In Podcasts, President-Elect Hopefuls Field Your Questions
With the ASCE election season about to open, the Society is offering a new way to help you decide who would be the next President-Elect, the person who will lead the Society as President in 2011. In newly recorded podcast interviews, Kathy J. Caldwell and Moustafa A. Gouda share their stances on issues of concern to ASCE members, from education to climate change, as posed in questions recently submitted by members like you. Listen to the candidates also offer their visions for their time in office should they win.
Hear the nominee podcasts now, or save them for transferring to a portable player to hear anytime. See the podcast page.
Find out about the other elections for ASCE office posts, including Region and EWRI leadership, at the 2010 election page.
Hear the Chief of Disney's 'Imagineering' Offer His Ideas
Who better to offer his thoughts on how the civil engineering profession can best promote innovation than a member of ASCE's Industry Leaders Council whose job demands creative solutions for Disney? Benedict R. Schwegler, Jr., Ph.D., M.ASCE, vice president and chief scientist of Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, sits down for the latest edition of ASCE's podcast series, Insights. Hear the creator and manager of the Disney division's Simulation-Based Design Group offer his perspective on the biggest opportunities for the profession, traits that make civil engineers stand out and succeed, and his greatest accomplishments.
Listen now to the Insights podcast or download it to hear at your convenience. Got a suggestion of someone worthy of an Insights interview? Send it to mdalton@asce.org.
Manage These Times With ASCE's Helpful Resource
Are you feeling the pinch of the recession, or are you fearing that you soon will? ASCE has a one-stop resource of what the Society has to offer that can help you continue to succeed and move forward in your professional and personal life. From assisting you in a job search, to building your professional skills, to making sure your personal finances can withstand the buffeting of the markets, Survive & Thrive includes links to a wide array of help available from ASCE.
Engineers Make the Case for 2009 Report Card's D Grade
Find out how civil engineering experts have justified the D grade they gave the nation's overall infrastructure in January. The rationales behind the grades in 15 categories of ASCE's 2009 Report Card for America's Infrastructure are available. Last winter, ASCE moved up the release of the Report Card, and its $2.2 trillion funding estimate, to help Congress, President Obama and the nation focus on the need for infrastructure investment in the economic stimulus. Visit the upgraded Report Card site for detailed yet easily accessible analysis of each category, an assessment of your state's status, case studies of successful projects, suggestions for actions you can take and ways you can get involved, and more.
Share your comments and track the progress of action in Washington in ASCE's blog, Our Failing Infrastructure.
President Obama has cited the Report Card and ASCE in making a case for infrastructure investment in everything from town hall appearances to his 2010 budget outline. Find out from the official White House blog what he said at a recent town hall. Learn more about the budget's reference to ASCE, and see the actual page (PDF) from the relevant section of the budget outline.
Orange County, Calif., Water System Wins 2009 OCEA
Orange County wastewater purification
facility, Fountain Valley, Calif.
For its creative, effective solution to water shortage challenges, the Orange County, Calif., Groundwater Replenishment System has been selected as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement for 2009. With water demand soaring in southern California, Orange County needed a solution that was more cost-effective than importing water or desalination and would satisfy needs for decades to come. The county's Water and Sanitation District opted for a process that recycles and purifies wastewater and returns it to reservoirs and groundwater aquifers – one which also mitigates the impact of droughts. ASCE President Wayne Klotz calls the system "an excellent example of how civil engineering can contribute to a community's economic success, improve residents' quality of life and protect public safety." The award was announced and presented to Orange County water officials at the Society's OPAL Gala April 23.
View photos of the OPAL Gala, including the award-winning guests of honor. Watch brief video profiles with background on each of the Outstanding Projects and Leaders winners, the top OCEA project and five other nominees, plus the Pankow Award for Innovation and the Michel Award for Research winners.
Orange County wastewater purification
