There is no future without a past, and this year’s group of ENR Newsmakers clearly demonstrates a throughline between those moving points in time, offering solutions to the types of questions we all may have asked ourselves at some point: How do I look at what came before, and fix it? Improve upon it? Do it differently? Make it better?

Their answers include successfully guiding complex drilling for a massive geothermal field; harnessing genuine collaboration to finish a $2.4-billion train electrification project; creating a program to transition members of the military to civilian careers in construction; championing safety culture education at universities; bringing a polluted river back to life; managing unknowns to keep the largest U.S. offshore wind energy project on track; reopening a critical shipping channel after a tragic bridge accident—and innovating jobsite AI solutions for everything from document review to sustainable construction.

There are many more inspiring Newsmaker achievements. Read on—and meet these achievers in person at ENR’s Award of Excellence gala dinner on March 27 at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in New York City. Visit enr.com/aoe to register.