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President’s Message - February 2012

National Engineers Week, or E-Week, will be celebrated February 19 - 25, 2012.  It is recognized by hundreds of organizations across the country including engineering companies, government agencies, and on almost every U.S. engineering college campus. The theme for the National Engineers Week Foundation (www.eweek.org) for 2012 is based on the projected world population of 7,000,000,000.  Sometimes I feel like most of them are here in the DFW area…and they need our help, even if they do not know it. There are many challenges facing our region and the world that require immediate engineering solutions.

E-Week is generally held in the U.S. the third full week of February and is observed by more than 70 engineering, education, and cultural societies.  The purpose of E-Week is to call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make.  It is also a time for engineers to emphasize the importance of learning math, science, and technical skills.  The celebration of National Engineers Week was started in 1951 in conjunction with President George Washington’s birthday.  President Washington is considered the nation's first engineer, notably for his survey work.

As part of E-Week, the Dallas Branch of ASCE selects a Young Engineer of the Year and an Engineer of the Year.  The Honors Committee, led by Scott Young, reviewed a number of high-quality applications and I am proud to announceColin G. Blankenship, P.E. of Hayden Consultants, Inc. as ASCE’s Young Engineer of the Year and Ayub R. Sandhu, P.E. of ARS Engineers, Inc. as Engineer of the Year.  Both will be recognized at TSPE’s 4th Annual Engineers Week Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, February 14, 2012.  When I last checked, seats were still available online.  Look for additional information on these two outstanding engineers in this month’s newsletter and please send them a note or congratulate them at the February Branch meeting.