October 2014 |
REGION DIRECTOR'S REPORT Highlights of October’s ASCE Board of Direction Meeting Christopher J. Menna, SR., P.E., M.ASCE, your Region 2 Director, is a member of the Philadelphia Section and currently works for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Streets, Bureau of Surveys and Design, Bridge Section. Chris represented you at October 5-6 Board meeting in Panama City, Panama, held in conjunction with ASCE’s Global Engineering Conference 2014. The conference helped commemorate the 100th anniversary of one of civil engineering’s greatest achievements—the Panama Canal. Seeing the massive effort underway to expand the canal, and collaborating on the conference with ASCE’s partner Engineers Without Borders–USA, gave additional meaning to the Board members’ role of guiding the important work of ASCE and the profession. Also participating in this meeting as observers were ASCE’s incoming officers, who were formally installed during the annual business meeting later in the week. Among the issues the board addressed are the following:
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 Chris. |
Great outreach event or other activity? Let the whole Region know! 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, done charity work, fund raising 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. See the other Region reports for October If you live adjacent to a Section in a different Region, or are merely interested in the other Region reports for October, click on each to view them: Region 1 Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section, Buffalo Section, Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers Section, Ithaca Section, Maine Section, Metropolitan Section, Mohawk-Hudson Section, New Hampshire Section, New Jersey Section, Puerto Rico Section, Rhode Island Section, Rochester Section, Syracuse Section, Vermont Section Region 2 Central Pennsylvania Section, Delaware Section, Lehigh Valley Section, Maryland Section, National Capital Section, Philadelphia Section, Pittsburgh Section Region 3 Akron-Canton Section, Central Illinois Section, Central Ohio Section, Cincinnati Section, Cleveland Section, Dayton Section, Duluth Section, Illinois Section, Michigan Section, Minnesota Section, North Dakota Section, Quad Cities Section, Toledo Section, Wisconsin Section Region 4 Arkansas Section, Indiana Section, Kentucky Section, North Carolina Section, South Carolina Section, Tennessee Section, Virginia Section, West Virginia Section Region 5 Alabama Section, Florida Section, Georgia Section, Louisiana Section, Mississippi Section Region 6 New Mexico Section, Oklahoma Section, Texas Section Region 7 Colorado Section, Iowa Section, Kansas City Section, Kansas Section, Nebraska Section, South Dakota Section, St. Louis Section, Wyoming Section Region 8 Alaska Section, Arizona Section, Columbia Section, Hawaii Section, Inland Empire Section, Montana Section, Nevada Section, Oregon Section, Seattle Section, Southern Idaho Section, Tacoma-Olympia Section, Utah Section Region 9 Los Angeles Section, Sacramento Section, San Diego Section, San Francisco Section Region 10 All International Sections, Branches, and Groups Missed last month's Region 2 update? See the September edition of News Around Region 2 Share this page via social media and email: |
MARYLAND SECTION State ballot initiative would create transportation trust fund ‘lock box’ Among the decisions facing voters in Maryland is one with serious repercussions for civil engineers. A ballot initiative, Question 1, asks voters to decide if revenue allocated to the state’s Transportation Trust Fund should be dedicated solely to transportation-related projects, or if it can be tapped for general uses. ASCE is urging a “yes” vote on Question 1. Learn why creation of a “lock box” will help ensure a reliable source of transportation funding without the creation of new taxes, tolls or user fees. See ASCE’s Save America’s Infrastructure report for details. Section website>> |
IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Dramatic national memorial honors disabled veterans The nation’s newest memorial is not only a tribute to disabled veterans but also a triumph of design and engineering teamwork. The Disabled Veterans’ Life Memorial Foundation selected a design by Washington, DC-based Michael Vergason Landscape Architects in 2003 from among 20 submissions in an invitational design competition. Discover how it came together in ASCE’s online edition of Civil Engineering magazine. |
PHILADELPHIA SECTION Philadelphia volunteers to be a case study for ASCE flood risk management strategy Last month, ASCE issued Flood Risk Management, Call for a National Strategy, an appeal to the federal government to get more aggressive about strengthening existing flood-protection systems, finding new ways to reduce present and future vulnerability to flooding, and other forms of emergency preparation. Philadelphia has volunteered to be the nation’s first city to implement ASCE’s recommendations for a flood risk management strategy at the municipal level. Learn how the city reached out to the report’s authors, the ASCE Task Committee on Flood Safety Practices, for help in ASCE News. Section website>> |
PITTSBURGH SECTION Executive at Geosystems earns ASCE’s Karl Terzaghi Lecture Donald A. Bruce, Ph.D., D.GE., M.ASCE, principal at Geosystems, L.P. of Venetia, PA, is the recipient of ASCE’s Karl Terzaghi Lecture for his passion and insight in shaping the way we solve practical problems in the geodesign industry, and by expanding our understanding and application of such technologies as anchors, micropiles, grouting, deep mixing methods, and diaphragm walls. Former chairman of the ASCE/Geo-Institute’s Grouting Committee and past member of the Ground Improvement Committee, Bruce has more than 39 years of experience in dam anchoring and has worked on projects throughout North America and four other continents. Discover more about what made Bruce worthy of this distinguished honor in ASCE News. |