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Luis R. Vasquez-Varela, M.ASCE

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Luis Vasquez-Varela, M.ASCE


My Content

1 to 18 of 18 total

RE: What is one piece of practical knowledge you wish you knew early in your career?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 07-14-2026 01:26 PM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
Hello to all, Never, never, never use topographic information, soil/rock studies, or any existing information for geotechnical (or any) design without checking the source, validity, and quality of such previous studies. Any defective information that you use in your designs and reports becomes your ...

RE: "I Promise This Storm Drain Photo Is Interesting"

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 06-30-2026 06:29 PM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
I share this bridge with you. It is located in Colombia (South America) over the Magdalena River. ------------------------------ Luis Vasquez-Varela M.ASCE Civil Engineer Manizales ------------------------------

RE: "I Promise This Storm Drain Photo Is Interesting"

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 06-30-2026 01:30 PM
Found In Library: Professional and Career Topics

RE: Seeking suggestions for professional development books/training

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 12-01-2025 01:22 PM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
Hello, Anna I suggest you review the U.S. Marine Corps' leadership principles. I love No. 5: "Set the example". Write them all by hand, think about them, and make the necessary changes for your environment. Who are your "marines", i.e., your teammates? How can you measure your progress? How can ...

RE: Drinking on the job

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 02-26-2023 07:32 PM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
You may consider some alternatives: Drink decaffeinated coffee. I do this. I think it tastes similar to regular coffee. A hot beverage in the middle of the morning and another one after lunch. Drink hot chocolate, but take it easy with the sugar. Whatever you do, stay away from energy ...

RE: How to Avoid Meeting Madness?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 02-08-2023 07:54 AM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
A helpful strategy to avoid "meeting madness" is evaluating whether the subject or problem is actually worthy of a meeting. Perhaps the leaders are trying to avoid taking a decision or face the consequences of such a decision based on the fact that it was "a collective decision". I believe it is ...

Job precautions in a changing economy

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 01-23-2023 10:01 AM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
The world economy responds to cycles that sooner or later impact our quality of life through its effects on the built environment or the loss of jobs. It is not the first time we have dealt with similar issues in our group. Still, it does not hurt to maintain a base of advice and recommendations for ...

RE: What about nuclear power?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 12-30-2022 12:28 PM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
Hi Alexander, There is a documentary on Netflix about TMI. https://www.netflix.com/co/title/81198239 Best regards, ------------------------------ Luis Vasquez-Varela Aff.M.ASCE Civil Engineer Manizales ------------------------------

RE: What's the one tool you can't live without when doing your day-to-day job?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 10-27-2022 09:43 AM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
My indispensable tool is a Moleskine Notebook with a square pattern and my Faber Castle mechanical pencil. I have to write and draw to understand the problem. Then I write a list of small tasks to achieve the primary goal. ------------------------------ Luis Vasquez-Varela Aff.M.ASCE Associate Professor. ...

RE: What Would You Be if You Weren't an Engineer?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 04-18-2022 04:38 PM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
Hi Christopher, Before university, I wanted to be a Physicist, but a piece of lousy career advice made me mistakenly believe that it was a profession with no future in my country. After graduating as a Civil Engineer, I have discovered, like many colleagues, that the Engineer is partly an applied ...

RE: New Grad Adjustments

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 03-19-2022 12:00 AM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
I agree with the strategies proposed by Christopher; however, not all engineering firms have procedures to incorporate the new personnel into the daily routine smoothly. I think we all agree that is the reason that our first job is not easy to forget both if it was a good or a bad experience. My first ...

RE: EXCITING TITLE!!...or something regular...?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 02-11-2022 07:55 AM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
I suggest keeping it honest. If you claim to have some abilities, for example, Python programming, there is a clear chance that at some point, that ability will be put to the test by your chief. It will be disastrous for your reputation if they find you lied in your CV. ------------------------------ ...

RE: Engineering Exam Styles

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 01-11-2022 11:35 AM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
Hi Daniel, Those are great questions. Allow me to present some possible answers. What types of tests prepare better engineers? This question is hard to answer because it depends on what defines a "better engineer." Do we prefer a savant-type engineer, as frequently shown in TV shows and movies ...

RE: Mac vs PC in Engineering

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 12-23-2021 08:14 PM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
Hello everyone, I work in Mac and Windows without major inconveniences, particularly in MS Office, except for some "advanced" characteristics in PowerPoint and some typos in the Spanish versions. I use macros and personalized functions for pavement design in Excel without any problems. Also, I can ...

RE: What's the one tool you can't live without when doing your day-to-day job?

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 12-09-2021 07:47 PM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
Dear Tung, I can't do anything without writing it down on paper first. I spent a lot of pencils and notebooks. Handwriting gives me a clear sense of what I have to do and what I expect to accomplish, even programming. That's my primary tool. I used to program in Visual Basic 6.0, but I couldn't ...

RE: Best Advice (from Professors)

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 07-22-2021 08:23 PM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
When studying different pavement design methods my teacher used to say, "There are no good or bad design methods, there must be good information about traffic, subgrade, and materials. That makes the difference". -------------------------------- Luis R. Vásquez-Varela. Aff. M. ASCE Head of the ...

RE: Software Options/Alternatives – focus on open-source

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 02-10-2021 08:30 AM
Found In Egroup: Professional and Career Topics \ view thread
Hi, Ari My first experience with GIS was with commercial software TransCAD. The edition back then (version 4.5, some 20 years ago) was not exactly "user-friendly" for me, probably because I did not completely understand the differences between CAD and GIS. I believe that is a common problem in early ...

RE: Accurate and Inaccurate Portrayals of Civil Engineers in Movies and TV Shows

Posted By Luis Vasquez-Varela 01-08-2021 08:38 PM
Found In Egroup: Career By Design \ view thread
I recommend a Colombian drama about a young civil engineer trapped in a bad business relationship with a drug lord in the 1980 Medellín. All the actors are amateur or "natural" performers. The Director, Victor Gaviria, is famous for the quality he can achieve with his directing approach. Here's ...