Critical Infrastructure—time running out
 
The fact is the shelf life has expired on Canadian infrastructure. Paul Kovacs, executive director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss (London, Ontario) told the Royal Canadian Geological Society and the National Round Table on the Economy last month that “We have a real crisis. Some 60 percent of our infrastructure is more than 40 years old. It wasn’t built for today’s weather or for tomorrow’s weather. Climate change is adding to the challenge.”
Expanding flood plains, the rapid thaw of permafrost, and higher wind velocities—all tied to global warming—will put increasing stresses on a variety of infrastructure. Why? Because climate change amplifies the effects of corrosion, and no part of North America is more affected by climate change than Canada.
Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining and upgrading our existing infrastructure is estimated at $123.4 billion. (And I’m not even counting the projected cost of necessary new infrastructure—another $115.2 billion). We’re not keeping up with the need, and the next bridge that gives way or the next dam that fails may be just down the road.
McGill University Professor Saeed Mirza in Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada’s Municipal Infrastructure, a report published by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, traces the crisis to a policy of “design, build and neglect.”
Well, you and I know that one of the key areas of neglect is the preparation of the next generation of trained corrosion engineers. Nearly half of the corrosion engineers currently on the job are over 50. Some 44% of the corrosion workforce plans to retire within the next 10 years.
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Helping to educate the next generation of
corrosion engineers and technicians is
NACE Foundation of Canada’s highest priority. |
The Next Generation
Where will the next generation of corrosion professionals come from? Can we have them on the job in time to reverse decades of neglect? That’s where NACE Foundation of Canada comes in.
We make travel funds available for university students to attend NACE conferences. We support awards for student presentations on corrosion science at Northern Area conferences. In 2005, members of the NACE Foundation of Canada—volunteer instructors—taught a corrosion course at Carleton University in Ottawa. We are about to sign an agreement with the University of Calgary to establish a three-year NACE Foundation of Canada lectureship. Our lectureship will enable the university to hire an instructor to teach a course on corrosion for graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a degree in engineering. We anticipate supporting corrosion instruction at other colleges and universities, so that the next generation of engineers will be thoroughly versed in the principles of corrosion science. We also plan to initiate a Research Award for innovative technical studies focused on reducing the costs of corrosion.
NACE Foundation of Canada is number one in inspiring students at all levels to meet the challenges of the infrastructure crisis in an era of global warming. We are the charitable action arm of the industry. No one does what we do. But we can’t do it alone. We need every corrosion professional, every engineer, teacher, contractor, and business executive concerned about the future of corrosion science and engineering, and the future of our country, to stand with NACE Foundation of Canada.
Will YOU stand up for the protection of Canada’s infrastructure?
GIVE NOW. We appreciate whatever amount you can give because the need is great.
Other Fronts –Training Camps from Alberta to the Maritimes
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| Young learners explore the horizons of corrosion science. |
Working with professional educators, NACE Foundation has developed a series of storybook adventures to introduce the concept of corrosion to children ages 9-15, while emphasizing the importance of science and technology in efforts to save landmarks (the Statue of Liberty) and structures (bridges) that children can easily recognize. Our colorful superheroes, Inspector Protector and the Colossal Corrosion Fighters, battle the forces of corrosion in this action-packed, illustrated adventure series, while entertaining children, capturing their imagination, and meeting science curriculum requirements.
At teachers’ conferences in Alberta and in week-long teachers’ workshops in Ontario, NACE Foundation of Canada has teamed with ASM to instruct math, science, chemistry, and technology teachers in a variety of hands-on, practical learning experiments which they can incorporate in classroom curriculums. Attendees receive stylish laboratory kits they can bring to their classrooms. Each kit contains corrosion experiments, a DVD on corrosion, and an illustrated Inspector Protector adventure.
We plan to expand these teacher-training camps throughout Canada, from Vancouver to the Maritime Provinces, and to make them annual events. Our goal is to raise $70,000 to support these efforts in 2011.
We also have a goal of raising $75,000 for scholarships and travel grants in 2011.
Your Support Joined with Others
Fifteen hundred corrosion professionals and executives supported NACE Foundation of Canada last year. Every member of the NACE Foundation of Canada board of directors pledges to use your gift to expand the corrosion workforce and promote the cause—and science—of infrastructure protection among teachers and students.
Thank you for reading this important letter and for helping students at all educational levels get started on a rewarding career in our industry.
Sincerely,
R. Winston Revie
President
PS The corrosion crisis is accelerating with each passing day, particularly in our northern communities. Won’t you join your industry peers today by increasing your contribution to help us provide funding for our programs? Please help us renew our workforce in accordance with the needs of today and tomorrow.
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