• "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" Idea #76-Meet With Your Elected Officials
  
  Central Ohio Engineering Students Travel to Ghana for a Village Improvement Project
  
  Save the Date! Let’s Make a Difference in Chicago!
  
  Membership
  
  Geotech Group Leadership Changes
  
  ASCE Bridges 2007 Calendar
  
  John A. Roebling Symposium and Tours
  
  
  2006-2007 Conferences
  
  Progressive Collapse Workshops
  
  Mark Your Calendar!
  
  
  Region Boards of Governors
  
  Committee on Geographic Units
  
  Executives
  
  Geographic Services Department
  
  Contact Information
  
• ASCE

Did you know you don’t have to come to Washington to meet your Representative?  Take advantage of congressional district work periods to meet with your elected officials in district offices regarding issues important to civil engineering.

The granddaddy of congressional breaks – the Summer District Work Period – is currently underway for the House of Representatives and the Senate is scheduled to adjourn August 4.  Both houses will return to Washington September 5.  Most Representatives and Senators will be at home in the districts for a significant portion of August.  Check web sites and local news media for Town Hall Meetings and other local appearances.  Visit http://www.asce.org/keycontacts and click on “Back Home Visits” for more information on requesting an individual meeting.  For assistance in contacting your Representative’s office to request a meeting, contact Leslie Nolen, ASCE’s Senior Manager for Grassroots Programs, at lnolen@asce.org or 202-789-7846.

(click here to see photos from the trip)

The Central Ohio Section of ASCE is supporting an international engineering service group for a bold project in Africa, and five Ohio University Engineering students are proud to be a part of it. Jennifer Phillips, from Fairfield County and a senior civil engineering major at Ohio University, is traveling to the West African country of Ghana this June as part of the OU student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB). Phillips joins four other Ohio University students – Jonathan Bebb from Athens, an electrical engineering major, and Cy Cost, from Newark, T.J. Cyders from Ashland and Katie Melton from South Carolina, all three mechanical engineering majors. Accompanying the group are three OU Engineering Professors Guy Riefler, Greg Kremer (ME’s), and Jeff Giesey (EE). The Central Ohio Section of ASCE is sponsoring Phillips’ participation. The OU Student Group left Columbus via Port Columbus for Ghana at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, June 27, 2006. They are scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning, and fly from there to Ghana.

While waiting for their flight to depart at Port Columbus, the group was anticipating an exciting several weeks filled with new experiences and hard work. Jennifer said that there was a great sense of anticipation and excitement over the project; Cy is looking forward to meeting citizens of a new culture; and Katy was ready to start work, with her survey instruments in hand as carry on luggage. This group of young engineering students is committed to using their skills to improve the lives of Ghanaians, and to develop a wider understanding of other cultures. We should all thank them and be proud of their effort and willingness as rising young engineers to devote a large part of their summer to the Ghana project; this in addition to their many months of preparation for the summer’s work.

The students and professors will use their engineering expertise to help build better housing and modern utilities for teachers in the Ghana village of Maase-Offinso. The village has identified such housing as its most pressing local need. Teacher accommodations need to be adequate to attract and retain qualified teachers in the village, but yet be affordable and self-sustaining. The village’s chief, Nana K. Owuso-Kwarteng, recently finished his Ph.D. at Ohio University while working with the Institute of African Child.

“Our board was unanimous in supporting Jennifer. Her willingness to take on this difficult task, to help foster better standards of living in Ghana, and to expand the scope of her engineering experience impressed everyone” said Susan Coyle, President of ASCE’s Central Ohio Section.

EWB is an important part of a new movement in the United States committed to using technology to improve the human condition where the need is greatest. A recurring problem in villages like Maase-Offinso is the turnover in teacher staff because of the difficult living conditions compared to major urban areas. Specific technical topics include structural layout, materials, climate analysis and control, water supply, energy supply and usage, and sanitation.

EWB’s goal is for students to develop an understanding and background of the host community’s needs and of the project’s separate subsystems. Students will work with members of the host community to develop the project according to design, make field modifications as necessary, implement training programs for the local representatives and perform assessments for past and future projects.

Jeff Giesey, associate professor in the Russ College’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, established the EWB chapter in 2004. “The idea is to create students who are more globally aware and get them involved outside the classroom,” he said. “The reason I helped start the chapter came from my desire to use the skills and knowledge we have as engineers to help the people in the world who are struggling to meet their most basic needs.”

A large part of the world lives without the necessities and amenities that help many U.S. residents lead long, productive and enjoyable lives. Giesey explained that these advantages are the result of applied engineering and the efforts of thousands of engineers. EWB helps developing communities worldwide with engineering needs while teaching engineering students about their problems and how to solve them.

“Because I am also an educator, I wanted to find ways to help develop students who can go out and make a real difference in the lives of people in this way,” Giesey said. “I have been amazed at the number of fellow faculty members, students and other engineers who have similar goals and have joined us to work on this project.”

Jennifer has promised us reports on the progress of their project, and on their personal experiences whenever she can get access to the internet, although internet access is apparently a chancy proposition in Ghana. Any reports will be put on the ASCE web site as soon as feasible. We also hope to include reference to this project in the WOSU underwriting announcements scheduled for the last half of 2006. And, we have a meeting planned next April to hear all about the trip and the accomplishments of this group of engineering students. As Jennifer has just graduated this spring, she will return to take up a full time engineering position at the Chillicothe office of ODOT.

For more information, please contact Dave Pritchard, American Society of Civil Engineers, Columbus, OH, Phone:614.519.4819

Sunday, October 22, 2006

7:30 A.M. — 5:00 P.M.

Rebuilding Together, location to be determined.

The ASCE Committee on Volunteer Community Service and Rebuilding Together®, an organization devoted to revitalizing houses for low-income homeowners, proudly announces their fourth annual community service event at the Annual Conference.  Last year’s event in Los Angeles involved installing an indoor ramp, painting, outdoor bench and table replacement, repairing damaged bridge railings, and more.

Don’t miss this opportunity to put your engineering skills to work for a good cause and help us make a difference in Chicago! 

If you are interested in participating, please contact Alicia Karwoski at 800-548-2723 ext. 6324 or akarwoski@asce.org.  Look for more details on the Web and in the Section Informant as they become available. 

Spring Member-Get-A-Member Drawing Winners Announced

ASCE gave these ten members $50 iTunes gift cards to fill their MP3 players just for participating in the 2006 spring Member-Get-A-Member drive:

• Dr. Zdenek P. Bazant, Ph.D., S.E., Dr.h.c., F.ASCE - Illinois Section
• Mr. Keil Douglas Maberry, P.E., M.ASCE - Los Angeles Section, Orange County Branch
• Mr. Gerrad Alan Godley, P.E., M.ASCE - Michigan Section, Saginaw Valley Branch
• Mr. Mark Hugh Webb, P.E., M.ASCE - San Diego Section
• Mr. Stuart Alan Moring, P.E., M.ASCE - Georgia Section
• Mr. William M. Steves, P.E., M.ASCE - Florida Section, Suncoast Branch
• Mr. Jeffery E. Hendrich, P.E., M.ASCE - Illinois Section
• Mr. David L. Hagen, A.M.ASCE, - Nevada Section, Truckee Meadows Branch, Capital Branch
• Mr. Kevin Ryan Krick, P.E., M.ASCE - South Carolina Section, Midlands Branch
• Mr. Jack Goldstein, P.E., M.ASCE - New Jersey Section, North Jersey Branch

You or your members could be next.  Members who recruit between now and September 30, will be eligible to win one of 10 $50 gas cards.  Plus, this is the final quarter in the 2006 drive and the top recruiter will win $700.  Remember, each person sponsored that joins ASCE earns an entry into the drawing. 

Help your colleagues discover the professional benefits of ASCE membership and how it can contribute to their success.

Download the Latest Member Value Ads

ASCE’s Online Advertising Library has the materials you need to spruce up your newsletters and marketing efforts.  The library features brand new member value ads as well as articles targeting both development and retention.  Download the latest ad, in quarter or half page sizes, featuring engineering educators.  Visit http://www.ascedrive.org/SectionsBranches.cfm to download your materials.

Membership Data Hint of the Month: Recognizing Life Members

ASCE will be sending new Life Member certificates to Section and Branches this month. There are many ways to recognize these members for their lifetime of commitment to ASCE and the civil engineering profession:

• Host a banquet or dinner in their honor.
• Ask them to speak at a meeting.
• Publish their picture and bio in your newsletter.
• Post their picture and bio on your Web site.

To identify new Life Members in your membership data, simply sort the data by “yes” in the Life Member Code field and then sort by the Life Year field – members who have a “yes” in the Life Member Code field and “2006” in the Life Year field are new Life Members.

If you have any questions about how to use or access membership data via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), contact Michael Cook at (800) 548-ASCE (2723) ext. 6121, (703) 295-6121 or mcook@asce.org.

Recognizing Excellence

The 2007 Honors and Awards selection cycle is now open!  August 15 is the deadline to receive nominations for the Casagrande, Construction Management Award, Kapp, Middlebrooks, Peck Award, Seed Medal, and Terzaghi Award.  October 1 is when nominations are due for Honorary Membership, OPAL, Huber and Noble awards.  Comprehensive information about these important honors, including a new worksheet for developing a nomination package for Honorary Membership, can be found at http://www.asce.org/awards.

Tell ASCE What Matters Most to You and Your Members

ASCE’s products, services and resources are designed to meet the civil engineering needs of you and your members at all levels and in a variety of specialties.  We want to know what specific interests and professional needs will maximize the benefit of membership.  Tell your members to take a few minutes to customize their membership by filling out their Personal Interest Inventory (PII).  For every section completed before August 4, they will be entered to win various iPod products.  Members can start filling out their PII by visiting www.asce.org/interests.

Keep Your Membership Records Up-to-Date

Please tell your members to update their mailing address, phone number and e-mail address to ensure they receive pertinent information related to their membership.  Members can verify their information by visiting www.asce.org/myprofile or by calling (800) 548-ASCE (2723) or (703) 295-6300.

Mentoring

(Pictured: Front Row: Susan Blodgett, Director, Collaborative Membership

Back row, l-r John Schuler, P.E., M.ASCE; Reed C. Colton, A.M.ASCE ; Melissa Prelewicz, P.E., M.ASCE Director, Professional Activities; Michael Dawson, P.E., M.ASCE ; and Sara Arzu, P.E., A.M.ASCE)

The ASCE Task Committee on Mentoring has taken the next step toward launching the Section/Branch Mentoring Pilot Program.  ASCE’s San Diego Section has been selected to pilot the program’s first year.  Set to deploy in the fall of 2006, the San Diego Section will work to provide personal and professional guidance to civil engineer protégés.  The Mentoring Task Committee is eager to work with San Diego and roll out the program to other Sections and Branches in the future.  Contact Melissa Prelewicz, P.E., M.ASCE, Director of Professional Practice, at mprelewicz@asce.org with questions or comments.

The Geo-Institute requests that all geotech groups send any changes in their leadership directly to their Section and/or Branch for inclusion in their Section or Branch Leadership Report

Additionally, please direct news and meeting information to lbayer @asce.org for inclusion on the Geo-Institute web page at www.geoinstitute.org/groups/ and in Geo-Strata magazine.

The stunning images of the Bridges 2007 Calendar showcase a diverse collection of bridges from around the world. Complete with historical notes, the calendar celebrates the form, function, and style central to civil engineering. This full-size wall calendar (14" x 24" with twin loop binding) offers plenty of room to jot down daily activities and appointments.

The award-winning ASCE Bridges Calendar debuts with a dramatic cover shot of the Viaduc de Millau for 2007. The tallest vehicular bridge in the world, this aesthetically stunning cable-stayed bridge is universally regarded as a marvel of 21st-century bridge construction, and stands so tall that it enables motorists to drive above the clouds. Click here to place an advance order (to be released in September).

Also available are calendar IMPRINTS.  BY imprinting you organization’s name and logo on the calendar, you can multiply its marketing power!  The Bridges 2007 Calendar is an ideal gift that truly connects with those you work and do business with.

October 27 – 29, 2006

Brooklyn, New York

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FEE

AVAILABLE ONLY TO THE END OF AUGUST

Now is the time to start registering for this once in a lifetime event! The History & Heritage Committee (HHC) and the New Jersey and Metropolitan Sections of ASCE invite all those interested to help us celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest civil engineers - John A. Roebling. This symposium will explore his many accomplishments and discuss his and his family’s influence on the development of civil engineering. The Symposium will be held on Friday, October 27th at the Marriott Hotel by the Brooklyn Bridge. On Saturday there will be a full-day bus tour of several Roebling-related projects including the Delaware Aqueduct. Finally, this event will climax on Sunday with a walking tour of the Brooklyn Bridge and other sites of interest.

For more information on this special event, please go to http://www.asce.org/history/roebling_06.cfm. If you have any questions, please contact Carol Reese (creese@asce.org), staff contact for the HHC.

The 9th International Conference on Applications of Advanced Technology in Transportation (AATT) 2006: 

Transportation professionals from around the world and from public and private sectors— engineering firms, automotive and aerospace companies, transportation agencies, consultants, researchers, and educators—will find this conference an excellent learning forum to examine an array of innovative technologies to solve various transportation problems in the areas of infrastructure, operations and planning, and information systems.  As well as to discover innovative strategies to address such problems as congestion, safety, security, data collection and management, asset deterioration and management, planning and modeling, and effective implementation of advanced information technologies in the lifecycle of transportation systems. 

For additional information and to register for the conference; visit us at: http://www.asce.org/conferences/AATT06/welcome.cfm

Mark Your Calendar for the 2006 ASCE Annual Civil Engineering Conference: “Surviving the Future!”  

Join General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) as he delivers his keynote address at this year’s Opening Plenary session entitled; “Hazard Mitigation for Civil Infrastructure.”  Following the Opening Plenary; a series of three technical general sessions entitled; “Hazard Mitigation for Infrastructure: A Plan of Attack”, “Mitigation: The Road to Infrastructure Resiliency” and “Lessons for the Civil Engineering Profession from Hurricane Katrina” will address the issues of surviving future natural disasters and planning for adequate security to maintain public safety.  The culmination of the day will be a “Question and Answer Forum: Roundtable Summary” that will include participation by panelists from these sessions and will be moderated by General McCaffrey.  The forum will highlight the key concepts presented in each session. 

For more information visit us at: http://www.asceannualconference.org.

2007 Ports™ “30 Years of Sharing Ideas…1977-2007”:

Registration and Preliminary Program coming in September!

Join us March 25-28, 2007 in San Diego, CA.  This will be the eleventh in a series of international port and harbor development specialty conferences held on a tri-annual basis.  The conference will feature technical short courses, plenary session, concurrent technical sessions, exhibition and technical field tours to sites of interest in San Diego Harbor. 

For additional information visit us at:  http://www.portsconference.org

Coastal Sediments 07:   

Registration and Preliminary Program coming soon!  

Be sure to join us in New Orleans, May 13-17, 2007 for an international exchange of information among coastal engineers, geologists, marine scientists, shallow water oceanographers and others interested in the physical processes of coastal sediments transport and morphology change. 

For additional information visit us at:  http://www.asce.org/conferences/cs07

Program

• Overview of Recent Progressive Collapse Activities and Federal and International Progressive Collapse Guidelines: Dr. H.S. Lew, P.E. (NIST)

• Principles of Risk Assessment Applied to Mitigation of Progressive Collapse and other Low Probablility/High Consequence Events: Dr. Bruce Ellingwood, P.E. (Georgia Institute of Technology)

• Methods to Analyze for Collapse Prevention: Dr. Robert Smilowitz, P.E. (Weidlinger Associates)

• Designing to Mitigate Progressive Collapse in New and Existing Buildings: Mr. Donald Dusenberry, P.E. (Simpson, Gumpertz & Heger, Inc)

• Case Studies and Discussion: Mr. James A. Rossberg, P.E. (Structural Engineering Institute)

The workshop locations/schedule:

• Denver, Colorado - Sept. 7
• New York City - Sept. 14
• San Francisco, California - Sept. 28
• Chicago, Illinois - Oct. 19.

For more information or to register for these workshops, please visit

www.SEInstitute.org

Co-sponsored by SEI and NIST

2006

August 4: Submission deadline for the State Public Affairs Grant Activity Report to ASCE Washington Office.

August 15: Nomination deadline for Casagrande, Construction Management, Kapp, Middlebrooks, Peck, Seed and Terzaghi Awards

September 14:  Membership Audio Conference/Webinar

October 1: nomination deadline for Honorary Membership, OPAL, Huber and Noble awards

October 20: 7:00 p.m. – Gala Banquet with Honorary Member Induction Ceremony (Chicago, IL)

October 21:

• 8:00 a.m. – Annual Business Meeting and Presentation of Society Awards (Chicago, IL)
• Younger Member Leadership Symposium (Chicago, IL)
• Council of Presidents(Chicago, IL)

October 22:

• Council of Presidents/Leadership Breakfast (Chicago, IL)

October 27:

• Nominations for the Workshops for Section and Branch Leaders and the Younger Member Council Meetings are due.
• Nominations for the National Outstanding Section/Branch Award are due.

November 1: Submission deadline for the Outstanding Section and Branch Newsletter Award.

November 4: SPAG applications due

November 30: Section Annual Reports are due at ASCE World Headquarters

2007

January 12-14: Regions 4& 5 Leadership Conference-Nashville, TN

January 26-27: Regions 1, 2, & 10 Leadership Conference-Princeton, NJ

February 1:

• Nominations for National ASCE Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement, and the Daniel Mead Prize for Younger Members are due.
• Nominations for Government Civil Engineer Award and Young Government Civil Engineer Award are due at ASCE World Headquarters.
• Nominations for Younger Member Group Award are due at ASCE World Headquarters

February 9-11: Regions 3, 6, & 7 Leadership Conference-Milwaukee, WI

February 23-25: Regions 8 & 9 Leadership Conference-Seattle, WA

May 4: Response due at Headquarters for national collection of Section dues.

June 1: Deadline for submission for the Outstanding Section and Branch Web Award Competition

The Geographic Services Department (GSD) is charged with providing support to the local units of the Society and ensuring effective coordination and cooperation among the Regions, Sections, Branches, Younger Member Groups and Staff. This newsletter is produced to help meet this charge. Questions, comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter are welcomed and should be directed to Jennifer Lawrence at: jlawrence@asce.org.