Austin Branch Newsletter

February 2009

Volume 13, Number 5

In This Issue…

Meeting/Speaker Info

President's Message

Meeting Sponsor

Austin Branch 2009 Engineer of the Year

Scholarship Recipients

UT Outstanding Alumnus Award

Bowling for Kids

Engineer’s Day

Eweek - Discover Engineering

Engineer’s Week Banquet

YMF Update

UT Student Update

History & Heritage

Austin Street Names

Excellence in Journalism

Ethics Presentation

Spring Greening

Continuing Education Webinars

Sponsors

February Branch Meeting – February 17, 2009

 
Speaker:
Mr. Warren Samuelson, Dam Safety Program Coordinator, TCEQ 

 When:
Tuesday, February 17th
Social - 11:30 to Noon;  Lunch/Speaker - Noon to 1:00 PM
 

 Where:
Embassy Suites North

5901 N. IH 35

Cost:
$18 – with RSVP and PayPal web payment

$20 – with RSVP and payment at the door

$25 – walk-up (no RSVP, no pre-payment)

$5 – student/government employee with RSVP and web payment

$10 – student/government employee walk-up (no RSVP, no pre-payment)

 RSVP:
Click here to RSVP by Noon, Friday, February 13th
 
 Meeting Sponsor:

Quick Links…
 
About Us

Job Board

Younger Member Forum

February Speaker: Mr. Warren Samuelson, Dam Safety Program Coordinator, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Warren Samuelson is the Dam Safety Program Coordinator at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). He leads a staff of 15, consisting of engineering, hydrogeology, and information management professionals whose mission is to protect the public from dam failures. Their work includes inspection of existing dams, construction inspection, review of dam plans and specifications, H&H studies and engineering reports. The Dam Safety group reviews Emergency Action Plans and responds to all dam emergencies, and has recently been charged with investigating all dams classified as high or significant hazard within a five-year period.

Mr. Samuelson has worked for the TCEQ and its predecessor agencies for over 37 years in the areas of dam safety, floodplain management, and on-site sewage facilities. He has over 30 years of experience in the realm of dam safety and is a member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Mr. Samuelson is an alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

President’s Message

by Julia M. Harrod, P.E.

Engineer’s Week is here!

February 15-21 is National Engineers week. After celebrating Valentines Day on Feb 14^th, get ready to love yourself and your profession for a whole week…and we deserve it! Engineers make things happen and the Austin branch of ASCE showcases that like no other organization. We have scores of enthusiastic engineers working together, having fun, and making a difference. We are kicking off Engineer’s week with our annual Children’s Museum Event on Feb 15^th. This will be our 8^th year introducing kids at the museum to the world of engineering through hands-on activities with engineers and engineering students. Of course, our other big Eweek activity actually takes place over the next four months – ASCE members volunteer their time to CentexEweek by making visits to local area schools. During these visits teams, of 2 or more engineers work with classrooms on engineering activities. This program encourages Central Texas school children to pursue technology careers by providing role models from the local engineering community. Diverse groups of engineers provide hands on experiments that demonstrate teamwork and logical processes while discussing their jobs and the reasons they chose engineering.

Of course, the best way to celebrate is with a party. ASCE members will join TSPE, ASABE and ASME for the Engineers Banquet on Feb 28th at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin. We will be honoring long time ASCE ember Dr. Bill Espey as the ASCE Civil Engineer of the Year and TSPE Engineer of the Year. In addition, our branch past-president Kelly Barney will be given the TSPE Young Engineer of the Year award. Come out and party with other Austin engineers for a night of fun and games, including Casino Knights.  The celebrity line-up of honored guests includes City of Austin Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken giving the keynote address and Austin Council Member Lee Leffingwell presenting the council’s 2009 Engineer’s Week proclamation.

So get ready to celebrate your profession during EWeek. Just call/email me (juliah@mwmdesigngroup.com) or any board member or committee chair to find out how you can plug in and start working with other engineers to make a difference in our community. Even if you only have a couple hours to spare, there is an activity for you.

Together we are ASCE; together we can make a difference.

February Meeting Sponsor:

This year, Crespo is celebrating its 15 year anniversary as a leader in civil, environmental, and water resources engineering in Austin and throughout Texas.  We are a minority-owned firm certified as an MBE, DBE, and HUB, and our expertise includes storm water management, drainage, hydrology, hydraulics, erosion control and related environmental studies. 

Crespo’s president, Steve Stecher, has over 30 years experience in engineering in Austin and is recognized as a storm water engineering expert.  Our multi-disciplinary staff includes engineers, hydrologists, GIS analysts, geographers, planners, and support personnel.  Together, we have experience in every watershed in Austin and in every river basin in Texas.  We have performed and directed numerous drainage and water quality studies involving floodplain mapping, drainage master plans, dam safety, streambank stabilization, Water Pollution Abatement plans (WPAPs), Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SW3Ps), and complex hydrologic and hydraulic modeling.  Crespo also has experience with water supply, wastewater modeling, and water quality.

ASCE Austin Branch 2009 Civil Engineer of the Year

By: Garabed A. Harutunian, P.E., RPLS, ASCE-Fellow

Honors Committee Chair

During Fall of 1999, the Austin ASCE Branch Board of Directors established the Branch Civil Engineer of the Year Award.  This award is to be presented to Branch Members who have distinguished themselves in the fields of Education, services to the Civil Engineering profession, Awards received, services to the Branch, services to the community, services to the student ASCE Chapter, and etc. The Honors Committee received four individual nominations nominated by individual members of the Branch.  The Committee reviewed the four nominated individuals packages and selected Dr. William H. Espey for this award.  The Committee recommended him to the Branch Board of Directors who unanimously approved his selection for this award.

William H. Espey, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE has made and continues to make important contributions to the American Society of Civil Engineers throughout his professional career.  His participation in ASCE began as a member of the Student Chapter as a student in the Civil Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Austin during the 1950’s and 1960’s. He came to University of Texas on a football scholarship and earned his BSCE (1960), MSCE (1963) and Ph.D. (1965). He began contributing to the Texas Section ASCE as Vice Chairman (1968 & 1969) and then Chairman (1970 & 1971) Waterways and Harbors Committee. 

Dr. Espey was the Contact Member of ASCE/Student Chapter, University of Texas at Austin 1978-1979.  His professional contributions to ASCE were recognized with the Award for Outstanding Service in 1979. He served as a member of the Hydraulics Division, ASCE Programs Committee, 1992 -1999.  Dr. Espey chaired the ASCE 1st International Water Resources Engineering and International Groundwater Management Symposium; Watershed Management Symposium; and Texas Water '95 held in San Antonio, TX. He is the presently General Chair, National Water Congress Kansas City, MO2009, EWRI/ASCE.  Dr. Espey is a Senior Civil Engineering Program Evaluator (ASCE) as a member of ABET accreditation teams, (1996 – Present). He earned the EWRI/ASCE Lifetime Achievement Award, 2006.

Dr. Espey had been recognized as Distinguished Graduate of the College of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1986, and a Charter Member, Civil and Architectural Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni, University of Texas, at Austin, November 2003, and President 2006-2007.  He is a Founding Diplomate and member of the Board of Trustees (Treasurer) of the American Academy of Water Resource Engineers (ASCE), and President 2006-2007.

His contributions to water resources engineering have been recognized specifically by the Award for Outstanding Planning Achievement, Lower Colorado River Basinwide Project, USACE, 2001.  More recently, his participation, and contribution as a member of the ASCE External Review Panel (ERP) was recognized by the Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal presented by Lieutenant General Carl A. Strock and Assistant Secretary of the Army, John Paul Woodley, Jr (2007). He has been appointed as Chairman of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth (1981 – 2009) Lake Michigan Diversion Committee as mandated by the Supreme Court’s modified decree, (1980). Recently Dr. Espey has been appointed as mandated by Senate Bill 3 (State of Texas) as Chair of the Basin and Bay Expert Science Team (BBEST).

Dr. Espey has been married to his high school sweetheart for 49 years and has 3 children and 8 grandchildren. He was raised in Dallas / Oak Cliff and graduated from South Oak Cliff High School. He officiated high school football for 20 years as a member of Southwest Football Officials Association. He has been a member of the Hyde Park Baptist Church for over 40 years, and served as president of the Hyde Park Foundation from 1995-2002. He was also president of the Hyde Park Sunday School (Adult 4) from 1983-1985. From 1974-1984, he was president/co-founder and co-sponsor of the Northwest Senior Girls softball league.

Dr. Espey will be recognized at the TSPE Awards Banquet on February 28, 2009 at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Austin.  Cocktail hour begins at 6:00 pm, dinner follows at 7:00 pm, and casino night concludes the evening beginning at 8:30 pm.  Save the date!

ASCE Austin Branch Scholarship Recipients

By: Lee Sherman, PE, Scholarship Chair

The following are the 2009 ASCE Austin Branch Scholarship Recipients.  Congratulations!

Michelle Wilkinson:

Michelle is a senior civil engineering student with an emphasis in structures.  She has been heavily involved with UT ASCE; holding the Outreach Officer position in 2008 and participating in both the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge competitions.   While working an average of 9 hours per week, she has also maintained a  fantastic GPA .  She is in the Engineering Honors Program  and has been recognized by a number of other groups for her outstanding achievements.  We are proud to give Michelle a $2,000 scholarship to reward her excellence and commitment to ASCE.

Dong Kim:

Dong is a senior civil engineering student with an emphasis in materials and structures.  He is the current president of UT ASCE, has been an officer since 2007, and has participated in the concrete canoe competition and outreach projects.  In addition to his heavy involvement in UT ASCE, Dong has maintained an above-average GPA while working an average of 10 hours per week.  The Austin Branch would like to thank Dong for his commitment to ASCE and recognize his achievements by awarded him a $2,000 scholarship.

Corey Meeks:

Corey is a senior civil engineering student with an emphasis on materials, especially concrete.  Corey has assisted with all of UT ASCE's concrete canoes since 2007, he was the Concrete Canoe Chair in 2008, and he's currently providing guidance for the 2009/2010 effort.  Through his work on the concrete canoes, Corey distinguished himself enough to be awarded a fellowship to study concrete materials at UT.  Besides concrete canoe, Corey participated in the 2007 ASCE New Orleans Construction, a tree planting, and various other outreach activities.  Corey accomplished all of this while working an average of 16 hours per week and expects to receive his engineering degree this May.  ASCE has awarded Corey a $1,000 scholarship in appreciation for his hard work and commitment to the organization.

Kassie Wooldridge:

Kassie is a sophomore civil engineering student with a primary interest in transportation.  She has been a UT ASCE member for 1.5 years and is the current Outreach Director.  In this role she has organized and completed three service projects to date while maintaining a solid gpa.  We thank Kassie for her commitment to ASCE and for the passion she has demonstrated in giving back to the community through her work as a civil engineer.   We hope a $1,000 scholarship will help her along in her academic career.

University of Texas Outstanding Young Alumnus Award

Nominate a UT Grad for Outstanding Young Alumnus/Alumna Award

The Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin annually recognizes a graduate under the age of 40 who has distinguished him or herself with outstanding service and contributions to the engineering profession and community.  Anyone is eligible to nominate a CAEE graduate for this award.

We would like your help in celebrating the accomplishments of our exceptional alumni by nominating a deserving candidate for this award. Descriptions of past award recipients and a nomination form can be found at: www.caee.utexas.edu/outstanding.cfm

Please contact Alumni Coordinator Laura Klopfenstein at 512-471-1279 or klopfenstein@mail.utexas.edu if you have any questions or need assistance. (deadline: March 1, 2009)

Big Brothers Big Sisters – Bowl for Kids Sake 2009

by Dale Murphy, P.E.

For the 4^th year, the Austin Branch will be participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas’ annual Bowl for Kids Sake fundraiser, with our bowling event scheduled for Friday, February 27^th at 8:30 PM at Highland Lanes.  There will also be a happy hour before the event.  Last year the Austin Branch had 20 teams, 100 participants and raised just under $20,000!!  This year we are looking to have increased participation and raise even more money.  Participants are asked to solicit donations from their friends, family and co-workers through a simple web based with each bowler committing to raise at least $125. 

We are looking for people who are willing to be Team Captains who would recruit 4 additional co-workers or friends to form a team of their own.  If you’d like to participate but don’t have a team, we can put teams together for you or you can just donate to one of our ASCE teams or bowlers as well.  For more information on how you can have fun bowling with your colleagues while raising money for a good cause, contact Dale Murphy (dmurphy@kfriese.com) or Jason Bybel (jason.bybel@jacobs.com). 

New for this year we will have corporate sponsorship opportunities, with each sponsor receiving recognition at the event and on our website.  Additionally, sponsors will be invited to the pre-bowling happy hour to mingle with the participants from local consulting firms and government agencies.  Sponsorships are $500, a sponsorship form is located on our website.  

Engineer’s Day at the Austin Children’s Museum

by Linda Barlow, P.E. – Public Relations Chair

Volunteer!

Engineer’s Day at the

Austin Children’s Museum

Sunday February 15, 2009

It’s that time of year again…E-Week is on the way and so is our annual Engineer’s Day at the Austin Children’s Museum.  Help kids build a hoop glider and see how far it goes… Watch how high they can build a newspaper tower that supports a golf ball… Lend a hand to help them build all kinds of structures with spaghetti and marshmallows – you’ll be surprised at their creativity! 

As a volunteer for ACSE’s 8^th Annual Engineer’s Day at the Austin Children’s Museum, you will help the kids build structures, fly helicopters, and complete other simple engineering activities…and you’ll have fun, too!

There will be an on-line sign up at our website shortly with the available shifts. Until then, please email any member of the PR Committee. Please pass the word around to anyone else who may be interested!  Volunteers can choose one of two shifts in the afternoon: 11:30 to 2:45 or 2:15 to 5:30.  Training will be minimal and take place just before your shift.  You will also receive a certificate for PDH credit. 

We especially want to make sure our sponsors are well represented by volunteers:

ASCE Austin Branch

ACEA

Alliance Transportation Group, Inc.

Baer Engineering and Environmental Consulting, Inc.

Binkley and Barfield

Duke’s Root Control

Encotech Engineering Consultants, Inc.

HVJ Associates, Inc.

Jose I. Guerra, Inc.

KBR

MWM Design Group

Urban Design Group

We have recruited ACEA as a $1500 event co-sponsor for the second year in a row, so thank an ACEA member (and encourage them to volunteer for the event too).  If your firm is interested in sponsoring the event, or if you have any questions, please email or call a PR Committee Member: you can email any of the PR Committee members:

Linda Barlow at lbarlow@hvj.com;

Sharon Hamilton at Sharon.Hamilton@CASEngineers.com;

John Conquest at JDCONQUEST@mactec.com;

Cesar Calderon at calderon@guerra.com;

Chelsea Solomon at Chelsea.solomon@casengineers.com, or

Jim Huffcut at JHuffcut@Pape-Dawson.com.

Eweek-Discover Engineering

By Laton Carr, EIT

ASCE will hold a Discover Engineering kick-off event on January 14th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the offices of Pape-Dawson Engineers (7800 Shoal Creek Blvd, Ste 220 West).  Food will be provided.  The kick-off event will be a good opportunity to meet fellow ASCE volunteers and to see how a classroom visit will happen.  EWeek school visits (Discover Engineering) are brief visits to area elementary or junior high schools by a small team of volunteer engineers like you.  The purpose is to grab the math and science interest of young students so that they might choose the path to engineering as a profession one day.  Visits will be coordinated throughout the spring (not just one week).  To RSVP for the kick-off event (by Tuesday at 4:00pm), or to sign up as a volunteer for the classroom visits email Laton Carr (lcarr@pape-dawson.com).  Thanks!

Engineer’s Week Banquet

Engineer’s Week Banquet will be held on Saturday, February 28^th at the Omni Hotel downtown.  Please refer to the TSPE website for additional information at http://www.tspe-travis.org/banquet.htm.

YMF Update

by Brandon Hammann, EIT

The year continues to be busy for Austin YMF!  In early January, members attended the Central Region Younger Member Council conference in Denver, Colorado.  More information on the conference can be found at http://crymc.asce.org/.  On a fairly cold evening in late January, members enjoyed some cold ones (this includes food as I didn’t get there early enough to get a table inside) at Scholz Garten before the men’s A&M vs. UT basketball game.  The Longhorns pulled out on top which made for an enjoyable evening for the burnt-orange fans.  We look forward to continuing this tradition next year and hope to bring in a larger group than before!  The very next week, Kim Patak, P.E. (YMF Director) gave an excellent presentation on detention pond analysis and design.  We had an overwhelming response to this event.  As a result, the seminar will be held again in late February.  Several members are on the waiting list so please contact Kim to determine availability.  A special thanks to Kim and her co-workers for helping out with the event, and Freese and Nichols for allowing us to use their facilities.

February is full of YMF events, so please pick one or all to participate in as we enjoy seeing new and familiar faces!  The Liquid Assets viewing is on Sunday February 8, from 2-4, at the UT Texas Union Theater.  The documentary, sponsored by the national chapter and shown on PBS in November, describes the current condition and problems of pipe infrastructure across the United States.  The event will also feature an open forum discussion for attendees to interact with a panel of professionals on the condition of the local water infrastructure.  Refreshments will be provided.  Please contact Ty Womble for more information.  A week from the viewing, February 15, from 12:30-3:30, members will volunteer their time to participate in the Austin Marathon by helping to collect and separate recyclable items used by participants during the race.  There is some availability left, so please sign up under the “Green Team” at http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer2/jobs-by-date.tcl?event_id=159567.  On Saturday, February 21, YMF will participate in the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” event held on the UT campus.  We will introduce the girls to basic civil engineering principles by using the West Point Bridge Competition software.  We are currently looking for volunteers to help out with the event, so interested members should contact Jill Wicks, West Point Bridge Competition Chair, for additional information.  Lastly, we will be having a happy hour later in the month…details to follow.

We have been experiencing technical difficulties with our email distribution.  Thankfully, the Austin Branch has been patiently helping us out while the issue is addressed.  We should have this resolved soon and appreciate your patience.  Please contact myself or any of the Board members if you have questions/comments.  Contact information for each Board member can be found at http://www.austinasce.org/ymf.htm.

Sincerely,

Brandon Hammann, A.M.ASCE

Austin YMF President

brandon.hammann@klotz.com

UT Student Chapter Update

by Michelle Wilkinson – Corporate Relations Officer

UT ASCE kicked off the beginning of the new semester with a trip to New Orleans in conjunction with Austin ASCE.  The trip was a huge success and was a great learning experience for the students.  Thanks to the Austin branch, and especially to Rose Marie Klee, for making this trip possible!  Volunteer efforts included lawn work, painting, and storm drain cleaning.  A visit to the levee led by Dr. Gilbert was still fascinating even for those of us who have been on the trip before.  Seeing what progress has been made since we were there last year shows just how much has been done and how there is still so much left to do.

                We have held two general meetings so far this semester.  Mustang Engineering kicked us off with a great presentation about the civil engineering that goes into designing an offshore rig to be transported from Louisiana to Alaska.  Halff Associates came and showed various projects that they work on to demonstrate the different fields of civil engineering and how most projects are multidisciplinary.  Student turnout continues to be much higher this year than in many years past and we are excited to see so much involvement!

Outreach is gearing up for a very busy semester with many events happening soon in February.  We plan on participating in Explore UT, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, the Austin’s Children Museum E-Week Kickoff, and as many other events as we can cram into the coming months.  We also have our annual Balsa Wood Bridge competition with a local elementary school coming up.  We mentor the students on building a bridge model and then invite them to campus to load test their bridges. 

Intramural Sports has been practicing hard for the upcoming basketball season.  The men’s team has their first game on February 6 and the co-ed team starts on February 11.  All the players are excited to play hard this year and finally win some games!

We also have several Social events coming up, our first being a Broomball competition.  Also in the works is a tubing trip on the river with the ASCE chapter from Texas A&M. 

Our technical competitions are moving along quickly now.  Seismic competition starts on February 11 and our team have been devoting every spare minute they can to construction of the building.  We have finally finished and shipped the building off to Salt Lake City.  Concrete Canoe will go into overdrive once we get back from Seismic competition and students are getting ready to start constructing our canoe mold.

Contact Michelle Wilkinson at mwilkinson@mail.utexas.edu if you would like to get involved with UT ASCE.  Please let us know if you would like to sponsor a meeting, a Friday in the Park, or any of our technical competitions (Seismic Competition and Concrete Canoe).  Visit our website, www.ut-asce.org, for more information regarding the student branch.

Impacts of Engineers Beyond Their Engineering Projects

by Melinda Luna, P.E. – History and Heritage Chair

Engineers contribute to providing a better quality of life through their civil engineering projects however engineers can make an impact beyond their civil engineering projects.  There are many examples of engineers impact a number of people beyond their projects. 

The first example of an engineer improving the quality of life beyond their civil engineering projects is Washington Roebling.  Roebling and his family built suspension bridges including the Brooklyn Bridge.  As a hobby, Roebling collected rocks and minerals.  In 1926 after Washington Roebling’s death, his family donated his rock and mineral collection along with an endowment fund to the Smithsonian Institute.  Roebling’s collection was about 16,000 specimens along with Fredrick A Canfield a mining engineer who donated 9,0000 specimens became the foundation of the Museum of Natural History’s mineral and gem collections.  The collection is viewed by a number of visitors each year and has grown to over 380,00 mineral and 10,000 gems built from gifts and field collections.  The collection is also a teaching collection assisting in teaching identification of gems and minerals.  The Museum of Natural History is one of the most visited Museums in Washington D.C. with over 5 million visitors a year.

Sometimes engineers help people in their everyday life. Walter O. Washington a pioneer in concrete pavements in Texas shared his knowledge with engineering graduates in concrete pavements.  Washington an Austin native and University of Texas graduate (1904) worked as Cameron County Engineer (1920-1939), for the Works Progress Administration(1939-1940), Brownsville City Engineer (1940-1941), and as a consultant(1909-1923).  Throughout his career, he helped supervise the construction of the Rio Grande flood control levee system, irrigation canals in Willacy County, supervised the building of runways of the Brownsville Airport, maintaining roads and streets in Cameron County and many other projects.  Most people described him as always teaching others about concrete mixtures in his workshop behind his Brownsville home. In his workshop he made experimented with water-cement rations for strength in pavement. He was active in ASCE member serving the local Rio Grande Valley Branch and the Corpus Christi Branch as well as the Texas Section.  He was also actively involved in historical associations. He helped his co-workers and friend in any capacity including lending money.  Washington’s daughter in law told the story about a co-worker so out of his luck that Washington helped him out financially in her book “Roots by the River”.  The co-worker not being able to pay him back offered to kill anyone of Washington’s choosing as a form of payment.  While this may seem odd or crazy, the coworker was sincere in offering thanks to Washington for helping him out through tough times.  Washington thanked him and told him that he could probably work something else out.  Walter O. Washington was well known for helping people anyway he could and sharing his knowledge of concrete mixtures.

There are many engineers who contribute in a number of ways like the Roeblings and Walter Owen Washington, These men are but two of examples of engineers who contribute beyond their engineering projects.

City of Austin Road Names – Ben White Boulevard

Named to commemorate Ben White ("Uncle Ben") who served sixteen years on the Austin City Council (1951-1967).

Excellence in Journalism Award Nomination: Due April 30^th

The Austin Branch PR Committee is accepting entries for the 2009 Texas Section Excellence in Journalism Award, and strongly encourages you to nominate a story, or stories. Eligible stories must be published or broadcast between May 1, 2008 and April 30, 2009. Local journalists for News 8 won both the Texas Section Award and the National Award this past year!

The Excellence in Journalism Award was established in 1994 by ASCE to honor newspaper journalists for outstanding news articles that enhance public understanding of the role and impact of civil engineers and civil engineering. Nominations of regional or national general interest news stories are accepted in five categories: Daily and Weekly Newspapers, Magazines, Electronic/Web-Based News Outlets, Radio, and Television.

A list of Award criterion is shown below and can be viewed at the following web link: http://www.asce.org/pressroom/honors/excel_journalism.cfm:

• Entries should advance public knowledge and understanding of civil engineers, the profession or the issues that they impact;
• Include knowledgeable civil engineering experts;
• Cover all sides of the civil engineering issue fairly;
• Effectively explain how the civil engineering project or issue impacts the community or region;
• Accurately describe the civil engineering project or issue; and
• Clearly describe the civil engineer's role (Examples: How did engineers contribute to the project's completion? How did engineers influence the positive outcome of an environmental issue, natural disaster or key legislation?).

If you have seen or heard a story (maybe about your own project) and it meets the criteria above (and the eligibility requirements listed on the website), please submit your nomination directly to any member of the Public Relations Committee (Linda Barlow lbarlow@hvj.com,  Sharon Hamilton sharon.hamilton@casengineers.com,  John Conquest JDCONQUEST@mactec.com,  Cesar Calderon calderon@guerra.com, Chelsea Solomon at Chelsea.solomon@casengineers.com , Jim Huffcut at JHuffcut@pape-dawson.com,  or Jennifer Otterson at JMOtterson@pbsj.com). Please include a copy of the article/publication medium, which should show a minimum of the authors name, date of publication and the publisher’s name. Nominations must be submitted by April 30, 2009 to enable the committee to pull together the submittal. Nominations must be submitted to the Texas Section ASCE by May 15^th, 2009.  If you have any questions, you can contact any member of the Public Relations Committee.

Excellence in Journalism Award – Local Winners

The media have tremendous impact on public opinion and enhance public understanding of the role of civil engineers and the impact of their designs for water supply, transportation and other public works projects. The Texas Section honored Ms. Veronica Castelo (reporter) and Ms. Jenna Hiller (producer) of News 8 Austin with the Texas Section ASCE Excellence in Journalism Award for their outstanding video news series “Opening the Floodgates: The Trouble with Texas Dams”. This nomination was forwarded for consideration in the National ASCE competition and was selected as the national award winner! The Austin Branch is privileged to present this national award to Ms. Castelo and Ms. Hiller at the February luncheon meeting.

The winning coverage, aired in November 2007, consisted of a four part video series on Texas Dam safety, two video follow-ups, and an online interactive map that alerted the general public on the safety and maintenance issues associated with the 7,664 known Texas dams. The research referenced raw data provided by the Texas Inventory of Dams Database, professional opinions from civil engineers and dam owners, and cited the legislative efforts being pursued by State Representative Brandon Creighton of Montgomery County. News 8 Austin’s report provided a multidimensional perspective that clearly and effectively raised the awareness of the pressing issues the state of Texas is facing with its aging Dam infrastructure.

Ms. Castelo has been with News 8 Austin since April 2005 when she transferred from their sister station News 10 Now in Syracuse, New York. Before becoming an Austin-based reporter and weekend morning anchor, she was the Hays and Caldwell County Bureau Chief. Ms. Castelo is a 2006 Texas Associated Press Broadcasters first place winner for continuing coverage. She graduated cum laude from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She's also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Ms. Hiller has spent the last four years covering news in Missouri and Texas as a reporter, producer and anchor. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism with a degree in broadcast journalism. Ms. Hiller trained with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting, which helped her gain the knowledge needed to sift through thousands of records for the story on Texas’ Dams.

Ethics Presentation

On Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, members of all of the technical societies in the Austin area are invited to a presentation by Mr. C.W. Clark PE, Director of Compliance and Enforcement for the Texas Board of Professional Engineers on "Professional Practice and Ethics Update". Certificates for one PDH will be presented to all PE's in attendance

It would be appreciated if you would notify your membership. The meeting room is spacious, and we hope for a good turnout for Mr. Clark. Of course, there is no charge.

The meeting is at 7 PM at the Travis County Sheriff's Office, located at 5555 Airport Boulevard just south of Highland Mall and across from Leif Johnson Ford.

Spring Greening

Historic Green’s Spring Greening is a ten day volunteer project to rebuild and repair a community in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.  Green building industry young professionals and student volunteers from New Orleans and from all over the country will be coming to the Holy Cross historic neighborhood March 10-20 to offer their services in this second annual event. Projects in Historic Green’s first event included green improvements to historic homes, deconstruction of damaged historic buildings for materials salvage, reconstruction of damaged historic buildings using the previously salvaged materials, and repair and restoration of public spaces such as community playgrounds and parks.  This year, the same type of projects will work with the CSED to clean up the St. Claude business corridor, with the Preservation Resource Center in their efforts on Dauphine, and with a variety of groups to update the Bayou overlook, originally built with help from the Sierra Club.

Please visit www.historicgreen.org for more information and to register to volunteer.

ASCE Continuing Education Webinars

Thank You to All of Our 2009 Sponsors!

Want to be an Austin Branch Sponsor?  Gives your company advertising and free postings on our online job board.  Click here for more information.

© 2009 Austin Branch American Society of Civil Engineers

The Austin Branch Newsletter gives you the latest information on ASCE events and activities.  To inquire about this newsletter or to publish articles contact the Communications Director.  Contact information for our Board of Directors can be found at www.austinasce.org.

National ASCE – www.asce.org      Texas Section – www.texasce.org