The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States.

Its world headquarters is in Reston, Virginia.

Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

The ASCE designates national and international Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.

Monuments of the Millennium

The society canvassed its members in 1999 to identify the ten civil engineering achievements that had the greatest positive impact on life in the 20th century. They chose to recognize broad categories of achievements rather than individual projects:

• Airport design and development, as exemplified by the Kansai International Airport
• Dams, as exemplified by Hoover Dam
• The Interstate highway system
• Long-span bridges, as exemplified by the Golden Gate Bridge
• Rail transportation, as exemplified by the Eurotunnel rail system
• Sanitary landfills and solid waste disposal
• Skyscrapers, as exemplified by the Empire State Building
• Wastewater treatment, as exemplified by the Chicago wastewater system
• Water supply and distribution, as exemplified by the California State Water Project, the subject of California Water Wars
• Water transportation

World Wonders

Similarly, in an effort to recognize a contemporary equivalent to the heralded ancient Seven Wonders of the World, the ASCE has designated the following Seven Wonders of the Modern World [1] (http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/interesting_stuff/7wonders.html):

• The Empire State Building (New York, USA)
• The Itaipu Dam (Brazil and Paraguay)
• The CN Tower (Toronto, Canada)
• The Panama Canal (Panama)
• The Channel Tunnel (United Kingdom and France)
• The Delta Works, North Sea protection works (The Netherlands)
• The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, USA)

Other prominent candidates include:

• The World Trade Center (New York, United States)
• The Statue of Liberty (New York, USA)
• The Eiffel Tower (Paris, France)
• The Forth Rail Bridge, Scotland, UK
• The Kremlin and Red Square (Moscow, Russia)
• Mamayev Kurgan (Volgograd, Russia)
• The Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia)
• The Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

External link

• ASCE website (http://www.asce.org/)