FORTS TO FREEWAYS, PORTAGES TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Canadian Civil Engineering and International Technology Transfer

摘要

Civil Engineering is an International Profession. It is a collaborative profession; we seldom keep secrets from each other and we learn from the experiences of our colleagues around the world. In the 150 years since the establishment of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the profession has benefited from the international interchange of technology and with the common border between the United States and Canada and the generally similar development needs, the interchange of technological information and of engineers between the two countries has been particularly significant. The result is that the history of Civil Engineering in both countries has many commonalities in the development of technology and in the sharing of experience and knowledge between many of the best-known Civil Engineers in the history of both countries. A study of the careers of several of these engineers provides a picture of how information and technology is transferred between countries. Sometimes, however, it has been the competing national interests of each country that has spurred the initiation of a particular project and forced a learning experience that has been of benefit in developing technological expertise.