ASCE East Central Branch Newsletter

JANUARY 2021

Greetings!

Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

I hope everyone had an amazing time with family and friends over the holidays and is back with renewed energy and positivity to start off the new year.

The year could not have started any better for the East Central Branch. I am excited to announce that our local branch just won the Society’s “2020 Outstanding Section and Branch Award for Large Sections and Branches”. I want to thank all the Branch and Institute officers as well as membership for their persistent work ethic and unwavering support to the branch. I hope that staying active with ECB is one of your new year resolutions.

As we embark on another year, the branch is looking forward to organizing a host of virtual technical as well as social events. We will start the year with “ASCE YMF Lunch and Learn – Ground Improvements for Tank Foundations”, a virtual event to be held on January 14^th followed by an EWRI webinar/luncheon “Using Interactive Digital Storytelling to Engage the Public in Watershed Planning” on January 21^st. Please visit our website www.eastcentralasce.org for all the event details and registration links. While there you can also check out presentations from prior events, scholarship and membership information and our monthly newsletter.

A quick reminder! The Florida P.E. license renewal deadline is approaching fast. Good time to utilize the 10 PDH’s provided by Society. Also, if you are looking for a Florida Laws, Rules, and Ethics course, the Florida Section will be hosting one on January 22^nd. Here is a link to the registration page. At the same time, make sure to renew your ASCE membership, if you have not done so already.

Thank you for your support and look forward to meeting you virtually at one of our events.

Stay safe everyone.

Sincerely,

Jignesh S. Vyas, P.E.

ASCE East Central Branch President

ANNUAL BRANCH AWARD NOMINATIONS

Know a fellow ECB’er that is consistently going above and beyond, or an impressive project everyone needs to know about? Great! Because ECB is currently accepting nominations for the annual branch awards as listed below.

Engineer of the Year Award
Young Engineer of the Year Award
Government Engineer of the Year Award
Project of the Year Award

All nominations need to be received by April 16th, 2021.

After April 16th, ECB’s official nominations will be selected, and the formal application process will be initiated with the selected nominees.

Submit Nominations Now

CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE

Please send your interest to Louis Bramblett, P.E. at Bramblettl@etminc.com.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES INSTITUTE

Happy New Year!

Please join ASCE ECB EWRI for a technical presentation, “Using Interactive Digital Storytelling to Engage the Public in Watershed Planning” presented by Donald D. Carpenter, PhD, PE, LEED AP (Drummond Carpenter, PLLC), at our Technical Luncheon Webinar to be held remotely on January 21, 2021. This presentation is approved for 1.0 professional development hour.

This presentation will describe how a green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) watershed wide planning project modified the in-person community engagement plan because of CoVID-19 health concerns. What was originally devised as a series of community design visioning sessions was transformed into an ArcGIS StoryMap complete with embedded videos, maps, renderings, resources, and community polling. The presentation will also describe how online interactive storytelling can be effective at community engagement across a wide range of topics regardless of whether a human health crisis exists. Specific GSI conceptual design examples are also included to visualize how GSI can be readily implemented into existing residential, commercial, and park spaces.

If you have any questions about the webinar, please contact Jennifer Nunn at jnunn@balmoralgroup.us.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE

It is with great disappointment that I inform you that SEI is cancelling Structures Congress 2021 in Seattle, Washington.

In response to the global outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), ASCE is committed to reducing the risk of adverse health impacts to the thousands of ASCE members, guests and staff that participate in numerous ASCE committee meetings, conferences and events. Thank you for your continued patience and dedication to ASCE and its Institutes. Decisions on 2021 virtual events are still to be decided, so keep posted for updates at beginning of New Year.

I’d like to draw your attention to our next www.asce.org/SEI/virtual-events/ including the new SEI Standards Series starting in January to interact with expert ASCE/SEI Standards developers on state-of-the-market updates and impacts.

NEW SEI Standards Series

Join live, virtual sessions for exclusive interaction with expert ASCE/SEI Standard developers on state-of-the-market updates.

Participants will learn about technical revisions and review a design example. Attendees are encouraged to join and participate in Live Q&A. Sessions are intended for structural engineers, students, and the entire project stakeholder team.

Each session is LIVE and only available 1:00 - 2:30 pm US ET:

• JANUARY 21, ASCE/SEI 48 Design of Steel Transmission Pole Structures– Hurry! Registration deadline January 19, 10:00 pm US ET.

• MARCH 18 - ASCE/SEI 43 Seismic Design Criteria for Structures, Systems, and Components in Nuclear Facilities

• MAY 20 - ASCE/SEI 49 Wind Tunnel Testing for Buildings and Other Structures

• JULY 15 - ASCE/SEI 72 Athletic Field Lighting

• SEPTEMBER 16 - ASCE/SEI 59 Blast Protection of Buildings

• NOVEMBER 18 - ASCE/SEI 8 Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Structural Members

Individual session: Member $49, Nonmember $99. Student member: Free registration.

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.