April 2008
Volume 33, Number 4

Members from 45 states converged on Capitol Hill on March 4-–7 as part of asce’s annual Leadership Training in Government Relations Program. Participants learned about the political issues that are having the greatest effect on civil engineers and civil engineering and brought those issues to the attention of their representatives and senators. This year saw the largest turnout for the event in its eight-year history, and those taking part emphasized the need to improve the nation’s infrastructure in light of such recent disasters as Hurricane Katrina and the collapse last summer of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. Throughout the week, more than 150 members from around the country attended training sessions and paid visits to their legislators in the hope of educating them on the lamentable condition of the country’s wastewater and drinking water systems, bridges, roads, and dams. They emphasized six issues, many of them reflecting the contents of bills currently being considered by the House of Representatives or the Senate.

The first issue was the National Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 3538/H.R. 3398), which would establish a national commission to closely examine the current state of the nation’s infrastructure and make recommendations based on that examination. The act would require that the commission “ensure that the nation’s infrastructure will meet current and future demands and that it will aid in the nation’s economic growth,” according to information prepared by asce’s government relations staff.

The act also requires that the study consider improvements to the infrastructure that promote long-term economic development; include data related to the age and condition of infrastructure; and examine trends in financing and investment.

The commission would be charged with developing recommendations “for infrastructure-related legislation deemed necessary for the next 5, 15, 30, and 50 years,” according to information provided by ASCE’s government relations staff. These recommendations would be contained in a report that would have to be submitted to Congress by February 15, 2009.

The Senate passed its version of the bill (S. 775) on August 2.

Jonathan Byrd, M.ASCE, a program participant, discussed the infrastructure bill, along with other issues, with Jennifer Pino, a legislative assistant to Representative Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama). Byrd cited figures in ASCE’s 2005 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and emphasized the need to support legislation that would improve the nation’s infrastructure.

The next issue that program participants concerned themselves with had to do with the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2007 (H.R. 3999), which would authorize $1 billion for bridge inspections, repairs, and replacements on the nation’s highway system. The bill would require an immediate update of all bridge inspection standards and a change in the standards for training and certifying those carrying out inspections. It would also mandate that states immediately inspect all of their structurally deficient bridges to determine weight limits and ensure that warning signs are accurate.

The legislation would further require that the reconstruction of structurally deficient bridges be prioritized on the basis of risk. The National Academy of Sciences would conduct an independent review of the methods used by the U.S. Department of Transportation in prioritizing bridge projects. States would also need to utilize bridge management systems to facilitate inspections and collect data.

The bill was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last October. It was introduced by Representative Jim Oberstar (D-Minnesota), the committee’s chairman, and cosponsored by Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) and Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota).Representative Charles Boustany (R-Louisiana) was visited by three members taking part in the program, namely, Kam K. Movassaghi, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, the president of C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, of Lafayette, Louisiana; Luke E. Le Bas, P.E., M.ASCE, an engineer manager for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR); and Christopher P. Knotts, P.E., M.ASCE, the director of the LDNR’s coastal engineering division. In response to the arguments adduced by the three in favor of H.R. 3999, Boustany said that he recognized the importance of the issue as well as the need to address highway congestion caused in part by the huge volumes of freight transport in Louisiana. He also suggested that a national summit be organized to discuss the challenges and issues surrounding the nation’s infrastructure.

The third issue that program participants brought to the attention of their legislators related to the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (H.R. 3224/S. 2238), which passed the House last October. The bill would appropriate $200 million over five years to repair, rehabilitate, or remove public dams. It would also establish a funding program within the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would provide grants to assist local governments carrying out work on dams.

The legislation would distribute funds to state dam safety agencies based on the number of state- and locally owned dams seen as posing a significant risk. However, the federal government would not pay more than 65 percent of the total cost of repairing or rehabilitating the dams.

Brian Pallasch, Aff.m.asce, the Society’s managing director of government relations and infrastructure initiatives, counseled members at an orientation meeting on March 5 to persuade their senators to cosponsor the bill and to urge the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works to act on it. “It is estimated that $36.2 billion is needed to rehabilitate all of the dams in the United States,” said Pallasch.

Introduced in the Senate by Daniel Kahikina Akaka (D-Hawaii), S. 2238 is cosponsored by Senators George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), Charles E. Schumer (D–New York), Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), Jack Reed (D–Rhode Island), and Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota).

The fourth issue had to do with the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720), which would authorize $14 billion over four years to construct and repair the country’s wastewater treatment plants. This bill passed the House on March 9, 2007, but there has been no corresponding legislation in the Senate. The Environmental Protection Agency has projected that $390 billion would be needed over the next two decades to replace wastewater systems and construct new ones to meet demand.

The fifth issue involved a plan to eliminate a significant shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund that will occur in fiscal year 2009. It is estimated that the fund will run a deficit of $4.3 billion to $5 billion. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), the chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, has cosponsored a plan with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to correct the potentially disastrous shortfall. They propose to give the Highway Trust Fund a credit of approximately $3.2 billion for emergency expenditures. “Federal expenditures receiving an emergency designation are not scored as new spending,” according to a joint press release from the Transportation Construction Coalition—of which asce is a member—and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. “As such, it is inappropriate to single out the Highway Trust Fund to bear the cost of emergency highway and bridge repairs following disasters,” the press release states. The plan would also restructure fuel tax exemptions and refunds provided to state and local governments; these actions would be paid out of general funds rather than by the Highway Trust Fund. The plan would also include measures to prevent fuel tax evasion.

No bill to address shortcomings in the Highway Trust Fund has been introduced in the Senate or House. A plan is currently being formulated, however, to amend a bill so that it contains the funding correction. “We’ve just got to get the money,” said Baucus during a brief visit with Roger Millar, P.E., F.ASCE, the director of the Office of Planning and Grants in Missoula, Montana; Crystal Kuntz, P.E., M.ASCE, a civil engineer with Electrical Consultants, Inc., of Billings, Montana; ASCE’s Pallasch; and Charles Dinges, the Society’s senior managing director of strategic and public affairs.

The sixth issue that asce members took to Capitol Hill had to do with the funding priorities for fiscal year 2009. Participants were especially concerned over funding for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the National Dam Safety Program, and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Full funding at the SAFETEA-LU guaranteed level is $42.2 billion; full funding for the National Dam Safety Program is $11.7 billion; and funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund is $1.5 billion.

According to information prepared by ASCE’s government relations staff, President Bush’s budget request for fiscal year 2009 will cut infrastructure funding across the board. Highway funding would be cut by more than 4 percent, equivalent to approximately $1.8 billion. Moreover, funding for mass transit would be $200 million less than the SAFETEA-LU guarantee.

During a visit with Representative John Culberson (R-Texas), D. Wayne Klotz, P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, the Society’s president-elect, pointed out that the United States spends only 1.5 percent of its gross national product on infrastructure, much less than many other countries. Klotz also noted that infrastructure—the bridges and highways individuals drive on, the buildings they work in, and the water they use—is an essential component of the quality of life in this country and therefore should be properly funded and maintained. Klotz made the visit with Tim Newton, P.E., M.ASCE, a design division director for Wilbur Smith Associates, of Houston.

During a breakfast on March 6 that was held as part of the program, Representative Earl Blumenauer (R-Oregon) was honored for his efforts to improve transportation, drinking water, and wastewater systems. He was made an honorary fellow of the Society, a distinction that has also been bestowed upon Oberstar, Voinovich, and Norman Mineta, a former U.S. secretary of transportation. Blumenauer is the Society’s 30th honorary fellow.

—Brett Hansen

ASCE’s president, David G. Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE, appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on March 11 to call attention to the condition of the nation’s infrastructure and propose improvements. In his testimony Mongan focused on facets of infrastructure that are badly in need of additional federal funding.

The Society’s president began his testimony by citing data from the 2005 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, a report prepared by ASCE that assigned the nation’s infrastructure an overall grade of D and warned that the parlous state of the built environment was threatening the country’s quality of life. “Indeed,” said Mongan, “little has changed in the three years since we handed out that dismal grade, and establishing a long-term plan to finance the development and maintenance of our infrastructure remains a pressing national priority.”

Underinvestment in infrastructure is by no means confined to the United States, according to Mongan. Such countries as the United Kingdom, France, and Japan have witnessed a decrease in the percentage of gross domestic product invested in infrastructure in recent decades. Japan’s expenditure, for example, has declined from approximately 11 percent in the late 1970s to less than 7 percent today. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that approximately 1.5 percent of the gross national product is spent on infrastructure in the United States.

Mongan outlined what he described as “only a few of the more pressing infrastructure investment needs.” They included surface transportation, water and wastewater systems, and waterways. He said that while approximately $94 billion would be required every year to improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure, the investment in 2006 was just $34 billion, roughly a third of what was needed. Mongan also pointed out that the federal government paid only about a quarter of those funds. The remainder came from state and local governments.

Citing a 2007 report by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Mongan stated that the nation’s highways would need more than $78 billion every year just to be maintained. To include new highway capacity, approximately $89.7 billion would be needed annually. “The DOT report, however, may understate the need,” Mongan said. He also drew on the views of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, which is of the opinion that federal highway funding in the next surface transportation bill will need to begin at $54.5 billion in fiscal year 2010 and grow to $61.5 billion by fiscal year 2015 to, he said, “provide the federal share of the annual highway investment needed to maintain both physical conditions and operating performance.”

In the area of water and wastewater, Mongan pointed out that the Environmental Protection Agency has reported that a minimum of $202.5 billion would be needed to prevent combined and sanitary sewers at 16,000 treatment plants from overflowing. The amount for just the sewer treatment systems will probably climb to between $331 billion and $450 billion by the year 2019, he predicted.

Equally troubling is the state of the nation’s waterways, according to Mongan, who explained that the locks along the nation’s inland waterways are aging and that many of them are operating beyond their service lives. Replacing and rehabilitating the locks, he said, would probably cost more than $100 billion. “At the annual rate of spending of one hundred and eighty million dollars in the administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2009, it would take the [Army Corps of Engineers] twenty years simply to fund all the inland waterways projects authorized in [the Water Resources Development Act of 2007].”

To solve some of these portentous funding deficits and challenges, Mongan stated that ASCE supports the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007, which “would begin to address a problem that is rapidly approaching crisis levels: the deterioration of the nation’s major public works systems.” The bank that the bill would establish would finance national and regional infrastructure projects, and the projects could be proposed by states, cities, tribes, agencies, or consortia. A minimum federal investment of $75 million would be required. “This nation cannot afford to wait much longer to invest significant sums in its infrastructure, and this bill will help lead the way,” Mongan said.

The Society also supports a multiyear federal capital budget to construct and rehabilitate public works projects because “the current budgeting process at the federal government level has a short-term, one- to two-year focus” and “does not differentiate between expenditures for current consumption and long-term assets,” Mongan noted. A federal capital budget would help resolve short-term and long-term needs and would raise public awareness of the state of the nation’s infrastructure, Mongan asserted. “Without long-term financial assurance, the ability of the federal, state, and local governments to do effective infrastructure investment planning is constrained severely.”

Mongan also stated that ASCE supports such user fees as motor fuel sales taxes, as well as appropriations from general treasury funds, revenue bonds, and state and local financing. It also supports trust funds and such reliable funding sources from state and local entities as sales taxes, impact fees, vehicle registration fees, toll revenues, and mileage-based user fees, sources that could be used to supplement federal allocations. The Society also favors “budgetary fire walls” that would prevent user revenues from being diverted to purposes unrelated to infrastructure.

To conclude his testimony, ASCE’s president briefly discussed the role of public-private partnerships in improving the condition of infrastructure. He defined such partnerships as “contractual relationships between public and private sectors in infrastructure development.” Mongan explained that although the contractual models differ, the regulatory control is the responsibility of the public sector, “which determines the kind of public works and services to be acquired and the quality and cost requirements on the delivery of such works and services and takes necessary remedial actions for substandard performance.”

Mongan commented that ASCE “as a matter of policy” believes that public revenue from public-private partnerships should be dedicated to infrastructure projects in the partnerships’ states and regions; that partnership contracts should “include performance criteria that address long-term viability, life-cycle costs, and residual value”; and that every aspect of contracts should be transparent, include public participation, and comply “with all applicable planning and design standards and environmental requirements.”

Although the partnerships may be both useful and beneficial, they are not a panacea and could, Mongan cautioned, result in higher tolls or fees for the public. By way of example, he cited the firm New Jersey American Water, which supplies water to more than 2.6 million people. To replace outdated infrastructure, the corporation recently announced that it would be increasing its rates by approximately 37 percent, stating in a press release that “replacing aging infrastructure and improving our supply capacity and water production facilities to meet increasing demand are the main drivers of this necessary rate increase.”

—Brett Hansen

Each year our Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) awards gala gives us just cause for celebration, as the event focuses on our profession’s highest level of accomplishment. The preeminent awards program for civil engineers, the OPAL gala is held each spring in metropolitan Washington, D.C., and this year it will be on April 30. It is asce’s celebration of the remarkable contributions of the civil engineering community.
asce established the OPAL awards in 1999 to celebrate the achievements and recognize the contributions of civil engineers worldwide. Combined with the presentation of the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (OCEA award), the gala is asce’s major awards event.

The five 2008 OPAL lifetime achievement honorees selected by the Society Awards Committee are Clyde N. Baker, Jr., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, for design; John M. Dionisio, P.E., M.ASCE, for management; Gerald E. Galloway, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, Hon.M.ASCE, for government; William H. Luyties III, P.E., M.ASCE, for construction; and Ernest T. Smerdon, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, for education. (See “2008 OPAL Lifetime Achievement Honorees Selected,” ASCE News, January 2008, page 1, and www.asce.org/OPAL.)

ASCE is also extremely proud of this year’s OCEA finalists, which were selected by the OCEA jury in January. The five projects are the Tacoma Narrows Bridge; the Pasadena City Hall Seismic Upgrade and Rehabilitation Project; the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project; the Arsenic Crisis in the Indian Subcontinent: Sustainable Engineering Solution, West Bengal, India; and the Mission Valley East Light-Rail Transit Project. (See “Five OCEA Finalists Are Chosen,” ASCE News, February 2008, page 1, and www.asce.org/OPAL.)

The Charles Pankow Award for Innovation and the Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research also are presented at the OPAL gala. Both are awarded by the Civil Engineering Forum for Innovation. Named in honor of a man who was an innovator and leader in civil engineering for five decades, the Pankow award recognizes organizations working collaboratively to aid the design and construction industry by bringing innovative ideas into practice. This year’s winner is the Lightweight Modular Ceramic Composite Firewall System, developed by a team comprising Composite Support & Solutions, Inc., of San Pedro, California; Southern California Edison, of Rosemead, California; San Diego State University; and the University of Southern California’s Center for Composite Materials.

The Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research, according to the criteria set for it, “recognizes and acknowledges leaders of the design and construction industry whose dedication and aggressive vision for the industry have provided the cornerstones for improving the quality of people’s lives around the world through research in the design and construction industry.” This year’s winner is Carl A. Strock, P.E., M.ASCE, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and a former commander and chief of engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Strock was chosen for his work with the Corps in promoting engineering innovations in research and technology.

Our Honors and Awards Program seeks to advance the engineering profession by formally recognizing outstanding achievements and contributions. By bringing these accomplishments to the attention of the public, not only is the stature of civil engineering raised; the awards also have the effect of raising standards within our profession and in the engineering and construction industries.

ASCE has some 80 awards to pay tribute to those who have contributed to the profession through leadership, research, or accomplishments in the field. This year will see the first presentation ever of the Walter LeFevre Award, and next year we will honor the first recipient ever of the Raymond D. Mindlin Medal.

Nominations for a variety of awards are accepted throughout the year, but most are due by November 1. In addition to awards for contributions in research and applications in the field, there are accolades for students and younger members. The new Honors and Awards Web site is at http://content.asce.org/handa. The success of our program is due in part to the ease with which nominations can be submitted using online tools. The Honors and Awards page walks visitors through the nomination process. In this way asce can maximize the value of its awards programs by making sure we draw on the best possible collection of nominees.

In addition to the formal awards, nominations may be submitted to accord an individual the status of distinguished member (formerly honorary member). This is our highest membership status, second only to that of Society president. We will induct this year’s distinguished members at our annual conference, which will be held in Pittsburgh in early November. Nominations for this status will be accepted until October 1.

Remember to look for detailed information on ASCE’s various honors and awards at http://content.asce.org/handa and to share that information with fellow members.

Our sections and branches also offer opportunities through their awards programs to formally recognize outstanding projects and honor individual engineers.

Help ASCE recognize outstanding achievement by nominating a mentor, a supervisor, a colleague, or perhaps a leader in your local ASCE group for one of our awards. The possibilities are almost endless, as the list of award categories touches most every strength and area of expertise within our profession.

If you haven’t yet registered for the OPAL gala, visit http://content.asce.org/handa and click on “OPAL/OCEA Awards.” You’ll see a separate button for registration.
See you on April 30 at the gala, and be prepared celebrate!

—David G. Mongan, P.E., F.ASCE

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents has named G. Wayne Clough, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, the president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, as the institution’s next secretary. In his new position, which commences on July 1, Clough will focus on a better future not only for the Smithsonian but also for education in the sciences and engineering.

In his 14 years as president of Georgia Tech—the first alumnus to hold the position—he successfully restructured the school’s academic and admissions programs and raised $1.5 billion in private money through capital campaigns. Georgia Tech was consistently among the top 10 public research universities in the country during his presidency. “During his remarkable career, Wayne has shown an ability to dramatically advance the institutions and constituencies he has served through innovative curricula, economic health, mentorship, national policy input, and community relations,” said Alan Spoon, a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, in a press release.

Clough recognizes that there is much work to be done and admitted in an interview with ASCE News that at first he was not sure if he was the right person for the position. He says that he has never managed museums, although during his career in academic leadership several museums reported to him. When the Smithsonian’s search committee asked him if he was interested in the position, he had to stop and think. As he puts it, “I thought about it long and hard, and at first glance I thought, ‘I’m not sure I’m exactly the right person.’” Nevertheless, he explains, “everything in life is about timing.” Clough felt that he had done his part for the university and was ready for a new challenge. As he examined the current needs of the Smithsonian, he realized that his fund-raising experience and his work with members of Congress could help mend the institution’s reputation and enable it to turn to the future.

Clough says that he personally does not have a vision for the Smithsonian. Instead, he says, “I try to work out understandings based on what everybody wants to achieve and what their hopes and aspirations are. I hope we can refocus on the Smithsonian getting beyond the problems that they have had recently and put those in order.”

Clough’s first order of business as secretary will be “to listen to a lot of people,” he says. He believes that themes common to the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and 9 science facilities can be integrated so that the institution “as a whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.” As he explains, “What I am looking at is a way that they can integrate knowledge and use that in some combined way to leverage and enhance the influence of the Smithsonian, particularly as you look to the future.”

Clough believes that his civil engineering education went far in helping him attain positions of leadership. He also attributes the rigor of that education to his success. He describes civil engineering as a very strong “people profession” and believes that engineers always think about how their actions affect people. “You want to improve lives, and that is really your goal. I think civil engineering is crucial to that,” he says.

Clough also recognizes that one of the Smithsonian’s primary goals is fostering an interest in science, technology, and engineering among young people. In particular, he says that young people need to be prepared for jobs that do not exist today, a concept that dovetails with the new edition of ASCE’s Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future. (See “ASCE Releases New Edition of Body of Knowledge Report,” ASCE News, March 2008, page 1.) “I can see where ASCE has come out with the [body of knowledge] that follows along those lines. We clearly need to educate young people—engineers in particular—to compete and to be successful in a different global environment than existed twenty years ago,” he says. “They need to go out into this world with a very flexible set of skills that will allow them to adapt and in essence provoke change so this country can remain successful.”

Clough says that in reading last month’s ASCE News article on the new edition of the body of knowledge report he was pleased to see leadership as an attribute of the future engineer. However, he believes that the attributes of leadership and teamwork are not distinct but rather overlapping. “If you are a great leader, you are a great team player,” he says. He also contends that civil engineers should think of leadership as something that an individual works toward. Once that individual achieves it, he or she should fully understand the teamwork that was required to get there, he asserts.

Civil engineering is in a position to have a profound effect on the future, Clough believes, “because all of the great issues will revolve around aspects of civil engineering.” The profession, however, needs to be willing to adapt, to step forward, and to act as a leader, he says. Engineers will need to understand not just their own profession but also such ancillary issues as public policy, politics, and history. “I think civil engineering is ready and willing to step up, and I applaud that. I hope I can continue from my post at the Smithsonian [to] participate in that process as we go forward,” he says.

Underscoring Clough’s concept of adapting to future demands in the workplace is the need to foster creativity. In the latest release of his book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (New York City: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006), Thomas L. Friedman uses Clough’s educational reforms at Georgia Tech to demonstrate the need to change the way in which young people are educated. In the late 1990s, Friedman explains, Clough altered the university’s admission policies to focus on recruiting engineering students who had creative interests, for example, playing a musical instrument. As a result, according to the book, graduation rates rose from 65 percent in the early 1990s to 76 percent in 2005. “Very few presidents of premier technology universities boast about their tubas as much as their test tubes. But Clough has reason to boast . . . because he is producing not just more engineers but more of the right kind of engineers,” Friedman writes.

Clough says that his interest in engineering began in his childhood, when he would construct stone dams across streams in Douglas, Georgia, where he grew up. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech in 1964 and a master’s degree there, also in civil engineering, the following year. In 1969 he obtained a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. His research interests include geotechnical and earthquake engineering, and he has published many papers, reports, and book chapters on a variety of engineering topics. Clough has also served on many ASCE committees and has been the recipient of numerous Society awards, among them the Norman Medal in 1982 and again in 1996 and the State-of-the-Art of Civil Engineering Award in 1991. In 2004 he was honored for lifetime contributions in education as part of ASCE’s Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) program.

—Brett Hansen

During the next few months ASCE members will see a positive change in their insurance plans as Pearl Insurance assumes its position as the new broker, administrator, and marketer for ASCE’s Group Insurance Program. Pearl has been dedicated to the association marketplace since 1954, when its founder, Jack Pearl, was among the first to develop and implement programs tailored to the needs of professional associations. Today Pearl continues to build on that entrepreneurial spirit, offering a wide range of programs especially designed for association members. Among third-party administrators using direct marketing, it is one of the top firms in the nation, and it is dedicated to continually enhancing products and services to ensure that customers have the high-quality coverage they deserve. Pearl’s appointment to this role resulted from a rigorous, nine-month review and approval process that delved into all aspects of the firm’s resources and capabilities. Because Pearl has established solid relationships with leading insurance carriers, this change should be seamless to ASCE members. In fact, members currently insured through the Group Insurance Program will notice only positive changes as asce and Pearl work together to provide even more benefits to members.

In late February ASCE leaders in Nebraska promoted the Society’s efforts to raise the bar for entry into the professional practice of engineering. They did this by testifying at a hearing in the Nebraska legislature concerning a bill (LB 742) that would implement the changes in the model licensure law approved in 2006 by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. The changes pertain to the requirements for attaining a professional engineer’s license. asce members spoke at the hearing in favor of the bill and highlighted the advantages of raising the bar for the profession in general. To learn more about asce’s efforts to advance the profession of engineering, visit www.advancing-engineering.org, the site of the Coalition to Advance the Profession of Engineering.

Last month ASCE lent its support to the development of a more comprehensive dam safety program in Missouri. Craig Buhr, P.E., M.ASCE, the president of the Kansas City Section, testified before a committee of the Missouri legislature dealing with energy and the environment on a bill (HB 1994) that would safeguard lives and property in the state by regulating the construction and operation of certain dams. The bill would also bring increased federal funding to Missouri through the National Dam Safety Program. asce has helped spearhead the effort for safer dams in Missouri since the beginning of the legislative session by working with Representative Walt Bivins (R), who introduced the bill in the Missouri House of Representatives, and by organizing efforts at the grassroots level involving members of the Society’s Missouri sections.

The American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE) has announced that 40 engineers have met its requirements for certification as diplomates and that Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., M.ASCE, of MWH Soft, based in Broomfield, Colorado, has been named an honorary diplomate. The new diplomates, together with those who completed the requirements last fall, will receive their certificates on May 13 as part of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute’s World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, which is being held in Honolulu. This is the first postlicensure certification to be funded by asce, and through it the AAWRE gives professional engineers an opportunity to gain broader recognition in the field of water resources engineering. For more information about the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, visit http://content.asce.org/conferences/ewri2008/. For information about the AAWRE certification, visit http://www.aawre.org.

ASCE’s managing director of government relations and infrastructure initiatives, Brian Pallasch, Aff.M.ASCE, testified last month on Capitol Hill before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. He addressed funding for programs with a bearing on civil engineering in the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal year 2009. To read his testimony, visit www.asce.org/govrel and click on “Testimony & Correspondence.”

This spring and summer, in response to member requests, asce is offering a new seminar on construction cost estimating. The seminar will explain the essentials of the subject and will cover techniques used for various types of projects. Detailed estimating and the evaluation of construction change orders also will be addressed. The managerial topics to be covered include conceptual estimating, bidding strategies, and communication during the bid phase. The principles of value engineering as applied to conceptual estimating will be discussed, along with sustainable construction and examples of life-cycle costs in connection with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Participants will develop construction cost estimating skills that can be applied to all phases and types of construction projects. The seminar will be held on May 29 and May 30 in Baltimore and on September 25 and September 26 in San Antonio. For additional information, visit www.asce.org/conted/seminars/ and click on “Construction/Development” or call (800) 548-2723.

ASCE’s geographic services staff has implemented a discussion forum for all region, section, and branch officers. This venue will facilitate open discussion among local leaders to address such issues and challenges as running successful meetings and recruiting and retaining members. To access this online forum, visit http://live.asce.org/forum. To create topic threads and post messages, interested members must register for an account. Click on “Login/Register” at the top of the page. Then click “Create Account” at the bottom of the next page and fill out the form. Regions, sections, and branches can create their own forums, as ASCE has unlimited licenses for the software. Contact the geographic services staff at (703) 295-6010 for additional information.

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

A question often heard on the asce Ethics hotline is, “Where can I find a copy of the Code of Ethics?” If the code serves as a road map to ethical conduct, it is a road map that can only serve its purpose when it is examined and its contents are understood. While space limitations preclude publishing the code here in its entirety, the following article lists the current code’s fundamental canons and summarizes the ethical issues and principles informing them.

In its 1976 retooling of the Code of Ethics, asce’s Board of Direction revised the nine-canon model, which focused primarily on an engineer’s business obligations to clients and employers, to one with seven canons that emphasized service to the profession and to the public at large. The change was signaled by the inclusion of four fundamental principles. Although the seven canons and their guidelines have undergone numerous revisions over the past 32 years, the four principles have remained virtually unchanged since their adoption and currently read as follows:

Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by:

1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment;
2. being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and clients;
3. striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and
4. supporting the professional and technical societies of their disciplines.

The seven canons reflect an attempt to span the potentially infinite range of circumstances in which an engineer’s commitment to these fundamental principles may be put to the test. Today these canons read as follows

1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.

Perhaps the most demanding of asce’s ethical standards is the engineer’s duty to “hold paramount” the public’s safety and welfare. Under this canon an engineer is expected not only to protect the public in his or her own work but also to take action if he or she has knowledge that any other person’s actions may undermine the public welfare, a requirement that may include reporting such actions to a government authority with the power to act on behalf of the public. In 1996 asce added the “sustainable development” language to this canon, reflecting its belief that ensuring public welfare also requires consideration of ecological and environmental factors.

2.  Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence.

In addition to the more obvious guidelines here, for example, the requirement to take work only when qualified by education or experience to carry out the work, this canon means that an engineer may not seal an engineering plan or document unless that document has been prepared or reviewed under his or her supervisory control. As discussed in this column in the August 2007 issue, this provision is considerably less restrictive than the licensing laws in many U.S. states and jurisdictions, underlining the need for civil engineers to be aware of state codes of conduct as well as those of asce.

3.  Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful  manner.

This canon considers the many ways in which an engineer may share his or her expertise with the public and reflects principles that underlie many other provisions of the code. For example, an engineer may apply his or her technical expertise only when competent to do so (as per canon 2), must indicate when a statement has been paid for by an interested party (much like the conflict disclosures required by canon 4), and may not promote his or her own interests in a manner derogatory to the integrity of the profession (canon 6).

4.  Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.

With its focus on fidelity to employers and clients, canon 4 is in some respects reminiscent of the original, 1914 code. But whereas that code barred an engineer only from “accept[ing] remuneration other than his stated charges for services rendered,” the current canon provides a more complete picture of the types of conflicts that can lead an engineer astray. Under today’s canon, engineers may not use confidential information in a way that is detrimental to an employer’s or client’s interests, may not take part in decisions as a public servant for services involving their own private practice, and are obliged to notify their employers before availing themselves of outside employment opportunities or engaging in work that may give rise to a conflict of interest.

5.  Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with  others.

An important point to remember here is that this canon does not restrict competition among engineers per se, only methods by which an engineer may attempt to gain an unfair advantage over his or her competitors. Such unfair practices include bestowing gifts or gratuities to obtain work, falsely portraying one’s qualifications and credentials, taking credit for the work of another, and maliciously criticizing the work of another.

6.  Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession and shall act with zero tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption.

This canon can be viewed as a catchall for acts that while not expressly proscribed in other canons nevertheless violate the spirit of the code. It promotes transparency and scrupulous control of funds and prohibits engineers from knowingly participating in fraudulent or dishonest practices. This canon also reflects the most recent revision to the code, a 2006 amendment stating that bribes and corruption are not to be tolerated and warning engineers to beware of situations where such practices have broad, even institutionalized, support.

7.  Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.

The final canon is unique in that its focus is on professional growth rather than professional conduct. Engineers are encouraged to continue honing their skills, to share their knowledge by, for example, attending conferences and seminars, and to support the development of engineer employees by providing them with an environment that encourages professional growth and licensure.

For readers interested in a more thorough study of asce’s Code of Ethics, the complete text of the most current version is published each year in the Official Register. That work may be accessed online by clicking on “Official Register” in the “Inside asce” menu at www.asce.org. Alternatively, the Code of Ethics may be accessed separately by selecting “Ethics” in the “Professional Issues” menu at www.asce.org.

Members who have an ethics question or would like to file a complaint with the Committee on Professional Conduct 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.

ASCE Joins Grassroots Movement Urging Presidential Debate on Science

ASCE has added its voice to those of myriad organizations and individuals desiring a fuller discussion of public policy issues that have a bearing on science and technology. An initiative entitled Science Debate 2008 has been soliciting support from engineering, scientific, academic, and industry organizations, as well as from such prominent individuals as Nobel laureates, university presidents, and members of Congress.

“We have noticed that science and technology lie at the center of a very large number of the policy issues facing our nation and the world—issues that profoundly affect our national and economic security as science and technology continue to transform our lives,” states the initiative’s Web site, www.sciencedebate2008.com. The site also provides an exhaustive list of organizations that have pledged their support. “We believe a debate on these issues would be the ideal opportunity for America and the candidates to explore our national priorities on the issues,” the statement continues.

If at least one candidate agrees to attend, the debate will be held in Philadelphia on Friday, April 18, at the Franklin Institute at 7 PM. The invitation to the candidates stresses that the debate is not a science quiz but rather an effort to discover how aware the candidates are of the nation’s science and technology challenges and opportunities and how they propose to provide leadership and policy solutions to meet those needs to “ensure America’s place as the most scientifically and technologically advanced nation on earth,” it states.

Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), the presumptive Republican nominee, has formulated a series of tax cuts designed to promote science and technology research. His campaign Web site states that McCain proposes “pro-innovation tax cuts”—measures that include banning Internet taxes and new cell phone taxes as well as establishing a permanent tax credit equal to 10 percent of the wages paid to those engaged in research and development. “A permanent credit will provide an incentive to innovate and remove uncertainty. At a time when our companies need to be more competitive, we need to provide a permanent incentive to innovate, and remove the uncertainty now hanging over businesses as they make R&D investment decisions,” the Web site states.

On his campaign Web site, Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois), who is hoping to become the Democratic nominee, recognizes technology as an issue and describes a policy that includes ensuring an open Internet, creating a transparent and connected democracy, encouraging a modern communications infrastructure, employing technology to solve the nation’s most pressing problems, and improving America’s competitiveness. “Barack Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure. In turn, that infrastructure can be used by government and business to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth,” states a description on Obama’s Web site.

On her campaign Web site, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D–New York), who also is seeking the Democratic nomination, has outlined a nine-point plan called An Innovative Agenda, which would help America overcome such challenges as the decline in the number of students graduating in engineering and science fields. The plan also calls for increasing research budgets for such agencies as the National Science Foundation and supporting initiatives that would encourage women and members of minority groups to pursue careers in science and engineering. Clinton’s plan would, according to the Web site, help create a premier science, engineering, technology, and mathematics workforce and would upgrade the nation’s innovation infrastructure.

Florida Section Sees Infrastructure As Inadequate for the Future 

Last month the Florida Section released a study entitled 2008 Report Card on Florida’s Infrastructure, which gives the Sunshine State an overall grade of C and puts the cost of maintaining and improving the state’s infrastructure over the next two decades at approximately $200 billion.

The intent of the assessment is to encourage state and federal governments to adequately fund projects in order to meet future needs. It also provides a more detailed look at Florida’s current infrastructure needs than can be provided by asce’s most recent national assessment (2005 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure), which assigned an overall grade of D.

Chaired by Fraser S. Howe, Jr., p.e., m.asce, a senior project manager for the Orlando, Florida, office of T.Y. Lin International, the committee that prepared the report divided the state’s infrastructure into 12 categories: drinking water, wastewater, energy, bridges, highways, mass transit, ports, aviation, schools, storm-water management, flood control systems, and coastal areas.

The highest grade on the assessment was a B+, which was given to bridges. The report states that “while more than 60 percent of Florida’s total bridge inventory is at least 30 years old, more than 90 percent [of bridges] are in excellent or good condition.” Nevertheless, the study points out that current funding will not be adequate to maintain that grade. Wastewater received a B–, despite Florida’s growing population and limited funding. Drinking water, mass transit, and coastal areas each received a C+. The report states that a rapid increase in the state’s population is placing a strain on its freshwater resources, “with many areas already running low on drinking-quality water supplies.”

Florida’s ports will need approximately $3.5 billion in funding to remain competitive, according to the assessment. Moreover, the state’s flood control systems are reaching the ends of their service lives, and the congestion that afflicts the state’s highways is doing nothing to aid the state’s economy, the assessment notes. These categories each received a C. According to the report, at least $12 billion will be needed to meet the current needs of the storm-water management systems, which received a C–.
The lowest grade on the report card, D+, was meted out to schools and energy. According to the assessment, Florida’s consumption of electricity per household is among the highest in the nation. “By 2020, the state’s need for electrical generation will have grown by nearly 58 percent,” the report predicts.

Aviation was not assigned a grade, but the assessment recommends that the aviation system expand to meet growing demand by procuring increased discretionary funding. Aviation in Florida is the most popular mode of transportation for out-of-state and international visitors and will require a larger investment in the future, according to the report.

For more information about the Florida Section’s study, visit its Web site, www.fla-asce.org.

Ahearn Accorded SAME’s Golden Eagle

Joseph A. “Bud” Ahearn, P.E., M.ASCE, a retired air force major general, received the Golden Eagle Award on March 29 from the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). Ahearn was recognized for his vision and leadership within the design and construction industry, the air force, and various institutes and associations. SAME also called attention to his work in developing the organization Engineers Without Borders–USA. Ahearn has served on many ASCE committees and was one of the founders of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (now the Civil Engineering Forum for Innovation). He is well known for his leadership in various planning initiatives within the air force. After retiring from the military, he joined the engineering firm CH2M HILL, of Englewood, Colorado, where he became the president of the transportation group and a vice-chairman of the board. A former president of SAME, he has served in several capacities for the National Academy of Construction and has also lent his time and expertise to the advisory council for Engineers Week. Ahearn earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in engineering administration from Syracuse University.

Brazil Honored by Girls Incorporated

Aine Brazil, P.E., M.ASCE, a managing principal of Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., of New York City, has been honored by Girls Incorporated for her achievements in what Joyce Roché, the organization’s president and chief operating officer, describes in a press release as “a traditionally male-dominated field.” Girls Incorporated is a nonprofit organization that, through research-based programs and advocacy, “inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.” Brazil earned a bachelor’s degree from the National University of Ireland and a master’s degree in engineering from Imperial College London. The New York Times and Crain’s New York Business have called her one of New York’s most influential women in business. “As a woman who often sat alone in the engineering classroom and later in the boardroom, Brazil is a pioneer for young women and girls,” said Roché. Brazil has spent approximately 30 years in the engineering field. Her accomplishments include leading the design of several structures in New York City’s Times Square, Philadelphia’s 975 ft (297 m) Comcast Center, and the tallest building in New Jersey.

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 distinguished members.

Michael J. Barton, P.E., PTOE, F.ASCE, is the transportation manager for HDR Engineering, Inc., in Tucson, Arizona. The holder of a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the University of Arizona, Barton is a registered professional engineer in eight states, including Arizona, and is also certified as a professional traffic operations engineer. He joined HDR in 2005 after spending 20 years with JHK/TransCore, where he participated in all of the planning for the Barraza-Aviation Parkway and other downtown Tucson redevelopment efforts. His experience in transportation projects ranges from planning to final design, and he has been a leader in facilitating public involvement in transportation projects through workshops, advisory groups, and stakeholder meetings. Barton is an active member of ASCE, having served as the president of the chapter at the University of Arizona, the Arizona Society of Civil Engineers Section, that section’s Southern Arizona Branch, and that branch’s Younger Member Forum. He is currently a governor of Region 8. Barton is also a member of the Signals Technical Committee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the chair of one of its task forces. In that capacity he works with national traffic engineering professionals and the Federal Highway Administration in developing standards and guidelines for traffic control devices, as well as practices for regulating and guiding traffic on streets and highways. Barton serves on numerous community service boards concerned with educational and athletic programs for young people.

Bradley J. Card, P.E., F.ASCE, began his engineering career as a construction engineer with General Electric in 1946, and over the years he has devoted himself to research, private practice, and the education of future engineers. Card received a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Washington State University and a master of science, also in civil engineering, from the University of California at Berkeley and is a registered professional engineer in Washington and Oregon, a registered sanitary engineer in Washington, and a registered environmental engineer in Oregon. As a research engineer at the University of California at Berkeley, Card was responsible for the development of engineering parameters for the composting of municipal refuse. Reports from this early research are still used today around the world in efforts to apply composting to waste disposal problems. While in private practice, Card developed an innovative wastewater treatment system for a ski area in Snoqualmie Pass, in Washington State. The system recycles nutrients into 65 acres (26.3 ha) of forestland rather than resorting to expensive chemical nutrient removal to protect the watershed. In addition to his research, Card taught civil engineering courses at Berkeley and from 1969 to 1983 taught geotechnical engineering at Yakima Valley Community College, in Yakima, Washington, where he also headed the engineering department. In 1983 he established PLSA Engineering & Surveying, where he continues to serve as principal engineer.

Chung-Ho Chiao, P.E., F.ASCE, was recently named general manager of the Taiwan branch of Parsons Brinckerhoff International, Inc. Previously he was the director and a senior vice president of Moh and Associates, Inc., in Taiwan and before that served in private and public agencies providing civil and highway engineering and project management. His expertise encompasses highway engineering, hydraulic engineering, land development, and contract and project management. A registered professional engineer in Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Massachusetts, Chiao holds a bachelor of science in hydraulic engineering from Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University and a master of science in civil engineering from West Virginia University. While with Moh and Associates, he was the director of the task force on Taiwan’s high-speed rail line. In that capacity he oversaw the work of more than 170 professionals from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, and Malaysia. Part of the work involved unifying design codes and specifications. Chiao also determined the guidelines governing seismic calculations and fault zone analyses for infrastructure projects carried out in Taiwan by the transportation and communications ministries. Moreover, he has made contributions in the areas of tunneling and pavement reinforcement. Chiao has helped to chair ASCE seminars and conferences in Thailand and Taiwan and has been a keynote speaker at such events.

Misganaw Demissie, Ph.D, P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, is a principal scientist at the Illinois State Water Survey. A licensed professional engineer in Illinois, Demissie holds a bachelor of science from the University of Iowa and a master of science and a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has been involved in hydraulic research and engineering for more than 30 years and is currently the director of the Center for Watershed Science, where the major areas of research include surface water resources, water and sediment quality, erosion and sedimentation, stream and watershed assessment and restoration, and floodplain mapping. His long-term research has focused on problems in the general area of watershed science, in particular, watershed processes and restoration. Demissie has worked throughout his career to collect and analyze sedimentation data from rivers, lakes, and wetlands in order to develop scientific methods that can accurately estimate sediment delivery based on watershed characteristics and climatic and hydrologic variability. These methods have been instrumental in protecting and restoring aquatic ecological systems that have undergone excessive sedimentation. Demissie’s research has made significant contributions in restoring ecosystems along the Illinois River and the Cache River wetlands in southern Illinois. Demissie has received more than $5 million in funded research over his career. He has more than 150 journal articles, research reports, and conference papers to his credit and is frequently invited to lecture on his research. He has also been an editor of Water International, the journal of the International Water Resources Association. A diplomate of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, among them the Nature Conservancy’s Frank Bellrose Illinois River Valley Conservation Award.

Thomas A. Donnelly, Jr., P.E., F.ASCE, is a senior vice president of HDR/Daniel Frankfurt in New York City. A licensed professional engineer in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, Donnelly has more than 27 years of experience in private practice. He has contributed to the design or construction of bridges, highways, buildings, and local roads in the New York metropolitan area with a total value exceeding $1 billion. He has also applied his expertise to a number of major civil works outside New York, including Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project (“Big Dig”), the construction of toll toads in São Paulo, Brazil, and the constructability review of the interchange linking the interstate highways 195 and 95 (“Iway”) in Providence, Rhode Island. His project experience includes resurfacing of the main spans of the Brooklyn Bridge, the construction of a structure comprising twin curved steel box girders (Leverett Circle) in Boston as part of the Big Dig, and construction management for a movable, partially submersible boom installed at the Fresh Kills Landfill, in the New York City borough of Staten Island, to prevent debris flotation—the first of its kind in the United States. Donnelly also provided construction management for a storm-water project in Springfield Gardens, New York, an endeavor that included more than 2 acres (0.8 ha) of wetland restoration and was recognized with an award from the Long Island Branch of ASCE’s Metropolitan Section. The recipient of numerous awards from ASCE and the New York State Society of Professional Engineers, Donnelly is an ASCE Region 1 governor and has served as a representative for the Metropolitan Section and as president of the Long Island Branch. He also lends his time and expertise as a mentor in the Future City Competition (part of Engineers Week) and as a judge in the steel bridge competition organized by ASCE and the American Institute of Steel Construction.

Ahmad J. Durrani, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at Rice University, where he has taught and conducted research since 1982. A licensed professional engineer in Michigan and Texas, he holds a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, in Pakistan, and a doctorate from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In his 25 years of service as a faculty member at Rice, Durrani has made numerous research contributions and has also worked to improve civil engineering education. He successfully led the effort for accreditation of Rice’s civil engineering program on two occasions, and as chair of the civil engineering department he revamped the program to include capstone courses and courses on ethics and communications. Durrani’s research has shed light on the response of beam-column and flat-plate connections subjected to earthquake loading. He serves on a joint ASCE and American Concrete Institute committee (352) on monolithic connections and has contributed to the development of various committee reports. An expert on the response of concrete structures to earthquakes, he is actively engaged in seismic risk mitigation efforts in developing countries in southern Asia, particularly Pakistan. In 1998 Durrani founded the Rice Global Engineering and Construction Forum, which has grown to become an international event in Houston. The initiative provides faculty seed grants, supports the Rice chapter of Engineers Without Borders–USA, organizes competitions each year in connection with Engineers Week, and serves as a bridge between academia and the engineering and construction industry.

Thomas K. Jewell, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is the Carl B. Jansen Professor of Engineering at Union College, in Schenectady, New York, where he has taught since 1978. He has also served as chair of the civil engineering department there for 11 years. Jewell was an early advocate of using microcomputers in engineering education and, more recently, has championed the globalization of engineering education. He directs the college’s international programs for students in engineering and computer science. Jewell received an undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and both a master of science in environmental engineering and a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A decorated Vietnam veteran, he has been recognized on numerous occasions for his publications and service to ASCE. His areas of expertise encompass hydraulics, water resources, computer applications, and systems analysis. He has authored two texts, A Systems Approach to Civil Engineering Planning and Design (New York: HarperCollins, 1986) and Computer Applications for Engineers (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 1991), and has numerous technical and pedagogical papers to his credit. Jewell has been active within ASCE since the early 1980s, serving as secretary and membership chair of the Mohawk-Hudson Section and as a faculty adviser to the student chapter at Union College. He also serves as a reviewer for ABET, Inc., and has chaired curriculum revision committees on three occasions.

Eddie W. Kho, P.E., F.ASCE, is the president and chief executive officer of Morton & Pitalo, Inc., of Sacramento, California. He has been with the company since 1978 and in 2001 became its president. Under his leadership the firm has opened three new offices, and its revenues have doubled, reaching $14 million. Kho’s 30-year career includes a broad range of projects in the private sector, including commercial and health care facilities, infrastructure for heavy and light industry, and single-family and multifamily residential projects. He has led his company on projects for the University of California at Davis, and for the past 20 years he has been the prime civil engineering consultant for Target stores in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Kho received a bachelor of science and a master of science, both in civil engineering, from California State University at Sacramento. Active as an alumnus, he serves on the industry advisory board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and he has been a guest lecturer and a part-time instructor in the civil and mechanical engineering departments. A registered professional engineer in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, he is a director of the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California and a trustee of its scholarship foundation, which awards $25,000 annually to engineering and land surveying undergraduate and graduate students. Kho has been active within ASCE since his student days. He is a sponsor of the student chapter at California State University at Sacramento and of the team that participates in the National Concrete Canoe Competition. In 1998 an undertaking in which he and his firm were involved was named project of the year by ASCE’s Sacramento Section.

Joseph F. Labuz, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is the Minnesota Surveyors and Engineers Society/Miles Kersten Professor in the civil engineering department at the University of Minnesota, where he also directs the geomechanics laboratories. A registered professional engineer in Minnesota, he holds an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a master of science and a doctorate, both in civil engineering, from Northwestern University. Labuz has been involved with the measurement of soil and rock properties for more than 20 years, and his sponsored research has exceeded $3 million. He was one of the inventors of two devices for testing rock and concrete, and he has received two patents for his designs of laboratory equipment for elucidating the behavior of geotechnical systems. His work on the calibration of earth pressure cells has provided the profession with consistent and systematic methods for gleaning useful information from these controversial transducers. Another area of his research has focused on digital imaging methods for deformation and damage evaluation. Labuz is an editor of ASCE’s Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering and is on the editorial board of ASTM International’s Geotechnical Testing Journal. He has also served on technical committees within ASCE’s Geo-Institute and Engineering Mechanics Division (now Engineering Mechanics Institute), the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and the International Society for Rock Mechanics.

John J. Myers, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is an associate professor of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), where he has taught and conducted research since 1999. He is also the interim director of the school’s University Transportation Center. A licensed professional engineer in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, Myers holds an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. His research has focused on the behavior and durability of high-performance concrete and the use of fiber-reinforced polymers in structural repair and strengthening applications and has elucidated issues relating to blast resistance, bonding, substrate characterization, fatigue, and durability. He has also done research on nondestructive evaluation and on monitoring the health of structures through instrumentation. His sponsored research has advanced the body of knowledge in the areas of infrastructure renewal and the use of new materials for transportation and building applications, and he has more than 100 technical papers and reports to his credit. He has served as a researcher on many innovative projects, including the first two bridges constructed in North America using high-strength, high-performance concrete and bridges built or retrofitted using fiber-reinforced polymers. Myers was a leader in developing the architectural engineering program at Missouri S&T, and today it is one of the country’s largest. As a faculty adviser he has helped students participating in ASCE’s National Concrete Canoe Competition, the PCI Big Beam Contest, and the American Concrete Institute’s Concrete Construction Competition. A strong advocate of diversification within the engineering profession, he works closely with the National Society of Black Engineers and the Women in Science and Engineering Program and participates in outreach activities involving schoolchildren.

Richard L. Stockstill, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, is a research hydraulic engineer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, part of the Engineer Research and Development Center. Stockstill has been with the laboratory since 1985 and is a licensed professional engineer in Mississippi. He earned a bachelor of science in management and a bachelor of science and master of science in civil engineering, all from Mississippi State University, and a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Washington. Stockstill’s expertise is in the areas of supercritical flow in flood control channels, navigation lock filling and emptying systems, and the hydrodynamic modeling of hydraulic lock approaches and the mooring forces on vessels. He also leads a research team investigating near-field flow responses at hydraulic structures and has been the principal investigator on physical and numerical model studies of navigation systems and flood control channels. Stockstill’s research contributions have earned him a number of awards, among them the Waterways Experiment Station Director’s R&D Award in 1998, the Award of Excellence in Technology Transfer from the southeast region of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer in 1998, and the Engineer Research and Development Center’s R&D Award in 2006. He currently serves on the Computational Modeling of Hydraulic Structures Task Committee, part of ASCE’s Environmental and Water Resources Institute, and he represented the United States on a working group set up by the International Navigation Association to explore the design of mobile structures for controlling port and waterway flows. An associate editor of ASCE’s Journal of Hydraulic Engineering and an adjunct professor at Mississippi State University, Stockstill has authored or coauthored more than 70 technical papers and reports.

John M. Ting, Sc.D., P.E., F.ASCE, became the dean of engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in 2003 after heading the civil and environmental engineering department there. He has also held teaching and research positions at the University of Toronto and the California Institute of Technology. Ting has been involved in teaching, research, and software development in civil and environmental engineering since the late 1970s. His research, which has been awarded more than $1.7 million in funding, has focused on lateral pile behavior, centrifuge modeling of frost action, discrete element numerical modeling of granular materials, and the analysis of integral abutment bridges. He has also been deeply involved in promoting math and science education in all precollege grade levels. As chair of the civil and environmental engineering department, he established a minor in business administration in the civil engineering curriculum. Registered as a professional civil engineer in California, Ting holds an undergraduate degree in structural engineering from McGill University, a master of science in geotechnical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, and a doctor of science, also in geotechnical engineering, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His professional service activities include serving as a journal reviewer, as a reviewer of research proposals for National Science Foundation (NSF) programs, and as a member of the advisory board for the NSF Center for High-Rate Nanomanufacturing.

Fellow applications may be obtained from ASCE’s world headquarters, in Reston, Virginia, by calling (800) 548-2723, extension 6289. From outside the country, the number is (703) 295-6289. The e-mail address is fellows@asce.org. The application may be found on the Web at www.asce.org/pdf/fellowmemapp.pdf. Completed applications may be submitted online at www.asce.org/membership/fellowgrade.cfm (click on “Online ASCE Fellow Application”). Questions concerning fellow guidelines (including guideline waiver inquiries) or the application process may be directed to Erin Santiago, the applications coordinator, at (703) 295-6289 or esantiago@asce.org. Completed applications are reviewed monthly by the Membership Application Review Committee.

Roy G. Johnston, P.E., F.ASCE, died last month at the age of 93. Johnston was a structural engineer who helped shape the Los Angeles skyline and develop seismic standards for the area’s building codes. Born in Chicago in 1914, he attended the University of Southern California and went on to become a founding partner of the structural and civil engineering firm Brandow & Johnston, Inc., of Los Angeles. His work included a variety of structures, among them high-rise office buildings, hospitals, convention centers, university buildings, airports, schools, and industrial facilities. As the director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) from 1979 to 1981, Johnston was part of a U.S. delegation that traveled to China in 1980 as a guest of the Chinese government. He also served as a consultant to the National Science Foundation and as a member of the Building Seismic Safety Council, a body set up by the National Institute of Building Sciences. After an earthquake in the San Fernando area in 1971 took the lives of 64 people at a hospital run by the Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs), he was appointed as the structural engineering representative and served for 18 years on a five-member commission that established and implemented seismic safety standards for construction work on veterans’ hospitals nationwide. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1981, Johnston was the recipient of numerous awards.

John T. Starr, Sr., P.E., F.ASCE, died on February 19 at the age of 98. A native of Baltimore, he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1938. In 1936 Starr worked as a surveyor for the district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquartered in Baltimore. He also worked as a water supply and sanitary engineer for the Corps in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He became the chief of planning in 1954 and oversaw work on water resources in the Susquehanna and Potomac basins as well as the Chesapeake Bay. Starr was also a writer who published book reviews, travel articles, and op-ed pieces in a variety of publications. He is survived by a son, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Michael L. Stevens, P.E., F.ASCE, the general manager of CE Prime, Inc., of Carlsbad, California, died on March 1 at the age of 60. Stevens earned an associate degree in architectural design and graphics from Grossmont College and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from San Diego State University and eventually became a registered professional engineer in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. At CE Prime he was an expert witness in engineering litigation and oversaw a variety of forensic engineering investigations. Stevens served as ASCE’s treasurer in 1999, 2000, and 2001 and as a vice president in 1997 and 1998. He was also president of the San Diego Section in 1997.

David J. Hall, P.E., F.ASCE, died on February 2 at the age of 93. Born on June 24, 1914, in East Lansing, Michigan, Hall graduated from Michigan State University with a master’s degree in civil engineering. He taught civil engineering there from 1941 to 1947 and then moved to the University of Arizona, where he became associate dean of the College of Engineering, retiring in 1979. Hall was a partner of the Southwest Testing and Research Lab and was also the director of an institute that studied transportation and traffic issues in Arizona. A president of the Arizona Society of Civil Engineers Section of ASCE, he was honored with that group’s John C. Park Outstanding Civil Engineer Award in 2005.