May 2015

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 May If you live adjacent to a Section in a different Region, or are merely interested in the other Region reports for May, 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 3 update? See the May edition of  News Around Region 3  Share this page via social media and email:

REGION 3 NEWS Southern Illinois University Carbondale wins Mid-Continent Student Conference The Concrete Canoe team from Southern Illinois University Carbondale paddled away with the top ranking at ASCE’s Mid-Continent Student Conference, held April 25-26 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. The win makes them eligible for the national finals next month at Clemson University in South Carolina. “There are not many words that describe how it felt to win the regional,” said Austin Caldwell, a senior in civil and environmental engineering and captain of the team. “The excitement shared by the entire team proved to be something you can’t find every day.”  Get more detail about the team and its accomplishments at the SIU website.

MICHIGAN SECTION Michigan back to square one to fix roads On May 5, voters from Detroit to Marquette resoundingly opposed the idea of a change to the state constitution invest in better and safer roads. By an 80-20 ratio Michiganders opted to consider “Plan B” rather than enact a slight increase in sales and fuel taxes that would have raised $1.3 billion for road maintenance and improvements. See the story at ASCE News.

OHIO SECTIONS Human-induced earthquakes on the rise, USGS report finds A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey has linked industrial wastewater disposal operations to a significant increase in seismic activity in the central and eastern United States during the past seven years. The findings could have an impact on local building codes. The USGS has identified 17 areas in eight states – among them Ohio – where operations that inject wastewater from oil and gas production into deep underground wells are thought to have triggered an increase in seismic activity. Delve into the findings in ASCE’s web-exclusive Civil Engineering magazine article.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE More detailed bridge data will help stretch repair budgets Shay K. Burrows, P.E. M.ASCE, is leading creation of a new Federal Highway Administration database of element-level data from bridge inspections that will give a much more detailed picture of the state of the bridges in the National Highway System and help owners stretch their repair budgets. Read about the data collection in ASCE’s web-exclusive Civil Engineering magazine.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Study of subatomic particles to aid investigations of bridge cables While civil engineers frequently concern themselves with large-scale structures such as skyscrapers, dams, and bridges, researchers in applied physics probe the other end of the physical spectrum, studying the behavior of some of the smallest particles detectible by humans. It may seem unlikely that these two fields would collide, but that is what has happened at Columbia University, where a diverse team of researchers is using microscopic neutrons to investigate the behavior of broken wires inside suspension bridge cables. The results of the researchers' collaboration may be good news for the owners and operators of some the nation's largest and oldest suspension bridges. Explore the potential breakthrough in safety in ASCE’s web-exclusive edition of Civil Engineering magazine.

WISCONSIN SECTION Southeast Branch honors its nine newest Life Members ASCE Wisconsin Southeast Branch recognized members who recently attained Life Member status. Congratulations to Darrell Berry, Joseph Eberle, Nancy Schultz, Carl Johnson, Kenneth George, Leslie Blum, Richard Smith, Randolph Videkovich, and Michael Marlin. A Life Member is an individual who has made a lifetime commitment to ASCE and the civil engineering profession by remaining a member for the full length of their professional career (at least 35 years). Read more in the ASCE Southeast Branch newsletter.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE New foam material derives strength from geometry Researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have developed a geometric pattern for 3-D printing that creates precise closed-cell foam materials that approach the theoretical limits of isotropic—or uniform—stiffness. The development holds the promise of developing such lightweight structures as sandwich panels, insulation, or acoustical materials that can also carry structural loads. Read more on this innovation in ASCE's web-exclusive Civil Engineering magazine..

WISCONSIN SECTION ASCE Fellow selected dean of University of Wisconsin-Platteville College of Engineering Molly Gribb, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, has been named new dean of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science. Gribb, of Mount Horeb, WI, is departing as professor and head of the civil and environmental engineering department at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Learn more about Gribb’s appointment.