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 7 update? See the April edition of  News Around Region 7  Share this page via social media and email:

COLORADO SECTION Water resources and navigation engineering expert elected Distinguished Member Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., Hon.D.WRE, Dist.D.NE, Dist.M.ASCE, NAE, one of the world’s foremost experts on water resources and navigation engineering, has been elected to the 2015 class of ASCE Distinguished Members. Boulos is the founder, president and chief operating officer of Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for smart wet infrastructure based in Broomfield, CO. Learn of the other achievements that made Boulos deserving of Distinguished Member status in ASCE News.

COLORADO, KANSAS 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 Colorado and Kansas – 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.

IOWA SECTION ACEC appoints ASCE Fellow to Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure Board The American Council of Engineering Companies recently appointed Gregs G. Thomopulos, P.E., F.ASCE, chairman of Stanley Consultants of Muscatine, Iowa, to the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure Board of Directors for a three-year term. ISI was founded by ASCE and ACEC along with the American Public Works Association to develop and maintain the Envision sustainability rating system for civil infrastructure. Learn more about the appointment.

SOUTH DAKOTA 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.

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.

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 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 online edition of Civil Engineering magazine.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Report: Rising Arctic temperatures have global implications A state-of-the-field report geared toward non-specialists and issued by the U.S. National Research Council details the global implications of rising Arctic temperatures and melting ice. Explore the report found in ASCE’s web-exclusive edition of Civil Engineering magazine.