Calling All Designers, Engineers

On the heels of the US Congress passing the American Rescue Plan, President Biden this week announced The American Jobs Plan, an ambitious plan to reinvigorate the US economy.

According to the White House, the US ranks 13th in the overall quality of its infrastructure, and continues to fall behind competitors in terms of research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. Within this plan, the President is asking Congress to invest upwards of $621-billion alone to rebuild the country’s transportation infrastructure, from highways and bridges to airports and train systems.

The plan also asks for additional investment in R&D and future technology, as well as funds to retool and revitalize American manufacturers and small businesses; upgrade the US drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems; and more. These projects have the potential to create massive opportunity for the CAD industry. This investment combined with the drive for innovation across so many industries will create work for designers and engineers at all levels. It will push the limits of what we can accomplish, making digitization and automation even more important. From designing from the ground up, to using digital twin technology to make tough decisions on what needs to be fixed first, to reimagining design and production, CAD will be at the forefront.

We welcome the investment in the US, especially after so many have lost their jobs during this pandemic. We must build our future together, and CAD will continue to grow in its importance and level of integration within our jobs. Cadalyst will be here as always helping you keep abreast of, and understand, the CAD tools available to you.

To read more about The American Jobs Plan, visit the White House web site. 

I also wanted to take this chance to reintroduce myself as I have returned to Cadalyst as managing editor. You may remember me from almost 30 years of being on Cadalyst's masthead off and on — the more things change, the more they stay the same! 

I'm thrilled to be back working at Cadalyst—with our authors who keep learning about current technology and writing to inform and inspire; with CAD software and hardware companies that strive to bring the best products to the fore; and, most of all pleased to be back working for our readers, the true experts with their feet in the trenches and their design ideas building our world.  

Feel free to drop me a line to offer up your thoughts and suggestions of what we should cover next at editors@cadalyst.com.