Greetings!
Summer is here and we as a branch are slowly but surely moving ahead with in-person activities. I am looking forward to finally having a chance to interact with our membership face-to-face. We at the branch would like to welcome one and all to our first big event of the year, the Icebreaker, which will be held on July 21st, after a gap of almost two years. Please make sure to register early.
Last month, ASCE held its elections and early last week, the results were declared.
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Society President-Elect Elect – Maria C. Lehman was voted in as the new President-Elect Elect for the society. Former Florida section president, Peter Moore just fell short this time around.
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Region 5 Governor – Robert L. Jackson was voted in as the new Region 5 Governor. He also is a former Florida section president.
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ASCE constitutional amendment – Unfortunately, the proposed constitutional amendment intended to allow Student Members the right to vote lost by the slimmest of margins (0.2%).
Please join me in congratulating and welcoming all the newly elected officers.
Talking of elections, I would like to inform that the branch has an opening for the position of Secretary for the next term (October 2021 thru September 2022). If you personally, or someone you know, is interested in the Secretary position or getting more involved with ASCE, please let me or one of the other Board Members know.
As the pandemic situation improves, we will provide more in-person opportunities to volunteer, network, learn, and stay active with your East Central Branch.
Looking forward to seeing you at one of our events.
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Stay safe everyone.
Sincerely,
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Jignesh S. Vyas, P.E.
ASCE East Central Branch President
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This issue
- IceBreaker
- Geo-Institute
- Structural Engineering Institute
- Sustainability Committee
- Younger Member Forum
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And a Thank you to our current sponsors |
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GEOTECHNICAL INSTITUTE
Ultra-Lightweight Foamed Glass Aggregate for Resiliency Planning and Construction Webinar
Date
June 24th
Time
12 pm – 1 pm
Presenter
Theresa Andrejack Loux, Ph.D., P.E. – Aero Aggregates of North America LLC
Description
Ultra-Lightweight Foamed Glass Aggregate (UL-FGA) is a lightweight fill alternative (<15 pcf dry density) that is made from 100% recycled glass and is used for load reduction over soft soils, structures, and utilities or as an insulation material. UL-FGA can be an especially useful tool on resiliency projects where fill is required to bring up final grades out of the flood plain. Additionally, UL-FGA has a high porosity that can be used for water storage in stormwater management systems. This presentation will cover the basics of designing with UL-FGA and present case studies where resiliency concerns were a driving factor in the project.
Bio
Theresa Loux is the Technical Director for Aero Aggregates of North America where her primary responsibilities include overseeing Aero’s research and development activities, technical documentation, engineering support, quality control program, and education and outreach efforts. Theresa brings to Aero over ten years of combined industry and academic experience. In the past, she has been involved in and managed a variety of civil, geotechnical, and geoenvironmental consulting and construction projects in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Additionally, Theresa has taught geotechnical and other civil engineering courses at Rowan, Drexel, Temple, and Bucknell Universities and is the current vice-chair of the Geo-Institute’s Delaware Valley Chapter.
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STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE
The Structural Engineering Institute turns 25 this year! SEI at the national level was established in 1996 to advance the careers of SEI members, stimulate technological advancement, and improve professional practice.
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SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
The East Central Branch Structural Engineering Institute is proud to announce scholarships for Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate Students who are pursuing a degree with a structural focus.
The applications for the scholarships will be available on the branch's website. Any questions regarding the scholarship can be directed to Mike Olka molka@lakecountyfl.gov.
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CALL FOR PROJECTS
The Structural Engineering Institute is seeking submissions from fellow structural engineers about their past or present projects. The submission is to quickly discuss the project's highlights, uniqueness, and/or challenges the structural engineer encountered during the project. This will provide ASCE-ECB members and aspiring student engineers with insight into the current structural engineering practices, and provide an opportunity for local or regional structural engineers to showcase their work. The submittals must include the following:
- At least one photograph of the project location.
- A summary of the project setting and background, such as location, new construction/restoration, private/government, etc.
- A summary of the challenges and/or unique aspects of the project, such as new design technology or use of new construction material not typically used in similar designs.
The submittals shall be sent to Michael Olka (molka@lakecountyfl.gov) in which we will review and prepare for presentation in a future ECB newsletter.
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CALL FOR OFFICER
SEI is looking for members who would like to serve as an Institute Officer beginning in September. Interested members should send a message to Michael Olka molka@lakecountyfl.gov.
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SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
Looking to get educated, noticed, and / or involved with sustainability? The ECB Sustainability Committee has some suggestions for you!
Get Educated
Did you know ASCE offers a host of information and tools to advance your knowledge on Sustainability? One of those tools is the Sustainability Roadmap that is aimed at helping to transform our profession into providing sustainable projects. ASCE also offers online courses through their “Sustainable Infrastructure Certification Program”. The program will provide you with the knowledge, tools, and techniques that you need to design, build, and manage sustainable projects and to take a leadership role in making our infrastructure sustainable. Please check them out!
Get Noticed
The Sustainability Committee is looking to highlight those who are already practicing sustainability within their projects. Therefore, do you know any projects, colleagues, or clients that have set good examples of incorporating Sustainability? If so, please let us know so we can highlight them and / or their work in future newsletters.
Get Involved
If you would like to join the ECB Sustainability Committee, please reach out our to Committee Chair Steve Sommerfeldt. The committee meets on the last Tuesday of the month during lunch to plan out future activities and ideas related to sustainability. We welcome any new and / or seasoned individuals interested.
Be Heard
The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC) releases How Did We Grow? Public Survey Orlando, Florida: With the estimated growth in central Florida of 1,500 residents per week by 2030, revisiting the 2007 How Shall We Grow? (HSWG) regional vision is a priority of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council. As part of this How Did We Grow? initiative, the ECFRPC and partners are seeking to garner public input on the implementation of the regional vision, current direction of the region and its future, and values of our residents through a How Did We Grow? survey. To ensure maximum outreach and inclusivity, the ECFRPC is partnering with organizations such as ASCE that support diverse communities across the region to assist in distributing the survey. The How Did We Grow? survey is available in both English and Spanish. See flyer below for more details.
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Want to hear more? Join the Sustainability Committee mailing list today!
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BravoMaestro Session 2
On June 30th, we will be hosting the second BravoMaestro public speaking session. This session will be held over lunch with a duration of 1-hour. A calendar invitation will be sent out one week in advance with the meeting theme so participants can start preparing. Participants will take turns presenting on the session theme and other attendees will be encouraged to provide feedback.
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Sincerely,
Khanh Olka
Communications Chair
East Central Branch
Florida Section
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