April 2016

MARCH ASCE BOARD OF DIRECTION MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Innovative Approaches, Future of Regions’ Boundaries Top Discussions   Christopher J. Menna, Sr., P.E., M.ASCE, your Region 2 Director, is a member of the Philadelphia Section.  Chris represented you at the ASCE Board meeting in Arlington, VA, March 18-19, held in conjunction with the ASCE Legislative Fly-in and the Outstanding Projects and Leaders Awards Gala.   Mid-March was a very productive and enjoyable time for ASCE members who came to the Washington, DC, metro area, starting with the annual Legislative Fly-In. More than 200 Society members from around the country gathered in Washington to meet with their respective senators and representatives on Capitol Hill and advocate for infrastructure improvements. The ASCE OPAL Awards Gala followed on Thursday night in Arlington, VA, honoring several remarkable leaders and outstanding projects in civil engineering. The Board of Direction’s spring meeting capped the week, and it was a busy two-day session. The Board held strategic discussions with several committees, updating important progress being made in the Society’s push to further establish civil engineers as global leaders, including by Raising the Bar, advancing sustainability, and innovating to dramatically reduce the life-cycle costs of infrastructure. The innovation theme was central to the Board’s discussions. The ASCE Industry Leaders Council provided highlights on efforts related to the ASCE Grand Challenge strategic initiative. The first ASCE Innovation Contest was a success, garnering entries from around the world. The expert panel of judges selected 15 winning submittals, and those entrants will have the opportunity to present their ideas to industry leaders at special events this spring. The Board also discussed the most appropriate design criteria to use as the Task Committee on Geographic Boundaries continues its work to reduce the number of geographic regions by one so that the Board can add a technical director without increasing the overall number of Board members. As can be imagined, there is a lot to consider when making such a decision. Which states naturally align together? Are the number of ASCE local entities in a region more relevant than the number of members? Are there common areas of practice and collaboration that shouldn’t be split between regions? The Task Committee will refine two alignment options to present to the Board in July. Read more about our meeting in ASCE News. We next gather July 8-9 in San Diego.  To share your thoughts on ASCE issues and governance, please email Chris.

PITTSBURGH SECTION Sustainable engineering pioneer named Fellow Cliff Davidson, Ph.D., F.ASCE, the Thomas and Colleen Wilmot Professor of Engineering at Syracuse University, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction. Davidson holds appointments at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems and in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, where he is the program director for environmental engineering. Previously, he was a member of the Carnegie Mellon University faculty in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Engineering and Public Policy for 33 years. Read more about what made Davidson worthy of Fellow status.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE EPA says U.S. requires significant spending on wastewater infrastructure The nation needs to spend $271 billion over the course of 20 years to maintain and improve wastewater systems in order to protect health and safety, the Environmental Protection Agency has told Congress. Consider the EPA's projections in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

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 April If you live adjacent to a Section in a different Region, or are merely interested in the other Region reports for April, 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 March edition of  News Around Region 2 Share this page via social media and email:

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Coastal storms could be much stronger, trends indicate University of Maryland research finds that in a world with warmer sea surface temperatures, a hurricane comparable to "Superstorm" Sandy could become much more destructive and behave drastically different. See what the models found in an exclusive article for ASCE’s Civil Engineering online.

REGION 2 NEWS Members make voices heard at Legislative Fly-In Photo by David Hathcox for ASCE  Kim Dunn, P.E., D.WRE, CFM, M.ASCE, a water resources consultant for Dewberry in Carlisle, PA, took her advocacy voice straight to the steps of Capitol Hill during the ASCE Legislative Fly-In. Roughly 200 ASCE members from across the country – including many from Region 2 – gathered in Washington, DC, March 15-16, for the annual ASCE Legislative Fly-In to advocate on Capitol Hill for infrastructure improvements. The focal points for the members to push on the Hill this year included the Federal Aviation Administration bill reauthorization, work on and passage of a Water Resources Development Act so that it is on a two-year cycle, and the importance of increased investment for water infrastructure. Learn more about this year’s Legislative Fly-In. Get involved and become a Key Contact.