Engineering What’s Next
Trusted guidance for today’s public works challenges—and what comes next.
August 30 – September 2, 2026
George R. Brown Convention Center | Houston
Visit LAN at Booth 755
PUBLIC WORKS IS CHANGING. WE’RE HELPING CLIENTS STAY AHEAD.
We stay at the forefront of the conditions, technologies and industry developments shaping public works—from changing regulations and funding programs to new tools, materials, delivery methods and approaches to infrastructure resilience. That knowledge helps us anticipate what may affect our clients and bring important considerations forward early.
That’s what we mean by Engineering What’s Next.
MEET LAN AT BOOTH 755
Bring Us What’s Next for Your Community
At booth 755, connect with LAN leaders and specialists from across public works, including water, wastewater, stormwater, transportation, facilities, program management, asset management, grants and funding.
Whether you’re assessing the condition of existing infrastructure, setting long-term priorities, looking for funding, evaluating alternatives, planning a critical project or determining the best way to deliver it, our team can help you see how those decisions connect.
We bring engineering expertise together with the broader perspective needed to anticipate challenges, address important considerations early and protect the value of your investments.
Tell us what your agency is working through. We’d like to talk about what comes next.
Public works leaders are navigating more complexity than ever, from aging assets and growth to funding and regulatory challenges, operational constraints, changing environmental conditions and evolving technologies and delivery methods.
Public works agencies need more than an engineering consultant. They need a trusted advisor who understands the broader factors that affect success, anticipates challenges and helps them make informed decisions that reduce risk and maximize the value of their infrastructure investments.
Our work does not begin and end with engineering plans. LAN’s teams work alongside public agencies long before a project is defined, through planning and delivery, and as clients continue managing and investing in their infrastructure systems.
FUNDING THE WORK AHEAD
Grants & Funding for Public Works
At PWX, connect with:
Tak Makino, CFM
Tom Ray, PE
Laura Casset, PE, CFM, CPESC
Together, our grants and funding team can talk with you about current and future infrastructure needs, potential funding paths and how to position projects to take advantage of available opportunities.
Already have a project in mind? Bring it to booth 755 and talk with our team.
Download Our Grants & Funding Overview
Learn more about how LAN helps public agencies identify and pursue funding for infrastructure priorities.
Identifying the right infrastructure investment is only part of the equation. Public agencies also have to understand which funding opportunities fit, how program requirements may influence a project and how funding decisions connect with planning, design and delivery.
LAN’s grants and funding specialists work alongside our engineers and public works teams to help clients identify opportunities, evaluate funding strategies and navigate the requirements that can help move important projects forward.
Learn With LAN at PWX
Our PWX presentations share lessons from real public works projects and programs where success depended on more than the engineering solution. From long-term capital planning and complex shutdowns to multi-benefit flood mitigation and emergency preparedness, our presenters will explore how anticipating what comes next can reduce risk and improve outcomes.
Sunday, August 30th
08:00 AM - 08:50 AM
The Art of the Shutdown: Transforming Downtime into Long-Term Resiliency
Add this presentation to your calendar
How do you rehabilitate a critical 66-inch water main during a single planned shutdown?
The City of Houston needed to repair an aging prestressed concrete main that provides critical water supply to the central and western parts of the city. Rather than relying on open-cut replacement, the team used carbon-fiber lining to rehabilitate the pipe internally and added a new dual-feed interconnection that enables future rehabilitation and supports a nearby highway project.
The engineering solution was only part of the work. Maintaining water service, coordinating the shutdown, planning for future system needs and making the most of a limited outage window all shaped the approach.
The session will show how anticipating operational and construction constraints early can reduce risk and create greater long-term value from an infrastructure investment.
Emmanuel De Pau
Emmanuel De Pau, PE, LEED AP, is a Water Conveyance team leader with over three decades of experience in large-diameter pipeline projects spanning planning, design, construction, and program management.
04:00 PM - 04:50 PM
The Civil Engineer’s Art of War
Add this presentation to your calendar
Public works leaders operate in an environment where changing conditions, competing pressures and unexpected events can quickly affect infrastructure and operations.
Drawing on military strategy, including principles from Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and real experience in combat engineering, this presentation connects military planning and leadership principles to public works preparedness and emergency management.
The session will explore understanding your terrain, recognizing internal blind spots and external pressures, planning for changing conditions and solving problems before they become emergencies. For public works leaders, it offers a different perspective on anticipating what may affect infrastructure, recognizing risks early and protecting continuity of service.
Monday, August 31st
Col. (Ret.) John Baker, PE
John Baker, PE, is a Senior Program Manager for Central Texas, bringing 30 years of progressive leadership experience delivering large-scale public-sector infrastructure programs.
Greg Henry, PE
Greg Henry, PE, is a Water Conveyance practice leader with over 25 years of experience in the design, condition assessment, rehabilitation, and construction oversight of water and wastewater pipelines throughout Texas.
Melissa Mack, PE
Dedra Ecklund, PE, is a Senior Associate and Team Leader on the Water Conveyance team at LAN. Dedra has over 21 years of experience in municipal water and wastewater infrastructure projects across Texas.
08:00 AM - 08:50 AM
A Complex Program Managing a $1B CIP and Construction Challenges with Large-Diameter Water Lines
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Delivering major public works infrastructure over decades requires decisions that extend far beyond design.
This presentation examines how Houston planned and delivered a major regional water transmission program over roughly four decades to support the transition from groundwater to surface water and move treated water from its purification plants to communities and regional partners.
The presenters will explore the strategic decisions behind delivering a $1 billion capital program, including long-term planning, funding, pipe materials, procurement and contractor coordination, along with the realities of staged commissioning, supply-chain disruptions and other challenges encountered in the field.
For public works agencies managing large capital programs, the session offers a candid look at how anticipating changing needs and connecting decisions across planning, design and delivery can help protect the overall investment.
Want a preview before PWX? Read the presentation team’s article in the July 2026 issue of ASCE’s Civil Engineering magazine, exploring the program’s evolution and lessons learned over decades of planning and delivery.
Mackrena Ramos, PE
Mackrena Ramos, PE, is Vice President and Business Group Director at LAN. Mackrena has over 25 years of experience leading large-scale water infrastructure programs.
Panduranga Kuruva, PE – City of Houston
Panduranga Kuruva, PE, is the Managing Engineer for Capital Projects at Houston Public Works, where he leads major water infrastructure programs.
Tak Makino, CFM
Tak Makino, CFM, is a Certified Floodplain Manager with over 13 years of experience specializing in hazard mitigation planning, floodplain management, and grant funding support across federal and state programs including FEMA, HUD, TWDB, TDEM, and GLO.
Tuesday, September 1st
Laura Casset, PE, CFM, CPESC
Laura Casset, PE, CFM, CPESC, is a Stormwater practice leader at LAN with 23 years of experience in stormwater and floodplain management, civil engineering design of flood mitigation projects, and grant funding for public sector clients throughout Texas.
02:30 PM - 03:20 PM
Purgatory Creek Improvements — A Holistic Design Approach
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The City of San Marcos’ Purgatory Creek Channel Improvement Project demonstrates what can happen when a team looks beyond the immediate infrastructure need.
The project reduces flood risk while improving emergency access, restoring habitat and adding trail connectivity. The team also addressed permitting, utility coordination, public access and funding early so those considerations could shape the solution rather than become obstacles later.
The session will explore how an engineering partner can help a public works agency anticipate what may affect an investment, balance multiple priorities and find opportunities to create greater value from work that already needs to be done.
Amir Ahmadi, PhD, PE, CFM
Amir Ahmadi, PhD, PE, CFM, is a drainage and hydrologic engineer with over 10 years of experience specializing in stormwater infrastructure, roadway drainage, and channel improvement projects throughout Texas.
PUBLIC WORKS EXPERTISE FOR WHAT’S NEXT
Infrastructure needs rarely fit neatly within a single discipline. LAN brings together expertise across the systems, services and decisions public works agencies manage every day.
Talk to our experts:
Water + Wastewater
Planning, treatment, transmission, distribution, collection and rehabilitation.
Stormwater + Drainage
Flood mitigation, watershed planning, drainage infrastructure, resilience and nature-based solutions.
Transportation + Transit
Roadways, bridges, mobility, transit and multimodal infrastructure.
Facilities
Planning, design and program management for the facilities communities depend on.
Program + Construction Management
Connecting priorities, projects, schedules, budgets and delivery across complex capital programs.
Grants + Funding
Helping agencies identify opportunities and develop funding strategies to move priorities forward.
