Whether it's helping flood victims restore their homes or improving urban environments with public art, PB strengthens the fabric of the communities we serve.

From ongoing FEMA work to post-9/11 recovery in NYC

Many of our projects directly target the public interest. Most notably in recent news, PB has been involved in activities following the attacks on the World Trade Center. We're assisting a range of New York citywide recovery efforts that include structural and transportation inspection, residential and business assistance, employee relocation, infrastructure planning and staff donations.

We're also engaged in ongoing work for the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in which we assess damage to homes affected by natural disasters. In Iowa, for example, PB field managers and inspectors worked with flood victims to obtain compensation for their losses and to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Improving the quality of life

Other projects serve the public in less direct, but no less meaningful, ways. Our project management services for a new stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, will provide a splendid venue for baseball fans to enjoy their favorite sport. In Australia, our work as independent engineer on a combined-cycle gas turbine plant will help to stem power shortages there.

And, in 2002, we introduced the Community Involvement Challenge in U.S. offices to build on PB's mission of demonstrating good corporate citizenship. Office teams were created and individual points awarded for volunteer time, blood drives and monetary donations. The result? $85,697 worth of cash or goods, 11,579 hours of volunteer time, and 203 pints of blood. The 2003 program expanded to offices in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand; the 2004 program includes Asia as well.

Over a century ago, our founder William Barclay Parsons said: "Engineering requires two abilities. First, the technical skill and second, the mind and the knowledge to conceive that which is useful and will be for the convenience of mankind in the long run... It is not the design that governs a project, but its adaptability to the economics and social needs of the time." Today, PB continues to address the social and economic needs of communities through the science of engineering.