August 2007
Volume 32, Issue 8

In his book Battling the Inland Sea: Floods, Public Policy, and the Sacramento Valley, Robert Kelley examines the history of flooding and environmental policy making in the Sacramento Valley and the ongoing struggle of designing and building thousands of miles of levees and drains. “We’ve been battling the inland sea here for a long time,” Ben Carter, the president of California’s Reclamation Board, remarked on July 25 at a conference in Sacramento. “Kelley’s book has been a tremendous resource. Policy follows disaster. History proves that. But clearly there needs to be a better balance between flood control system improvements and resource conservation.”

The conference—entitled “Still Battling the Inland Sea: Exploring Solutions for California’s Complex Water Issues”—was held July 24–26 at the Holiday Inn Sacramento–Capitol Plaza and included a variety of presentations by engineers, policy makers, and research specialists concerning flood control and the levees that extend for more than 2,400 mi (3,862 km) along the Sacramento, American, and San Joaquin rivers and in the delta formed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Sponsored by ASCE’s Sacramento Section and the Society of American Military Engineers, the event featured keynote addresses by John Paul Woodley, Jr., the assistant secretary of the army for civil works; Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp, P.E., the chief of engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Edward Hecker, the chief of the Corps’s Homeland Security Office and provost marshal of its Northwestern Division Regional Integration Team; W.F. Marcuson III, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, ASCE’s president; Gerald E. Galloway, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, a research professor in the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering; and Lawrence H. Roth, P.E., F.ASCE, the Society’s deputy executive director.

“If I had been asked prior to August of 2005 which of the two great cities, New Orleans or Sacramento, was in the most danger of catastrophic inundation, my answer would not have been New Orleans—my answer would have been Sacramento,” Woodley stated. “We need to be ready to apply the lessons we’ve learned from Hurricane Katrina and other events to the challenges that we face in flood damage reduction in regard to the [Sacramento and San Joaquin] delta and the American and Sacramento rivers as well as anywhere else in California. Flood damage reduction needs to be thought about and understood on a systematic basis and it should be dealt with as comprehensively as possible. We must not give in to forces that lead to fragmented decision making and fragmented solutions. We need to integrate long-term solutions on the broadest possible scale.”
Van Antwerp, who in June was named the Corps’s 52nd chief of engineers, stressed the importance of sustainability, integration, and a national standard for hurricane protection and emergency preparedness. “The levees won’t be done after you build them,” he said. “They have to be sustainable. One big factor is subsidence and another one is sea level rise. If we’re going to do legacy systems, the implementation plan has to go beyond what we’re doing now. It’s got to include monitoring, maintenance, and inspection and knowing what is not up to standard and knowing how to bring it up to standard for the long term.”

Last year ASCE members throughout California released an infrastructure report that conferred an overall grade of F on the state’s levees and flood control system. Large portions of the levees along the Sacramento, American, and San Joaquin rivers and in the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers were built by farmers or settlers more than 100 years ago and haven’t been modernized or adequately maintained to protect the urban population that sprawls throughout the valley today.

“You don’t improve public safety by discussing white paper after white paper,” Van Antwerp added. “At some point in the collaboration process you have to say, ‘we’ve done the best we can and this is our decision.’ Then you move toward implementation and go for it. But whatever implementation plan you decide to go with, it has to have all the stakeholders involved. It has to be an integrated solution, and it has got to be all of us contributing. I don’t care if there are fifteen signatures on the bottom. I’ll be one of them and you can be one of them. But let’s all say this is the plan. We need to move toward a national standard. Of course there will be variances, because people and places are different. Things will react differently in Louisiana than they will in Sacramento. But I think we still ought to have a national standard in place as well as a process that can deal with variances.”

Last year California passed legislation—the Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1E) and the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 84)—aimed at improving its flood management programs and infrastructure. Under Proposition 1E, $3 billion has been allocated to repair and improve state and federal facilities and reduce the risks of levee failure in the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Levees that are not part of the state flood control plan for the Central Valley will be funded by Proposition 84, and priority will be given to public safety, the development of a sustainable flood management system, and reducing state taxpayer liability. California’s Department of Water Resources intends to use Proposition 84 funds to increase the money available for levee maintenance and special projects in the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

“The Corps’s primary concern as it moves forward and addresses the challenges we have with the nation’s built levee infrastructure is to protect lives,” Hecker noted. “Our vision is for a safe and informed public. It’s a shared responsibility, and no one agency can address it holistically.

But we look forward with great anticipation to a collaborative partnership with the state and the other agencies involved in this process. California has already shown its commitment to safety through these bond acts. The investment the state is making in its infrastructure is a great example of what’s possible. The state understood the risk and made a big investment, and I think we need to translate that success around the country. It shows you what can be done when you identify the risk in a way that the public understands.”

The Corps recently released a prototype risk assessment for the hurricane protection system in New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana that profiles pre-Katrina and current protection system conditions and demonstrates the dynamics of risk and the effects of system improvements on risk and vulnerability. Developed by the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET)—the body assembled by the Corps to review the performance of the hurricane protection system during Hurricane Katrina—the analysis is part of a larger study concerning levees and Hurricane Katrina. ASCE’s External Review Panel (ERP)—which was convened in 2005 at the behest of Lieutenant General Carl A. Strock, P.E., M.ASCE, then the Corps’s commander and chief of engineers—is in the process of completing a technical review of the risk assessment, as it has done for previous IPET analyses, reports, and findings.

“The ERP has had an ongoing debate about whether Hurricane Katrina was the worst engineering catastrophe in U.S. history or whether it was merely a severe natural disaster that was exacerbated by lapses in engineering policy and engineering judgment,” remarked Roth at the outset of a presentation entitled “Hurricane Katrina: The Worst Engineering Catastrophe in U.S. History.” After highlighting various dimensions of the ERP’s technical review of the IPET’s findings, Roth added, “We ended up with a hurricane protection system that was severely compromised by questionable engineering decisions, by inadequate and dysfunctional interfaces between organizations, and by a political culture that didn’t understand the potential for catastrophe and was unwilling to pay the price. Consequently, it ended up putting life-threatening risk on the back burner.”

Roth has more than 30 years of experience in water resources engineering, principally in the areas of dams, levees, and canals. In May he testified before two subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management and the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. In that testimony he urged Congress to enact the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (H.R. 1098) and the National Levee Safety Program Act of 2007 (H.R. 1587)—legislation aimed at bolstering the quality of the nation’s dams and levees.

“What we learned with Katrina is very germane to Sacramento and many other places in the nation,” observed Roth. “We need to plan for the long term, for projects that extend over many years. We need to establish mechanisms that enable us to incorporate changing information, and we must update our projects based on the review of recent research, new case histories, and new standards. We also need to make sure that we implement rigorous risk-based approaches that allow us to select the appropriate level of protection for public safety, allow us to prepare alternatives and manage consequences, and allow us to inform the public in clear and concise terms about the consequences of decisions that are being made.”

Last year the ERP released Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later. What Must We Do Next?—a report that recommended 10 measures for addressing and correcting the deficiencies in the hurricane protection system for New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana. The intent was to ensure that improvements were made in understanding risk and embracing safety, reexamining and repairing the hurricane protection system, revamping that system’s management, and demanding engineering quality.

“I think that one of the positive aspects of Hurricane Katrina is that it’s energized California,” Marcuson observed. “As civil engineers, we bring vast environmental and infrastructure knowledge and capabilities to the table. But I think we need to be better communicators. If you are a master communicator, you can differentiate between wants and needs, and you can better influence and motivate those you come in contact with. I’d like to see engineers not only be problem solvers, but problem identifiers. We also need to identify leaders, coaches, and mentors and do a better job of leading young engineers. They are our future.”

Galloway, a visiting scholar at the Corps of Engineers’ Institute for Water Resources, called for a national vision for water resources management. “We need a vision that tells us how things are going to be in the future,” he said. “If I were to ask you what you think the floodplain of 2050 ought to be, what would you say? Have nobody in it? Only fish and wildlife? Reasonable use? Only protected urban areas? We have no idea. We’ve never gotten together as a nation and tried to solve this. We need that vision.”

According to Galloway, who served as a presidential appointee on the Mississippi River Commission and the American Heritage Rivers Advisory Committee, the overall investment and upkeep of the nation’s water resources have waned in recent decades. “We need to have policy precede catastrophe,” he emphasized. “The problem is not just floods. The stewardship of the nation’s water resources is being neglected. Yet when the governor of California raises five billion dollars to take care of levees, he does a great job at setting a mark for other people to move ahead. We know that the Everglades are moving forward, because Florida is ahead of the federal government in funding. Other states may be thinking the same thing. Texas has got some great water plans going. But we all have to become involved in the process. As citizens, we have to communicate with our representatives. Whether it’s at the city, county, state, or federal level, we need to let them know what we think. Initiatives like the one here in California can make a real difference and even help us shape a vision for water resources that makes sense for the whole nation.”

The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC)—an umbrella group headquartered in Taiwan that works to promote technology and partnerships and improve professional practice—hosted a conference in Taipei (T’aipei) June 25–28 that featured a variety of perspectives on sustainable development in Asia, including a presentation from ASCE’s president, W.F. Marcuson III, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE. With the theme “Working toward Asian Sustainability,” the Fourth Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region, or 4th CECAR, brought together leaders from industry, academia, and government, as well as representatives of several professional groups and international organizations, to discuss such issues as “green” infrastructure, environmental management, wetlands restoration, sustainable construction, life-cycle issues, automation, information sharing, procurement, and disaster reduction and recovery.

Marcuson, who spoke during a leadership forum that was organized by ASCE, took as his point of reference the paper “Seismic Design and Analysis of Embankment Dams: The State of Practice,” which he coauthored with colleagues Mary E. Hynes, Ph.D., P.E., and A.G. Franklin, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, at the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory. Marcuson is director emeritus of the laboratory, which is in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center. “From a practical point of view, the primary geotechnical earthquake engineering issue related to embankment dams is liquefaction of either embankment or foundation soils,” the paper notes. “This issue can be further focused on engineered dams constructed on what has turned out to be liquefiable alluvial deposits. Estimation or measurement of the capacity for a soil to resist development of pore pressures leading to liquefaction has been the subject of intense research for more than thirty years.”

Earthquake ground motion is one of the principal unknowns in a liquefaction analysis, according to Marcuson, Hynes, and Franklin. “In general, an acceleration time history for the dam site is needed at either bedrock or a (possibly notional) rock outcrop,” their paper states. “This can be convolved through a site response analysis to obtain the motions that will affect the dam. Selection of the earthquake to be used in analysis is, in general, best done as a team effort involving the engineer, the seismologist, and the geologist. The team needs to identify each potential earthquake source that could affect the dam site, the greatest earthquake each source can produce, and time histories representing the resulting attenuated ground motions at the dam site.”

Dynamic stress and deformation analyses also are important components of earthquake-induced liquefaction of saturated loose cohesionless material. “During seismic shaking, both transient and residual pore-water pressures are generated in saturated soils,” observes the paper. “The residual pore-water pressures are due to plastic deformations in the soil skeleton.”

Moreover, seismic remediation methods such as densification, evacuation, and drainage are often effective in repairing existing embankment dams. “From an embankment dam perspective, the problem is not how to site, design, and construct a new dam,” the paper recognizes. “While it is true that many of the best dam sites in many parts of the world have already been used, it is also true that, using existing engineering technology, engineers today are capable of designing and constructing new dams that will behave acceptably during the design earthquake. If, for example, there are loose alluvial sands in the foundation, you simply remove them. On the other hand, engineers are faced with existing dams, some of which were designed prior to 1960 [and are] founded on alluvial material that is potentially liquefiable. It is the seismic retrofits of these existing dams that are the key concern facing geotechnical earthquake engineers who are focused on embankment dams—the scope of this paper.”

The paper concludes by outlining a vision for future developments in permanent deformation analysis, site characterization, remediation, and ground motion. “The most urgent and critical need in the area of embankment dam retrofit is for quantitative guidelines for soil improvement. We know that soil improvement works. That is, the soil improvement process improves the subsurface conditions. Currently index tests such as the [standard penetration test] are used before and after soil improvement to qualitatively evaluate the work. We have no case history data to rely on as no rehabilitated embankment dam has been shaken by the design earthquake. Because this requirement is urgent, these guidelines will be developed in the next decade.”

According to Policy 359, which was adopted last year by ASCE’s Board of Direction, the Society supports activities aimed at increasing research in earthquake engineering and seismic monitoring. It also supports accelerated technology transfer of research results; the adoption and enforcement of standards for seismic design; building codes and zoning provisions that incorporate improved seismic design and construction standards; collaborative efforts to improve earthquake preparedness; and educational initiatives to give the public a better understanding of engineering concepts for hazard reduction.

The ACECC was established in 1998 by ASCE, the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, and the Japan Society of Civil Engineers to promote the exchange of ideas and information through international conferences and the activities of various technical committees. It holds a CECAR every three years, and the previous ones were held in respectively Manila, Tokyo, and Seoul. For more information about the 4th CECAR and the ACECC, visit www.acecc.net.

On June 25, ASCE hosted a workshop in Washington, D.C., at the Army and Navy Club aimed at encouraging the senior members of the staffs of U.S.-based engineering firms to serve as mentors to principals of fledgling engineering firms in Afghanistan. The workshop brought together leaders in industry, academia, and government, as well as representatives of several professional groups and international organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

Moderated by Fredric S. Berger, P.E., M.ASCE—a senior vice president of the Louis Berger Group, Inc., of Washington, D.C., and a former vice-chair of ASCE’s International Activities Committee—the workshop addressed such issues as education and training programs, security, sustainable development, partnerships, and public and private investment. “The conflict among priorities of dollars, time, and training has been a very difficult challenge in this developing environment,” Berger said at the outset of the workshop. “If you want it done quickly, you don’t have time to train people. Training involves making mistakes and learning from mistakes—you don’t have time for that if you’re trying to get something done.”

Berger, who earlier this year was honored in ASCE’s Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) program for his lifetime achievements in management, has been instrumental in helping ASCE develop a program that can boost cooperation and thereby aid infrastructure projects in Afghanistan and promote economic growth in that country. “If you have a fixed budget, you may, for instance, have to choose between paved roads and gravel roads,” said Berger. “If you choose gravel roads, you get more kilometers, but you don’t get the pave that’s more durable. Training really needs to be a top priority. You have to stop expecting perfection the first and second and even third time. You have to expect some mistakes and failures. You have to expect to spend a little more money than usual, and you can’t expect to get it done yesterday.”

During a panel discussion that considered how aiding the engineering industry and profession in poorer countries can promote economic development, Robert W. Hanchett, P.E., M.ASCE, a chief engineer for USAID, discussed the priorities that come into play in bolstering sustainable reconstruction. “USAID’s goals are primarily to increase security and stability, support economic growth, and lower transaction costs,” he noted. “The approach we’re taking for the future is not only intended to build infrastructure, but also to improve livelihoods, long-term jobs, and also some agricultural development.”

At the end of the discussion, Henry J. “Hank” Hatch, P.E., Hon.M.ASCE—a retired army lieutenant general and a former commander of the Corps of Engineers—posed the following question: “How much are you investing in building the human and institutional capacity, either directly or as an embedded requirement, in design and/or construction contracts?”

Julie M. Fraser, a senior financial analyst for the World Bank, offered a response to Hatch’s question: “Capacity building is something that we have struggled with in Afghanistan,” she said. “The country has had more than twenty-three years of civil conflict. A lot of good people left the country, so you didn’t have educational systems there. And now when we go back and try to reconstruct, especially in the first couple of years, there’s a lot of tension in trying to get something on the ground quickly and build up the current institutions and the human capacity necessary to do that. So we’ve really been struggling with this quite a bit. But we’re also trying to tackle these challenges in different ways. We’re focusing on education—higher education as well as lower education. We’re also working on a skills development program, and within each sector we’re working with various donors to try to integrate capacity building into programs.”

Hatch, who chairs ASCE’s International Activities Committee, thanked Fraser for her response and then made a suggestion: “I would urge that we invest in the long term, and the long term is building the human capacity. Now I realize that’s a big challenge because of the conditions there. We can build a road and be gone tomorrow. But if we don’t build the road and leave the capability for them to repair it and replicate it and build an overall economic system that will attract private international investment to supplant the World Bank’s and USAID’s investment in the long term, then I believe we’re being very short-sighted.”

According to Hatch, who was honored last year in the OPAL program for his lifetime achievements in government, capacity building can be understood as “the building of human, institutional, and infrastructure capacity to help societies develop secure, stable, and sustainable economies, governments, and other institutions through mentoring, training, education, physical projects, the infusion of financial and other resources, and, most importantly, the motivation and inspiration of people to improve their lives.” Assisting in endeavors of this type is consistent with ASCE’s mission to advance professional knowledge and improve the practice of civil engineering. “It enhances the welfare of humanity and supports ASCE’s vision of building a better quality of life,” states Policy 506, which was adopted by the Board of Direction in 2004. That policy notes that the Society—through its members, technical divisions, institutes, committees, and councils—is in a unique position to assist developing countries through conferences, Web seminars, peer review panels, and publications.

Abdul Hadi Rakin, P.E., M.ASCE, the chair of the Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE)—an organization of engineers in North America and Europe committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan—addressed the importance of private investment and international collaboration. “We have to bring their technical capabilities up a notch so they can do some of this work themselves,” he pointed out. “If we involve the people and let them know that they did good jobs and they make money, that helps the economy and it helps development and it will in turn help stability and peace. This will also encourage foreign investors to invest in Afghanistan and ultimately improve the role of the government and the universities there. More economic development means more projects for the international community. More capacity in Afghanistan means more popular support for the international community and engineering firms.”

ASCE has been working with the sae to develop business training programs and establish joint objectives with Kabul (Kabol) University and other stakeholders. It is also currently coordinating an effort to gather donated technical publications and ship them to Afghanistan. In 2005 ASCE sent more than 10,000 texts of civil engineering material from its archives to Iraq. The decision to donate and send civil engineering publications overseas arose from an initiative that ASCE launched in 2004 to assist engineering communities abroad. Last year Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., an engineering firm headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, donated an assortment of literature (numerous texts on civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, pumps, water and wastewater treatment, pipeline technologies, disease prevention, water reuse, and desalination) to ASCE to be shipped abroad.

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants outlined future steps for aiding Afghanistan’s reconstruction. Creating incentives for senior staff members of U.S.-based engineering firms to serve as mentors provoked a fruitful exchange of ideas. “I’d like to put some numbers in perspective for Afghanistan,” said Berger at the close. “People have been talking about a billion-dollar investment here or a five-billion-dollar investment there. Well, the overrun of the Big Dig project in Boston was nine billion dollars, and the cost of the extension of the Metro line through Tysons Corner, Virginia, out toward Dulles Airport is supposed to be well over two billion dollars. So although these numbers sound like large investments, when you’re talking about an entire country’s reconstruction, they’re really not. The investment needs to be much more effectively utilized and it has to stop going to expensive consultants like us and go more toward the internal capabilities of building engineering capacity.”      

—Mark Fitzgerald

We civil engineers have our work cut out for us if we want to be prepared for tomorrow. This fact is clearer to me now than ever before. I have studied the report The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025, and I encourage you to do the same. The report outlines a global vision for civil engineers in 2025: “Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life, civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master:

• planners, designers, constructors, and operators of society’s economic and social engine—the built environment;
• stewards of the natural environment and its resources;
• innovators and integrators of ideas and technology across the public, private, and academic sectors;
• managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events, accidents, and other threats; and
• leaders in discussions and decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.”

The authors of the report are civil engineering leaders who participated in the Summit on the Future of Civil Engineering, a conference organized by asce and held last year in Virginia. They created a profile of the professional civil engineer in 2025 consistent with the vision for our profession. Our president-elect, David G. Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE, chaired the steering committee that planned the conference.

The civil engineer of tomorrow, according to the report, will need to possess a certain body of knowledge and a range of skills and attitudes. That knowledge will largely comprise the theories and principles that come into play in such realms as mathematics, stress and strain, continuum and fluid mechanics, elasticity, plasticity, and probability and risk analysis.

The desirable skills outlined in the report are the “abilities to do tasks.” These skills will require continuous learning and will include an ability to work productively in teams, to take an integrated approach to problem solving, and to communicate effectively. Formal education will be the primary means of inculcating the requisite body of knowledge, whereas skills will be developed both through formal education and through focused training and on-the-job experience.

In my view, to fine-tune skills as a civil engineer, you must concentrate on what you enjoy most in your work. Find something you like to do, and then do it a lot and you will become proficient at it, and eventually, if you do it enough, you will achieve greatness. It is important in everything we do that we focus on what we do well and what we don’t do well. (Clear out the undergrowth around the oak trees so they have plenty of water and nutrition, so to speak. Or, in other words, we should recognize our shortcomings and fertilize our talents.)

Business acumen built on efficiency also will be critical to success. To put it simply, keep in mind a basic rule that reminds us what efficiency means: never leave anything sitting around; you should only have to lift it once, from one location to another, to place it where you want it to end up.

Always strive to be the best. You need to surround yourself with first-class professionals committed to individual leadership, quality, and the acquisition and honing of skills. It has been said that eagles don’t flock but rather stand alone. So if you find an eagle, hire him or her.

Attitudes are the personal qualities that reflect your individual values and determine how you perceive, interpret, and approach the world. If you have the right attitudes, you will open many more doors to greatness. As a successful civil engineer ready for tomorrow, according to The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025, you will need to embrace a range of attitudes that supplement knowledge and skills and make for effective professional practice in industry, education, and
government.

These attitudes will manifest themselves in the following ways:

• Creativity and entrepreneurship that lead to a proactive recognition of opportunities and subsequent actions to take advantage of them;
• A commitment to ethical principles and to personal and organizational goals;
• Curiosity that seeks satisfaction through continuous learning and leads to fresh approaches to problems, to the development of new technologies, and
  to innovative applications of existing technologies;
• Honesty and integrity that will make one’s word his or her bond;
• Optimism in the face of challenges and setbacks and a recognition of the importance of vision, commitment, persistence, flexibility, and teamwork;
• Respect for and tolerance of the rights, values, views, and sensitivities of others;
• Thoroughness in examining the implications that engineering projects have for the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

Many of these attributes are similar to what will be required in other professions as well. Acquiring them will go far in helping us make our profession all that we want it to be in the future.

In civil engineering, project delivery will become an increasingly complex and multifaceted process. The design team of tomorrow, as described in the report, will include a multitude of participants and many of them will be from other fields, for example, management, environmental sciences, social sciences, and law. Likewise, the contractor’s team will no longer be made up of only a few trades; rather, dozens of specialized trades will come together in a managed process to complete the constructed project.

The report sees civil engineers as master innovators and integrators, as leaders who by developing and implementing new technologies will confer competitive advantages. Civil engineers will need to be properly educated, well trained, and well equipped if they are to be at the forefront in adapting and integrating these new technologies into both design and construction.

I urge you to read the report and learn all about how greatness and relevance will be defined in the profession of tomorrow. To access the report, visit http://content.asce.org/vision2025/index.html. Those wishing to order a hard copy will see a link at that address. Any questions may be e-mailed to klachinova@asce.org.

—W.F. Marcuson III, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE 

Nowatzki Named Engineer of the Year
Edward A. Nowatzki, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, was recently honored with the 2007 Southern Arizona Engineer of the Year Award. Presented by the Arizona Society of Professional Engineers, the award is bestowed annually on an individual who has contributed significantly to the field of engineering in Arizona. It is conferred on the basis of contributions to the engineering profession; professional integrity; technical knowledge and quality of work; community service; and recommendations from employers, peers, regulating agencies, or others in the engineering community. Nowatzki is currently a principal engineer with ncs Consultants, llc, in Tucson. He is also a professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. In recognition of his contributions to the civil engineering department during his years there, Nowatzki was selected last year by alumni, practitioners, and friends to receive the Centennial Professor Award.

Panagopoulos Becomes President-Elect of EFCA
Panos Panagopoulos, Ph.D., M.ASCE, has been named president-elect of the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA), an organization representing firms providing professional engineering consultancy and related services in Europe. Founded in 1992, the EFCA has member associations in 27 countries, and the firms it represents together employ more than 1 million people and have a turnover of more than $35 billion. Providing cohesive input to legislative actions on issues affecting market conditions, the EFCA offers a European platform that enables member firms to gather relevant facts and discuss business issues with counterparts in other countries. Panagopoulos studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and obtained a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. He served as the general secretary of the Hellenic Association of Consulting Firms for several years and subsequently was that body’s vice president and president. In 1989 Panagopoulos established ecos Consulting S.A., an engineering consulting firm with expertise in the water sector, and in 1992 he cofounded Geoconsult ltd, a geotechnical engineering consulting firm. He is currently a member of the EFCA’s board of directors and will begin his three-year term as president next May.

Fellows Elected
The following members were elected fellows of the Society in recent months. ASCE fellows are legally registered professional engineers or land surveyors who have made significant technical or professional contributions and have demonstrated notable achievement in responsible charge of engineering activity for at least 10 years following election to the ASCE grade of member. Fellows occupy the Society’s second-highest membership grade, exceeded only by honorary members.

Deepal S. Eliatamby, P.E., F.ASCE, is the president of Alliance Consulting Engineers, of Columbia, South Carolina, and is recognized for his dedication to the profession, his community, and engineering students. Eliatamby holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina and has more than 17 years of experience in engineering practice. His projects reveal a wide spectrum of expertise in that they deal with land planning and site design; master planning and development of industrial parks; industrial and commercial site development; storm-water management; solid waste management; and improvements to municipal water and wastewater systems. Eliatamby is currently the president of the South Carolina Economic Developers Association and also serves on many local, state, and national committees of asce and such other professional organizations as the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Public Works Association. Named to the “Top 20 under 40 Business Leaders” list by the South Carolina newspaper the State, he has been the recipient of numerous awards, among them asce’s 1999 Edmund Friedman Young Civil Engineer Award for Professional Achievement. Eliatamby is very active as a University of South Carolina alumnus, serving on committees and advisory boards, mentoring engineering students, and funding scholarships. As part of his community involvement, he serves on the business advisory council of the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department, which helps people with physical challenges rejoin the workforce. He has also become a role model by finding time to speak to middle school students to acquaint them with the opportunities, challenges, and satisfaction offered by a career in civil engineering.

Gian Carlo Giuliani, Ph.D., Reg. Eng., F.ASCE , is the cofounder of redesco s.r.l., of Milan, Italy, which provides research, design, and consulting services. Since 1959 Giuliani has handled site supervision and overseen the design and testing of all projects in the field of structural engineering for redesco and Studio Giuliani, including major buildings, industrial structures, bridges, and other infrastructure projects. Widely respected as a structural engineer in Italy, he is seen as a leader in Europe in the area of base isolation of structures. Through his designs and consulting work he has promoted the dynamic control of structures through the seismic isolation of buildings, viscoelastic coupling for hurricane-resistant structures, and tuned mass dampers for bridges. Giuliani’s research and development work has led to patents for three-dimensional composite bridges, prestressed aluminum trusses, and heavy-duty, large-span floor structures. His designs reflect his philosophy of using harmonious force patterns that to the fullest possible extent are consistent with the laws of equilibrium in nature. He has applied this philosophy to a number of projects in Italy, among them the seismic isolation of Ancona’s Telecom Centre and Bologna’s Emilia Romagna towers; the use of tuned mass dampers in the San Giuliano pedestrian bridge, in Venice; the use of a three-dimensional steel and concrete composite structure for the precast waffle slab floors in the Fiera Milano expansion, in Milan; and the launching of a steel and glass wide-span roof for the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Caserta. With more than 100 papers, texts, and book chapters to his credit, Giuliani has been the recipient of numerous awards and is frequently invited to lecture.

S. David Graber, P.E., F.ASCE, is a consultant in environmental and water resources engineering. Early in his career he gained experience in these areas through work in the military and in the private sector. In 1977 he established a consulting practice of his own that provides services to government agencies, consulting engineering firms, and other clients. Registered as a professional engineer in Massachusetts, New York, and Oklahoma, he holds degrees from the University of Miami and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been an active member of asce’s Urban Drainage Standards Committee—part of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute—since 1993, and he has more than two dozen technical papers and presentations to his credit. The innovative solutions he has developed to address problems in engineering practice have been reflected in award-winning published research, and the concepts that have emerged from that work in some cases have displaced prevailing concepts. Graber’s research has led to sophisticated mathematical analyses that have provided solutions to important problems. In addition to providing design, construction mitigation, and expert witness services, his work has included software development and the preparation of engineering studies. He has also contributed to numerous projects of public benefit, and his 16-year involvement in the Boston Harbor cleanup included key design decisions. Within his community Graber has served on town committees and worked with high school science students. An Eagle Scout, he has generously given 30 years to the Boy Scouts, serving as a scoutmaster for 14 years. His accolades include asce’s J.C. Stevens Award in 1972 and its Samuel Arnold Greeley Award in 1969 and again in 2005.

Michael R. Lewis, P.E., F.ASCE, is a chief engineer and manager of geotechnical engineering at Bechtel, of San Francisco. In his 33 years with that firm he has directed the design and construction of numerous infrastructure and power projects and has managed diverse technical organizations and groups, and his responsibilities have ranged from field and laboratory investigations to engineering design and management. The notable projects with which he has been involved include the subway system in Washington, D.C., nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants, and, outside the country, a large hydroelectric project in Indonesia and the design of the sultan of Brunei’s palace. He is best known for his leadership at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, South Carolina. There he has been involved in developing and managing several investigative and geotechnical analysis programs for critical facilities, among them a program of field exploration and laboratory testing that measured the cyclic strength of very carefully sampled deposits at the site. This groundbreaking work resulted in a process that quantitatively measures the increasing strength of natural sand deposits with age. Lewis has more than 30 papers and technical presentations to his credit, including reports for the Department of Energy and papers dealing with the SRS project. He has received awards for his technical publications and is sought after as a speaker. Indeed, the Georgia Institute of Technology invited him to deliver the George F. Sowers Lecture. Lewis is a member of ASCE’s Geo-Institute and also volunteers his time to other national and local associations and civic organizations.

Farouk P. Mishu, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE,  is a professor at Tennessee State University, where he heads the civil engineering department. He has been at the university since 1985, and before that he acquired nearly 15 years of field engineering experience in his native Iraq and with Bechtel, of San Francisco. Mishu’s field experience began in the late 1960s with work on highways that involved earthworks, reinforced-concrete culverts and bridges, and pavement construction, as well as extensive materials testing. He continued his work in the United States, focusing on the static, seismic, and hydrodynamic analysis and design of containment structures in nuclear power plants. His current areas of expertise are finite-element methods, microcomputer applications in civil engineering, and establishing the dynamic qualifications of equipment. In his 18 years at Tennessee State Mishu has been responsible for numerous innovations in the civil engineering department that have ensured continuous accreditation by abet, Inc. Moreover, women and members of minority groups are graduating at a rate equivalent to that at major universities. Mishu has secured scholarships for students recommended by the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, the Tennessee Road Builders Association, and the Nashville Branch of asce’s Tennessee Section and has worked to increase minority enrollment through a summer program for students in the first and second years of high school. He has also worked tirelessly to enhance Tennessee State’s academic program by drawing on the expertise of engineering practitioners in the Nashville area. Mishu has been recognized for his outstanding service to asce, in particular as a faculty adviser to the student chapter at Tennessee State.

Daniel D. Overton, P.E., F.ASCE, is a principal geotechnical engineer with Tetra Tech, Inc., in Fort Collins, Colorado, and has more than 22 years of geotechnical and reclamation engineering experience. His primary areas of practice include residential and master planned communities, commercial and mid-rise development, public works projects, forensic studies, and mine facilities and reclamation design. His numerous publications dealing with water migration, heave, and the rate of heave in expansive soils have helped to define the state of the art in these areas. In 1995 Overton joined Shepherd Miller to build a geotechnical consulting and design group, and today that group consists of 18 geotechnical engineers and has contracts totaling $4 million. Overton has served as an adjunct professor at Colorado State University, where in addition to advising graduate and doctoral students he has served on the civil engineering department’s industrial advisory board. Within asce, Overton has been an active member of the Colorado Section’s Northern Colorado Branch since 1996 and has held a number of positions, among them president and chair of the committee dealing with educational outreach. He was on the Geo-Institute organizing committee for the conferences Geo-Denver 2000 and Geo-Denver 2007, and he represented the Colorado Section in the District 16 Council. He also chaired the community service program organized to commemorate asce’s 150th anniversary, and his efforts in that initiative were recognized the following year with a public service award from Zone III.

Mark A. Perkins, P.E., F.ASCE, is the president of Perkins Engineering Consultants, Inc., of Austin, Texas. Before founding that company he spent 25 years with Alan Plummer Associates, Inc., where he rose to the position of vice president and directed the company’s largest projects. He has more than 27 years of professional experience in planning and designing municipal and industrial water and wastewater facilities, as well as in construction administration and securing permits. Perkins has received national recognition for his expertise in odor and corrosion management for public wastewater systems, and the water and wastewater infrastructure projects for which he has been responsible have an aggregate value of more than $250 million. In addition to serving as project manager for the Trinity River Authority’s Denton Creek Regional Wastewater System, which serves the Texas Motor Speedway, he participated in the Tarrant Regional Water District’s Wetlands Water Reuse Project. The Tarrant project augments water supplies while enhancing approximately 260 acres (105.2 ha) of wildlife habitat, and the wetland development there will ultimately encompass 1,600 acres (647.5 ha). For his contributions to that project Perkins was honored with the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Grand Award for Engineering Excellence at the national level, and he was honored at the state level as well. Within asce, Perkins has been actively involved with the Texas Section’s Fort Worth Branch for more than 20 years. He has held a number of posts and is currently the branch vice president. Throughout his career Perkins has recruited and mentored numerous graduate engineers, many of whom are now in management positions.

Gregg A. Scott, P.E., F.ASCE, is a senior technical specialist in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, where he has worked since 1976. He specializes in dam safety, risk analysis, structural analysis, earthquake engineering, and rock mechanics. As a member of the Bureau of Reclamation’s risk cadre team, he was instrumental in the development of the technical methodology used by the bureau for rock mechanics analysis and structural and risk analysis for dams, that is, the potential failure mode analysis process. Scott has lent his expertise as a researcher and inspector to a number of dam projects, among them the Pueblo, Deadwood, Gibson, Carter Lake, Stillwater, and Theodore Roosevelt dams. In addition to developing and publishing guidelines for carrying out geotechnical and foundation analyses of concrete dams, he has written software for analyzing the earthquake stability of concrete dam foundations. Scott has also served as an adviser to foreign governments and other agencies on dam projects abroad, among them China’s Three Gorges Dam, and he participated in a workshop in India organized by the United Nations. Scott received the Superior Service Award from the Department of the Interior in 1999, and in 2003 the Bureau of Reclamation honored him with its Engineer of the Year Award. He was a founding member of asce’s Geo-Institute, which he has served as a member of its Rock Mechanics Committee and a reviewer for its publication Geo-Strata.

Winston H.E. Suite, Ph.D., Reg. Eng., F.ASCE, is professor of construction engineering and management at the University of the West Indies, and he has served the engineering community for more than 30 years as a practitioner and educator. His expertise is in concrete technology, contract law, infrastructure planning and development, and natural hazard management. Suite began his career in 1965 working as an engineer for the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and in 1976 he started his own firm, Suite Engineering Services. He joined the faculty of the University of the West Indies in 1983, and from 1997 to 2006 he headed the school’s construction engineering and management program. With more than 80 refereed papers to his credit, Suite has served as a consultant on numerous projects and has supervised dozens of students working on master’s theses and other academic projects. A member of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, Suite lends his services to a variety of local government committees and boards.

James R. Talbot, P.E., F.ASCE, is a nationally recognized expert on the design, construction, and rehabilitation of dams and hydraulic structures. He has more than 48 years of professional experience and research, 35 of them with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service), where he rose to the position of chief geotechnical engineer, and 13 years as a senior engineer for dam design and construction for gei Consultants, Inc. Frequently invited to speak at technical seminars and at universities, Talbot has managed major research projects on sand and gravel filters for earth dams as well as projects dealing with the cracking of embankment dams, the treatment of dispersive clay soils, and the prevention of soil erosion from rainfall. He is a leading expert on seepage and piping control for embankment dams, and as a member of astm International, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, and the federal government’s Interagency Committee on Dam Safety he has served for many years on committees charged with developing standards and criteria for dams and earthwork construction. He chaired a committee set up to develop federal guidelines for earthquake analyses and the design of dams, and within asce he serves on the Geo-Institute’s Inspection of Dams Standards Committee. As one of the authors of the paper “Filters for Silts and Clays,” Talbot was honored with asce’s Norman Medal in 1985, and the following year he received the Federal Engineer of the Year Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers for his work in soil conservation.
 
Kamal S. Tawfiq, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is a professor in the College of Engineering created by Florida A&M University and Florida State University and chairman of the civil engineering department. He specializes in foundation engineering, nondestructive testing, the dynamic characterization of materials, pavement evaluation, and geotechnical and environmental engineering. In addition to numerous technical publications, Tawfiq has made a variety of technical and professional development presentations and has conducted professional development courses. He has also spearheaded efforts to improve the design and construction of deep foundations and to upgrade engineering practice in that area. He has two patented digital devices for facilitating drilled shaft inspections to his credit: the Digital Video Borescope and the Digital Viscometer Device, both of which are being used by the Florida Department of Transportation. In 1991 Tawfiq invented the plastic sheeting for mitigating down drag in driven piles, now the primary technique used by Florida and other states to reduce the effect of negative friction on piles. His numerous professional awards include Tau Beta Pi’s Teacher of the Year Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Florida Engineering Society, and the Governor’s Best Product Award from the State of Florida.

Fellow applications may be obtained from ASCE’s world headquarters, in Reston, Virginia, by calling (800) 548-2723 or, from outside the country, (703) 295-6300 or by e-mailing memapp@asce.org. Applications for fellow status are also available in PDF format at www.asce.org/membership/fellowgrade.cfm. Applicants using the PDF format must request reference forms and return envelopes from ASCE through one of the contact points listed above. Completed applications are considered at the monthly meetings of the Society’s Membership Application Review Committee (MARC), which elects qualified candidates to the fellow grade. Questions regarding the fellow guidelines or application process (including waiver of guideline inquiries) should be directed to Curtis Nunley, the staff liaison to the MARC, at one of the contact points above.

Arthur S. Tuttle Scholarship
Blake Michael Andrews, S.M.ASCE, and Alison Ann Trachet, S.M.ASCE, have been selected to receive the Arthur S. Tuttle Scholarship. This $2,500 award, named in honor of a former asce president, is for students in their first year of graduate studies.

In June 2006 Andrews graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a minor in business administration. He has also taken classes in surveying that satisfy the requirements of the Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. A member of the asce student chapter and of the Ohio University Civil Engineering Society, Andrews was recognized as a Tau Beta Pi fellow for the academic year 2006–07. In 2005 he won the Civil Engineering Academic Achievement Award, which honors the top student in the civil engineering department, and the Civil Engineering Department Outstanding Senior Award. After graduation, Andrews began graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering with a specialty in structural engineering. He recently finished his first year there and is deeply involved in research. After obtaining his degree he plans to pursue professional structural engineering practice in design or consulting.

Trachet graduated summa cum laude last year from the University of Florida. As an undergraduate she was active in the asce student chapter and in Tau Beta Pi, helping to plan the latter’s 2004 national convention and the 2006 ASCE Southeastern Regional Conference. She also placed second in the 2006 essay contest for ASCE’s Daniel W. Mead Prize for Students. In addition to her activity in student organizations, Trachet participated in an undergraduate research project examining the modulus of elasticity of live oak tree trunks. She is now attending graduate school at the University of Texas, where she is specializing in construction materials.

Freeman Fellowship
Wenjing Pu, S.M.ASCE, has been selected to receive the Freeman Fellowship. This $5,000 stipend is to be used for expenses incurred in conducting research and experiments. Pu is a doctoral candidate in civil engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Tongji University, in Shanghai, China. Pu has published or presented at least 10 papers related to transportation planning, traffic engineering, and safety. He was a steering committee member of a transportation congress held in Chicago in 2006, and he has supervised undergraduate senior projects at the uic. His accolades include the ASCE Illinois Section’s Graduate Scholarship Award, the UIC’s Student Travel Award, and a certificate of recognition from CH2M hill for his outstanding performance and exemplary teamwork as a summer intern.

Samuel Fletcher Tapman ASCE Student Chapter/Club Scholarship
Ikenna Gyasi Clarke, S.M.ASCE, Jeremy McCandless Crowe, S.M.ASCE, Scott Daniel Hunter, S.M.ASCE, Lauren Elizabeth Johnson, S.M.ASCE, Katie Marie Keller, S.M.ASCE, Jennifer Ruth Nelson, S.M.ASCE, and Michael Vernon Schaefer, S.M.ASCE, are each to receive the Samuel Fletcher Tapman ASCE Student Chapter/Club Scholarship. The $2,500 scholarships are made possible through a bequest made by Samuel Fletcher Tapman, M.ASCE, in 1961.

Clarke has been a member of ASCE since the fall of 2004, when he entered Howard University. His involvement in ASCE has steadily grown during his years there and has gone from serving as a volunteer at National Science Foundation “family days” to holding a position on the executive board of the asce student chapter and being cocaptain of the Howard team in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition (which is also sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction). He intends to graduate next year with a concentration in both structural and geotechnical engineering. Upon graduation he plans to pursue a master’s degree in project management. Clarke has been carrying out research in transportation engineering for the past year, and he plans to begin research in environmental engineering after a summer internship. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi.

Crowe’s interest in civil engineering began at a young age and has grown to encompass all disciplines of civil engineering. In the three years that he has been a member of the asce student chapter at the Florida Institute of Technology he has been involved with such events as the National Concrete Canoe Competition and the National Student Steel Bridge Competition. Crowe has also served as the asce chapter’s treasurer, and he helped plan and carry out a project that enabled the chapter to increase its storage space.

Hunter is a full-time civil engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh. He currently maintains a 3.64 grade point average and is a senior in the cooperative education program offered through the School of Engineering. As part of this program, he has had the opportunity to work three rotations in the construction field. Each has provided him with unique exposure to the various disciplines that make up the construction profession.

Johnson is a senior civil engineering student at Louisiana State University, where she has maintained a 3.56 grade point average (3.72 in her major) while being very active in professional organizations. She is currently serving as president of the asce chapter and previously served as its secretary. She is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Johnson was recently honored with the Distinguished Civil Engineering Student Award from asce’s Louisiana Section. She has been able to enhance her classroom knowledge through an internship with the Shaw Group.

A civil engineering major and art history minor at the University of Delaware, Keller has interned with the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company as well as with Whitney, Bailey, Cox, and Magnani. An active member of the Blue Hen Ambassador program, a group that runs recruitment activities on campus, Keller will be a student coordinator for the program this fall and will lead the university’s team in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition. Recently inducted into Tau Beta Pi, Keller has been a steadfast supporter of the university’s Women in Engineering Mentoring Program, which gives female engineering students in all disciplines an opportunity to network.

Nelson has just completed her third year at South Dakota State University. A civil engineering major, she is currently the vice president of the ASCE student chapter and the president of the Chi Epsilon chapter. She is also developing her musical talents and is a member of Tau Beta Pi.

Schaefer has been busy at the University of Iowa conducting research in an environmental engineering laboratory for the past year. This past spring he was named the recipient of the university’s Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award in recognition of his math and engineering studies on the interaction of iron with different oxide surfaces in groundwater. Schaefer also works as a tutor for the College of Engineering, helping students in a range of first- and second-year engineering courses. He recently traveled to Xicotepec de Juárez, Mexico, to install two water purification systems as part of an engineering course. He is an active member of the university’s ASCE student chapter and next spring will be its secretary and treasurer. He also finds time to lend his services to Engineers for a Sustainable World and to be a member of the university’s Frisbee team. He was recently inducted into Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi.

Y.C. Yang Civil Engineering Scholarship
Timothy Truster, S.M.ASCE, has been selected to receive the Y.C. Yang Civil Engineering Scholarship. Named after and funded by the chairman of T.Y. Lin & Y.C. Yang International, the scholarship was set up in 2004 to encourage students to pursue civil engineering in general and structural engineering in particular. A junior at the University of Dayton, Truster is active in a number of organizations, including asce, Circle K International, Chi Epsilon, the Campus Ministry, and Habitat for Humanity. He has served as the club treasurer of Circle K for two terms and has more than 300 hours of community service to his credit. He has also twice participated at the regional level in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition and has attended numerous fellowship and leadership conferences. Truster is currently president of the Circle K chapter at the University of Dayton, secretary of the asce student chapter, and editor of the campus’s Chi Epsilon publication. He has also been the recipient of the School of Engineering’s George A. Barrett, ’28 Award of Excellence for outstanding work in civil engineering and of the Andrew Littlefield Outstanding Treasurer Award from the Ohio district of Circle K International.

ASCE recently joined members of the Hazards Caucus and the Hazards Caucus Alliance to present a briefing to congressional staff members entitled “The New Madrid Fault Zone: Geology, Engineering, and Emergency Management to Reduce Earthquake Risks.” The New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones lie beneath Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. A series of high-magnitude earthquakes occurred in the New Madrid zone in 1811 and 1812, destroying lakes and forests and changing the course of the Mississippi River. The speakers at the briefing included Jack Hayes, the director of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program; Arthur Frankel, a coordinator at the Denver Federal Center; and David Maxwell, the director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. For more information about the Hazards Caucus or the Hazards Caucus Alliance, visit www.hazardscaucus.org.

Congress should enact legislation to amend the Clean Water Act and clarify federal jurisdiction over wetlands, establish clearly where states must assume responsibility, and provide appropriate federal oversight, ASCE told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last month. In a statement submitted to the committee, ASCE said legislation is needed to maintain federal jurisdiction over all interstate and navigable waters, their tributaries, and all adjacent wetlands (under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ regulatory program as it existed before 2001) in order to protect all traditionally navigable waters. ASCE pointed out that the law should also clarify what jurisdiction states have under the act over isolated, unnavigable intrastate waters and their adjacent wetlands, including vernal pools, playas, and prairie potholes. Such clarification is necessary to fill the regulatory gap left by recent Supreme Court decisions. State protections should be based on environmental and wildlife considerations under regulations promulgated by the Department of the Interior or the Environmental Protection Agency, asce argued. “The states need to increase their efforts to preserve vital wetlands within their borders under section 404,” said asce. “The states need [federal] assistance to become full partners with the federal government in preserving wetlands, including geographically isolated wetlands.” Michigan and New Jersey at present are the only states that operate federally approved wetlands programs, and only 15 states have laws to protect isolated wetlands.

ASCE is pleased to announce its first “PR University”—a free, comprehensive public relations workshop for civil engineers who want to learn more about how to incorporate public relations into their professional activities. ASCE created the training program as part of its goal to bring effective public relations strategies to its members. During this highly interactive, one-day workshop, ASCE’s communications department will offer presentations and activities designed to highlight effective methods of communication. Attention will also be given to public relations issues and outreach strategies. Participants will learn how to set goals in this area and how to reach particular audiences. A guest speaker from a news organization in the Washington, D.C., area will present a newsroom perspective, and a reference guide will be provided to each attendee. Part ‘how to’ manual and part resource guide, the work has been designed to give civil engineers a practical introduction to public relations. The workshop is scheduled to take place November 9 in Washington, D.C., at the Keck Center of the National Academies. Attendees are eligible for travel reimbursement based on ASCE’s standard travel reimbursement policy. For more information, visit www.asce.org/prtoolkit.

ASCE’s Geomatics Division will pre-sent a special one-day seminar entitled “Accurate Georeferencing with the Global Positioning System (GPS).” The seminar will cover modern GPS frames and three-dimensional datums and physical vertical datums. Attention will also be given to the basic principles of OPUS (Online Positioning User Service) and GPS surveying. Participants will gain an understanding of the theoretical and practical processes underlying current gps methodologies as well as common errors in gps operation. The subjects discussed will be of interest to surveying engineers and geodetic surveyors as well as to other land surveyors who use gps techniques in their daily work. Transportation engineers and any other civil engineers working with gps also will benefit from the seminar. The event will take place on September 14 at ASCE’s headquarters, in Reston, Virginia. The reduced registration fee includes course handouts, a continental breakfast, and lunch. For additional information or to register, visit www.asce.org/conted/seminars/seminar.cfm?cat=3#abc865abc or call (800) 548-2723.

I am happy to report that policies in asce’s Professional Liability Program now come with significant enhancements. These new benefits include the removal of the firm size limitation of 10 or fewer engineers, an increase in the annual billing limitation from $2 million to $3 million, an increase in the maximum limit of liability available to $1.5 million, and a 10 percent premium credit factored into renewal quotations. If you’d like more details on this coverage or information about how to apply, visit www.asceinsurance.com or call the plan administrator at (800) 435-7931.

An important nomination deadline is approaching. Nominations are due by October 1 for honorary membership, Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) awards, and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prizes. An honorary member is a person who has attained acknowledged eminence in some branch of engineering or in the arts and sciences that have a bearing on engineering. The opal program recognizes lifetime achievements in design, construction, government, education, and management and also bestows awards on engineering projects. Please consider nominating a friend or colleague for any of these important honors, and visit www.asce.org/awards for a complete list of awards, including information about how to develop a package for nominating someone for honorary membership.

—Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE
Executive Director

LEAD Program Helps Professionals Reach Their Potential

ASCE recently saw a third class complete its Leader Education and Development (LEAD) program, an eight-month course that helps professionals gain the confidence and develop the skills needed for effective leadership and personal and professional growth. Held at ASCE’s headquarters, in Reston, Virginia, the course began last November and concluded on June 21 with a graduation ceremony that awarded certificates to the 15 participants and congratulated them for their hard work and willingness to learn, be honest, and take risks.

“This is an excellent course, which covers all the aspects of great leadership,” says J. Paul Hobelmann, P.E., M.ASCE, an engineer with Weidlinger Associates, Inc., a structural engineering and applied mechanics consulting firm headquartered in New York City. “I would recommend it to any potential leaders.”

The course—taught by Olin and Laura Jennings, cofounders and principals of the Jennings Group, a management consulting and training firm that specializes in working with engineering and other technical service firms—helped participants better understand themselves, communicate in ways that inspire and motivate others, lead difficult people, provide leadership in situations characterized by acrimony and discord, and both lead change and create an environment for change. Participants also learned how to help others reach their full potential and how to be more effective in delegating, coaching, and mentoring.

Lawrence H. Roth, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE, the Society’s deputy executive director, presented the graduates with certificates upon completion of the course. Evaluations of the program were extremely positive, and all of the participants said they would recommend lead to others. The program’s overall success is reflected in the continued support of various organizations funding enrollment. Several of the organizations sponsoring lead participants have done so in the past and intend to continue to send attendees.

The next lead course will begin on November 8, 2007, and will be held in Reston, Virginia. The Society also hopes to expand the program and welcomes the possibility of working with section or branch members to bring the lead curriculum to their areas. For more information, visit www.asce.org/professional/lead/ or contact ASCE’s director of professional practice, Melissa Prelewicz, p.e., m.asce, at mprelewicz@asce.org or (800) 548-2723, extension 6341.

Delaware Section Highlights Infrastructure Needs 

On June 20 ASCE’s Delaware Section released a “report card” that conferred an overall grade of C on the state’s public school facilities and transportation systems, including highways, bridges, and mass transit. Developed by a team of practicing civil engineers and educators, the assessment calls for comprehensive funding initiatives to improve infrastructure so as to meet future demands.

“Delawareans have come to expect safe roads and bridges with little congestion, along with state-of-the-art school buildings for their children,” John O. Grieshaber, P.E., M.ASCE, the chairman of the section committee that prepared the report, remarked in a press release. “Without increased funding now and better use of resources, we can expect escalating gridlock conditions, increased costs to users, increased accident rates, detours due to deteriorating roads and bridges, and overcrowded schools.”

In lamenting the condition of Delaware’s public school facilities, the report cites shortcomings in planning, construction funding, and maintenance. “Inadequate funding may be the source of many of Delaware’s infrastructure problems, but there are also other factors to consider, including better forecasting and coordinated management,” added Gries-haber. “It is easier and more cost effective to maintain infrastructure that is in average or good condition than when it is failing and out of date. We must invest in new technologies and come up with revenue sources that are sustainable and capable of meeting the current and future needs.”

Delaware’s system of bridges achieved the highest grade, a B, while the state’s highways and mass transit each received a C. “Congestion in Delaware is heavily influenced by the significance and usage of the I-95 corridor and the seasonal effects of beach traffic,” notes the assessment. “While it is generally acknowledged that it is not appropriate or feasible to build our way out of congestion, congestion management, operational improvements, targeted capacity expansion, and promotion of public transportation and ride sharing all are feasible strategies that can be effectively utilized if provided the proper level of funding for planning, engineering, implementation, operation, and maintenance.”

The section supports funding initiatives that have been proposed by Delaware’s governor, Ruth Ann Minner. These proposals include an increase in the motor fuel tax of five cents a gallon; a 1.25 percent increase in the automobile documentation fee in fiscal year 2008 and a further 0.50 percent increase in fiscal year 2009; elimination of the 10 pm to 6 am commercial vehicle e-z Pass discount on I-95; elimination of all e-z Pass discounts on Route 1; an increase of tolls on Route 1 in fiscal year 2009; and a 50 percent increase in vehicle registration fees.

“The initiatives set forth by Governor Minner must be implemented immediately in order to meet the current demand on Delaware’s transportation infrastructure,” urged Grieshaber. “A lack of new investment into the Transportation Trust Fund over the past several years has brought construction funding to a crossroads. Without an infusion of much needed capital, Delawareans will not only see a downward trend in the ability of the state to meet current needs, but also the possibility of the state’s transportation system becoming obsolete.”

Released at a press conference held on the east steps of the Legislative Hall, in Dover, the report took into account capacity versus need as well as current and pending investment by state, local, and federal sources. An assessment made in 2000 by the section conferred an overall grade of D+ on Delaware’s infrastructure and put investment needs at $560 million. In that assessment, schools received a D+, mass transit a D, and the state’s system of roads and bridges a C. Today, funding sources for school construction in Delaware are alarmingly scarce and the state now faces a $1.5 billion shortfall over the next six years in transportation infrastructure, including a projected $141 million shortfall in 2008 and a $202 million shortfall in 2009.

For information about asce’s regional infrastructure assessments, contact Adam Gagnon, ASCE’s manager of state government relations, at agagnon@asce.org.

Board of Direction ApprovesFormation of New Institute

At a meeting in Detroit last month the Society’s Board of Direction approved the creation of the Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI), which will officially begin its existence on October 1 of this year.

By advancing engineering mechanics, the EMI hopes to serve the needs of the worldwide engineering community and to promote the study and application of scientific and mathematical principles. The ultimate goal is to provide solutions to a broad spectrum of existing and future engineering problems, many of which have societal ramifications. The institute will also offer a focal point of interaction for those dealing with emerging as well as traditional areas of mechanics and will promote the interdependence of engineering mechanics and other disciplines by providing a forum for scientists, engineers, planners, representatives of industry, citizen groups, and public officials. Furthermore, the new institute will be responsible for the production of the Journal of Engineering Mechanics, a publication of international renown that keeps the engineering mechanics community abreast of the advances brought about by research and development.

The members of the EMI’s governing board are James L. Beck, Ph.D., M.ASCE; Alexander H.D. Cheng, M.ASCE; Roger G. Ghanem, Ph.D., M.ASCE; Chiang C. Mei, Ph.D., M.ASCE; Stein Sture, Ph.D. F.ASCE; and George Z. Voyiadjis, Ph.D., F.ASCE. The emi’s first president will be Wilfred D. Iwan, Ph.D., M.ASCE. For more information about the new institute, e-mail Iwan at wdiwan@caltech.edu.

Nominations Sought In Engineering Week Program

ASCE is seeking nominations for the 2008 New Faces of Civil Engineering program, which recognizes the accomplishments of young engineers and the way in which their work benefits society at large. Sponsored by Engineers Week, the program provides a unique opportunity to showcase engineers who can serve as role models for students. Individuals will be chosen from a broad range of engineering disciplines, including civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and industrial.

Those selected will be asked to participate in online discussion forums with engineering undergraduates throughout the world and will be interviewed about the experiences that influenced them in pursuing engineering, the challenges they faced in making the transition from school to the workforce, and other important experiences that can be shared with college and precollege students. Selected engineers will also be featured in a USA Today advertisement during Engineers Week (February 17–23) and will be profiled online at www.eweek
.org and www.discoverengineering.org.

The following requirements apply: engineers must be 30 years of age or younger as of December 1, 2007, and have a degree in engineering from a recognized U.S. college or university or an equivalent international educational institution. (A degree in computer engineering qualifies, but this is not the case with engineering technology, science, computer science, or similar disciplines.) Although the program recognizes achievements in all engineering disciplines, nominees must be a member of a sponsoring Engineers Week partner.

To participate in the nomination process, provide an electronic photo (color jpeg image with a resolution of 300 dots per inch) of the nominee, a completed nomination form, and a brief statement of support. Nominations must be e-mailed as Word and .jpeg attachments to newfaces@asce.org by October 15. Late entries will not be accepted. Please use only one e-mail per nominee. To download an application, visit www.asce.org/files/doc/NOMINATION_FORM.doc. For additional information, contact Lisa Jennings at ljennings@asce.org or (703) 295-6405.

Oregon Section Cosponsors Amicus Curiae Brief 

In late 2006 asce and its Nevada Section joined several engineering societies in submitting an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of Nevada supporting application of the economic loss doctrine to engineering and architecture professionals. Now the highest court in a second state, the Supreme Court of Oregon, is considering a lawsuit involving the economic loss doctrine, and ASCE’s Oregon Section has cosponsored an amicus curiae brief in support of the engineering professional’s interests.

As explained in the Short Takes section of the December 2006 issue of ASCE News, the economic loss doctrine is a legal principle stating that if the failure of a defective product causes only “economic” loss to a party, that party cannot recover damages except through a contractual agreement with the negligent party. The theory underlying this doctrine is that in a complex situation such as a construction project, where a chain of contracts connects owner to contractor to subcontractor, the individual contracts are designed to allocate risk among the various parties involved in the transaction. It would defeat the purpose of such allocations and expose each party to a significantly higher liability risk if any party could collect from any other party through a negligence tort claim what the party would be unable to collect through its contractual rights.

The Oregon case, Harris v. Suniga, arises from defects in the construction of an apartment building that created a significant dry rot problem. When the Harris trust, which purchased the building from its original owners, filed suit against the company responsible for the faulty construction, the defendants argued that the claim was barred by the lack of a contractual relationship between them and the new owners.

As in the Nevada case, the plaintiffs have questioned the applicability of the economic loss doctrine to their case. However, whereas the Nevada suit challenged the use of this doctrine when the negligent work was a design service rather than a product, in this case the plaintiffs have challenged the definition of economic loss itself. They claim that economic loss refers only to intangible losses, such as lost profits or loss of reputation, not to the costs incurred in repairing a damaged product. The Oregon Court of Appeals agreed, and the defendants have appealed that decision to the Supreme Court of Oregon.

While Harris v. Suniga involves negligent construction rather than negligent design, this narrow definition of economic loss poses the threat that design professionals will be faced with significantly higher liability risks for work performed on a construction project. The amicus curiae brief filed by the Oregon Section argues that the proper definition of economic loss—and the one accepted by many other state courts recognizing the doctrine—includes loss  in which damage is only to the defective product, not to other property or persons.

The Nevada case involving the economic loss doctrine, Mandalay v. Terracon, is still before the Supreme Court of Nevada.

Landmark Status Conferred On Scottish Bridge

On July 4 community members, local officials, and a delegation of asce members and members of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) gathered in the Scottish town of Speyside to officially designate the Craigellachie Bridge a civil engineering landmark. Designed by Thomas Telford (1757–1834), a Scottish engineer who was largely self-educated, the bridge was completed in 1814 and has a single span of approximately 46 m.

“This is one of Telford’s masterpieces,” reports Henry Petroski, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, who was part of the delegation and is the chairman of asce’s History and Heritage Committee. “It’s one of the oldest surviving examples of his cast-iron bridges that did so much to advance the art of building the shallow metal arch in the early nineteenth century.” Telford achieved wide recognition for innovative feats in the design and construction of a myriad of transportation projects in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. Because this year marked the 250th anniversary of his birth, the delegation also had an opportunity to participate in a symposium organized by the Royal Society of Edinburgh that focused on Telford’s life and career.

“Although Telford never visited America and had no direct connection with the development of its infrastructure, he did influence some of our country’s most well-known civil engineering achievements,” Petroski argued in a paper he presented at the symposium. “Both John Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, and James Buchanan Eads, chief engineer of the bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis that now bears his name, had a great respect for Telford and evoked his name in their motivation and justification for the designs of their own masterpieces.”
To help visitors to the Craigellachie Bridge gain a sense of its historical importance, a cast bronze plaque bearing the logos of ASCE and ICE was affixed to a large stone and erected near the landmark. The designation was part of ASCE’s Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Program, which recognizes historically significant civil engineering sites, structures, and projects around the world. Visit www.asce.org/history/ce_landmarks.cfm for more information about the program.

SITUATION: A professional engineer supervising the preparation of construction plans for a wastewater treatment facility dies unexpectedly as the plans are nearing completion. The engineering firm has one other professional engineer on staff; however, she has had no prior involvement in the project. She contacts the ASCE ethics hotline to ask whether she may review the plans developed under her late colleague’s supervision and apply her seal to them.

QUESTION: Is it ethical for a professional engineer who has not prepared or supervised the preparation of construction design plans to place his or her seal on them after a careful review?

DECISION: The guidelines to practice in ASCE’s Code of Ethics contain two references to sealing documents. Paragraph (b) in the guidelines for canon 1 reads as follows: “Engineers shall approve or seal only those design documents, reviewed or prepared by them, which are determined to be safe for public health and welfare in conformity with accepted engineering standards.” And paragraph (c) in the guidelines for canon 2 has this to say: “Engineers shall not affix their signatures or seals to any engineering plan or document dealing with subject matter in which they lack competence by virtue of education or experience or to any such plan or document not reviewed or prepared under their supervisory control.” These statements reflect the dual purpose of the professional engineer’s seal, namely, to confirm that a competent professional has taken responsibility for the document and to certify that the work has been carried out with the utmost concern for the public welfare.

Both paragraphs cited above include the phrase “reviewed or prepared,” meaning that an engineer can seal work that he or she did not perform as long as he or she is qualified to review the work and has taken the steps necessary to confirm that the plans satisfy all applicable engineering and safety standards. Therefore, under the Code of Ethics, a professional engineer’s decision to seal, after a thorough review, documents prepared outside his or her supervisory control would not constitute an ethics violation.

However, the question whether a professional engineer may sign documents prepared by another does not end with ASCE’s Code of Ethics. Professional engineers are also subject to state regulations and to codes of conduct developed by state licensing boards, and many states impose tighter restrictions on an engineer’s ability to seal documents that have not been prepared under that engineer’s supervision.

In May 2005 this column reported a case where an engineer reviewed and sealed plans produced by another engineer. Although ASCE’s Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) found that the engineer had not violated the Code of Ethics, the engineer was disciplined by his state licensing board, whose rules of conduct barred engineers from sealing documents when they had not personally prepared the documents or supervised their preparation.

In fact, the rules of nearly every state licensing board in the United States stipulate that engineering plans are to be sealed only by the engineer who prepared the plans or had direct personal supervision over the individuals who prepared them. However, recognizing that situations can arise where the responsible engineer is unable to seal completed or nearly completed plans, many states define requirements that, if met, allow an engineer to place his or her seal on a predecessor’s documents.

In Virginia and Rhode Island, for example, in cases where the responsible engineer is unable to seal engineering documents, another professional engineer may seal them after proper review and verification. To quote the Rhode Island statute, there must be a “thorough review and verification that the work has been accomplished to the same extent that would have been exercised if the work had been done under the direct control and personal supervision of the professional affixing the professional seal.” In New York and Connecticut, an engineer who wants to seal plans prepared by another must prepare and retain for six years a comprehensive written evaluation of the documents, “including but not limited to drawings, specifications, reports, design calculations, and references to applicable codes and standards.” And in South Dakota, a newly enacted statute permits a second engineer to seal another’s work only if the successor again performs all the professional services, including the preparation of a “complete design file, with work or design criteria, calculations, code research, and any necessary and appropriate changes.”

The rules on sealing documents vary significantly from state to state, and many contain subjective terms, for example, “sufficient” and “familiar,” which have been left for the state licensing board to interpret. Given this uncertainty—and the possibility of disciplinary action for failure to comply with state rules on the use of seals—it is wisest for any engineer in this situation to disclose the facts to his or her state licensing board and to seek advice as to what actions are allowed under the laws of the particular state.

Accordingly, the ASCE ethics hotline staff advised the member that while reviewing and sealing plans prepared by another engineer for the wastewater treatment facility would not violate ASCE’s Code of Ethics, she should contact her state licensing board for the final word on whether it was permissible for her to do so.

For individuals seeking more information on state rules governing sealed documents, the Web site of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying contains links to the licensing boards of all U.S. states and territories: www.ncees.org/licensure/licensing_boards/.

Members who have an ethics question or would like to file a complaint with the cpc may call ASCE’s hotline at (703) 295-6061 or (800) 548-ASCE (2723), extension 6061. The attorneys staffing this line can provide advice on how to handle an ethics issue or file a complaint. Please note that individual facts and circumstances vary from case to case and that the general summary information contained in these case studies is not to be construed as a precedent binding upon the Society.

Joseph K. Bratton, P.E., M.ASCE,  a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, passed away in June at the age of 81. Bratton served as the chief of engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1980 to 1984. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1948 and afterwards served with an engineer battalion in Austria and later with the 13th Engineer Battalion in Korea. In 1964 he commanded the 24th Engineer Battalion, part of the 4th Armored Division, in West Germany, and in 1969 he led the 159th Engineer Group in Vietnam. Bratton received a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before he became chief of engineers, he served as the division engineer of the Corps’s South Atlantic Division and as deputy chief of engineers. His military awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (two oak leaf clusters), and the Bronze Star Medal (one oak leaf cluster).

Peter J. Filanc, P.E., M.ASCE, died at the age of 54 following a lengthy illness. A nationally recognized leader in the water and wastewater industries, Filanc earned a master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1979 he went to work at his father’s firm, J.R. Filanc Construction Company, a general engineering contractor in Escondido, California, that specializes in constructing, renovating, and expanding water and wastewater treatment facilities. Filanc held several positions at the firm and eventually became its president, succeeding his father in 1990. A steadfast advocate of design/build, Filanc was one of the nation’s foremost experts on construction procurement and helped save facility owners time and money while ensuring high standards in water and wastewater treatment facilities. In the late 1990s Filanc chaired a wastewater symposium organized by the Design-Build Institute of America, and he was frequently invited to lecture at that group’s conferences and at various events sponsored by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy, the Associated General Contractors of America, and the American Water Works Association. “Peter had a true talent for understanding what our company would need to do in order to grow and prosper,” his father, Jack, said recently in a press release. “He was always ahead of the curve. He knew where the entire industry needed to go in order to be ready to meet the water and wastewater treatment needs of the future.”

Kenneth Johnson, P.E., F.ASCE, died last month at the age of 80. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1950 from the Citadel. The founder and president of Soil Consultants, Inc., he was a registered professional engineer in South Carolina and Georgia. Johnson was a founding member and president of the Civil Engineers Club of Charleston. He also served as president of asce’s South Carolina Section, of that section’s Eastern Branch, and of the South Carolina Society of Engineers. In addition to membership in Tau Beta Pi—an engineering honor society—he was active in the affairs of the Knights of Columbus.

William J. LeMessurier, P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, a prominent structural engineer, died in Casco, Maine, last month at the age of 81. Named an honorary member of asce in 1989, LeMessurier was world renowned for inventive engineering design and was a leading authority on tall buildings. He developed the widely used staggered truss system for high-rise steel structures; pioneered the Mah-LeMessurier system, which is used on precast-concrete high-rises; and championed the use of tuned mass dampers, which he employed to reduce the motion of tall buildings, among them New York City’s Citicorp Center and Boston’s John Hancock Tower. LeMessurier received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 1947 and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. Throughout his career he was devoted to helping engineers and architects work together on a professional basis, and he was a mentor to many of the leading professionals at work today. He is perhaps best remembered for his response upon learning of a potentially catastrophic flaw in the Citicorp Center, a structure he helped design. After discovering in 1978 that the building’s braces had been joined with bolted joints instead of welded joints, LeMessurier estimated that at a certain angle the building would be vulnerable to high winds and could possibly collapse. He subsequently admitted the flaws and set out to correct them by reinforcing the braces (see last month’s A Question of Ethics). Today it is estimated that the Citicorp Center can withstand a 700-year storm, and that edifice is believed to be one of the safest structures in the world. “You have a social obligation,” his students remember him saying. “In return for getting a license and being regarded with respect, you’re supposed to be self-sacrificing and look beyond the interests of yourself and your client to society as a whole. And the most wonderful part of my story is that when I did it, nothing bad happened.”