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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p><a href="http://cive.uh.edu" target="_blank">Civil Engineering</a> students at the <a href="http://uh.edu" target="_blank">University of Houston</a>’s <a href="http://egr.uh.edu" target="_blank">Cullen College of Engineering</a> are about to get a firsthand lesson in the grim reality of the country’s crumbling infrastructure, thanks to <a href="http://danmcnichol.com" target="_blank">Dan McNichol</a>’s “<a href="http://direstates.com" target="_blank">Dire States</a>” lecture tour.<o:p></o:p></p><p>McNichol, an award-winning author and journalist as well as former White House appointee, is considered one of the nation’s top infrastructure experts. He will be visiting Dr. <a href="http://www.cive.uh.edu/faculty/herman" target="_blank">Reagan Herman</a>’s “Professional Practice in Civil Engineering” class (CIVE 4311) as a part of his “Dire States” tour, in which he travels the country in a 1949 Hudson automobile as a visual demonstration of just how “old, rusty, and energy-defunct” our country’s infrastructure is. According to McNichol’s website, the Hudson was built the same year as many of what he calls “our most structurally deficient bridges.”<o:p></o:p></p><p>To learn more about McNichol’s upcoming visit to the UH Cullen College of Engineering, please visit: <a href="http://www.egr.uh.edu/news/201401/dire-states-tour-makes-stop-uh">http://www.egr.uh.edu/news/201401/dire-states-tour-makes-stop-uh</a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p><b>Dan McNichol will present his Dire States lecture to Herman’s class, as well as any interested students, faculty and professionals, on Thursday, January 23 at 11:30 a.m. in W122, Engineering Building 2. More information can be found <a href="http://www.egr.uh.edu/events/2014/civil-engineering-guest-speaker-dan-mcnichol-spark-debate-ailing-us-infrastructure" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>