Important Upcoming Dates February Branch Meeting - Virginia's Stormwater Program February 20th, 12:00 PM, Westwood Club
President's Message
February represents an exciting time of year for engineers as this month we celebrate National Engineer's week. For the stereotypical engineer it is difficult to promote one's profession. Many engineers fall in the introverted side of the Myers-Briggs personality chart, which can prove difficult when it comes to outreach. For me, I have found it easier to speak about topics when I am passionate about the topic. For many in Richmond this first Monday in February, they are proud of their city. For today two of Richmond's recent athletes can call themselves Super Bowl Champions. Who wouldn't be proud to say you hail from the home town of a Super Bowl winning quarterback? This month I want you to think about what makes you proud to be a civil engineer. What makes you proud to be a member of ASCE? Take time to share with your colleagues the exciting events we are offering over the next several months; our monthly speaker series or our golf tournament April 24th. Share with them our outreach to the next generation of engineers with the Popsicle Bridge contest. Make an effort to invite someone new to our next meeting discussing changes to VDOT's stormwater program.
This month's program will be presented by Roy Mills, VDOT's Stormwater Program Administrator, Tracey Harmon, with VDOTs Environmental Division, and Ginny Snead, a VDOT consultant with Louis Berger. The presentation will begin with Roy Mills will providing a general overview of VDOT's MS4 Program followed by Tracey Harmon who will discuss VDOT's TMDL efforts, including the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Ginny Snead will close by going over the implementation of the VSMP Part IIB Technical Criteria (Runoff Reduction and Energy Balance). This presentation provides an excellent setting to learn about the upcoming In This Issue President's Message Exciting Upcoming Events and PDH Opportunities Local News and Projects
Meet the Board and Chair Members!
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President - Austin Clark, P.E.
President Elect - Brooke Young
Vice President - Caleb Lange, P.E.
Secretary/Treasurer - Shannon Kerrigan
Past President - Amy Bird, P.E. changes to the state's stormwater program and ask the experts questions about the impacts that these changes may have.
Sign-ups were extended until February 10th for the Popsicle Bridge contest. Please contact Ashley Johnson if you would like to volunteer for the event. This is a fun event to see the creativity and ingenuity of today's middle and high school students.
Please check our website, ASCERichmond.org, under the Government Relations tab to find the latest civil engineering bills before the General Assembly.
We have another learning opportunity this month from the Virginia Water Environment Association,
Virginia Water Environment Association, Sustainable Utilities Committee Webinar (Free): Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in the Hampton Roads Date: February 21, 2014, 12:00pm to 1:30 pm (Engineers' Week) Moderators: Denise Nelson, VWEA, Sustainable Utilities Committee Chair Mujde Erten-Unal, Associate Professor and Director of Sustainable Development Institute, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Old Dominion University Speakers: Dr. Larry Atkinson, Slover Professor of Oceanography, Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative, Old Dominion University Dr. David Basco, Professor of Civil Engineering, Director of Coastal Engineering Center, Old Dominion Universiry Dr. Poornima Madhavan, Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of Undergraduate Research, Old Dominion University Dr. Hans-Peter Plag, Professor, Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Co-Director, Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative (CCSLRI), Old Dominion University Learning Objectives: Following the webinar, attendees should be able to: Describe the challenges of rising sea levels and flooding in the Hampton Roads region Describe the engineering significance of sea level rise in the Hampton Roads Region Describe the public perceptions of seal level rise Describe the social construct of vulnerability and risk related to sea level rise and climate change and how this limits mitigation and adaptation options
Many of those future engineers will be attending our Popsicle Bridge Competition which is scheduled for February 23, 2014. The rules have
Communications Chair - Melanie Leckey, P.E.
Education Outreach Chairs - Ashley Johnson, P.E. and Josiah Johnson
Government Relations Chair - vacant
Membership Chair - Jonathon Oliver
Website Chair - Kevin O'Neill, P.E.
Young Member Chair - Justin Watson
Connect with ASCE Richmond on our LinkedIN Page!
been posted on our website for our Popsicle Bridge Contest which occurs during Engineers Week at the Science Museum. Registration is now open for those with middle and high school students who want to get a jump on constructing their bridge. Proper planning and preparation will allow a team to find success in one of the award categories: highest efficiency rating, most aesthetically pleasing bridge or the innovation contest.
Next spring, April 3-5, 2014, the University of Virginia is hosting the ASCE Virginias Student Conference and is in need of assistance judging several of the events. ASCE Student Chapters may compete in the following competitions: concrete canoe, steel bridge, environmental, sustainable land development, technical problem solving, surveying, Hardy Cross cup presentations and Marr Technical paper. Description of each event may be found on our website, ASCERichmond.org. Three to five judges are needed per competition. On site judging is necessary for the steel bridge and concrete canoe competitions with 10 judges needed for each of those events. The Marr paper and Hardy Cross papers may be reviewed electronically. Please contact Tom Baber, ttb@virginia.edu for more information and to volunteer.
Sincerely, Austin Clark Exciting Upcoming Events and PDH Opportunities!
February Branch Meeting - Virginia's Stormwater Program
Location: Westwood Club, 6200 West Club Lane, Richmond, VA 23226 When: Thursday, February 20th, 2013 @ 12:00 PM Cost: $25 PDH: 1 credit Menu: A buffet style lunch will be served
This program will be presented by Roy Mills, VDOT's Stormwater Program Administrator, Tracey Harmon, with VDOTs Environmental Division, and Ginny Snead, a VDOT consultant with Louis Berger. The presentation will begin with Roy Mills will providing a general overview of VDOT's MS4 Program followed by Tracey Harmon who will discuss VDOT's TMDL efforts, including the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Ginny Snead will close by going over the implementation of the VSMP Part IIB Technical Criteria (Runoff Reduction and Energy Balance). This presentation provides an excellent setting to learn about the upcoming changes to the state's stormwater program and ask the experts questions about the impacts that these changes may have.
Contact Caleb Lange by phone at 804-641-8278 or by email at clange@FandR.com for more information. Please register on our website.
ASCE's 19th Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition is here! (Registration deadline extended to February 10th!)
ASCE's 19th Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition will be held on February 23, 2014 at the Science Museum of Virginia. The object of the competition is to have students build the most efficient bridge possible using only popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue. The contest is open to all Richmond area Middle and High School students.
Prizes are awarded for the three most efficient bridges in each age group, as well as for the most aesthetically pleasing and most innovative bridges. There will even be a chance for the students to test their bridges against one designed by professional engineers!
This competition is held in conjunction with the Richmond Joint Engineers Council as part of their annual Celebrating Engineering Ingenuity Day.
Registration for the competition will be open until February 10, 2014. Please visit our website for more information or to register : www.ascerichmond.org/2014bridgecontest
For any questions about the contest, please contact Ashley Johnson at ajohnson@rkk.com or 804-771-9159.
Save the Date - ASCE's 12th Annual Golf Tournament
Mark your calendars for April 24th for our annual golf tournament which has been a great success in the past years. This year's tournament will be held at Brandermill Country Club. More details to follow in later announcements.
Best Urban BMP in the Bay Award
The Chesapeake Stormwater Network (CSN) is very proud to announce the launch of the first ever Best Urban BMP in the Bay Award (BUBBA) contest! This contest aims to recognize the best urban stormwater BMPs that have been designed and installed in the Chesapeake Bay watershed within the past 5 years. Projects can be submitted for any of six categories: Homeowner BMPs, Innovative BMPs, Best Combination of BMPs in a Series, Ultra Urban BMPs, Best Habitat Creation in a BMP, and Best Stream Restorations
The goal of the BUBBAs is three-fold:
1. Recognize innovators in the field who are using new and innovative techniques for facing the challenges of stormwater management; 2. Provide an avenue for disseminating these techniques to other communities who could benefit from the lessons learned and innovative approaches; and 3. Engage CSN's nearly 4,000 member network of stormwater professionals throughout the Bay watershed to promote interactivity among the members.
Winners will be announced to CSN's network of 4,000 stormwater professionals within the Bay watershed.
The top three finalists in each award category will receive certificates of recognition for placing as a finalists in the award category and be featured on the CSN website
Category winners will receive a free registration to the 2014 Bay-wide Partners Stormwater Retreat where they will be recognized at a BUBBAs awards ceremony.
Grand prize winner (the people's choice award) will receive an award of $5,000
Visit the website for more information and to enter your submission:
http://chesapeakestormwater.net/the-bubbas/
The deadline for submission is February 28th, 2014.
The Daniel V. Terrell Paper Competition
The Region 4 Assembly of the American Society of Civil Engineers is proud to conduct the Daniel V. Terrell Paper Competition for Younger Members. This prestigious competition has been held for 60 years and commemorates Dean Terrell's many years of work and service to the Society and especially his leadership in the establishment of the District Council System, the predecessor of the Region 4 Assembly.
All members, associate members or affiliates of ASCE who are 35 years of age or less on February 1, 2014, residing in Region 4, are eligible to submit papers in this competition. The following rules are to be observed: The Daniel V. Terrell competition topic (same as the topic for the society's Daniel W. Mead Contest) must address professional ethics with respect to the following question or statement:
In the built environment, there has been and will continue to be ongoing development in areas that are prone to natural disasters. From floods and storms to earthquakes and forest fires, natural disasters are costly both in terms of human suffering and financial resources. Despite the risks associate with building in such areas, demand for public and private development in them continues to grow. As stewards of the built environment, what responsibility do civil engineers have in this continued growth? Consider the following ethical questions.
What are the ethical responsibilities for planning future civil engineering projects in natural disaster prone areas? What are the potential ethical issues in determining design codes, recommendations and parameters to prevent damage in natural disasters? What are the ethical issues involved when attempting to predict natural disaster frequency or return periods? What are the ethical obligations of civil engineers when advising clients engaged in development in natural disaster prone areas?
These are two separate competitions but the same paper may be submitted to both.
No individual may submit more than one paper in any one annual Daniel V. Terrell paper competition.
Please include your member ID number and your name on the paper.
The paper shall be of such length that it can be presented orally in not more than fifteen minutes and contain not more than 2000 words.
Submit one electronic copy of the paper, preferably a PDF, with a cover letter to your Section President by March 1, 2014. Each section is limited to two entries.
The paper must be presented orally, by the author, before the Region 4 Assembly at its Spring 2014 meeting to be held April 11 & 12 in the Nashville, TN area. (Contestants are encouraged to seek financial support from their Sections and Branches for travel expenses to present their papers.)
AWARDS First Place - Bronze plaque + $500 cash prize Second Place - $250 cash prize
BASIS OF JUDGING
Presentation of Paper - 35% (Delivery and Effectiveness - 20%, Choice of Words, Literary Style, Pronunciation and Enunciation - 10%)
Content of Paper - 65% (Material - 40%, Aquaintance with subject - Scope - 10%, Originality - Independence - 10%, Arrangement - 5%)
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