December 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 December If you live adjacent to a Section in a different Region, or are merely interested in the other Region reports for December, 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 the last Region 5 update? See the October edition of  News Around Region 5 Share this page via social media and email:

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Plans to limit global warming may not be enough, U.N. says The goal of limiting global temperature increases to 2°C (3.6°F) is not possible given the current national strategies to lower emissions that are on record with the United Nations. Consider the specifics in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE For U.S. civil engineers, 2016 economy looks promising Civil engineers hoping for more robust business conditions have the greatest cause for optimism since the beginning of the Great Recession, according to the forecasts of economists who study the construction industry. Peruse the positive predictions in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Unseen damage from past earthquakes leads to higher risk of landslides  Research indicates a legacy of damage from past earthquakes, sometimes undetected, might create higher landslide probabilities in future earthquakes. Consider the seismic consequences in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

GEORGIA SECTION For Dream Big movie contest, Georgia member shared his dream of inspiring students ASCE members are sharing their engineering dreams, realized and sought, in hopes of winning a "dream" prize in the Society's contest celebrating production of the awe-inspiring, giant screen movie, Dream Big: Engineering Wonders of the World.   "I just really believe in what we do as civil engineers," said Marcellus Pitts, owner and CEO of Pitts Fowler Enterprises Inc. in Atlanta, and a professional adviser to two ASCE Civil Engineering Clubs at Georgia high schools. “I love to see people live better, and that’s what we do. I couldn’t see myself being anything else. The high school kids I advise are making lives better in Haiti, something they never dreamed was possible.” Contest prizes, to be drawn at random, include a trip to an international locale for a Dream Big film shoot, the chance to host a Hollywood-style Dream Big premiere, and a trip to Laguna Beach, CA, for an exclusive preview screening of the film. ASCE is producing Dream Big: Engineering Wonders of the World in association with MacGillivray Freeman Films, with the Bechtel Corporation as presenting sponsor. It's scheduled to premiere in February 2017 in IMAX and other giant-screen theaters nationwide. To enter the contest, visit its web page.

LOUISIANA SECTION Gulf Coast marine engineering expert named Fellow John H. (Jack) Leary, P.E., F.ASCE, a marine engineer and naval architect, has been elevated to the status of Fellow. Leary has a private engineering consulting practice, Leary Engineering Inc., which has served the marine industry since 1978. Before starting his private practice, his engineering employers included a large shipyard, a marine contractor, an engineering consulting firm, and the University of Michigan as a teaching fellow. Learn more about what made him worthy of this honor.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Global renewable energy capacity reaches milestone An International Energy Agency report reveals that half of all new energy capacity added in 2014 came from renewable sources, and predicts a surge in wind and solar projects in many countries. Examine the energy trends in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

GEORGIA SECTION In Atlanta, a new Plan B for an overdue overhaul of region’s transit An ambitious transit expansion plan goes before the Georgia Legislature early next year, revised following a defeat at the polls of a one-cent sales tax increase. Explore what’s now proposed in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

LOUISIANA SECTIONL Baton Rouge native, Southern University grad named Fellow Yvette Pearson Weatherton, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, a longtime civil engineering educator and current Intergovernmental Personnel Act appointee, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction. Weatherton is a program director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation, where she manages a diverse portfolio of approximately $70 million in awards geared toward STEM education and workforce development. Find out more of what made her worthy of this honor.

GEORGIA SECTION Georgia Tech educator named ASCE Fellow Reginald DesRoches, Ph.D., F.ASCE, widely regarded as an expert on the design of resilient infrastructure systems under extreme loads, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction. DesRoches is the Karen and John Huff School Chair and a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As school chair, he provides leadership to a top-ranked program with 100 faculty and staff and 1,100 students. Learn more about what made him deserving of the honor.

FLORIDA SECTION UCF watershed management professor active in diversity elevated to Fellow Fidelia (Ola) Nnadi, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, an associate professor in the civil, environmental, and construction engineering department at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction. Nnadi has taught water resources engineering to both undergraduates and graduate students. She has done extensive research in watershed management. Find out what made her worthy of this honor.

ALABAMA SECTION Section’s inaugural Report Card gives Alabama infrastructure a C– The Alabama Section drew media from across the state to the release of its first Report Card for Alabama’s Infrastructure at a kickoff event Thursday, Dec. 10, in Birmingham. Following the model established by ASCE’s national Report Card, Alabama’s findings assess the state’s infrastructure across 11 categories. Transit earned the lowest grade of D, while energy received the best grade, a B. "Nearly half of Alabama's interstate and state highways are in fair, poor, to very poor condition. Driving on potholes and congested roads takes at least $300 out of every driver's pocket every year," Report Card committee chair Sheila Montgomery Mills told Birmingham's WBMA-TV. See the Alabama Section’s effort at ASCE’s Report Card website. Visit the Section at its official website.