Contemporary (Post-WWII)

History and Heritage of Civil Engineering on the website of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) showcases the work of American civil engineering in the past two centuries. The site is attractive and a good resource for an introduction to this field that encompasses many different types of work. There are eleven Landmark Projects in the broad categories of transportation by air, land, and sea, water supply and control, power generation, and structures such as buildings, bridges, and dams. An overview of each type of project is accompanied by an interactive timeline from 3000 BC to 2000 AD that includes major world events. Examples of major projects within each category include images and links to more information. Brief biographies of more than 40 notable engineers are included, again with images and links. A searchable image library has high quality pictures available for download, although there is no way to browse the holdings of this small collection. Finally, in the Resources section there are links to libraries and information available online, as well as a bibliography of print resources.

Making the Modern World is a vast online exhibit from the Science Museum of London that covers science and society in the modern era, from traditional research and inventions and engineering, to social sciences and everyday life. There are many ways to explore the hundreds of images, audio files, and texts of the exhibit that begins with “Enlightenments and Measurement” in 1750 and concludes with the “Age of Ambivalence” in 2000. The largest section of the site is the Stories and Timelines, which is in narrative and chronological form. There are guided tours along the themes of “Technology as Passport,” “Women Making the Modern World,” and “Conflict in the Modern World.” The Daily Life Section has six categories that include personal, leisure, work, health, and control, and the stories of nine contemporary people's interactions with technology, some inventors, others learning how to handle a screwdriver and "DIY- Do It Yourself." The Icons of Invention includes more than 100 objects from science, technology, and medicine, while the Learning Modules cover biology, English, chemistry, geography, history, mathematics, and psychology. Throughout the site are subsections called "rich media scenes" with moving images and sound that provide interaction with catalogued images and quizzes within a particular story. Finally, there are basic and advanced search options to navigate quickly to a particular item or term.

The Science and Society Picture Library of the British National Museum of Science and Industry combines collections of the Science Museum, National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, and the National Railway Museum all on one website. It allows for searching or browsing of over 35,000 images, each of which can be sent as e-cards, or saved into a "wishlist" for second viewing or ordering reproductions. The images are of decent size to be viewed online, display a caption, and are completely categorized by keywords and fully seachable. This is an amazing resource for anyone interested in images of science and society up to the present day.

The Business Plan Archive, a project of Prof. David Kirsch at the University of Maryland, collects business plans and related documents from the dot com era to preserve and provide them for study of the Internet boom and bust of the last decade. The communication and records of these companies were all created electronically, and in the Archive are the Word documents, Power Point presentations, and emails of more than 2,000 failed businesses. “Top Ten Lessons from the Dot Com Meltdown” and “A Statistical Summary of the Dot Com Shakeout” provide context for the documents, which include funding requests, memos, draft press releases, anecdotal descriptions or images, and contract and investment-related information. For some companies there is a collection overview as well. The Archive can be searched by company name, alphabetical listing, market sector, market audience, or type of available information, making it easy to find companies of interest. Visitors are able to add more information to the Archive about any company’s events, files, or background, or just add a comment. A thorough Question and Answer Section accompanies the materials, along with links to the numerous articles and news coverage of the Archive.

"Diciphering the Genetic Code" is an online exhibit that explores Marshall Nirenberg's genetics research in the 1950's and 1960's and explains the importance of his experiments and discoveries. The exhibit includes an eight-section history of genetics research beginning with Gregor Mendel and ending with a copy of Nirenber's article in Science Magazine entitled "Will Society Be Prepared?" Images and descriptions of the instruments used in the lab are provided, as are brief biographies of many of the researchers involved. A glossary and links to related web sites are included. The site is well-designed and approachable, and is a good starting point for understanding the study of genetics.

The American Society of Civil Engineers polled its membership to rank the ten civil engineering achievements that had the “greatest positive impact on life in the 20th century.” Those achievements are featured in the Monuments of the Millennium exhibit, and include Airport Design And Development, Dams, The Interstate Highway System, Long-Span Bridges, Rail Transportation, Sanitary Landfills/Solid Waste Disposal, Skyscrapers, Wastewater Treatment, Water Supply and Distribution, and Water Transportation. There is an introduction for each section, accompanied by a highlighted national or international project with images and links for more information. The site is small, but has a good overview the types of projects ASCHO members believe to be the most significant public works of the past century.

DeLony provides an extensive overview of the history of bridges, from ancient Indian vine bridges, to Roman stone structures, to the North American viaducts and suspension bridges of today. In doing so, the text-laden website focuses on "World Heritage bridges," those recognized by the World Heritage Committee for their unique and lasting contribution to architecture, technology, and society. Nearly all of the 18 topical sections, each arranged in rough chronological order and covering a different type of structure, contain at least one photo, many of them taken by DeLony himself. A list of possible World Heritage bridges and a sizeable bibliography are at the foot of the essay.