Temple Engineering students attended a lecture by Allen Melley, chief of digital delivery section at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, on their Digital Delivery Program. Aiming to prepare the future workforce for the switch to 3-D modeling, the lecture gave students a look into what their future workdays could look like.
Allen Melley, chief of digital delivery section at PennDOT, gives a lecture on the Digital Delivery Program to engineering students.
Photo by Casey Tinney
As industries move towards the digital space, construction projects have followed suit.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is currently leading the Digital Delivery Program to modernize project delivery processes and incorporate digital data through 3-D modeling. By 2029, specific PennDOT project types will be required to utilize digital delivery as opposed to the traditional, 2-D construction plan drawings.
3-D modeling makes modifications throughout the design process easier and provides one model that can be viewed from all visual perspectives.
Preparing the state for the transition requires outreach to multiple stakeholders, including one that is often overlooked — the future workforce.
The College of Engineering, along with 17 other universities, is part of PennDOT’s partnership with higher education institutions across the state to ensure that students soon-to-be entering the workforce are aware of the digital design changes and possess the skills and knowledge to enter the industry seamlessly.
For their higher education outreach, PennDOT works with HDR and Dering Consulting Group, Inc. to visit classrooms and engage with students.
During the spring 2026 semester, Allen Melley, chief of digital delivery section with PennDOT, and Aaron Caulfield, VP of innovation with Dering Consulting Group, Inc., visited an engineering course to share with students an outline of the digital delivery implementation plan and the latest technologies and digital delivery concepts.
“I look at it as we’re setting the base of really what can be done and where it starts,” states Melley. “It’s that next generation that’s coming out of school that’s really going to take this and build it up.”
Yichuan Zhu, an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, serves as the College of Engineering’s contact for the Digital Delivery Program, meeting with PennDOT a few times per year to discuss how 3-D modeling and digital delivery concepts can be taught to students and best prepare them for the workplace.
“This also provides a networking opportunity for our students,” explains Zhu. “PennDOT oversees a vast network of roadways and bridges across the state, and many of our graduates will work on projects involving PennDOT. Visits like this help students see how the concepts they study in class translate into real-world project delivery.”