This year to celebrate Engineer’s week, ECB teamed up with the local chapters of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) to bring some great events throughout the week. The events included a virtual happy hour with trivia questions, a panel discussion, webinars on mentoring and negotiating, a virtual group viewing of Dream Big (each attendee uses their Netflix account to watch the film), and an awards ceremony to end the week. These events brought together engineers from a variety of professions and sectors. Even though the backgrounds of the attendees varied, everyone shared common bonds, enjoyed the challenges of our work, and pride in our profession. A big thank you to our Diversity chair Mike Olka for getting ECB involved in this collaborative effort.  

By Rocío Rodríguez, P.E.

The Wellsbuilt Hotel provided lodging to African Americans during segregation times when rooms were not available to them in other areas. The walls of the building were constructed of light weight, terra cotta hollow tile (a relative new material in 1926). They are stucco finished except for the rear façade. The first floor is divided into 3 bays that extend from the front of the building all the way to the back, each with their own entrance (Figure 2). The interior walls are constructed of virgin long leaf yellow pine, a hardwood type that is no longer available. In the second floor, a hallway goes around a light well. Through the hallway, other guest rooms can be accessed, the two rear exits, and the main entrance located on the east side of the building. Figure 3 shows drawings of the north and south facades.

The hotel is now the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture, of Orlando’s African-American community with displays of the Civil Rights Movement in Orlando, and African art from local collectors.

The building was added to the Orlando Historic Landmarks, November 30, 1998^[1].

Figure 2: Plan views of first and second floors of the Well’sbuilt Hotel^[2].

 Figure 3: North and south facades.

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[1] https://www.orlando.gov/Our-Government/History/Find-Historic-Landmarks/Wells-Built-Hotel/Wells-Built-Hotel

[2] https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm

Measuring Sustainability with Envision Webinar

Wednesday, March 31^st from 12pm to 1pm

Please join the ASCE East Central Branch Sustainability Committee for our very first event and webinar! Guest speaker Anthony Kane (President and CEO @Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure) will be providing a discussion on the Envision program, which is becoming the leading methodology for delivering sustainable infrastructure. Envision is a comprehensive sustainability framework being used by engineers, planners, architects, contractors and other stakeholders in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry to improve the sustainable performance of infrastructure projects of all types and sizes. The presentation will include an introduction to Envision and its relevance to the industry.

Event has been approved for 1.0 PDH through the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

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.

The Faroe Islands, consists of a series of 18 islets in the North Atlantic located halfway between Iceland and Norway. The islands operates as an autonomous region of Denmark.

Tunnel construction commenced in January 2017 and breakthrough occurred in June 2019. Construction of the tunnel was performed by NCC, a construction company that operates in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland.

Click this link to watch the first drive through the tunnel system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1asb6UorUs&t=24s

For additional information for the tunnel can be found at the links below:

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:

Look for exciting information regarding our ASCE EWRI Extended Doubleheader Webinar to be held on May 7^th and 14^th from 12-3pm. Speakers include representatives from FDEP, SJRWMD, and Streamline Technologies to name a few. Sponsorship details and registration information to follow soon.

ASCE - EWRI is committed to support Central Florida’s brightest minds for their future careers in water resources and environmental engineering. This scholarship is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are currently registered as a full-time student majoring in Civil or Environmental Engineering at the University of Central Florida, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (Orlando Campus), and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Complete application package must be submitted by April 16th, 2021.

On February 4th. We had our guest speaker from Michael Baker International to give us an insight on some of the cool projects such as the bridge connecting to the Kennedy Space Center that they've been working on as well as some of the UCF alumni who both work as intern in the company and now have a full time position with the company after graduation.

On February 18th, we held a General Body Meeting with ASCE East Central Branch and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. The meeting is a good opportunity to network since it involves two different universities and also a chance to ask professional engineers some question/concerns they may be having regarding the industry.

On February 19, our officer and member had an amazing experience participating in the Central Florida Field trip this year. As we get to see construction of tunnels of bright line stations at the Orlando International Airport. This will give our members an insight about the real world application of the materials they are studying in school actually in front of their eyes. The following are some pictures from the field trip!

Sincerely,

Khanh Olka, E.I.T.

Communications Chair

East Central Branch

Florida Section