sector, innovations like 24-hour monitoring systems, gas leak detection technology, and improvements in safety gear have also made worksites and infrastructure projects safer. Often overlooked in the damage prevention field…

Staying Grounded in ESG Efforts

14 Sep 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

When businesses, corporations, or entire industrial sectors focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), there is a tendency to favor decarbonization and abstract commitments to environmental stewardship. Within the energy sector, emissions are critical to account for and mitigate, but perhaps more so are the leaks and spills of…

Technology Highlight: Artificial Intelligence

09 Sep 2021, Posted by John Cassibry in All Posts, Blog Posts

        This blog series Technology Highlight explores some of the ways that investments in innovation lead to better outcomes for infrastructure and public safety. When technology advances, it often becomes cheaper, more widely available and accessible, and helps facilitate faster, safer, and greener projects. This series has highlighted…

Carbon-neutral Gasoline Turns Renewable on its Head

08 Sep 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Carbon-free gasoline sounds like an oxymoron. Gasoline from refined petroleum remains one of the primary emissions sources across the world due to widespread utilization of diesel and gasoline-powered automobiles. Innovators in the energy sector have not only worked to reduce the harmful pollutants that come from burning gasoline, but now…

Technology Highlight: Methane Detection

03 Sep 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

      This blog series Technology Highlight explores some of the ways that investments in innovation lead to better outcomes for infrastructure and public safety. When technology advances, it often becomes cheaper, more widely available and accessible, and helps facilitate faster, safer, and greener projects. This series has highlighted many of…

Hydrogen Offers Another Energy Alternative

31 Aug 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Most Americans know hydrogen as being a key ingredient in water, H2O. Of the many chemical elements on the periodic table, hydrogen is the lightest element, while it’s also estimated to comprise up to 90 percent of the visible universe. With its simplicity and unfathomable abundance, might hydrogen be an overlooked…