Problem-solving, technology, and public service all combine when you work as an engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Dr. Michael Sterling, PhD, is a lead water resource engineer at the US Army Corps of Engineers, Southwestern Division, and he oversees missions related to water supply, flood prevention, hydroelectric power, and more issues affecting large swaths of the USA. Dr. Sterling also discusses how he came to USACE from the fields of chemical, civil, and environmental engineering, and how to help young people get on a similar path. Related to this episode: • US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE): https://www.usace.army.mil/ • USACE Southwest Division (SWD): https://www.swd.usace.army.mil/ • Geographic Information Systems (GIS): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system • Intel International Science Fair (ISEF): https://student.societyforscience.org/intel-isef • ROTC = Reserve Officer Training Corps: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_Officers%27_Training_Corps • Society of American Military Engineers (SAME): https://www.same.org/ • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): https://www.asce.org/ • 2015 Black Engineer of the Year Awards Gala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yda663HthKw Subscribe and find more podcast information at: http://www.k12engineering.net. Support Pios Labs with regular donations on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pioslabs, or send one-time contributions by buying us coffee: https://ko-fi.com/pioslabs. Thanks to our donors and listeners for making the show possible. The K12 Engineering Education Podcast is a production of Pios Labs: http://www.pioslabs.com.