In the ever-increasing push for longer bridges, taller buildings, bigger stadiums, and grander projects of all kinds, engineers face new challenges that redefine our sense of both aesthetics and functionality. Henry Petroski's book Pushing the Limits: New Adventures in Engineering  describes two dozen adventures in engineering that provide a fresh look at the past, a unique view of the present, and a telling glimpse into the future of the discipline and how it affects our lives.

On the upcoming episode of UNC-TV's literary series North Carolina Bookwatch, Sunday, September 4, at 5 PM, Petroski shares with host DG Martin many of Pushing the Limits' significant and daring engineering enterprises-some familiar, some virtually unknown, and some that are still only dreams-in their historical and technological contexts.

The breadth and depth of Petroski's passionate interest in the art of design and in building have earned him the title of America's poet laureate of technology and made him a best-selling author. In Pushing the Limits, his exploration of the complexity of what goes into engineering and design continues to stretch the imagination.

"Engineers are literally pushing the limits when they design something beyond what has been done; and if we repeated what was built or designed before, there would be much of a test to our ingenuity and daring," says Petroski. "There are constant needs for longer bridges, taller buildings, more innovative arenas and bigger dams.but there is a risk however, because you are going beyond the 'envelope of experience' as it is called."

Although Pushing the Limits points to these risks through Petroski's detailed commentary of many great technological disasters-the 1928 failure of California's St. Francis Dam, the 1999 tragedy of the Texas A&M Bonfire, and the September 11, 2001, collapse of New York's World Trade Center towers- in this exclusive interview, the Durham author also points to some of the special local landmarks, like Raleigh, NC's landmark J.S. Dorton Arena, that have pushed engineering limits while withstanding the test of time.

"[Dorton Arena] has historical significance in the development of covered stadiums and also in its uniqueness," admits Petroski. "There's no structure like it in the world and uniqueness like that is always admired."

Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. Petroski lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Don't miss DG Martin's all-new interview with Henry Petroski on North Carolina Bookwatch, Sunday, September 4, at 5 PM, only on UNC-TV!

During this season of North Carolina Bookwatch, guests also include: Shannon Ravenel (New Stories from the South, 2005), Emily Herring Wilson (No One Gardens Alone), Randall Kenan (Walking On Water), Ann B. Ross (Miss Julia's School Of Beauty), Lawrence Earley (Looking for Longleaf), Peter Perret (A Well-Tempered Mind), Timothy Tyson (Blood Done Sign My Name), Moreton Neal (Remembering Bill Neal), Quinn Dalton (Bulletproof Girl), Bill Morris (Saltwater Cowboys), Amy Tiemann (Mojo Mom), Robert F. Irwin (Robert F. Irwin 40 Years), Tommy Hays (The Pleasure Was Mine), Mary Kay Andrews (Hissy Fit), Jerry Shinn (Loonis! Celebrating a Lyrical Life), Michael Parker (If You Want Me to Stay), Lawrence Naumoff (A Southern Tragedy, in Crimson and Yellow), Martha Witt (Broken As Things Are) and Gerhard Weinberg (Visions of Victory: The Hopes of Eight World War II Leader).

Funding for North Carolina Bookwatch is provided by UNC-TV members and by Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh's independent, full service bookstore, bringing readers and writers together since 1984.

North Carolina Bookwatch is part of UNC-TV's ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

For more information about North Carolina Bookwatch and UNC-TV's other local productions, please visit our website at www.unctv.org.

-UNC-TV-