This past week, I had the pleasure of joining almost 300 ASCE members from 47 states for the 2023 Legislative Fly-In. There were 16 from the Florida Section and 3 from ECB (we can do better next year). We spoke to our Senators and Representatives about reauthorization bills for the FAA and the National Dam Safety Program. Both bills need to be negotiated and passed before September to avoid gaps in funding. Our other main focus was prioritizing resilient infrastructure and distributing the 2021 Florida Report Card, which legislators appreciate. I encourage you to attend this event at least once. Let me know if you are interested and I will give you the information you need.
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Don’t forget to register for the upcoming 15th Annual ECB Ice Breaker at the Orlando Science Center and the Summer Conference at the JW Marriot. If you have an interesting project or topic you would like to share with fellow civil engineers throughout Florida, consider being a speaker for one of the sessions at the conference. Contact Judy Nicols if you are interested (judy@fla-asce.org).
Hope you have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Wonderful Spring Break!
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Tonya S. Mellen, PE
ASCE East Central Branch President
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This issue
- Engineer's Week
- Environmental & Water Resources Institute
- Transportation & Development Institute
- Structural Engineering Institute
- Sustainability Committee
- Education Committee
- Younger Member Forum
- Student Chapter Activities
- Employment Opportunities
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ANNUAL BRANCH AWARD NOMINATIONS
Know a fellow ASCE Member in Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, or Volusia County 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
- Student of the Year Award
- Student Outstanding Service of the Year Award
- Graduate Student of the Year Award
All nominations need to be received by April 10th, 2023.
After April 10th, ECB’s official nominations will be selected, and the formal application process will be initiated with the selected nominees.
All Branch award winners will be submitted as nominees to the Florida Section’s Annual Awards to be presented at the Florida Sections ASCE’s Annual Conference in July 2023, as well as recognized at the East Central Branch Officer Installation Luncheon in September 2023.
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2023 ENGINEERS WEEK
The 2023 E-week events were a success, thanks to all of the supporting organizations:
Events included the Awards Gala, a virtual Engineering Society Panel Discussion, Central Florida STEM Outreach Showcase, and Siemens Energy Tour.
Congratulations to the following East Central Branch members:
Alexis Perry – Member of the Year
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Frank Caruso – Technical Contributor of the Year |
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Thomas Anzelone – Engineer of the Year |
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ENVIRONMENTAL & WATER RESOURCES INSTITUTE |
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MARCH LUNCHEON
Engineering Guidance for ERP Applications in the SFWMD
Date/Time
Thursday, March 16th, 2023, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Location
Central Florida Expressway Authority - 4974 ORL Tower Road Orlando, FL 32807
Description
In the SFWMD, applications for an individual ERP (Construction & Operation or Conceptual Approval) are assigned three (3) reviewers; one from Natural Resource Management (Environmental), one from Property, and one from Engineering. Patty Therrien, PE, CFM, will be delivering a 50-minute presentation that focuses on the Engineering review, the criteria that must be followed and design techniques to be employed, with a specific focus on the criteria relevant to the primary Counties served by the District's Orlando Service Center: Orange, Osceola, and Polk Counties. Ten minutes will be reserved after the presentation for Q&A. Registration is $25 per person, and this webinar is approved for 1.0 PDH per ASCE Florida Section.
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The 38th Annual ASCE ECB EWRI Water Resources Seminar
When
Friday, May 12, 2023
Where
Second Harvest Food Bank
411 Mercy Drive, Orlando, FL 32805
5.0 PDH credits approved per ASCE Florida Section
Scheduled Presentations
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A big thanks to our sponsors and exhibitors! If you would like to sponsor or be an exhibitor for this event, please reach out to jnunn@balmoralgroup.us. |
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The ASCE East Central Branch (ECB) Environmental Water Resources Institute (EWRI) is pleased to announce the 2023 ASCE-EWRI scholarship. This scholarship is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are currently registered as full-time students majoring in Civil or Environmental Engineering at the University of Central Florida, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (Orlando Campus), and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. EWRI will award up to $6,000 in scholarships for Civil / Environmental Engineering students interested in Water Resources engineering. Complete application packages must be submitted by April 14th, 2023.
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The next EWRI Committee is on April 11, 2023. If you are interested in attending the meeting, contact Sue Woodbery at swoodbery@gmail.com.
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TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
Save the Date
Saturday, April 29, 2023
ASCE T&DI will be partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Winter Park and Maitland to participate in an upcoming group volunteering event. We will be sending out a solicitation for 10-12 volunteers from the Branch to assist in the build. Space will be limited, so sign up early! Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older.
Look for our email with the March luncheon details – Coming soon!
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STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE |
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Matheson Hammock Park Seawall Project Webinar
When
March 28, 2023 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm
1.0 PDH credit approved per ASCE Florida Section
Presentation
Matheson Hammock Park is location in Miami, FL and is a historic location. The design project underway is the first in a multi-phase approach to protect the park from sea-level rise and mitigate current issue from “Sunny day flooding”. Located on Biscayne Bay, the project will replace approximately 700 linear feet of seawall located at a marina. The project incorporates structural analysis, natural resource review, survey, benthic resources, multi-agency permitting, utility replacements, and historical structures in a limited access area.
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Speaker
Melissa Burns, P.E.
GHD
Ms. Burns is a Marine and Linear Infrastructure Structural Engineer and Project Manager with 12 years of design and management experience. Her projects have encompassed a wide range of private and public facilities including feasibility evaluations, design, modelling, and computation of structural elements, and production detailing of plan sets within all phases of design from preliminary engineering pursuit to the final design of structures for both design-build and conventional projects. She is thoroughly experienced in both linear infrastructure and coastal projects ranging in complexity from simple structures to multi-phase projects accounting for future year expansion capacities.
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SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
The Sustainability Committee’s core mission and function are to organize and facilitate outreach opportunities allowing the members of the East Central Branch to stay informed and promote sustainable engineering practices. Below are some upcoming events and interesting reads recommended by the committee.
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Upcoming Events
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3/15 – Noon to 1:00 p.m. – ASCE presents Leveraging Earth System Science and Modeling to Inform Civil Engineering Design (Part I): Extreme Temperature and Intense Rainfall. Register for this free webinar.
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3/29 – 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure presents Foundational Decade for Advancing Sustainable Infrastructure. Register for this free webinar.
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3/30 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Orange County Sustainability Advisory Board Meeting. Board members meet in person. All others join via WebEx. Contact Lori Forsman, Sustainability Programs Manager, Planning Division, (407) 836-5439 or Lori.Forsman@ocfl.net
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4/26 – 9:00 a.m. – Global Green Gray Community of Practice: Coastal Resilience Sub-community Case Study Series (Americas). Register for this fee webinar.
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Volunteer Opportunity
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3/18 and 3/25 – 9 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. – City of Satellite Beach ongoing Samsons Island Submerged Lands Restoration (SISLR) project. Maintain habitat restoration effort in the Indian River Lagoon. Learn more and sign.
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Other News / Resources
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City of Orlando Green Development Guide – Sustainable development is a key principal for the South Downtown Orlando area in terms of environmental, economic, and social impacts. Click here for Your Guide to Green Development in SoDo.
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If you would like to join the ECB Sustainability Committee, please reach out to our Committee Chair Steve Sommerfeldt. The committee typically meets (virtually) 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.
Want to hear more? Join the Sustainability Committee mailing list today!
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EDUCATION COMMITTEE
(K-12 OUTREACH)
If you would like to continue our success of inspiring and educating local students through sharing your excitement of being an engineer, please consider the following opportunities:
Odyssey of the Mind
April 08, 2023: State Tournament at Orange County Convention Center.
FIRST Robotics
Team Z.I.P Ties is moving on to the FIRST World Championship. They were able to achieve an incredible victory and once again win the 1st place Inspire award at the Florida State Championship. See the attached letter from the team captain.
K-12 Outreach
ECB’s Cathy Soistman participated in two K-12 outreach events recently, utilizing the Hazardous Materials Model. See the attached letter and photos regarding these events.
ASCE putting civil engineering back on the big screen with Cities of the Future film
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Film to be released in October 2023
Trailer for Cities of the Future
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If you have any questions, or comments about K-12 Outreach or would like to join the committee, please contact Michael Olka molka@lakecountyfl.gov
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ASCE Hazardous Materials Model Presentations
Cathy Soistman, P.E.
January and February 2023
On January 19, 2023 and February 7, 2023, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) member Cathy Soistman, P.E. of Applied Ecology, Inc. introduced students in two classes in Orlando, Florida to environmental engineering. The highlight of the presentation was a Hazardous Materials Model, which provides demonstrations and activities on potential sources of pollution, proper use and disposal, clean-up, restoration, and prevention of pollution from hazardous materials and waste. The Enviroscape® Hazardous Materials Model was provided by the ASCE, Florida Section, East Central Branch.
Ms. Soistman showed up in her hard hat and safety vest and initiated the presentation by verbally introducing the students to environmental contamination and environmental engineering. She then helped the students to experience the model for themselves, including spreading contamination and cleaning it up. This was followed by a vigorous question and answer session. Ms. Soistman ended the presentation by providing the students with a coloring sheet of a diversity of environmental engineers working together.
The preschool class included approximately 20 students, and the second grade class included approximately 44 students. Multiple teachers attended both presentations. Students and teachers alike were impressed by the presentation. One of the second-grade girls even declared that she now wanted to be an environmental engineer!
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FIRST Robotics
Dear ASCE Family,
I am happy and proud to share that our Team Z.I.P Ties is moving on to the FIRST World Championship. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to achieve an incredible victory and once again win the 1st place Inspire award at the Florida State Championship.
1st place Inspire Award - given to the team that best embodies the 'challenge' of the FIRST Tech Challenge program. The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and a role model FIRST team. This team is a top contender for many other judged awards and is a gracious competitor.
I and our team would like to express our sincere gratitude for your support. Your investment in our team not only provided us with the necessary resources and equipment but also inspired us to work harder and aim higher.
Our final destination for this season, FIRST World Championship event, is hosted at George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, TX from Tuesday April 18th to Saturday April 22nd. We understand that the competition is going to be tougher and have already started planning and brainstorming ideas that would put them in league with the top teams at the Worlds.
As we move forward, we would be honored to have your continued support. We would like to invite you to come cheer and celebrate with the team at the World Championship event. I attached an event guide and schedule for your reference. I will share with you the livestream link and more details as we get closer to the event. We are confident that with your help, we can achieve even greater success and bring home the championship title.
Could you please help us share our achievements and updates with ASCE.
Thank you once again for all you do for our team. This wouldn’t have been possible without your continued support and partnership.
Sincerely,
Sanat Dhanyamraju
Captain
FTC Team 16290 Z.I.P Ties
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YOUNGER MEMBER FORUM
The goal of the ASCE Younger Member Forum (YMF) is to promote professional development among young engineers. We are keeping busy during the holiday season and we hope you will join us for one of our upcoming events!
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Study Group
Join us for our PE & FE Study group sessions beginning in April! These sessions will allow you to establish a set schedule for studying, stay on track with studying and the opportunity to collaborate and study with peers for the PE and FE exams. If you are looking for a consistent, weekly schedule for studying, join our discord chat and our study group sessions!
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March Madness
Join us for a fun bracket challenge! Registration is open until March 16th.
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Special Olympics Volunteering
We will be volunteering as a group at the Special Olympics Track Meet! Come join us for a day of fun and community service. Spots are limited!
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YMF-EWB Technical Seminar (PFAS: What You Need to Know)
Join us for a technical seminar on PFAS and learn about their effect on drinking water, new EPA interim guidance, and future regulation actions. All proceeds benefit Engineers Without Borders' Guatemala Water Supply Project.
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Event Recap
Congratulations to our very own Alexis Perry and Thomas Anzelone for receiving awards at this year's E-Week Gala! Alexis was named ASCE Member of the Year and Thomas was named E-Week Engineer of the Year. We are grateful for all their hard work in supporting the Branch and YMF.
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We had two great events in early March. Our Mini-Golf event brought together students and young professionals for an evening of fun and mentorship. We also hosted our 4th Annual Cornhole Tournament which raised almost $550 for Give Kids the World! Thank you to everyone who helped make these events great.
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February Update
This month we continued to hold our regular meetings and events, as well as continued to work on our conference competitions. We were joined by Inwood and Langan for our general body meetings this month, our members got to learn about what they do and the opportunities that they offer. We joined UCF in celebrating E-week by teaching young kids how to build spaghetti and marshmallow structures, it was a very fun volunteering activity for our members and a great way to introduce structures to the kids. We also held a social event at Rock Springs, we had a great turnout and plenty of fun, we got to swim, play sports and relax. Our concrete canoe team has been putting the finishing details on their canoe, demolding it and sanding it, as well as continued to practice for the rowing competition. Our steel bridge team has also continued to finish their fabrication and continued to practice with their build team. The rest of the competitions have continued to prepare as well, many had their reports due and many are finishing building what they need to take. We are all very excited as conference is approaching very fast.
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FEBRUARY 2023
In February our ASCE Chapter poured our concrete canoe and prepared for the southeast student symposium. The civil engineering faculty had a joint social with the ASCE chapter at the ERAU womens basketball game. In addition, students had the opportunity to tour Finfrock and Rinker Materials.
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Environmental or Water Resources Engineer
Drummond Carpenter’s Florida practice is expanding, and we are looking for a talented Environmental or Water Resources Staff Professional to join our firm at our Orlando office. Ideal candidates will have core capabilities needed to provide innovative environmental solutions to assist our municipal, state, and federal clients in areas such as stormwater management, infrastructure design, green infrastructure, water quality studies, ecological studies, flood mitigation strategies, watershed management, environmental permitting, surface water monitoring, and TMDL support.
Position Activities:
- Performing civil and water resources design and analyses
- Developing and peer reviewing hydrologic and hydraulic studies
- Conceptualizing and implementing green stormwater infrastructure solutions for the built environment
- Developing hydrologic and hydraulic models from a range of open source and proprietary software
- Developing water quantity and water quality transport models
- Floodplain mapping
- Urban stormwater water quality monitoring
- Field investigations and sampling
- Construction oversight and administration
- Overseeing the development of construction documents
- Climate change adaptation and resiliency planning
- Geographic Information System (GIS) database design, mapping, and coding
Qualifications:
- At least 2 years of related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience. (required)
- Experience with surface water or groundwater modeling and design software tools such as GIS (ESRI products, QGIS), Autodesk products, ICPR, EPA-SWMM, HEC-RAS, MODFLOW, (preferred)
- Valid U.S. driver’s license and a satisfactory driving record for business travel. (required)
Benefits:
- Excellent healthcare benefits
- Paid maternity and paternity leave
- Open PTO policy
- 401k with company match
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Roadway Engineer – Lakeland
4175 S. Pipkin Road, Suite 208, Lakeland, FL 33811
Florida Transportation Engineering, Inc. (FTE) is a professional civil engineering firm founded in 1989 and is a certified DBE, SBE, and W/MBE firm. FTE has a presence throughout the state of Florida with our headquarters office in Punta Gorda. We are a professional multi-discipline consulting firm providing Engineering, Planning, Surveying, and Landscape Architecture services. We have been serving our public and private sector clients for 33 years.
Florida Transportation Engineering (FTE) is seeking a full-time Roadway Engineer to join our Lakeland office. This position will manage roadway projects for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and other clients including counties and municipalities throughout the State of Florida. The ideal candidate will develop strong working relationships with clients and staff plus maintain a high level of project standards and exceed client expectations. The employee is expected to work on-site Monday through Friday in the Lakeland office.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the Engineer of Record for assigned projects.
- Leads junior staff to complete transportation projects, responsible for fulfillment of executed client contracts and financial performance of projects.
- Use appropriate project management tools to track project tasks and timelines, ensuring timely completion of project stages in accordance with the project schedule.
- Manage and review design task assignments for a team, including preparation of design calculations, plans, and submittals.
- Communicate high-level concepts effectively with team members, internal design groups, and external entities including clients, sub-consultants, and relevant government agencies.
- Coordinate with other disciplines throughout the duration of the project to ensure a streamlined design process with minimal revisions.
- Participate in project meetings with clients, sub-consultants, and contractors as necessary.
- Other marketing duties include providing timely resume updates, project write-ups, proposal support, and participating in marketing initiatives as required
Minimum Qualifications
- A Florida Licensed Professional Engineer
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering
- A minimum of 5-10 years of relevant experience utilizing FDOT-specific processes, manuals, or guidance.
- Experienced in assisting the marketing/proposal coordinator by providing technical approaches
- Managing Engineering Interns and other design staff.
- Experience and ability to exercise initiative and independent judgment in the solution of work problems.
- Must be able to communicate effectively; verbally and written.
- Experience with OpenRoads is a plus.
Starting Benefits
- Nine (9) paid holidays
- Minimum of two (2) weeks of paid time off (PTO)
- Monthly health insurance allowance
- Tuition reimbursement program
- 401k with company match
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Sincerely,
Khanh Olka
Communications Chair
ASCE East Central Branch
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