January 2009
Volume 34, Number 1

ASCE has named the five individuals who will be honored for lifetime achievement as part of this year’s Outstanding Project and Leaders (OPAL) awards gala, which will be held in Arlington, Virginia, on April 23. asce established the OPAL awards in 1999 to celebrate the achievements and recognize the contributions of civil engineers worldwide. Candidates may be nominated by an asce member but need not be members of the Society. The recipients were selected by the Society Awards Committee, which is composed of five presidents emeriti of ASCE. The 2009 OPAL lifetime achievement honorees are John F. Donohoe, M.ASCE, for construction; J. Michael Duncan, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, for education; Thomas D. Furman, Jr., P.E., BCEE, M.ASCE, for management; Jeremy Isenberg, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, for design; and David J. Nash, P.E., F.ASCE, for government.

John F. Donohoe, M.ASCE, is being honored for lifetime achievement in construction. He is the chairman of the board of Moretrench American Corporation, a contracting firm based in Rockaway, New Jersey, that specializes in geotechnical, industrial, and heavy civil construction. Donohoe joined the firm in 1964 and rose through the ranks to become the chief executive officer and chairman of the board in 1995. He retired as the chief executive officer in 2007. He is a recognized expert in geotechnical engineering, especially in the areas of groundwater control, construction dewatering, and artificial ground freezing. A former president of ASCE’s Construction Institute, Donohoe received the Outstanding Achievement in Construction Award from the Moles in 2004. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1964.

J. Michael Duncan, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, this year’s lifetime achievement honoree for education, is a professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the director of the school’s Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research. Duncan earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and in 1965 obtained a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1984 he joined the faculty at Virginia Tech, where he became the W. Thomas Rice Professor of Civil Engineering, and in 1987 he was named a university distinguished professor. Since 1965 he has also served as an independent geotechnical engineering consultant on projects worldwide. Duncan has served on a variety of ASCE committees and has been the recipient of numerous Society accolades, among them the Collingwood Prize, the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, the Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award, the Arthur M. Wellington Prize, the State-of-the-Art of Civil Engineering Award, the Stephen D. Bechtel Pipeline Engineering Award, and the Karl Terzaghi Award.

Thomas D. Furman, Jr., P.E., BCEE, M.ASCE, is being honored for lifetime achievement in management. Furman recently retired as chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of cdm, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He joined the firm in 1974 as a vice president when cdm merged with the Florida-based environmental engineering firm Ross, Saarinen, Bolton & Wilder, Inc., and he distinguished himself by taking on various leadership positions in cdm’s southern region. He also completed the advanced management program at Harvard Business School. In 1987 he was promoted to executive vice president and named to the board of directors, and in 1989 he became the firm’s chief operating officer. He was elected CDM’s president in 1991 and its chief executive officer in 1998. Furman has been responsible for the management of 4,000 employees, including the firm’s three international subsidiaries. cdm has grown to a $1-billion firm, a figure that Furman had set as a goal. When he became chief executive officer, CDM’s revenues were $395 million. Under his leadership, the book value of the firm’s stock has grown by 250 percent.

Jeremy Isenberg, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, is being honored for lifetime achievement in design. Isenberg is a former president and chief executive officer of Weidlinger Associates, Inc., of New York City, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s he helped develop a three-dimensional nonlinear finite-element technology for assessing the effectiveness of protective structures for missile silos. In 1976 he began to investigate the effects of earthquakes on pipelines. Approximately 21 years later he was the principal investigator on a project carried out jointly by the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (later known as the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research and now known as MCEER) to construct and maintain instrumented pipeline segments across the San Andreas Fault. In 1987 Isenberg and Weidlinger Associates began converting the computational methods originally developed for defense purposes to civilian uses. Active within ASCE, he has chaired the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Stanford University and a doctorate in structural engineering from the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.

David J. Nash, P.E., F.ASCE, is being honored for lifetime achievement in government. After retiring from the U.S. Navy with the rank of rear admiral, Nash worked for Parsons Brinckerhoff Construction Services, a subsidiary of New York City–based Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), serving as the firm’s construction services program director for the General Motors Corporation, of Detroit. In 2002 he served as the president of PB Buildings, Inc., a PB subsidiary that offers program management, design, construction, and operations and maintenance services for commercial and industrial structures. In 2003 Nash accepted a position as the president of government operations with BE&K Government Group, LLC, and as the chief executive officer of the joint venture Jordan–BE&K Federal Group, LLC, both of Birmingham, Alabama. He retired this past October from BE&K, which had been acquired by the engineering firm KBR, headquartered in Houston, and formed his own engineering consulting firm, Dave Nash & Associates, LLC, also based in Birmingham. Nash has been the recipient of numerous awards, including asce’s Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research and its John I. Parcel–Leif J. Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award.

Six civil engineering projects are contenders in the competition for the 2009 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (OCEA award). The jury selected the winner on December 11, and the Board of Direction’s Executive Committee approved the choice on December 17. The winner will be announced during the 2009 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) gala, which will be held on Thursday, April 23, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia. The six projects are the H. Clay “Junk” Whaley, Sr., Memorial Water Plant, in St. Cloud, Florida; the I-35W Bridge, in Minneapolis; the Lake Brazos Labyrinth Weir, in Waco, Texas; the Motagua Bridge, in La Garrucha, Guatemala; the Groundwater Replenishment System in Orange County, California; the Bundle 401, Oregon Route 38: and the Elk Creek–Hardscrabble Creek bridge delivery program, in Elkton, Oregon.

The H. Clay “Junk” Whaley, Sr., Memorial Water Plant has provided a unique solution to water problems experienced by the community of St. Cloud, Florida. For years residents listed poor water quality among their greatest complaints in surveys sent to them by the city. Long-term problems regarding the city’s potable water included a pronounced color, poor taste, and a rotten-egg-like odor. Disinfection by-products—specifically, total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids—also were elevated. When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection By-products Rule, which was announced in 1998, went into effect and water quality regulations were tightened, the city fell out of compliance with the applicable standards governing disinfection by-products. Rather than implementing a partial solution—chloramines, for example—the city opted for a complete and permanent solution. The result was the design and construction of an innovative magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) treatment plant that began distributing water on March 27, 2008.

The largest operating MIEX plant in the United States, the St. Cloud facility is the first such plant specifically designed to promote hydrogen sulfide removal. It does this through deep-bubble aeration with pH adjustment, and it is the first MIEX plant to feature full-scale deployment of sodium bicarbonate as an alternative regenerant to salt. It is also the first to have full-scale deployment of magnetic postpolishing filters and is the first MIEX plant in the United States to be constructed of concrete.

The excellent quality of the water provided by this new plant has greatly improved the quality of life for the residents of St. Cloud.

The new concrete bridge that carries Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis replaces the crossing that catastrophically collapsed on August 1, 2007, during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145 more. With a daily impact of $400,000 to the local economy and $1 million to the trucking industry, speedy restoration of the crossing was of the utmost importance. The replacement was designed and built within 11 months and came in under budget. Simultaneous construction operations, multiple sets of equipment, and 24-hour workdays seven days a week were achieved at the highest safety levels. Innovative design and construction utilized both precast and cast-in-place methods to deliver a bridge that advances the goals of sustainable development, used local labor and local materials, and promises to benefit the local economy.

Thoughtful planning during the design process accommodated many site challenges, including bike trail pathways, two large storm-water drains, a concrete wall used to guide barges into the navigational locks, a dredge spoil site, a capped hazardous material site, and a historically important stone abutment wall. State-of-the-art systems were installed on the bridge to assist with construction operations by, for example, monitoring concrete maturity, and other sensors will provide data over the service life of the bridge. Information gathered from the 323 sensors is being managed in a partnership involving the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the University of Minnesota to provide valuable feedback about bridge traffic patterns, infrastructure maintenance and security, and design sustainability for future bridges. Information from the sensors also triggers the automated anti-icing system embedded in the deck.

Since concrete placement was done primarily during the winter months, heated water and aggregate were incorporated into the mix design to maintain the concrete temperature during delivery. Specially designed “warming houses” surrounded the precast forms in the casting yard to maintain a constant temperature for curing. Self-consolidating concrete was utilized in drilled shafts to improve durability. Gateway sculptures 30 ft (9.1 m) tall mark the river crossing at each end of the bridge and remove pollutants from the surrounding atmosphere through a photocatalytic reaction with a new self-cleaning cement, TX Active, produced by the Essroc Cement Corporation, of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. This is the first major use of this product in the United States.

The I-35W Bridge sets a new standard for speed and innovation for America’s infrastructure, and its completion has done much to restore the well-being of the community.

It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of Lake Brazos to the city of Waco, Texas. In 1970, when the Lake Brazos Dam was built, Waco’s leaders envisioned a vibrant downtown along the lake. Their plans, however, assumed a dependable lake level, which the dam in fact did not provide. Additionally, as the gated structure aged, it posed a high safety risk for workers who performed frequent repairs and maintenance. These tasks were often performed under less than ideally safe conditions. Waco therefore made it a priority that the dam’s replacement alleviate the risks and costs associated with dam maintenance.

Studies conducted in the early 1990s by engineers in the Austin, Texas, office of Freese and Nichols explored the idea of replacing the dam with a weir, thus eliminating the troublesome gates. In fact, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had proposed a labyrinth weir, but estimates—including the cost of diverting the river, emptying the lake for construction, and building the weir downstream of the existing dam—had exceeded $30 million. At the city’s request, the Freese and Nichols team refined the concept of a labyrinth weir to one that would be constructed in two phases over the foundation of the existing dam. The concept underwent extensive modeling and testing to determine the configuration that would be optimal for phased construction and for addressing the hydraulic challenges. Ultimately, the team designed a structure that handles river flows, provides Waco with reliable lake levels for the first time, and stands within the footprint of the original gated spillway—at nearly half the cost of the earlier replacement estimates. The labyrinth weir has performed as designed through severe rains and flooding. Waco has thus realized its original vision of the lake serving as a focal point of the downtown.
 
The Engineers Without Borders–Wisconsin Professional Partners chapter of Engineers Without Borders–USA and the Marquette University chapter teamed up to construct a new bridge in La Garrucha, Guatemala, across the Motagua River, which divides the departments of Quiché and Chimaltenango. The beneficiaries are the indigenous Quiché people, a Mayan group.

 The 67 ft (20.4 m) long concrete T-beam bridge was designed and constructed by civil engineering students at Marquette under the
guidance of members of the Engineers Without Borders–Wisconsin Professional Partners chapter. The project has helped residents of the community, and the Marquette students achieved both personal and professional growth.

Previously, a pedestrian structure existed at the narrowest point of the river. The existing span of railroad rails and wooden planks rested on 100-year-old brick and mortar abutments approximately 30 ft (9.1 m) above the riverbed. During the rainy season, however, the river flow obstructed the passage of pack animals. The project has given residents of the area better access to a variety of resources. For example, a new bus route provides access to education. (No schooling beyond primary school had been available to residents on the north side of the bridge.) The bridge now provides access to a junior high school located within an hour’s bus ride, and since the bridge’s opening, in October 2007, a new elementary school has opened on the south side of the river. The older members of the community are benefiting from an adult literacy program that is within an hour’s bus ride, and the new bridge has also improved access by bus to the medical system.

The Groundwater Replenishment (GWR) System of California’s Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District is the largest water purification reuse project of its kind in the world, with 86 mgd (325,510 m³/d) of microfiltration capacity preceding 70 mgd (264,950 m³/d) of reverse-osmosis treatment. The new system increases Orange County’s water independence by providing a locally controlled, drought-proof supply of safe, high-quality water. The GWR system can generate enough pure water to meet the needs of 500,000 people. Moreover, its purified water is of a higher quality than required by all state and federal drinking water standards and is similar to distilled water. The GWR system uses the latest water treatment technologies, and its structures have been designed to accommodate solar power. A commitment to energy conservation is also reflected in the mechanical design, as variable-frequency drives, which control the frequency of the electric power supplied to the motors and enable the pumps to operate more efficiently, were used on all the major pumping facilities.

Construction innovations included techniques that helped reduce costs and deleterious effects on local residences. The members of the design and construction team went out of their way to minimize harm to the environment during construction. To reduce vibration and sound, cast-in-place drilled concrete piles were used on approximately 3,500 piles throughout the GWR system plant site. This technique made it unnecessary to pound precast-concrete piles, which not only reduced vibration and noise but also lowered overall costs.

The GWR system takes a valuable resource through an advanced purification process that creates a new source of water for an arid region. The GWR system not only provides a reliable, drought-proof source of pure water for Orange County but also reduces saltwater intrusion into the groundwater basin and lowers the amount of wastewater discharged to the ocean. In fact, its creation will delay—possibly indefinitely—the need for the Orange County Sanitation District to build another ocean outfall pipe. Additionally, the project uses about half the energy needed to bring water from northern California and the Colorado River to Southern California. What is more, the GWR system water supply can be consistently produced in both wet and dry years, and it will provide water supply security to Orange County during future droughts, enabling the Orange County Water District to better manage its groundwater basin. The basin’s overall water quality will thus improve, lowering costs to residents within the service area. The system will produce high-quality water for approximately $550 per acre-foot (44.6 cents per cubic meter). The state-of-the-art purification process used in the system can be replicated in arid coastal regions of the world to address the looming global water crisis.

In implementing the 10-year, $1.3-billion Oregon Transportation Investment Act III State Bridge Delivery Program, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is repairing or replacing 365 bridges statewide. In carrying out this work, the odot has confronted numerous challenging mobility situations, and the one encountered in the town of Elkton was by no means the least imposing of these. The bridges on the east and west sides of the Elk Creek tunnel, which form part of Oregon Route 38, are so close to the tunnel entrance that there was no room on the east side to build the usual detour structure for carrying traffic during construction. Without a detour structure, traffic flow on the two-lane highway would have had to be restricted to one lane during construction. As a result, the 312 residents of Elkton would have faced up to six months of delays, each lasting as long as 20 minutes.

To expedite bridge construction, the ODOT—in partnership with contractor Slayden Construction, Inc., of Stayton, Oregon—opted to use an innovative rapid replacement technique. By building the replacement structures adjacent to the existing bridge and then sliding the existing bridge out of the way when the new one took its place, the ODOT reduced the length of the road closure from six months to six days. The ODOT also chose to use the rapid replacement method on the bridge on the west side of the tunnel as well.

Prior to the first bridge replacement, the new concrete span was shipped in parts to Elkton and within the course of 10 months was built adjacent to the existing structure. During this time crews also built supports for the new structure under the existing one. Workers began replacing the east-side bridge on Friday, May 9, 2008, and they worked around the clock for three days. From Friday evening on, the small town of Elkton appeared as if it had been transformed into a movie set. Using high-power lights and a 47-person ground crew, construction workers kept their focus on demolishing the first of the two Elk Creek bridges. The activity continued through the night as crews broke the concrete structure into three smaller pieces, which were trucked away before daybreak. The odot partnered with specialty contractor Mammoet USA, of Rosharon, Texas—a company that pioneered the development and use of hydraulic skidding systems. In addition to cranes, road graders, bulldozers, and excavators, Mammoet used gigantic hydraulic jacks to move the 1,500 ton (1,361 metric ton) structure 15 ft (4.57 m) down steel tracks to its final destination.

On September 5, 2008, crews reassembled to replace the longer of the Elk Creek bridges. Given the length and curvature of the spans, the designers used steel beams for this bridge. The process again went smoothly. To maintain traffic mobility and ensure safety, crews worked around the existing span. As with the first structure, they built the substructure and put the foundations in place while the existing bridge remained open to traffic.

One of the most difficult elements in replacing a bridge is connecting it to the substructure and securing it in its final position. After the west-side bridge was installed in its new location, crews spent a significant amount of time aligning the bridge with its substructure and ensuring that it met the odot’s strict earthquake and seismic activity standards. As on the east side, the contractor began the west-side bridge replacement on a Friday evening, and by 10 PM on Sunday the highway was reopened to traffic, eight hours earlier than planned. This brought the total amount of time the bridges were closed for replacement to a mere six days.

Civil engineers must be among society’s leaders in integrating and promoting practices that advance the goals of sustainable development, according to the Society’s Board of Direction. In a November 4 meeting held in conjunction with ASCE’s annual conference, the board said that a sustainability strategy was a goal worthy of significant attention and resources. The strategy adds a fourth to ASCE’s existing priorities: renewing the nation’s infrastructure, raising the bar on civil engineering education, and addressing the role of the civil engineer in today’s changing professional environment.

In recommendations it made to the board, ASCE’s Strategic Planning Committee concluded that there is a growing need to promote sustainable design and building practices and to raise the civil engineering profession’s profile in this area. Approved by the board, the statement regarding sustainability reads as follows:

The public’s growing awareness that it is possible to achieve a sustainable built environment, while addressing such challenges as natural and man-made disasters, adaptation to climate change, and global water supply, is reinforcing the civil engineer’s changing role from designer/constructor to policy leader and life-cycle planner, designer, constructor, operator, and maintainer (sustainer). Civil engineers are not perceived to be significant contributors to a sustainable world.

During the November 4 meeting, William Wallace, the founder and president of the Wallace Futures Group, of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and a recognized expert on sustainable development, called attention to five issues that, he contended, must be understood if engineers are to assume new responsibilities in this area. Wallace is also the author of Becoming Part of the Solution: The Engineer’s Guide to Sustainable Development (Washington, D.C.: American Council of Engineering Companies, 2005), which reflects his more than 40 years of work in developing and promoting environmental stewardship, including 20 years with CH2M HILL, of Englewood, Colorado, in senior positions related to hazardous waste management, strategic planning, and market development.

The first issue is that the world’s current economic development is not sustainable. Humankind continues to outpace the earth’s ecological carrying capacity, Wallace asserted, citing data showing that the world’s population already uses approximately 20 percent more of the earth’s resources than the planet can sustain. Wallace also cited the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report, issued by the United Nations in 2005, which states that “we can reverse the degradation of many ecosystem services over the next fifty years, but the changes in policy and practice required are substantial and not currently under way.” Moreover, climate change, regardless of its cause, challenges the world with extremes of heat and precipitation, according to Wallace.

The second issue, he explained, is that the effects of outpacing the earth’s carrying capacity have now reached crisis proportions. For the built environment, this crisis translates into spiking energy costs, extreme weather events causing huge losses, and the prospect of rising sea levels threatening coastal cities, he asserted. What is more, the global population increase is outstripping the capacity of institutions to address it.

The third issue is that an enormous amount of work will be required if the world is to shift to sustainable development. As Wallace sees it, a complete overhaul of the world’s processes, systems, and infrastructure will be needed. Engineers will need to effectively apply new technologies that incrementally deliver ever better performance in addressing the goals of environmental stewardship.

The engineering community should be leading the way toward sustainable development but has not yet assumed that responsibility, Wallace stated as his fourth issue. Most engineers deliver conventional engineering designs that meet building codes and protect the status quo, Wallace asserted, noting that civil engineers have few incentives to change.

The final issue, he explained, is that people outside the engineering community are capitalizing on new opportunities. For example, accounting firms are creating sustainable development reports for clients and providing information on performance gaps. In similar fashion, architects are seeking to bring their practices into conformity with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

To properly address these five issues, Wallace proposed a variety of actions for the civil engineering community, including developing and disseminating a working definition of sustainability; defining and documenting current practices and initiatives; developing processes and tools for delivering extraordinary performance; formulating a technology plan for improving environmental stewardship; setting a research agenda on the basis of technology gaps and the most pressing needs; forging multidisciplinary partnerships with other professional organizations; and revising engineering curricula to ensure that engineers will be properly prepared to meet the challenges of this century.

In discussing current practice, Wallace noted that the focus seems to be on attaining compliance with codes and standards. He advocated the development of goals and incentives that would help raise the standard of sustainable performance. As engineers strive to reach this standard, they will inevitably improve the state of practice, he reasoned.

Wallace noted that current approaches to sustainable design consist in adding sustainable features to conventional designs. Not only is this approach shortsighted, he argued; it also neglects opportunities to truly improve environmental stewardship. He urged not just the Board of Direction but engineers in general to collaborate more effectively in taking a systems approach, and he stressed the need for “reimagining” current systems and infrastructure to achieve the highest level of sustainable performance.

In according priority to a strategy for promoting sustainable development, the board was adhering to the approach it recently took in accepting a plan put forward by the Committee on Sustainability. That plan outlined various ways in which ASCE committees and entities could promote aspects of sustainable development. The plan, in turn, reflected “A Sustainable Future for the Planet,” a document signed in 2006 by ASCE, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and the United Kingdom’s Institute of Civil Engineers that called upon the signatories to “develop, monitor, and implement an action plan to help articulate and deliver [the three societies’] contribution to sustainable development, both nationally and internationally.” Moreover, The Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025 (http://content.asce.org/vision2025/index.html) sees civil engineers as being “entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life” and as “master stewards of the natural environment and its resources.”

Indeed, one of ASCE’s goals as an organization is to “facilitate the advancement of technology to enhance quality, knowledge, competitiveness, sustainability, and environmental stewardship” (www.asce.org/inside/next_plan.cfm), and the Society’s Code of Ethics, in the guidelines to practice for canon 1, calls for “improving the environment by adherence to the principles of sustainable development.”

The Strategic Planning Committee, working in concert with the Committee on Sustainability, has produced a draft of the strategy, and other committees and entities within ASCE will develop a coordinated plan as the strategy is finalized. The Board of Direction hopes that the strategy will enable civil engineers to become recognized as leaders, teachers, and practitioners for a wide range of environmental and infrastructure issues related to sustainable development.

Civil engineers are interesting people. We work diligently to make an essential contribution to society. Although we work hard, we also get involved in all kinds of community activities because we care about our families and friends. When people ask what we do, we quickly mumble something about engineering because we are not comfortable extolling the value of our work. The next thing we do is go to ASCE meetings or tell our civil engineer colleagues that we wish we had a better image. We lament that people do not seem to understand what civil engineers do. We even tell ASCE that improving the image of the civil engineer should be one of the primary activities of the Society.

Well, get ready. You have an opportunity to help us improve our image, explain our contributions to the general public, and have some fun in the process. Engineers Week is coming up.

ASCE was a founding member of the Engineers Week Coalition and has twice chaired the annual event. Those efforts and the continuing support and involvement of ASCE members at all levels have helped us contribute to a vibrant and successful outreach program.

No longer confined to a mere seven days, Engineers Week now promotes year-round activity. It now enables engineers to concert their efforts in outreach and public image campaigns. The National Engineers Week Foundation and the approximately 100 professional societies, corporations, and government agencies that make up the Engineers Week Coalition aim to celebrate the profession all year long and to encourage students around the world to consider careers in this field. The various groups also promote precollege math and science education, and this year alone they are hoping to contribute 1 million hours of volunteer time working with students from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

ASCE will be chairing Engineers Week in 2010, the third time it has done so, and its corporate partner will be ExxonMobil. As we gear up for Engineers Week this year, which will be February 15–21, let’s make a point of sharing ideas about what Engineers Week 2010 should look like and offer. Of greater importance, what can ASCE do as the chair of this event to recognize and celebrate engineers and share our exciting profession with the public?

During our regional leadership conferences this year in San Francisco, Denver, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, we will include sessions to gather new ideas and benefit from the experiences of our volunteers. Students, younger members, and section and branch delegates will have an opportunity to brainstorm and, it is hoped, generate ideas for new programs. This input will help guide our planning committee for Engineers Week 2010.

We want to hear from all of you about your Engineers Week ideas and experiences. Send them to outreach@asce.org. You can learn more about the Engineers Week 2009 celebration—and log your volunteer hours as part of the drive to reach a total of 1 million—at www.eweek.org.

Look at what’s happening this year:

On February 21 thousands of children of all ages will gather in the main hall of the National Building Museum, in Washington, D.C., to participate in a family day that will seek to convey the excitement of engineering through hands-on activities.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day will take place on February 19. Each year this day gives female students an opportunity to experience aspects of the profession in the company of women engineers.

The New Faces of Engineering competition spotlights young engineers who have been in the workplace for no more than five years. These young professionals represent the best of engineering and have exhibited outstanding ability in working to safeguard and advance the health, safety, and welfare of the general public. Learn who has been selected to represent ASCE as one of the New Faces of Engineering and watch for the ad that will appear in USA Today during Engineers Week.

The National Engineers Week Foundation is the secretariat for the outreach project Engineer Your Life (www.engineeryourlife.org). Initiated by Patricia D. Galloway, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a president emeritus of ASCE, the program seeks to engage the interest of girls in high school and encourage them to consider careers in engineering. It exhorts girls to “dream big” and to “love what you do.” The Web site also offers information that counselors and parents will find useful. An important facet of the program is a two-year campaign being carried out with the assistance of the National Association for College Admission Counseling to reach students and their parents at high school college fairs. On February 25 ASCE members can join Galloway in a webinar that will consider ways of promoting engineering as a career that young women will find attractive for a variety of reasons.

The Future City Competition has established 38 regional sites in this country, and competitions are also being held in Japan, India, Sweden, and Egypt. Teachers and volunteers work with middle school students to create computer designs or three-dimensional models of cities. The teams emerging from the regional competitions will travel to Washington, D.C., during Engineers Week for the finals.

Also linked to this year’s Engineers Week is the Global Marathon for, by, and about Women in Engineering, which will take place in March. In 48 events that are to take place around the world over a 24-hour period, various issues of interest to those considering a career in engineering will be explored. To reach as many participants as possible, the marathon will include online chats, phone discussions, and webcasts from around the world.

The National Engineers Week Foundation Diversity Council is an alliance of organizations working together to ensure that the engineering profession is drawing on the talents of all segments of the population and that all segments are aware of the challenges and opportunities that a career in engineering can offer.

 As part of an Engineers Week program called DiscoverE, more than 45,000 engineers will visit classrooms and conduct activities using materials expressly designed for the purpose. Five and a half million students and teachers are expected to take part this year.

Discover Engineering (www.discoverengineering.org) is a National Engineers Week Foundation Web site that gives middle and high school students an insight into what engineering involves. Visitors to the site are able to engage in certain engineering activities, learn about the various fields of engineering, and meet engineers with jobs that can only be described as cool.

The action-packed PBS series Cyberchase is designed to help children acquire math skills. The partners in the Engineers Week Coalition promote and distribute kits of material and resources developed to advance math education throughout the year.
This year’s Engineers Week is ready to roll! Learn all you can at www.eweek.org and enjoy being part of something that promises to be fun, energizing, and of enormous value to the future of our profession.

I will see you at the regional leadership conferences and am looking forward to receiving your suggestions for next year’s Engineers Week!

—D. Wayne Klotz, P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE

CONFERENCE SEEKS TO DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE GUIDELINES

In early December, as President-Elect Barack Obama and others in the federal government were discussing the need to invest in the nation’s infrastructure as part of a proposed economic stimulus package, ASCE hosted a conference aimed at developing guidelines for realizing infrastructure projects that not only are successful, safe, and resilient but also reflect the goals of sustainable development. Held in northern Virginia December 8–10 at the Lansdowne Resort, the Summit on Guiding Principles for Critical Infrastructure attracted a wide range of participants, the roughly 80 attendees representing, among other fields, engineering disciplines, the financial industry, news organizations, the public sector, and groups working to increase investment in infrastructure.

Blaine D. Leonard, P.E., F.ASCE, the Society’s president-elect, welcomed the attendees by highlighting the many tangible benefits that civil engineers produce for society: “Life as we know it functions because of what we do.” But Leonard conceded that in recent decades “competing demands have taken away some of our focus and some of our resources.” Civil engineers still “do great things,” he stressed. “We just don’t do enough of them.”

A lack of resources is part of the problem, Leonard noted, but so too is the fact that civil engineers do not always consider such issues as sustainability and resilience when designing their projects.

For that reason, the summit planners asked those in attendance to elaborate on four principles that will be central to the infrastructure guidelines, which are expected to be finalized by the second quarter of 2009:

• Quantifying, communicating, and managing risk;
• Exercising environmental stewardship as well as sound leadership and management;
• Employing an integrated systems approach; 
• Adapting critical infrastructure in response to changing conditions and practices.

The four principles were explored in breakout discussions by the conference attendees and were also expounded by the invited speakers. These included Stephen Flynn, Ph.D., a best-selling author on security issues and an adviser to the Obama presidential transition team, whose keynote address on the opening night stressed the importance of a resilient infrastructure. Four other speakers each considered one of the guiding principles. Lewis E. Link, Ph.D., M.ASCE, a senior research engineer and a member of the civil and environmental engineering faculty at the University of Maryland, discussed risk management; Raymond E. Topping, p.e., an executive vice president of CH2M HILL, explored the systems approach; G. Wayne Clough, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, focused on management and leadership issues; and Richard D. Land, P.E., M.ASCE, the chief engineer of California’s Department of Transportation, discussed the importance of adapting to change.

The Summit on Guiding Principles for Critical Infrastructure will be discussed in greater depth in the February issue of Civil Engineering.

Marcuson and Roth Are Honored Guests at Japan Conference

William F. Marcuson III, Ph.D., P.E., Hon.M.ASCE, a president emeritus of ASCE, and Lawrence H. Roth, P.E., G.E., F.ASCE, the Society’s deputy executive director, attended Lost Land with the Water: The Summit of World Zero Meters Cities, a conference held in Edogawa, near Tokyo, December 15–17. Marcuson and Roth discussed levee failures in New Orleans and other recent tragedies that have befallen U.S. infrastructure.

The objective of the conference was to bring together representatives of cities that are at or below sea level to consider measures for addressing the rising sea levels brought about by climate change. Conference attendees also declared a state of emergency and resolved not only to adapt to rising sea levels but also to address the causes thereof.

Marcuson and Roth were welcomed by the mayor of Edogawa, Masami Tada, who on December 15 delivered an opening address at the conference. He was followed by Marcuson, whose keynote address described the damage inflicted in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Marcuson summarized the findings and conclusions of ASCE’s External Review Panel, which reported that much of the destruction brought by Katrina reflected a number of engineering and policy failures. “The levees and floodwalls breached because of a combination of unfortunate choices and decisions made over many years, at almost all levels of responsibility,” Marcuson stated in an e-mail to ASCE News summarizing his speech at the conference.

Marcuson also stated that the lessons learned from Katrina transcend the engineering community and flood protection in Louisiana. “These lessons should cause engineers to bring about shifts in the way they approach all projects that impact public health, safety, and welfare,” he stated. Engineers should develop a better understanding of risk and safety, improve their ability to manage and communicate the associated risk, reevaluate and repair flood protection systems, and demand engineering quality, he noted.

In a speech delivered on December 16, Roth said that “nowhere is critical infrastructure so vital in protecting public safety, health, and welfare as it is for sea level cities around the world.” According to Roth, the United States has provided some tragic examples of what happens when the built environment is neglected and has suffered several catastrophes in recent years, including Katrina, the ceiling collapse in the D Street portal connecting Interstate 90 in Boston to the Ted Williams Tunnel, which occurred in 2006, and the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which occurred in 2007. “In all three cases,” Roth noted, “the pressures to cut costs and shorten the schedule have trumped the need to protect public safety, health, and welfare. These recent, dramatic failures have trained a spotlight on a long-standing national problem in the United States—how years of neglect, missing leadership, and underfunding have allowed America’s infrastructure, once a national treasure, to deteriorate.”

In a declaration they signed on December 17, the attendees stated that “as residents of sea level cities [and] provinces and [as] concerned citizens, we are issuing this joint declaration in order to focus global attention on this crisis.” The signatories bound themselves to work to “reduce greenhouse gases and prepare for global warming,” to “learn from our ancestors and the history of flood control and work together . . . to address these issues and implement policy adaptations,” and to “cooperate to counter the threat of higher water levels with sustained action.”

The attendees included representatives from Venice, Italy; Bangkok (Krung Thep), Thailand; the Dutch provinces North Holland and South Holland; London; Taipei (T’aipei), Taiwan; and the Japanese cities Urayasu, Yatomi, and Amagasaki.

ASCE Volunteers Renovate Youth Center

As part of its 138th Annual Civil Engineering Conference, which was held in Pittsburgh November 6­8, ASCE joined forces with Pittsburgh Cares‹an organization dedicated to inspiring volunteerism by organizing service projects‹to renovate and repair the Bradley Center, a residential educational facility for disadvantaged young people. Volunteers also participated in educational activities that focused on teaching the residents there about their built environment and the significance of the work done by civil engineers. This is the sixth year in a row that Society volunteers have participated in a service project as part of their experience at the annual conference.

Approximately 55 volunteers from ASCE, Pittsburgh Cares, and other organizations rolled up their sleeves. Among other tasks, they constructed planting beds, repainted picnic tables, constructed shelves, repainted rooms, painted a mural, and refurbished a gazebo. While crews of volunteers busied themselves with these improvements, others brought students at the center into the cafeteria to participate in interactive engineering activities. In addition to gaining an acquaintance with engineering, the students had some fun testing water quality, building models of arch and truss bridges, and designing skyscrapers.

Karen Zimmerman, the community relations coordinator for the Bradley Center, was indeed impressed: "I am just thrilled that your dedication and commitment to children came the whole way to Pittsburgh. Our facility was just abuzz with all the excitement, the learning, and the happiness that you and your group brought to our residents. It certainly will be a memory for these children, one that I hope instills them to strive to be curious, to search for answers, and always to have fun while doing so." The center was founded by the organization United Methodist Women in 1905 as the Elizabeth A. Bradley Home for Children and was operated for many years as an orphanage and as interim housing for children whose parents were separated or divorced. In 1972 it was incorporated as the Bradley Center to serve abused, neglected, or dependent children, and it has since evolved to become part of an accredited health care and child welfare system.

This year¹s event was organized by ASCE's Committee on Volunteer Community Service, the Pittsburgh Section, that section's Younger Member Forum, and Pittsburgh Cares and was sponsored by the engineering firm hdr, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. ASCE began organizing volunteer community service events in 2002 as part of the celebrations marking its 150th anniversary. The service projects, however, have continued and have become an addendum to ASCE's annual conference. Members are already organizing next year's project, which will be in Kansas City, Missouri. Those interested in being part of the volunteer endeavor next year should contact Alicia Karwoski, ASCE's director of professional practice, at akarwoski@asce.org.

Wesley J. Dolginoff, P.E., F.ASCE, died on November 10 at the age of 86. Dolginoff was a structural engineer for Black & Veatch, of Kansas City, Missouri, from 1947 until 2006, when he retired. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he attended the University of Missouri at Rolla. Upon graduation he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and served in the Allied forces occupying Germany after World War II. He is survived by his wife, Marna, and by a son, a daughter, and three granddaughters.

George F.W. Hauck, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, died on November 20 at the age of 76. Born on September 7, 1932, in Kassel, Germany, Hauck emigrated to the United States after completing high school and became a U.S. citizen in 1954. His education was interspersed with periods of military service, and he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architectural engineering from Oklahoma State University. After brief employment with the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh, he obtained a doctorate in structural engineering from Northwestern University in 1964. He was a professor of structural engineering at Tri-State University (now Trine University) until 1975, when he began teaching at the University of Missouri. His research encompassed the history of bridges, and he coauthored The Testing of Engineering Materials (New York City: McGraw-Hill, 1982). Hauck was registered as a professional engineer in Oklahoma, Indiana, and Missouri. He also contributed to the restoration of a historically important bridge in Parkville, Missouri, in 1989.

George W. Housner, Dist.M.ASCE, a pioneer in earthquake engineering, died on November 10 at the age of 97. Born on December 9, 1910, in Saginaw, Michigan, Housner obtained a bachelor’s degree in structural engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree and a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology. His interest in earthquake engineering derived in part from an earthquake that struck Long Beach, California, in March 1933. Several structures, including schools, failed catastrophically. (Fortunately the temblor did not strike during school hours.) Housner was a founding member of ASCE’s Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and a medal from the institute bears his name. He worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and advised Allied air forces during World War II. In 1945 he was honored with the Distinguished Civilian Service Award by the secretary of the army. After the war he returned to Caltech as an assistant professor of applied mechanics and eventually became the Braun Professor of Engineering there. The recipient of the Seismological Society of America’s Harry Fielding Reid Medal, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1972. President Ronald Reagan presented him with the National Medal of Science in 1988.

Reymond L. Nordlund, Ph.D., M.ASCE, died on November 29 at the age of 79. A resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia, a master’s degree, also in civil engineering, from the University of Texas, and a doctorate in geotechnical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his career Nordlund served as the president of Spencer, White & Prentice Foundation Corporation, of Swansea, Massachusetts; as a vice president and chief engineer of the Franki Foundation Company, of Washington, D.C.; and as the manager of the western Europe division of the Raymond Concrete Pile Company, of London. In addition to publishing numerous articles in engineering journals and presenting papers at conferences, Nordlund developed a semiempirical equation for calculating the ultimate bearing capacity of driven piles in cohesive soil that is cited in numerous civil engineering textbooks. He is survived by his wife, Donna, and by three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren.

Maitland Allen Steele, P.E., M.ASCE, died on November 10 at the age of 81. Born in New Orleans on November 4, 1927, Steele spent his childhood in Slidell, Louisiana. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was also in the Navy Reserve. He retired from Freeport Minerals (now Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, headquartered in Phoenix) after 29 years of service and relocated to McComb, Mississippi. Steele was also ordained as a deacon in the First Baptist Church of Slidell and served as a deacon in New Orleans at the Oak Park Baptist Church. Most recently he served in the deacon fellowship of the First Baptist Church in McComb. Steele is survived by his wife of 58 years, Donna, and by two daughters, a son, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Memorial donations in his honor should be made to the American Cancer Society.

Grace Waldvogel, an associate of Cornerstone Consultants, L.L.C., a construction management firm headquartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, died on October 24 at the age of 56. Waldvogel was employed by asce for more than 25 years and served as the managing director of corporate affairs before leaving the Society in 1998. She is perhaps best remembered for managing the relocation of asce’s headquarters and staff from New York City to Reston, Virginia, as well as the renovation of the new headquarters building. She also directed the Society’s professional practice and peer review programs. After leaving asce, she worked in New York City for the law firm Postner & Rubin, and in 2000 she became an associate of Cornerstone Consultants. She was also the manager of administration and marketing at Gibble Norden Champion Brown Consulting Engineers, Inc., also located in Old Saybrook. She is survived by a brother, a sister, and several nieces and nephews. Memorial donations may be sent to Ridgewood Pentecostal Church, 8420 85th Drive, Woodhaven, NY 11421-1219. (Checks should be made out to Ridgewood Pentecostal Church Children’s Ministries, with “Grace Fund” written on the memo line.)

Dominic A. Zarrella, P.E., M.ASCE, died on November 10 at the age of 86. A retired partner of the New York City–based engineering firm Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, Zarrella was born on August 5, 1922, in New York City and obtained a degree in civil engineering from Manhattan College in 1948. In 1953 he joined Mueser Rutledge, then known as Moran, Proctor, Mueser & Rutledge, as a design engineer, becoming an associate and a partner of the firm in 1982. Zarrella specialized in the design and construction of heavy foundations and marine structures. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Guinea and the Philippines. He is survived by a brother and a sister.

SITUATION: An ASCE section officer forwards newspaper articles to the Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) concerning the trial of a city mayor on charges of bribery. The articles describe the testimony at trial of an ASCE member who, in exchange for a grant of immunity from prosecution, provided details of payments he had made to the mayor in exchange for professional service contracts.

The ASCE member, a partner of a small engineering firm, testified that he had been approached by a representative of the mayor about a request for proposals on a substantial design contract. The mayor’s representative told the member that the mayor was willing to award the member’s firm the contract in exchange for a small payment to the mayor and his representative. The member made a cash payment to the mayor’s representative using funds from his personal bank account, and soon afterward his firm received the contract. The member admitted that he and his partners had made a handful of other payments to the mayor’s representative, each involving cash payments from their personal accounts, and that his firm had subsequently been awarded other engineering service contracts.

QUESTION: Did the member’s actions in making payments to the mayor in exchange for professional service contracts violate asce’s Code of Ethics?

DISCUSSION: On the basis of its initial review of the newspaper articles, the CPC believed that the member’s actions may have violated canon 5 of the code, which reads as follows: “Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.” Paragraph (a) in the guidelines to practice for this canon adds the following: “Engineers shall not give, solicit, or receive, either directly or indirectly, any political contribution, gratuity, or unlawful consideration in order to secure work, exclusive of securing salaried positions through employment agencies.”

The committee was also of the opinion that the member’s activities violated canon 6, which at the time of this case read as follows: “Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession.”

When contacted by the CPC, the member denied having done anything of an unethical nature and claimed that, in fact, he had been a victim of extortion. He said that his firm had recently suffered a financial setback, that the mayor and his representative were aware of his company’s struggles, and that they had taken advantage of his straitened circumstances to force him to agree to the secret payments. He further contended that he had done only what was necessary to keep his firm in business and that his actions were no different from those of countless other engineers and firms that buy tickets for events or make campaign donations to support local politicians. Finally, he claimed that his cooperation with county prosecutors and his testimony on their behalf should weigh against any finding of an ethics violation.

After reviewing the trial transcripts and speaking with county prosecutors, the CPC was not convinced by the member’s claim that he had been an innocent victim of the mayor’s activities. It found that the member had violated canons 5 and 6 of the Code of Ethics and recommended to the Board of Direction that the member be expelled from the Society. The member waived his right to present a defense to the Board of Direction, and after reviewing the committee’s report the board voted to expel the member and to publish an account of the action without the member’s name.

In July 2006 the board approved an amendment to canon 6 to explicitly address the issue of bribery in engineering and construction activities. The new canon and the accompanying guidelines to practice refer to asce’s policy of “zero tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption.” Even more recently, ASCE’s Committee on Global Principles for Professional Conduct, in a collaborative effort involving educators, engineering professionals, and communicators around the world, helped to develop a film that explores the ethical dilemmas confronting those working in engineering and construction. Entitled Ethicana, the film was shown in November at ASCE’s annual conference (see ASCE News, December 2008, page 12). For more information about the film and related initiatives, visit http://content.asce.org/global/principles/GlobalHomePage.html.

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.

2009 Joint ASCE-ASME-SES Conference on Mechanics and Materials
June 24–27, 2009, Blacksburg, Virginia

Sponsors: ASCE, ASME, and the Society of Engineering Science.

Paper Topics: Advanced materials; biodynamics; biomaterials; biomechanics; dynamics; dynamic systems; fluid mechanics; materials engineering; materials science; mechanics of materials; nanomaterials; nanomechanics; solid mechanics; and interdisciplinary topics.

Deadline: March 15, 2009, for abstracts, which are not to exceed 3,000 characters and are to be submitted to http://scholardesk.com/abstracts/VT/welcome.

Contact: The conference Web site is www.cpe.vt.edu/mech09/abstract.html.

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Improving the Seismic Performance of Existing Buildings and Other Structures
December 9–11, 2009, San Francisco

Sponsors: Applied Technology Council, ASCE, and ASCE’s Structural Engineering Institute.

Paper Topics: Case studies in seismic evaluation and rehabilitation (including evaluation and analysis methods, criteria, problems, construction and project costs, and performance during severe ground shaking); innovative uses of seismic protection systems; analysis methods for seismic evaluation and rehabilitation; new developments in seismic evaluation and rehabilitation; implementation issues and improvements to existing ASCE standards; and engineering contributions to the social and economic aspects of seismic evaluation and rehabilitation.

Deadline: February 27, 2009, for abstracts, which are to be submitted electronically according to the instructions given at www.atc-sei.org/submissions.html.

Contact: The conference Web site is www.atc-sei.org/index.html. Questions regarding submissions may also be directed to Debbie Smith, the Structural Engineering Institute’s program manager, via e-mail at dsmith@asce.org or via phone at (703) 295-6095.

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Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities: Special Issue on the Performance of Facilities Built on Expansive Soils

Paper Topics: The topics need not be confined to the following: problems arising from inadequate inspection of drilled pier foundations; the “bathtub” effect and subsequent heaving of building foundations; heaving of pavement structures; instability of slopes in expansive soils; failure to provide sufficient space below grade beams; problems associated with improper construction techniques; effects of tree roots and vegetation; problems arising from southwestern exposure; effects of broken water lines, sewer lines, septic systems, or swimming pools; effects attributed to inadequate drainage; failure to discern the presence of expansive soils; failure to consult with a qualified geotechnical engineer; failure to make specific foundation provisions; and field instrumentation programs of structural performance in shrinking and swelling soils.

Deadline: February 1, 2009, for abstracts, which may be e-mailed to orendon@ms.metrocast.net. or mailed to the following address: Oswald Rendon-Herrero, Ph.D., P.O. Box 1172, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762-1172.

Contact: For additional information, the guest editor, Oswald Rendon-Herrero, Ph.D., may be contacted by phone at Mississippi State University at (662) 312-0253 or via e-mail at orendon@ms.metrocast.net. Additional information may be obtained at http://www.pubs.asce.org/authors/journal/callpapers/#ConsructFac.

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Leadership and Management in Engineering: Special Issue on Leadership for Nation Building through Engineering and  Construction

Paper Topics: Building better government through engineering leadership; engineering leadership for nation building; industrial development in developing countries; infrastructure to increase the gross domestic product; 5-year and 10-year plans for national growth; influence of engineering on business and economic growth; regional and national development; application and implementation of technology policies; finance and politics in megaprojects and national planning; contracting for megaprojects; financial emergencies; economics of engineering on a national scale; management problems with megaprojects; life-cycle costs for national electricity and water consumption; estimates of water supply, housing, and electricity; engineering for the future; leadership models for underdeveloped countries; international collaboration in technology; implementation issues of national building codes; motivating engineers to assume leadership positions; ethical aspects of engineering for nation building; educational efforts of the type conducted by Engineers Without Borders–USA; and nation building at home.

Deadline: March 15, 2009, for papers not exceeding 10,000 words. To submit a paper, follow the instructions at www.editorialmanager.com/jrnlmeng/.

Contact: Queries may be directed to the associate editor, Amarjit Singh, Ph.D., by telephone at (808) 956-3933, by fax at (808) 956-5014, or by e-mail at asingh@hawaii.edu. The mailing address is Amarjit Singh, Ph.D., University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Honolulu, HI 96822.

■ ASCE is forming a new group, the Paraprofessional Task Committee (PTC), that will develop ways to help the Society recognize and support paraprofessionals within the civil engineering profession. The new group’s recommendations will include new definitions of roles and responsibilities and will also deal with promoting opportunities, establishing credentials, and defining career paths based on certain types of education and training. The PTC will build on the work performed by the Paraprofessional Exploratory Task Committee (PETC). That body, which was created in March 2008 and completed its work in September, was charged with defining issues that ASCE should address in order to integrate paraprofessionals into the civil engineering design and construction team as well as the civil engineering community as a whole. To accomplish its goal, the PETC looked at the activities performed by paraprofessionals within a number of professions and considered the current and potential work opportunities for paraprofessionals within civil engineering. The five issues that the PETC highlighted constitute the mission of the PTC. The PETC’s final report, available at www.asce.org/paraprofessionals/, was presented to ASCE’s Board of Direction in November. The new committee’s leadership is interested in attracting civil engineers from a wide cross section of the profession, particularly those who work with or manage paraprofessionals, educate civil engineering technologists, or have experience in establishing credentials for paraprofessionals. Roughly 6 individuals will be selected as full members of the new committee, and 10 or so will be selected as active correspondents. The committee’s work will commence this March and is to be completed no later than October 2010. The time and work commitment will be considerably greater than for an average ASCE committee. Interested members are urged to review the PETC final report and the ptc mission, which also is available at the Web address given above. An application form for committee membership is posted there as well, and it should be returned to ASCE no later than February 13. It is anticipated that the number of applicants will far exceed the number of positions. Questions regarding the new committee should be addressed to Joe D. Manous, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE, its chair, at joe.manous@usace.army.mil or to Melissa Prelewicz, P.E., M.ASCE, the Society’s senior manager of professional activities, at mprelewicz@asce.org.

■ The Structural Engineering Institute has established the Technical Council on Life-Cycle Performance, Safety, Reliability, and Risk of Structural Systems. Proposed by Dan M. Frangopol, Sc.D., F.ASCE, a professor of civil engineering at Lehigh University and the holder of the Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture there, the council will comprise three task groups. It will provide a forum for reviewing, developing, and promoting the principles and methods that relate to the life-cycle performance, safety, and reliability of structural systems. The work is expected to bring advances in the analysis, design, construction, assessment, inspection, maintenance, operation, monitoring, repair, rehabilitation, and management of civil infrastructure systems. Those interested in joining should visit http://content.seinstitute.org/committees/tadjoin.html for more information about the institute’s committees and fill out an online application.

■ Each year engineering students participating in ASCE’s National Concrete Canoe Competition take concrete to the extreme by designing and building a canoe out of this versatile material and then racing it in a bid to demonstrate technical and design prowess and acquire bragging rights. To celebrate this annual event, ASCE will feature an exhibit at the World of Concrete 2009, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center February 3–6, that will feature the 2008 winning canoe. Concrete canoe fans and alumni are invited to a special reception during the conference that will be held on February 3 from 5 to 6 PM. Alumni will have an opportunity to catch up with former teammates, and fans will gain an insight into how last year’s winners constructed their amazing vessel. Tickets are $10 and registration is required. Register for the reception at http://registration.experient-inc.com/ShowWOC091. For more information, e-mail cnccc@ermail.asce.org.

■ Dan M. Frangopol, Sc.D., F.ASCE, who, as mentioned above, holds the Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture at Lehigh University, has organized a series of lectures that pay tribute to Khan’s legacy of excellence in structural engineering and architecture. The lectures will be given in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at Lehigh’s Sinclair Laboratory Auditorium. The first, “The Architect and the Structural Engineer: Partners in Design,” will be delivered by Leslie E. Robertson, P.E., S.E., Dist.M.ASCE, of Leslie E. Robertson Associates, R.L.L.P., headquartered in New York City, on Friday, February 20, at 4:10 pm. William F. Baker, P.E., F.ASCE, the partner in charge of structural and civil engineering at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, of Chicago, will deliver a lecture entitled “Engineering the World’s Tallest: Burj Dubai” on Friday, March 20, at 4:10 pm. The third lecture, “Abnormal Loads and Progressive Collapse: Assessment and Mitigation of Risk,” will be delivered by Bruce R. Ellingwood, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, on Friday, April 17, at 4:10 pm.

■ ASCE is seeking nominations for awards honoring distinguished civil engineers. Nominations are due on March 1 for the following awards:

• John I. Parcel–Leif J. Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award: Designed to recognize effective leadership and management in the civil engineering profession, this award is confined to ASCE members. The judges also look for evidence of personal and professional integrity.
• Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award: This honor is bestowed on those who have contributed to the betterment of the engineering profession by establishing a formidable reputation for professional service, improving the conditions under which professional engineers render service to society in the public or private sectors, improving civil engineering education, or providing guidance to young civil engineers. ASCE members of any grade except that of distinguished member are eligible.
• Civil Government Award: Candidates are those whose performance has helped to raise the stature of the engineering profession. The award is intended to recognize outstanding performance by engineers serving as members of Congress, mayors, governors, city managers, city council members, municipal department heads, state or county officials, or members of state legislatures. Nominees for this award must be registered professional engineers. Those holding positions that traditionally have been held by engineers or positions that are filled on the basis of civil service examinations are not eligible. ASCE members of any grade except that of distinguished member are eligible.
• Government Civil Engineer of the Year Award: Candidates must be ASCE members in good standing and, preferably, licensed professional engineers. They must have 15 years in public service, at least 5 of them at a senior administrative level, and must currently be employed in the U.S. public sector. Other criteria include participation in civic or humanitarian endeavors and evidence of personal and professional integrity.

For questions, contact Alicia Karwoski at (703) 295-6324 or (800) 548-2723, extension 6324. For more information and downloadable forms, visit www.asce.org/awards.

■ The American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) recently kicked off what will be its 20th Excellence in Environmental Engineering Competition. The competition highlights and honors the best of today’s environmental engineering projects. Each year competitors submit a wide range of projects, including undertakings involving innovative designs for waste treatment plants, new water treatment technologies, and unique Superfund site cleanup strategies. (Superfund is the name of the fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.) Winners are selected by an independent panel of board-certified environmental engineering experts. Winning entries address the broad range of engineering challenges encountered in meeting society’s needs in a way that protects the environment. Winners are automatically entered into an international competition and are asked to expound their proposals at local AAEE workshops. The deadline for entry is February 1. For more information or to view past winners, contact the AAEE via phone at (410) 266-3311 or via e-mail at info@aaee.net. The Web site is www.aaee.net.

■ The Construction Institute’s Specifications Committee has prepared a standard for preparing civil engineering specifications and is now soliciting feedback to ensure that it includes your area of expertise. The committee would also like to receive any comments, corrections, or deletions that you deem necessary. After considering the feedback, the committee plans to submit the proposed standard to the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) for inclusion in that body’s newly developed format system. If the outline is not adopted by the CSI, then the Society plans to develop a format system to be used within ASCE. The outline may by accessed by clicking on the link at the Specifications Committee’s Web site (www.constructioninst.org/committee/?ode=SVhDTTMwMTAwMDAw). If you experience problems, please contact Laura Ciampa, an administrator for the Construction Institute, at lciampa@asce.org. Please forward any comments that you have to John R. Morey, M.ASCE, at jrmorey@cableone.net.

■ The Construction Institute’s Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data Committee will be meeting in San Antonio on Tuesday, March 24, from 9 AM to 5 PM. The meeting will be at the Texas Transportation Institute (3500 NW Loop 410, Suite 315). A call-in number will be available for those unable to attend in person. Details may be obtained from James H. Anspach, M.ASCE, the committee chair, at (541) 678-2151 or jhanspach@aol.com. The topics to be discussed include new technology, refinements to the scope of work, and commentary.
 
■ The Transportation and Development Institute’s Automated People Movers Standards Committee will meet February 19–20 at Tampa International Airport. The meetings will take place in the board room on the third floor. They will begin at 9 AM on February 19 and end at noon the next day. The topics to be discussed include the reports from the personal rapid transit task force, the injury and accident task force, and working group 45 of the International Electrotechnical Commission. Those at the meetings will also seek to address the comments on proposed door changes and will discuss train door ingress and egress. For more information, e-mail Thomas J. McGean, P.E., F.ASCE, the committee chair, at tjmpe@verizon.net.

White Receives AISC’s Higgins Award

Donald W. White, Ph.D., M.ASCE, an associate professor of structural engineering in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2009 T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). White was chosen for papers he published in ASCE’s Journal of Structural Engineering and the AISC’s Engineering Journal on stability analysis and design and the flexural provisions of the AISC’s Specification for Structural Steel Buildings (2005). Conferred annually by the AISC, the Higgins award honors a lecturer and author whose technical papers are seen as making a significant contribution to the engineering literature on fabricated structural steel. The award includes a $10,000 prize and will be presented to White at NASCC: The Steel Conference (“NASCC” denoting North American Steel Construction Conference), which will be held in Phoenix April 1–4. White taught at Purdue University from 1987 to 1996. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree and a doctorate in structural engineering from Cornell University.

FHWA Veterans Honored with Presidential Awards

King W. Gee, M.ASCE, an associate administrator of the Office of Infrastructure at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and Dennis C. “Denny” Judycki, M.ASCE, a former associate administrator for research, development, and technology at the FHWA, have been recognized with the Presidential Rank Award (meritorious category). The president confers this distinction on leaders who consistently demonstrate fortitude, integrity, industriousness, and a relentless commitment to public service. Gee was chosen for his leadership and continuing contributions to improving safety, mobility, global connectivity, and security. Judycki was selected for providing national leadership and direction in coordinating and implementing the FHWA’s and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s research plans. Both have been involved in the fhwa’s responses to such disasters as Hurricane Katrina, the ceiling collapse in the D Street portal connecting Interstate 90 in Boston to the Ted Williams Tunnel, which occurred in 2006, and the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which occurred in 2007.

Billington Saluted by ACEC

David P. Billington, Ph.D., Dist.M.ASCE, the Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering at Princeton University, has received the Distinguished Award of Merit from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The award, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the engineering industry, was presented to Billington in Montreal at the ACEC’s fall conference. Billington was recognized for his contributions to the field of engineering, his achievements in the social and artistic aspects of engineering design, and his accomplishments in engineering education, according to the ACEC’s president, David A. Raymond. The Distinguished Award of Merit has been bestowed since 1952 on leaders in government, education, science, and business for outstanding contributions to engineering. Billington has taught at Princeton since 1961, and his numerous books include Power, Speed, and Form: Engineers and the Making of the Twentieth Century (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2006).

Yang Receives International Water Prize

Chih Ted Yang, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, the Borland Professor of Water Resources at Colorado State University and the director of the school’s Hydroscience and Training Center, was presented with the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water on November 16 in Riyadh (Ar Riyad), Saudi Arabia. The presentation was made during the International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments. The prize recognizes the efforts that scientists, inventors, and organizations are making in water-related fields worldwide. It was established “to acknowledge exceptional and innovative scientific work [that] contributes to the sustainable availability of potable water and the alleviation of water scarcity, particularly in arid regions,” according to the prize’s Web site, www.psipw.org. An expert in sediment transport and river morphology, Yang has helped to delineate the processes governing the formation and evolution of river systems as a result of erosion and sedimentation. The award includes a cash prize of 500,000 riyals (approximately U.S.$133,500).

Bechtel Named Distinguished Alumnus by Tau Beta Pi

Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, the chairman emeritus of Bechtel Group, Inc., of San Francisco, has been chosen by the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi to receive its 2008 Distinguished Alumnus Award. The award recognizes Bechtel’s many contributions, including his achievements in construction management and his volunteerism and philanthropy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University and a master’s in business administration from Stanford University. Bechtel has also served on the boards of such firms as General Motors, Remington Arms, and IBM. He received the Hoover Medal in 1980, and in 1991 President George H.W. Bush honored him with the National Medal of Technology (now the National Medal of Technology and Innovation).

Randall Accepts Founders’ Award

Clifford W. Randall, Ph.D., Dist.M.ASCE, a professor emeritus of environmental engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, received the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors’ Founders’ Award for sustained and outstanding contributions to environmental engineering education and practice. Randall is known for his expertise in biological wastewater treatment for nutrient control, and his work has enabled hundreds of wastewater facilities around the world to greatly reduce their nutrient releases without incurring major increases in treatment costs. Randall served for more than 20 years as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, including 4 years as the inaugural elected chair. The committee provides advice to state agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on ways to improve the bay’s water quality.

Baker Awarded Khan Medal

William F. Baker, P.E., F.ASCE, the partner in charge of structural and civil engineering for the Chicago and London offices of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, has been named the 2008 recipient of the Fazlur Rahman Khan Medal by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which is headquartered in Chicago. The award recognizes individuals whose work is seen as making a significant contribution to the design of tall buildings and the built urban environment. Baker was selected for his creativity and for developing an integrated approach to structural design.

Kunnath, Udwadia Honored for Editorial Prowess

Sashi K. Kunnath, P.E., M.ASCE, the editor of the Journal of Structural Engineering, and Firdaus W. Udwadia, M.ASCE, the editor of the Journal of Aerospace Engineering, have been named the winners of the Richard R. Torrens Award by asce’s publications division and the Board of Direction’s Publications Committee. Established in honor of Richard R. Torrens, who served the publications division for 17 years and was the manager of professional and technical publications, the award recognizes outstanding achievement by volunteer journal editors. In assessing performance, attention is given to, among other factors, journal competitiveness, growth, turnaround time, and creativity.

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.

Robert B. Finucane, P.E., F.ASCE, obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1975 and later completed graduate courses in civil engineering at the University of Vermont. As the dam safety assurance expert for the Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation in Cooma, Australia, he is responsible for assisting in the development of a project being carried out under the auspices of the World Bank and the government of Indonesia to improve the institutions and bodies in charge of dam safety in Indonesia. He is also charged with performing special studies on risk assessments, safety management and emergency action plans, and critical dam inspections. Formerly the chief of the dam safety and hydrology section within Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), he served for more than 30 years in various capacities for the State of Vermont. He was the ANR’s project manager for the data acquisition system and subsequent reconstruction of Waterbury Dam, for the construction of the R.A. LaRosa Environmental Laboratory, also in Waterbury, and for the relocation of the ANR from Montpelier to Waterbury. He also served as the commissioner of Waterbury’s water and sewer department. In peer review work he performed as a member of ASCE’s Hydropower Task Committee, Finucane helped to produce Civil Works for Hydroelectric Facilities: Guidelines for Life Extension and Upgrade (Reston, Virginia: ASCE Press, 2007). He is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado and Vermont.

George A. Kelley, P.E., F.ASCE, obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Clemson University in 1975 and a master’s degree, also in civil engineering, from Lehigh University in 1982. His expertise is in dam safety engineering; the design, analysis, evaluation, and construction of new dams and appurtenant structures; and the rehabilitation of dams. As a structural field engineer with SDL Structural Engineers in Atlanta he is responsible for providing the design review and field support required in constructing large, complex mid-rise and high-rise building projects. Before joining SDL, Kelley served as a civil engineer in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he worked with dam owners on energy issues in the hydroelectric industry throughout the Southeast. He was also the lead engineer on a dam safety project in North Carolina and South Carolina in the basin of the Catawba and Wateree rivers and in that capacity had direct oversight of the project compliance specifications and quality control inspections. Within ASCE Kelley has been a member of the Technical Council on Wind Engineering and was the founding chair of the Georgia Section’s structural technical group. A registered professional engineer in Alabama, California, Georgia, and South Carolina, he was the 2008 recipient of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Career Service Award.

Tai Sik Lee, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Seoul, in South Korea, in 1978 and a master’s degree and a doctorate in construction management from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in respectively 1983 and 1990. He is currently a professor of civil engineering, construction engineering, and construction management at South Korea’s Hanyang University, and from 2004 to 2006 he served as dean of the university’s graduate school of industrial management, engineering, and design. As a researcher and educator, Lee specializes in automation and robotics as they relate to construction, construction engineering, project management, and construction productivity. He has developed 19 software programs for use in civil engineering design and has five patents to his credit. Lee is also the editor in chief of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers’ Journal of Civil Engineering and in 1995 and 1996 was the editor in chief and publisher of a construction journal. Prior to his academic career, he was a project manager at the Samsung Construction Company. A licensed professional engineer in South Korea, Lee has authored or coauthored 19 books and more than 200 technical publications and has made more than 40 research presentations. In a span of 10 years he completed more than 50 public- and private-sector projects.

Wilfred L. Painter, Jr., P.E., F.ASCE, obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University in 1967 and later completed graduate courses in arctic engineering at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. Painter is currently the operations manager and regional manager in the Los Angeles office of PCL Construction Services, where he specializes in precast construction. He contributed key technological solutions and exhibited leadership in constructing in record time both the world’s largest hotel (Las Vegas’s MGM Grand) and its largest sports arena (Los Angeles’s STAPLES Center). For the past three years, Painter has served as the project executive for the sports and entertainment venue LA Live, in Los Angeles. He was responsible for the initial conceptual estimating, as well as for contract writing and negotiations, and he is continuously involved in issues bearing on the project’s design, cost, contracts, changes, and labor. He also deals with political issues affecting the project. From 1987 to 1996 he was a senior vice president of A.T. Curd Builders. During that period he also served a one-year deployment as the commanding officer of a Navy Reserve Seabee unit during the military operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. A registered professional engineer in Alaska, Painter has a number of technical publications to his credit and twice has been named project manager of the year by an Alaska magazine dealing with construction and oil.
 
Brett H. Pielstick, P.E., F.ASCE, obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1984 from Brigham Young University and is currently the senior vice president and principal of Eisman & Russo Consulting Engineers, of Jacksonville, Florida. He also serves on the company’s governing board and is the acting director of operations. He previously served as the resident engineer for the balanced-cantilever, cast-in-place segmental Acosta Bridge, which spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville and at 630 ft (192 m) is the longest span of its type in Florida. Pielstick has more than 23 years of experience in construction management, bridge construction, and structural design. He has also served on ASCE and American Concrete Institute committees and has more than 20 technical publications to his credit. Before joining Eisman & Russo, Pielstick was a technical director within the bridge and tunnel division of the Parsons Transportation Group and in that capacity worked on a number of segmental and conventional bridge projects. He was also involved in the replacement of 11 highway bridges in the Jacksonville metropolitan area. Because of his expertise in segmental bridge technology, Pielstick was asked to serve on a Federal Highway Administration panel, and he represented ASCE on an Engineers Week committee dealing with outreach programs. He is a registered professional engineer in California, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
 
Martin T. Pietrucha, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, obtained a bachelor’s degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1977, a master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1978, and a doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1990, all in civil engineering. Pietrucha has specialized in transportation engineering for the past 30 years. As a faculty member at Pennsylvania State University his research interests have focused on human factors as they relate to transportation safety and operations. Currently the director of the transportation operations programs and the interim director of the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, he is also an associate professor of civil engineering at Penn State. He serves as a corresponding member of ASCE’s International Activities Committee, and he chaired a committee dealing with traffic and highway safety. Pietrucha was a major contributor to the Clearview typeface, which was expressly developed to improve road and highway sign visibility and has been adopted by the Federal Highway Administration. He was also responsible for human factor issues in research that resulted in new directives for highway intersection design promulgated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. A registered professional engineer in New Jersey, Pietrucha has authored or coauthored more than 100 publications, among them research reports and papers in technical journals and conference proceedings.

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 Patrick Ballou, the applications coordinator, at (703) 295-6169 or pballou@asce.org . Completed applications are reviewed monthly by the Membership Application Review Committee.

■ ASCE is providing members with an opportunity to help improve the lives of individuals less fortunate than they through its partnership with Engineers Without Borders–USA. Members can join this organization at an exclusive discount as a professional member participating in particular projects or as a supporting member contributing to projects worldwide. Those who join will be helping to put sustainable engineering projects in place in underdeveloped communities. Find out how you can help contribute to this cause by visiting www.asce.org/ewb.

■  I applaud all of the participants in our Key Contact Program for their resounding success with regard to our advocacy efforts over the past two years, which played no small part in the legislative successes we saw in the 110th Congress. Among these many significant  achievements were the transfer of general Treasury funds to the Highway Trust Fund, enactment of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, and full funding for surface transportation programs and the program for rehabilitating dams in small watersheds. Progress was also made with respect to the following bills, although they have not yet been enacted: the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2008 (H.R. 3999), the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (H.R. 3224), the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720), the National Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 3398), and the National Levee Safety Program Act of 2007 (H.R. 1587). These tremendous results are helping ASCE achieve its goal of improving the nation’s infrastructure. But now is not the time to rest on our laurels! The 111th Congress has convened and many challenges remain, including the reauthorization of surface transportation legislation, the passage of dam rehabilitation legislation, and the reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. On March 25 ASCE will release its 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, and participants in the Key Contact Program will be called upon to help spread the word about the parlous state of the nation’s infrastructure.

■ ASCE has redesigned its government relations Web site, www.asce.org/govrel, and the government relations blog—Our Failing Infrastructure—at http://blogs.asce.org/govrel/. This redesign enables you, our members, to become better informed of our government relations efforts so that you can assist us in our advocacy efforts. The Web site includes an expanded analysis of issues, and information can now be obtained more easily. Visit the site for recent developments affecting ASCE priority issues. The government relations blog now includes an instant comment feature as well as links to other blogs on the topic of infrastructure. If you have the old blog on your RSS feed, be sure to refresh your subscription because the URL has changed.

■ Three new online courses are now available from asce: Perfecting Your Negotiating Skills, Introduction to Detention Pond Design, and Leadership Development for the Engineer. These new offerings are part of an ongoing effort to provide asce members with convenient and inexpensive distance learning opportunities. Seven other online courses are under development and will be available in the coming months. asce’s on-demand, online courses make it possible for you to learn at your own pace and at the time and place of your choosing. Take and pass the test for each online course when it is convenient for you and earn CEUs or PDHs for renewing your professional engineer’s license. For additional information about these courses and about asce’s many other distance learning programs, visit http://store.asce.org/view/?typeid=1.

■ Please join me in saluting employers that actively encourage their employees to become involved in ASCE activities. The Committee on Younger Members (CYM) formally recognizes employers that support ASCE by, for example, participating on a company-wide basis in the Society’s local, regional, or national activities; encouraging their young engineers to attend asce meetings and seminars; supporting young engineers in their efforts to prepare articles for publication in the Society’s professional and technical journals; or assisting in the payment of local and national dues. Two employers have been singled out for CYM’s Superior Employer Recognition Award: Chen and Associates, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the Kansas Department of Transportation. The following firms and organizations also are being honored by the CYM: Adams Streeter Civil Engineers, Inc., of Irvine, California; Anchor Environmental, LLC, of Seattle; Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, of Nashville, Tennessee; Blackburn Consulting, of Auburn, California; the Houston and Tyler, Texas, offices of Brown & Gay Engineers, Inc.; Clough, Harbour & Associates, LLP, of Albany, New York; David Ford Consulting Engineers, Inc., of Sacramento, California; Dibble Engineering, of Phoenix; the Pittsburgh office of AECOM; Dyer, Riddle, Mills & Precourt, Inc., of Orlando, Florida; Environmental and Geotechnical Specialists, Inc., of Tallahassee, Florida; the Pittsburgh office of Gannett Fleming, Inc.; Hall and Foreman, Inc., of Irvine, California; the New York City and Honolulu offices of HDR; the Portland, Maine, office of HNTB Corporation; LJA Engineering & Surveying, Inc., of Houston; Los Angeles’s Bureau of Engineering; Miller Legg, of Pembroke Pines, Florida; Moretrench American Corporation, of Rockaway, New Jersey; MWH Americas, of Broomfield, Colorado; the San Diego office of PBS&J; Penfield & Smith Engineers, Inc., of Santa Barbara, California; the Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, offices of Pennoni Associates, Inc.; Ruekert/Mielke, of Waukesha, Wisconsin; Sain Associates, of Birmingham, Alabama; Strand Associates, Inc., of Madison, Wisconsin; the Camden, New Jersey, office of Traffic Planning and Design, Inc.; Transpo Group, of Kirkland, Washington; TRC Engineers, of Kerrville, Texas; Wallace Group, of San Luis Obispo, California; Walter P. Moore, of Houston; West Yost Associates, of Davis, California; the Eureka, California, office of Winzler & Kelly; and Wiss Janney Elstner Associates, of Northbrook, Illinois. The 2009 nomination packages, which are due August 1, may be downloaded at www.asce.org/pressroom/honors/cym_awrds.cfm.

■ It is indeed gratifying to see that the magazine Choice has designated an asce Press book one of the outstanding academic titles of 2008. The book is Risk and Reliability Analysis: A Handbook for Civil and Environmental Engineers, by Vijay Singh, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, Sharad K. Jain, Ph.D., and Aditya Tyagi, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE. Published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, Choice reviews books for academic libraries. The ASCE book was one of the 629 titles accorded the designation, approximately 2.5 percent of the 25,000 titles submitted to the magazine last year.

■ Please consider submitting a nomination for one or more of the following awards for younger members: the Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement, the Daniel W. Mead Prize for Younger Members, the Collingwood Prize, and the Younger Member Group Award. Information about each of these awards may be found at http://www.asce.org/awards.

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