Dear US Newnham Alumnae, I firstly want to say thank you for providing me with this incredible opportunity to spend my summer in the US. I am in the midst of a PhD addressing how responsible bridge construction and management can improve the lives of people around the world. Asset owners require better monitoring systems than currently exist, and further exploration within this field is essential. This trip to the US has given me some incredible opportunities to understand advances in this field, new methods being deployed in the US as well as exchange ideas and build collaborations for the remainder of my PhD research. As a bit of background about my research: it examines advances in satellite measurement technologies and understand their relevance, utilisation, and limitations to bridge and infrastructure monitoring. These data sets can be used in comparison with traditional measurement techniques from sensors installed on bridges. They can also be complemented with traditional measurement techniques to provide a more effective strategy for interpreting data to provide useful information and value to asset owners. New York City, NY I landed in New York JFK airport on a warm summer evening and bundled myself into the classic NYC big yellow cab. On arrival, I was warmly met at the start of my journey by Newnham alumna Margaret Campbell, who kindly hosted me during my time in New York. My hosts had already clipped out an interesting article about the Squibb Park Bridge, a $4.1 million footbridge that connects Brooklyn Heights and Brooklyn Bridge Park, which has been closed to the public since August 2014. Squibb Park Bridge is a 400-foot wooden pedestrian which opened in 2013 but closed just a year later when its gentle bouncing movements became too pronounced, and the bridge began to sway and tilt. A stroll down the road from Margaret’s house gave me easy access to a site visit, and we spent evenings chatting about this bridge and closely following the drama of US election campaigns unfold! The big apple merits a visit as a city – full of people, art, culture, business and life. For a bridge engineer like myself, it’s extra special. The skyline is defined by iconic bridges and my walk into Manhattan included a stroll over the great Brooklyn Bridge. Apart from the aesthetic beauty of this bridge, it is notable because of the work of Emily Roebling – a pioneer female in engineering. She was responsible for the successful delivery of the Brooklyn Bridge and is thought to be the first woman field engineer. Her husband was chief engineer on the project (a role which he took over from his father). However, after her husband fell ill, Emily took over – passing information from her husband to the builders and learning as she went along. Emily carried out all chief engineer responsibilities for over 10 years, not just being an engineer, but also a pupil, secretary, messenger, project manager and construction supervisor. One of my intentions for visiting New York was to visit the construction site of the new Tappan Zee bridge. Sadly, there was a crane collapse during the time of my visit which made a visit impossible – but further fuels the argument that improved monitoring and understanding of structures is vital, even temporary ones in construction! The city still provided a number of other great bridges to explore. A personal favourite is the High Line which restored disused rail bridges and turned them into gardens and recreational space, taking the public above the chaos of the road network. It is a great example of reuse rather than knocking down and throwing away. We in the UK are looking at a very similar proposal for a disused Coal Line in Peckham, London, which I went to visit on my return. Rutgers University - New Brunswick, NJ I was able to visit the world's first and only accelerated testing facility for full-scale bridge decks and superstructures at Rutgers University. Known as the BEAST (Bridge Evaluation and Accelerated Structural Testing Laboratory), this testing facility allows researchers to look at materials currently in use and inform strategies for building and maintaining bridges. I was able to discuss with staff at Rutgers how the facility operated, as well as what did and did not work (this being the first facility of its kind in the world) with a view of understanding how we could bridge such facilities to other locations in the future, perhaps to somewhere like the UK. I was also given an insight into other pieces of innovative technology such as road and bridge deck inspection machines, and learned about the portal the team at Rutgers developed to manage the 600 000 plus ageing US bridge stock for the Federal Highways Administration. I was also given my own log in to analyse and interrogate this collection. I think the most exciting part of this visit to Rutgers was actually walking inside the BEAST itself, and being allowed to press the buttons and operate it! Manchester, NH Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and media industries. Meeting those involved in the strategic decisions behind the company gives me some idea on how the data sets I analyse can be combined with other data sets to provide a holistic view of cities and their assets, and leverage value out of combined data sets for optimisation. Boston, MA In Boston I was able to speak with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, a university-wide academic research centre in disasters. As part of my work involves predicting the impending failure of bridges and transport assets, it has been interesting to understand the potential applications on a global level, and in a humanitarian context. I was asked to review some of the work they are doing, and am still in contact to collaborate on research going forward. Washington, DC One of the great things about the Newnham Alumna network is that they are a group of friendly faces to meet along the way. They are also a source of great contacts and opportunities. Through a conversation initiated by Margaret Campbell, I was very fortunate to get a meeting with the Head of Structures for the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Department for Transport, the Department for Homeland Security and the US Committee on the Marine Transportation System who are all directly involved in the management of major infrastructure assets, as well as dealing with disasters and failures of such assets. We discussed risk and resilience of major cities, and the potential value of satellite monitoring systems to aid cities in managing their infrastructure. The effects of climate change have become evident in recent times, with an increase in severe weather effects such as flooding. Events such as flooding not only cause closures to transport networks in the short term, but have a wearing effect that can attack structures without much visible evidence. In some cases this can lead to a sudden and unpredicted collapse. Through this exchange we agreed to share information and data about a number of assets to use as case studies for my PhD work, and I will continue to develop my research in communication with the people I met to ensure that the work I do can result in tangible value for society, both in the UK and the US. It was great to also spend some social time Washington with alumna Heather Wolfe and Elizabeth Cropper. Washington is full of buildings for curious minds - I enjoyed the galleries, museums, and historical sites that fill the city - but there is no better way to get a sense of a city than through meeting people and hearing stories. It was fascinating to catch up and exchanging thoughts and ideas. California As my PhD involves the processing and interpretation of satellite radar waves, I spent my last week over in California, the home of institutions such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who are world leaders in processing this kind of data. Over the summer I was able to get a better understanding of various types of analysis techniques and I am now using these on real data sets for various bridges and other assets in the UK. This is with a view to seeing whether we can use these types of measurements from satellites to detect changes that could be a sign of impending failure. Of course, I spent my spare time visiting some classic bridges on the way, an even ended up teaching a small school group I met outside the Golden Gate Bridge about bridges! Throughout the trip I was able to connect with others from the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. In addition to some interesting conversations, I have been able to get some support and potential collaborations in data analytics, which will be useful in the latter stages of my research. This trip has been a great opportunity for my doctoral research. I have had a unique chance to engage with the leading professionals in my field of transport infrastructure, and build relationships to collaborate going forward - including an exchange of ideas and data for case studies. It was also wonderful to connect with alumna and hear each of their fascinating stories and career paths. I really hope that I can catch up with them and others in the US again some time. For anyone interested in seeing how this work progresses, and getting updates on what satellites can actually do for infrastructure, please do get in touch (ss683) or I post updates on Twitter @sakthys.