April 2014      REGION DIRECTOR'S REPORT Board Tackles Strategic Topics; Elects 11 Distinguished Members; Votes on LA Section’s Proposal to Form 501(c)6 Mark P. Rusnica, M.ASCE, your Region 1 Director, is a member of the Mohawk-Hudson Section. He just retired at the end of March after 35 years of service with the State of New York. Mark represented you at the March 21-22, 2014, ASCE Board of Direction meeting, which was held in Arlington, Virginia. Mark and his fellow ASCE Board of Direction members dealt with a variety of issues, including the following: The Board began its meeting with a facilitated strategic planning session as part of its ongoing role to shape policy for the future of ASCE and the profession. In break-out groups, Board members were asked to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths (SWOT) of both the civil engineering profession and ASCE as an association. The groups then singled out what issues might be most important to tackle first and reported out. Results will be consolidated and further discussed and refined offline and at future meetings. Furthering its strategic approach under ASCE’s new governance structure of fewer Board committees and more communication, the Board participated in discussions led by three of the eight Board and Strategic Initiative committees.  Michael Mucha, P.E., M.ASCE, chair of the Committee on Sustainability, challenged the Board to consider whether ASCE could embrace a future in which civil engineers are defined not just by what they build, but also by what they don’t build. In another committee session, chair of the Raise the Bar Committee Blaine Leonard, P.E., D.GE, Pres.10.ASCE, sought feedback from the Board on the potential for a new, more robust approach in leading the charge to adopt the NCEES model law, and its increased education requirements for licensure, in a number of states. The Board will explore the possibilities further at its July meeting. In her time before the Board, Committee on Advancing the Profession (CAP) chair Renee Schwecke, P.E., M.ASCE, touched on topics ranging from technologist credentialing to diversity in the profession. The Board asked CAP to study the possible development of an ASCE policy on the issue of allowing engineers to sit for the P.E. exam prior to the completion of the experiential requirement, a provision that is now part of the NCEES Model Law. The nature of the P.E. exam itself will likely become a focus for study as well. The question arises whether the exam truly tests content that one learns from experience.  After careful deliberation, the  Board voted not to approve a proposal from the Los Angeles Section to create a new, parallel 501(c)6 organization, which would have allowed the Section to do unlimited lobbying and potentially gain greater access to public policy discussions with lawmakers through the establishment of a Political Action Committee (PAC). Prior to the vote, there was robust discussion, reflecting a range of views among Board members. There was widespread belief that the Society should enable self-governance of its units to the greatest degree possible, and a belief that the LA Section leaders had done an admirable job of presenting their case. On the other hand, there was great concern expressed that a PAC with ASCE’s name, even if just a local or regional entity, risked irrevocably altering ASCE’s stature as a non-partisan, non-political organization. The Board elected 11 members to the grade of Distinguished Member. Other than president, Distinguished Member is the highest honor the Society bestows on an individual. Congratulations to the newest Distinguished Member from Region 1, Thomas D. O’Rourke, Ph.D., Hon.D.GE, Dist.M.ASCE, NAE (G-I, Ithaca Section). In an executive session, the Board discussed the task ahead to find a new executive director to succeed Pat Natale, who will be retiring at the end of 2014. The Board identified what it believes are the most important qualifications for this position, and provided input for use by the search committee, chaired by Past President Greg DiLoreto. The search is now underway and applications are due May 31. See www.asce.org/EDsearch for more information. Board members are interested in your views on the issues they are considering. To share your views, or other ideas on how ASCE can better serve its members and the profession, please email Mark. REGION 1 ASSEMBLY Section and Branch leaders share insights on activities, meet President-elect Photo courtesy Jagtar Khinda, Metropolitan Section President-elect Delegates from Region 1 Sections and Branches met on April 12 and 13 in Princeton, NJ, for their semi-annual Assembly Meeting. The group learned of current Society Board of Direction initiatives, received an update from the Leadership Training Committee, and made presentations of their Section and Branch activities. Noted Region 1 Director Mark Rusnica, "The assembly was also fortunate to have President-elect Bob Stevens, Ph.D., P.E., AICP, F.ASCE, in attendance, who presented ‘Engineering The Future,’ an eloquent talk about who we are as civil engineers, our duty to make the world a better place, and how his journey through life and career led him to become our next President." BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS SECTION Boston Section hosts 20th annual student bridge contest Photo courtesy Boston Society of Civil Engineers newsletter Judges from the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section’s Infrastructure Technical Group discuss and score entries to this year’s Model Bridge Competition, hosted at Northeastern University. Every year, the competition showcases the enthusiasm, hard work, pride, and creativity that students from sixth through 12th grade bring as young designers. This year, participants were required to construct their bridges out of plastic silverware and masking tape!  Learn more in the BSCES April newsletter.  Read more>>    Section website>> ITHACA SECTION Cornell professor, an expert on seismic engineering, elevated to Distinguished Member Thomas D. O’Rourke, Ph.D., Hon.D.GE, Dist.M.ASCE, NAE, has been selected by ASCE as a Distinguished Member, the highest honor the Society can bestow short of election to ASCE president. An engineering professor at Cornell University, O’Rourke is recognized worldwide for his work with seismic protection of water, gas, liquid fuel, and transportation facilities; design/construction of deep excavations; pipeline engineering; earthquake and construction  ground-movement effects on buildings/utilities; and infrastructure resilience. Learn more about ASCE’s newest Distinguished Member in ASCE News. BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS SECTION Expert in remediating concrete structures named ASCE Fellow Michael L. Brainerd, P.E., F.ASCE, a nationally recognized expert in the diagnosis and remediation of distressed and deteriorated concrete structures, has recently been elected an ASCE Fellow. For Boston-based Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., Brainerd oversees projects involving design, investigation, and failure analysis of buildings and special-purpose structures of various types and materials. Learn more about Brainerd’s award-worthy achievements in ASCE News. NEW JERSEY SECTION NJIT environmental engineering professor named ASCE Fellow Michel C. Boufadel, Ph.D., P.E., P.Hydro., F.ASCE, who has investigated the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the New Jersey shorelines using an engineering/ecosystem approach, has recently been elected an ASCE Fellow. A professor of environmental engineering, Boufadel is director of the Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection at the New Jersey Institute of Technology . Learn more about Boufadel’s award-worthy achievements in ASCE News. METROPOLITAN SECTION Construction of Manhattan rail platform begins By combining the construction of multiple soaring towers with two platforms that will top the western and eastern rail yards of the Long Island Rail Road, the new Hudson Yards development will combine multiple high-rise buildings with 14 acres of newly created open space to form a brand-new neighborhood. Find out more in ASCE’s online Civil Engineering magazine. Read story>> Outreach event? Concrete Canoe? Let us know and we'll announce it here! Spring is here (in much of the world), and we're moving into a very busy time of year. If you’re a local ASCE leader and your Section, Branch, Younger Member Group, or Student Chapter has staged any special events, engaged in outreach from grade-school kids to lawmakers, ramped up for Concrete Canoe regionals, or anything of the sort, let ASCEnews Weekly know and we may include it in next month’s Region report. You may already have written about it and posted pictures in your newsletter, website, or social media. Share the details and any photos at asce.org/localnews. Got questions? Write to submissions@asce.org. Missed last month's Region 1 update? See the March edition of News Around Region 1 Share this page via social media and email: