Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar
Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar (CEPDS)
Thursday, November 19, 2026 | Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Attendee Registration Link: https://cvent.me/lvqGmZ
Exhibitor Registration Link: https://cvent.me/NOarly
CONFERENCE PROGRAM || SPEAKER BIOS
Join civil engineering professionals and students from across Indiana and beyond for the 2026 Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar (CEPDS), hosted at Purdue University. This annual conference attracts over 600 attendees, including engineers, project managers, local and state agency representatives, and future civil engineers for a full day of professional development focused on the latest industry trends, research, and innovations in the field.
CEPDS features multiple technical tracks covering key topics to elevate your career, knowledge, and expertise. Historic content has featured presentations on the topics of Bridges, Transportation Systems and Infrastructure, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Design, Water Resources, Vertical Structures, and more. With presentations from industry leaders and academic experts, the seminar offers valuable insights relevant to both public- and private-sector professionals working to advance infrastructure. Attendees are eligible to receive Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for participating in the seminar’s technical sessions and will be given the opportunity to network with their peers fostering continued collaboration and long-term connection.
Opening Keynote
The Evolution and Future of Highway Safety: Driving Universal Engineering Transformation
Rick O. Drumm, P.E.
Executive Summary
Elevating the Perspective of Innovation in Engineering
As infrastructure demands shift, modern traffic safety engineering requires a profound move from reactive fixes to human-centric, proactive design. Gone is the relatively easy-going, tourist-focused realm of Route 66. The historic significance of its connection cannot be questioned; however traffic safety has evolved immensely, transitioning from localized damage control (“Where are the most crashes?”) to systemic, predictive modeling using the Highway Safety Manual and the Safe System Approach. This keynote addresses how traffic safety professionals are leading this attitude shift by designing for real-world human behavior and the critical limits of human tolerance.
The Value: Professional Development for Hoosier Engineers
Tailored specifically for the Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar at Purdue University, this session bridges the gap between specialized traffic safety and general engineering practice. By analyzing the structural evolution of highway safety, along with future direction, attendees will discover universal principles of growth, systemic data analysis, and proactive risk management. Participants will gain a transferable perspective to apply these transformative concepts to their own diverse engineering disciplines across Indiana, modernizing their approach to problem-solving and improving the future of Indiana engineering.
Core Audience Takeaways
- Predictive and Proactive vs. Reactive Action: Shifting from historical problem-solving to systemic, data-driven foresight in project development.
- The Safe System Approach: How to design resilient infrastructure that proactively accounts for human error and physical tolerance limits.
- The Mindset for Transformation: Improve the flexibility of attendees as they learn lessons from this arc for the future of all engineering, including:
- Acknowledge (against our nature) that engineering is an evolving profession.
- It may take several iterations to continue to improve.
- We can learn from others. Humility is a virtue.
Lunch Keynote
ROSSANA G. D’ANTONIO, PE, GE, ENV SP, F.ASCE
ASCE President-Elect
Rossana D’Antonio is an Executive Director with NV5, a global engineering consulting firm. Prior to that she served as Deputy Director for Los Angeles County Public Works providing executive leadership for municipal services and emergency management.
D’Antonio has extensive knowledge of how complex systems work and expertise on how deficient infrastructure can result in disasters. She has advocated for infrastructure investments including the Federal Aviation Authority Reauthorization as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers contingency. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Fresno State and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Rossana holds dual registrations in the State of California in Civil and Geotechnical Engineering. She is also credentialed as an Envision Sustainability Professional with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, providing a globally recognized approach to the design of sustainable infrastructure.
In 2020, D’Antonio was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists where she currently works to ensure protection of the public and the environment with competent and ethical professional services. In 2024, she was appointed to the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council’s Disaster Response and Recovery Committee. D’Antonio is a Fellow with ASCE and is the ASCE 2028 President.
D’Antonio is the author of “26 Seconds: Grief and Blame in the Aftermath of Losing My Brother in a Plane Crash” which was published in May 2025. For more information, check out her website https://rossanadantonio.com/
