A= ustin Branch Newsletter

January 2010

Volume 14, Number 4

= In This Issue̷= 0;

Austin Branch State Director Position Available

ASCE Civil Engineer of the Year Award

E-Week

Volunteer for Engineer’s Day

Spring 2010 Meeting =

YMF Update

UT-ASCE Update

Big Brothers Big Sisters – Bowl for Kid’s Sake

Capital Area Food Bank Fund Dri= ve

ASCE Society Awards<= o:p>

ASME Central Texas Section Meet= ing

History In Heritage<= o:p>

Continuing Education Webinars

January Speaker: David Hea= ley, Director, Capital Improvements Dept., City of San Marcos<= o:p>

Topic: Capital Improvements Projects<= span style=3D'font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>

David Healey, nationally known for his successful implementation of major munic= ipal infrastructure projects, serves as the Director of Capital Improvements f= or the City of San Marcos. Healey began his current positio= n in March 2009, undertaking more than $140 million in infrastructure projects= in the Capital Improvements Program. He supervises City engineers who design= and coordinate CIP projects. So= me of the major projects in the CIP include street, utility, sidewalk and drain= age improvements for Rio Vista Terrace, Victory Gardens, Sessom Drive and Nor= th LBJ, the Thorpe Lane and Hopkins intersection, downtown street and draina= ge, the new Central Fire Station, and numerous water and wastewater utility projects.

Healey was recently with MWH of Broomfield Co., a private company that provided water, wastewater, energy, natural resource, program management, consulti= ng and construction services to municipal, industrial and government clients across the globe.

He previously served as the Director of Public Works for the City of Fresno,= CA, where he directed a $150 million capital improvement program, $40 million operating budget, and implemented a $45 million “No Neighborhood Le= ft Behind” infrastructure initiative.

In Fresno, he succe= ssfully managed the on-time, on-budget construction of a new $26 million conventi= on center parking garage, $6 million new fire station project, and a $7 mill= ion restoration of the Santa Fe Railroad Depot.

Healey served as Director of Maintenance for Austin and Assistant Director of Pu= blic Works for Houston before moving to Fresno. He manag= ed capital projects for numerous educational institutions, including the 3 million square foot Health Science Center campus at the University of Texas and facilities throughout the Houston Independent School District. He delivered the on-time, on-budg= et construction of the 200,000 square foot School= of Nursing and Student Community Center at the University of Texas to a Gold LEED standard. <= o:p>

From 2000-2003, Healey served in senior advisor positions for transportation projects in Washington, D.C. and the State of Maryland, and worked as a private consultant in the late 1990s, developing strategic plans, business process efficiencies, and cost benefit analyses for more than $110 millio= n in construction projects.

President’s Message

by Robert W. Scholz, P.E.

Welcome to a New Year and a New Decade = of ASCE! This year has exciting challenges ahead. The Austin Branch is proud to host the 2010 Spring Texas Meeting right on the campus= of the University of Texas. The theme this year is “We= re TEXASCE”. The format = for this meeting will be entirely different from past meetings starting on Su= nday evening, April 11^th and ending on Tuesday, April 13^{th. You don’t want to miss this
meeting. If you’ve ne=
ver
been to a Texas Section ASCE meeting, this is the one to attend! Not to mention, when you go back=
to
work on Wednesday, your workweek will be halfway finished!}

I want to take a moment to congratulate Mrs. Linda Barlow, our Co-Chair for the Public Relations Committee. Recently, we found out that she = is the recipient of the ASCE 2009 Citizen Engineer Award. We are extremely proud of Linda = and all of her hard work she has contributed to the Branch, as well as the Austin community= . She has done a marvelous job wit= h the Austin Children’s Museum projects during Engineers’ week and many, many other community projects.&nbs= p; Congratulations Linda!

In beginning this new year, we have some challenges ahead and I would like to thank all of our sponsors for helpin= g us with their monetary contributions. Today, we have 16 sponsors for our branch. This is amazing participation, considering the economically-trying days that we currently face.

We have some great programs this year in which you can get involved. Last year, you may remember that we started up the Regulatory Stakeholders Committee. This committee is involved with reviewing newly proposed regulatory ordinances and laws affecting our civil engineering profession. This year, we are gearing up to = expand this committee to include State Fly-ins, or in our case, Drive-Ins. This means that we will become m= ore active in the state regulations, driving in to see our senators and representatives, educating them on civil engineering issues affecting the state and its citizens. One= way you can help with this is to become a “Key Contact”. ASCE has started this program on= a national level and it has proven successful. Our national infrastructure repo= rt card averaged a “D” rating in 2009. With ASCE’s Key Contacts&#= 8217; help, the government included over 9.7 billion dollars worth of infrastructure-related projects in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Whether w= e agree with the way dollars are being spent by this act or not, the word is out there. Our legislators are = now beginning to understand the importance of infrastructure and the Civil Engineering profession in the United States. If you are interested in becomin= g a Key Contact, please go to the following website to learn more about it and sign up. http://www.= asce.org/pressroom/publicpolicy/keycont.cfm Look for more information on how= the Austin Branch will get involved in the coming weeks!

On a final note, I wish each of you a prosperous new year! Togeth= er we can make this year be the best yet for the Austin Branch!

January Meeting Sponsor:

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &nbs= p;

Halff Associates opened our Austin= office in 2001 and has grown to a staff of more than 60 civil, hydraulic = and transportation engineers, surveyors, landscape architects, environmental scientists, and subsurface utility experts. We are part of a 520 person Texas-based firm that was founded by Dr. Albert H. Halff in 1950 in a one-room office. As a firm,= Halff offers services ranging from environmental assessments to multi-million dollar highway projects. Our services include: full-service engineering, surveying, environmental services, architecture, interior design, right of way acquisition, landscape architecture, planning, geographic information systems, construction management, subsurface utility engineering, public involvement and visual science and technology services. In keeping with the standards of= our founder, we set high performance expectations and hold ourselves accounta= ble for the quality of our work and the results we achieve as individuals, as team members and as a company.

A few notable projects in the Austin region include: Cesa= r Chavez 2-way Conversion & Esplanade, Business 79 Roadway & Draina= ge Improvements, Austin Bicycle Master Plan, Medina River Greenway, and Rio Vista Dam on the San Ma= rcos River.=

ASCE Sponsorships

The time is here to renew or become an ASCE Austin Branch sponsor for the 2010 year.

1. Austin Branch Sponsor – $300.00

Sponsorship Includes:

Business = card ad in the monthly newsletter for the term of your sponsorship.<= /o:p>
Listing o= n the ASCE Austin Branch Website Sponsor Page with a link to your website = for the term of your sponsorship.
Advertise= job postings for FREE on the Branch Website for the term of your sponsorship.

2. Austin Branch Meeting Sponsor = (10 Meetings per year) - $300.00

Sponsorship Includes:=

Introduct= ion at the meeting and approximately three (3) minutes to speak about your company, services, and community activities.
Recogniti= on and introduction of your company in the monthly newsletter for that mont= h.
Mention o= n the website home page for that month with a link to your website.
Includes = two (2) free admissions to the sponsored meeting.

Notes:

"Year" refe= rs to January thru December of the current Calendar Year.

There are 10 meetings= and 10 newsletters per year, no meetings/newsletters in July or August.

We encourage everyone to get involved.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> A sponsorship will allow your co= mpany to give back to the Austin community as well as market your Company’s name.

For Branch and Meeting sponsorship applications please refer to http://www.austinasce.org/sponsors.htm<= /span> for more details or you can contact Suzanne Dean at suzanne.dean@jacobs.com.

We appreciate everyone’s involvem= ent with the ASCE Austin Branch and hope to see even more in the future.

Thank You!

Austin Branch State Director Position Available

The Austin Branch is seeking a replacem= ent for the vacant State Director position.&= nbsp; A vote will be made at our January luncheon to elect a new State Director to serve the remainder of the current term, which ends September 2010. The State Director represents the Austin Branch on the ASCE Texas Section Board of Directors.

If you would like to nominate yourself = or a fellow engineer, you may send nominations to Robert Scholz (rwscholz@pbsj.com). If no branch members are nominated, our Past President Kelly Barney, who was nominated= by the Austin Branch Board of Directors, will assume the role of State Direc= tor upon majority vote of the membership.

ASCE Civil Engineer of the Year Award=

The ASCE Austin Branch is now accepting nominations for the Civil Engineer of the Year Awa= rd. The nomination form can be found at the following link Austin ASCE and must be submitted, along with nominees resume, to the Austin Branch, Texas Section, American Society of Civil Engineers by = the close of business Monday, January 25, 2010. Materials received after this date will not be considered for this year's award but will be retained for consideration next year.

Nominations must be emailed to Roman Grijalva at roman.grijalva@jacobs.com an= d/or Garabed Harutunian at kec@austin.rr.com.

Questions may = be directed to Roman Grijalva at roman.grijalva@jacobs.com or (512) 732-= 7517.

Save the Date: 2010 Engineers Week Banquet

DATE: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 (This replaces our regularly scheduled Branch Meeting for February)

TI= ME: 11:30AM - 1:00PM

LO= CATION: Radisson Hotel Austin, 111 E. Cesar Chavez St, Austin

Submit nominations for Young Engineer of the Year to Julie Hastings (jdhastings@lan-inc.com).

Submit nominations for Engineer of the = Year to Doug Bell (dougb@syner= genconsulting.com) .

This year's banquet is sponsored by TSP= E, ASCE, ASME and ASABE.

Volunteer for Engineer’= ;s Day at The Austin Children’s Museum

Saturday February 13, 2010

E-Week is on the way and so is the annu= al Engineer’s Day at the Austin Children’s Museum organized by A= SCE. Help kids build a hoop glider and see how far it goes… Watch how hi= gh 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 the 9^thAnnual Engineer’s Day at the Austin Children’s Museum, you will help= the kids build structures, fly helicopters, and complete other simple enginee= ring activities…and you’ll have fun, too!

Sign up for a shift on-line at www.austinasce.org , or email = any member of ASCE’s PR Committee. Pass the word to anyone else who may= be interested! Volunteers can choose a morning shift from 9:00 to 12 noon, o= r an afternoon shift from 12:30 to 2:30. Training will be minimal and take pla= ce just before your shift. You will also receive a certificate for PDH credi= t.

We also need sponsors for the annual ev= ent. For individuals or firms, the three levels of sponsorship are $100, = $250 and $500. We also need an admission sponsor at $1,000. If your firm is in= terested in sponsoring the event, or if you have any questions, please email or ca= ll a PR Committee Member: Linda Barlow at lbarlow@hvj= .com ; Sharon Hamilton at Sharon.Hami= lton@ci.austin.tx.us ; John Conquest at JDCONQUEST@= mactec.com ; Cesar Calderon at calderon@guerra.com; or Sally Bittick at sbittick@hn= tb.com.

Austin Branch Hosts Texas Section Spring 2010 Meeting – Save the Date!

The Austin Bra= nch will be hosting the Texas Section Spring 2010 Meeting on April 11-13. This meeting will be unique in b= oth its revised format and location. This will be a Texas Section meeting that will be talked about for years to come.&= nbsp; There is no better opportunity to get involved in creating the fut= ure Texas Section meeting formats.

Preparations for this meeting have begun with the selection of a fabulous venue – the newly constructed AT&a= mp;T Executive Education and Conference Center, located on the University of Tex= as Campus.&nb= sp; This facility combines advanced technology and sophisticated hospitality – just the setting to make the Texas Section meeting in= Austin the civil engineering event of the year!

The Host Committee invites all Austin Branch members to get involved in making this meeting a success. you may contact individual sub-committee chairman to find out about volunteering = for their committee.

General Co-Chair: Amy Spicer Smith &nbs= p; amy_smith@urscorp.com

General Co-Chair: David Mat= ocha = ; &nbs= p; david.matocha@hanson.com

Budget/Finance: Curtis Steger = ; &nbs= p; curtis@holfordgroup.com=

CPD Seminars: Craig Chesser = ; &nbs= p; cachesser@lan-inc.com

Awards Banquet: Kelly Barney = ; &nbs= p; barneyka@gmail.com

Exhibits: &nbs= p; Ron Reichert &nb= sp; &nbs= p; rreichert@ejiw.com

Hotel Arrangements: Steve Bontempo = ; &nbs= p; steve@bontempo-eng.com<= /o:p>

Printing/Mailing: Dale Murphy &nbs= p; &nbs= p; dmurphy@kfriese.com

Publicity: = <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Vanessa Rosales-Herrera Vanessa_Rosales-Herrera@URSCorp.com

Registration: &nb= sp; Linda Bar= low = ; &nbs= p; lbarlow@hvj.com=

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Don Willhouse<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> = ; &nbs= p; dotdon32@msn.com<= /span>

Student Activities Rose Marie Klee &= nbsp; &nbs= p; rmklee@crespoinc.com

Order of the Engineer=

Ceremony: Cres Guzman = ; &nbs= p; crespin.guzman@klotz.com

= <= /a>YMF= Update

by Yvonne L. Garcia, EIT

YMF Announcements

= Austin Younger Member Forum is excited to announce the following up and coming events: =

UT v= s. A&M Basketball, Jan 16, 2010

ONLY A FEW TICKETS REMAINING!!!!!! Jo= in ASCE and SEAoT for an exciting evening of Big 12 Conference Action!!!! UT vs. A= &M Basketball @= the Frank Erwin Center, Saturday, January 16, 2010. Both parties will be meeting at Scholz Garten @ 3:30 p.m for appetizers. For = more information contact Yvonne Garcia @ <= span style=3D'mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>ygarcia@rkc= i.com.

= West Point Bridge Competition

The West Point Bridge Competition is around the corner! If you are interested in running= a local contest during the National Design Competition Jan 29-March 5, 2010. Please contact Gabe Tobin @ tobingto@gmail.com.

The contest sc= hedule is as follows:

= ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;

        Jan 28 =           Website open for registration and WPBD Software 2010 downloads<= /p>
Jan 29=      &nbs= p;    Website open for design submissions

Mar 5&= nbsp;      &nbs= p;      Qualifying Round ends

Mar 22&= nbsp;          Semi-Fin= al Round

May 7-8         Final Round

YMF Happy Hour

    &nbs= p;           Ou= r next happy hour is scheduled for Thursday, February 18. Location TBA.

Interested in joining ASCE YMF?

In= terested in learning more about ASCE YMF and how to get involved? ASCE YMF welcomes and encourages young engineers to become actively involved in their local branch chapter. For more information contact Yvonne Garcia @ ygarcia@rkci.com.=

What’s going on with ASCE YMF? <= /p>

In= terested in receiving YMF newsletters and updates about our social events, communi= ty services, etc.? You can req= uest to be added to the YMF listserve by emailing Jennifer Higby, E.I.T., LEED AP a= t higbyjl@cdm.com. =

=

UT-ASCE = Update

During the Fall 2009 semester UT Engineering students experienced many changes both academically and within the UT ASCE Student Chapter. The introduction of the plus minus grading system at UT had many students eit= her leaping for joy or tripping on their shoe laces! Throughout Christmas Break, our = Steel Bridge team captains Nick David = and Michelle Wilkinson were leading fellow club members with the entire desig= n, construction, and strength testing of the bridge.

Many hours were spent fabricating the bridge for competition. The designers were diligent about deciding proper materials to construct the = best bridge for the challenging boundary conditions (dimensions) as specified = in this year’s rule book for the bridge. Now, the = Steel Bridge team is performing mock trials of assembling the several large pieces of = the bridge in order to pass the required time limit. They are also load testing the b= ridge once it is assembled. Compe= tition day is January 15, 2010 and will be held in San Antonio, TX. During this phase, further repai= r work will be conducted if necessary. The students feel there is a very good chance of going to nationals which will be held at Purdue Univ= ersity, West Lafayette, <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">IN! The team’s excitement level after looking back at having no bridge last year to “clawing their way back from nothing to such a fortunate shot at nationals this year” (as one of the captains said) is phenomenal. The organizers promise to give sponsors many perks for the upcoming year including their name on the pos= ter at the competition, on our team’s shirts, on the website, and on a PowerPoint sponsorship slide presented at all UT ASCE meetings for the upcoming year. <= /span>

We are excited to have Tina Stanard and Anne Carrel from Freese and Nichols, Inc. present at our January 24^t=
h meeting and Charlie Dominguez <= /span>from Golder Associates Inc. p= resent at our February 10^th meeting.= We look forward to excelling in all our technical and athletic competitions this upcoming year. We are especially thrilled about the Steel Bridge Competition! Please help us get to Purd= ue and become a sponsor of Ste= el Bridge by contact= ing Kassey Wooldridge at kwooldridge@mail.utexas.edu or 210-216-4728.

Our website can be found at www.ut-asce.org. It contains information for Tech= nical Competitions, Outreach, IM Sports, and Social Events, as well as contact information for all of our officers.&nbs= p; The UT ASCE Student Chapter looks forward to hearing from you soon= !

Big Br= others Big Sisters – Bowl for Kid’s Sake

Once again Austin ASCE will be participating in the Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Bowl for Kids Sake event. Last year Austin ASCE had = 150 participants on 30 teams and raised over $27,000!

The event takes place on Saturday, February 27^th at 8:30 PM at Highland Lanes and the theme is ‘Rock Star.’ We expect this year to be bigger and better than ever, and are planning to h= ave a happy hour before the event with sponsored drinks and appetizers.<= /o:p>

You can see the fundraising website for this year’s event at http://aus= tinbowl.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=3D332344<= /p>

, if you decide to sign up, please make sure and select ASCE as your group.

Don’t forget, your company can have more than one team if you have enough interest! Thanks very much for your help again this year!!! <= o:p>

Capital Are= a Food Bank (CAFB) Fund Drive

3D"Turn

A message from David M. Davenport, President & = CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank:

Dear Austin ASCE,

Thank you for all you helped us achieve this year. Here's a = look at some of our accomplishments in 2009:

Added 17 new program sites supporting our vulnerable children, elderly and rural communities.
Re-opened two direct service sites in Austin because of great need in those areas.
Provided more than 22 million pounds of food to our Partner Agencies.

However, the need is still great. Our Partner Agencies are seeing a 60 percent increase in people needing food assistance. You can continue to help nourish thousands of th= ose who are struggling to make ends meet by making a gift today. And, you can donate with confide= nce, as Charity Navigator rates the Food Bank with the highest rating of 4 sta= rs.

“People need to eat. We have to give them hope that someone’s willing to help them out. They need compassion.” - = Dani Almli, volunteer.

With sincere thanks,

David M. Davenport
President & CEO

Capital Area Food Bank of Texas

Thank you Austin Branch for donating $496.00 to the Capital = Area Food Bank of Texas at the November and December meetings!

Robert E. Lee’s Texas Experiences

By Melinda Lu= na, P.E. and Bill Stoner, P.E.

Robert E Lee, famous as the Confederate General Commanding the Army of Northern Virginia, was an accomplished engineer officer trained in the French classical engineering style taught= at West Point. He graduated second in the class of 1= 829 and went to work for the Corps of Engineers after his graduation. He had gained years of experience working on Forts along New York Harbor a= nd worked on navigation projects on the Mississippi R= iver. Another little known fact is that Lee spent 25 months in Texas. His experiences taught him to= adapt to adverse conditions. His time in Texas molded him into a field leader and strategist. His command at Camp Cooper, located in Throckmorton Coun= ty, gave him the opportunity to work with officers of all service branches; infantry, cavalry and quartermaster.&nbs= p; The documentation of his Texas experience is primarily recorded in his letters to his family as well as = his military records.

Lee’s first assignment in Texas was in M= ay of 1846, during The Mexican War (The U.S.-Mexican War, April 25, 1846 to February 2, 1848). He arriv= ed in Port Lavaca and rode to San = Antonio. He assisted Captain William D. F= raser in planning roads, bridge building and a pontoon bridge over the Rio Grande River. The improved road and bridge was= about 32 miles from Eagle Pass to cross troops and supplies over the border. He left <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">Texas the following month.

The years between the US & Mexican = War and the Civil War were a period of expansion on the frontier and also whe= n Texas joined the United States. Congress authorized the formation of two new regiments for the frontier in 1855. L= ee was ordered for the first time to a command, and was transferred from his role of post engineer, to that of lieutenant colonel in the Second Cavalr= y, one of the new regiments. The Second Cavalry boasts an extraordinary rost= er of officers who were to become famous in the Civil War. The Commanding Officer of the Second Cavalry was Colonel Albert Sydney Johnston. Other southern officers included Lieutenant-Colonel Robert E. Lee, Majors= , William J. Hardee an= d George H. Thomas. Co= mpany Grade officers assigned included Captain, Earl Van Dorn and Kirby Smith; also, Lieutenants, Hood, Fields, Cosby, Major, Fitzhugh Lee, Johnson, Pal= mer, and Stoneman, all of whom later were general officers for the Confederacy, with the exception of Thomas. Lieutenant’s Johnson, Palmer, and Stoneman were to be generals in the Union Army.

Ten years later, in 1846 Lee would trav= el back to Texas to command of the Second Calvary at Camp Cooper. There were three (3) systems or = lines of forts. The First were fe= deral government forts to help and assist in the annexation of Texas. Forts Mason, Croghan, Graham, Wo= rth and Gates were federal forts. The second line of frontier outposts includ= ing Camp Cooper was at the edge western edge of Texas settlement, Forts Belknap, Phantom Hill, Chadbourne, McKavett and Camp Colorado. The third line of forts guarded = the Rio Grande from Brownsville<= /st1:City> to El Paso. These forts included Fort Brown, Ringgold (Rio Grande City), McIntosh (Laredo), Davis and others.=

Lee worked hard at Camp Cooper to help him forget the = great distance that separated him from his family in Virginia. He scouted areas to establish reservations for Indians making notes of water sources and other resources the Indians would need to survive. The main mission of Camp Cooper was to pro= tect the area from Comanche attacks. In June 1856, with four squadrons of cava= lry from Camp Cooper and Forts Mason and Chadbourne, he led a 1,600-mile expedition out to the foothills of the Llano Estacado, scouting the headwaters of the Colorado, Brazos, and Wichita rivers. A brush with the Indi= ans resulted in the capture of three Comanche. The expedition consumed forty days. The troopers returned to there posts, having scouted completely val= leys and canyons of nearby rivers and creeks. Lee presently heard of other Ind= ian raids, but before he could organize a second expedition, he was called to= San Antonio to take command of the regiment, Colon= el Johnston had been ordered to Washington. San Antonio was = the location of the Federal Arsenal and the base of westward movement of new settlers. San Antonio afforded Lee more pleasing duties, but he did not remain long. (The Menger Hotel claims Col. Robert = E. Lee as one of their more famous guests.) He too returned to Washington and administered the esta= te of his deceased father-in-law. (Lee’s wife Mary Custis owned the plantation that is now = Arlington National Cemetery.) In October 1859 Lee commanded a detachment of marines which captured John Brown and his abolitionist followers.

Lee remained with his family until Febr= uary 13, 1860, and then returned to San Antonio to assume command of his regiment. The n= ext several months afforded Lee little time to watch the gathering clouds of civil war. On March 15 he left San Antonio for Fort Ringgold and Fort Brown to pursue Juan N. Cortina. Although he was unable to trap so slippery a foe, he succeeded in securin= g a promise from Mexican officials that they would effect the arrest. Eight months later he sought the seclusion of his regimental headquarters at Fort Mason.

On February 13, 1861, General Scott ordered Lees return to Washington. Instead, Lee determined that he could not fight against the Commonwealth of V= irginia and resigned from the army. Robert E. Lee after turning down President Lincoln’s offer to command Union forces joined the Confederate Army, and led the Army of Northern Virginia. After the war, Lee was the appoint= ed President of Washington College, (now called Washi= ngton and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. Lee felt that education engineers was the best part of his career. He passed away on October 12, 18= 70.

ASCE Society Awards – Call= for Nominations

ASCE National is accepting nominations for the Civil Government, Friedman Professional Recognition, Parcel-Sverdrup, and Government Civil Engineer of the Year awards. Nominations are due by March 1, 2010. The winners of these awards will be honored during the Society’s 2010 Annual Conference = in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A short summary of the awards follows. The complete nomination rules and forms can be found on th= e Civil Gover= nment Award, Friedman Professional Recognition Award, = Parcel-Sver= drup Award, and Government = Civil Engineer of the Year Award pages of the ASCE web site.

Civil Gover= nment Award

The Civil Government Award recognizes t= hose members of the engineering profession who have rendered meritorious servi= ce in elective or appointive positions in government.

Friedman Professional Recognition Award

The Edmund Friedman Professional Recogn= ition Award recognizes a Society member who has contributed substantially to the status of the engineering profession by establishing a reputation for professional service.

= Parcel-Sver= drup Award

The John I. Parcel - Leif J. Sverdrup C= ivil Engineering Management Award was created to encourage effective leadership and management skills in the civil engineering profession.

Government = Civil Engineer of the Year Award

The Government Civil Engineer of the Ye= ar Award recognizes distinguished civil engineers employed in public service= for significant engineering contributions as a practitioner in public service= .

You are encouraged to review the information and develop nominations for these important awards. In = the event you have questions or need guidance on the nomination process, plea= se contact Jane Moran Alspach, Senior Manager of Honors and Awards at jalspach@asce.org or 1-800-548-2723 x6382.

Thank you in advance for your nominatio= ns.

ASME Central Texas Section Meeting – You= 217;re Invited

The Central Texas Section of ASME will meet Thursday, January 21, at 7 PM (snacks at 6:45 PM), with a presentation on Coal Fired Power Plants, given by William Maxwell of The Lower Colorado River Authority. The meeting will be at the Travis County Sheriff's Office, 5555 Airport Blvd., Austin, which is located approximately 1/4 mile south of Highland Mall, directly across the street from Lief Johnson Ford. PDH certificates will be furnished to those who request them.

January 31st is the closing date for nominations for the Young Mechanical Engineer of the Year Award. Th= ere are only two requirements: being a member of this section and not being o= ver 29 years of age as of January 31, 2010.

Contact me at the e-dress below if you = need additional information on the meeting, a map showing the Sheriff's office= , or to nominate someone (even yourself) for the Young Mechanical Engineer awa= rd.

Alan Carson

carsona2@asme.org

Don’= t Forget to Update Your Email Address

As a reminder, please update your email addresses thr= ough the National ASCE website. You may have moved or changed jobs and y= our email may have changed.

ASCE Continuing Education Webinars

= January 2010

Tue Jan 12, 2010

Practical Design of Bolted and Welded Steel Connections

Wed Jan 13, 2010

Design of Building Foundations: Practical Basics

Wed Jan 13, 2010

Introduction to Unsaturated Soil Mechanics - New We= binar

Thu Jan 14, 2010

Design for Lateral-Load Resistance in Structural Steel

Fri Jan 15, 2010

Improving Safety at Railroad Highway Grade Crossings

Tue Jan 19, 2010

Avoiding Problems in Masonry Construction

Wed Jan 20, 2010

Quality: What Is It and How Do We Achieve It?

Wed Jan 20, 2010

Navigation Engineering: Understanding the Basics of This Growing Special= ty - New We= binar

Thu Jan 21, 2010

Bridge Scour Computations With HEC-RAS

Fri Jan 22, 2010

Designing Bicycle Facilities

Mon Jan 25, 2010

Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) for Geotechnical Engineer= ing Features: Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations<= span style=3D'mso-bidi-font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'= > - New Webinar

Tue Jan 26, 2010

Satisfying Customers & Clients: What Does it Take?

Tue Jan 26, 2010

Wind and Seismic Retrofit of Steel-Framed Buildings

Wed Jan 27, 2010

Design of Buildings for Coastal Flooding - New We= binar

Thu Jan 28, 2010

Critical Path Method: Introduction to the Method and Software

Fri Jan 29, 2010

Design of Steel Lintels in Masonry Walls

Thank You to All of Our 2010 Sponsors!

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

The Austin Bra= nch Newsletter gives you the latest information on ASCE events and activities. To inquire abou= t this newsletter or to publish articles contact the Communications Director. Contact information for our Boar= d of Directors can be found at www.austina= sce.org.

National ASCE – www.asce.org Texas Se= ction – www.texasce.org

January Speaker: David Hea= ley, Director, Capital Improvements Dept., City of San Marcos<= o:p>

January Meeting Sponsor:

ASCE Sponsorships

Austin Branch State Director Position Available

ASCE Civil Engineer of the Year Award=

Save the Date: 2010 Engineers Week Banquet

Volunteer for Engineer’= ;s Day at The Austin Children’s Museum

Austin Branch Hosts Texas Section Spring 2010 Meeting – Save the Date!

= <= /a>YMF= Update

UT-ASCE = Update

Big Br= others Big Sisters – Bowl for Kid’s Sake

Capital Are= a Food Bank (CAFB) Fund Drive

Robert E. Lee’s Texas Experiences

ASCE Society Awards – Call= for Nominations

ASME Central Texas Section Meeting – You= 217;re Invited

Don’= t Forget to Update Your Email Address

As a reminder, please update your email addresses thr= ough the National ASCE website. You may have moved or changed jobs and y= our email may have changed.

ASCE Continuing Education Webinars

Thank You to All of Our 2010 Sponsors!

ASME Central Texas Section Meeting – You= 217;re Invited