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President's Message - March 2016

It’s hard to believe we are already in the month of March!

I hope you were able to attend the E-Week Luncheon where we presented Jonathan Brower, E.I.T. of L.A. Fuess Partners as ASCE Dallas Branch’s Young Engineer of the Year and Jack Furlong, P.E. of Jacobs Engineering as Engineer of the Year Awards. Both of them are well deserving of these awards and have made a positive impact on our profession. If you haven’t already, please reach out to congratulate them on a job well done and for their service to ASCE!

February is always a fun month for engineers as we have a lot of opportunities for outreach. I would like to thank all the people who volunteered at MathCounts, the Perot Museum K-12 Outreach, Future Cities Competition, Girl Scouts Trail Rehab, and other events throughout the month of February. Your efforts help to promote our profession and to inspire the next generation of engineers. Thank you!

It’s not very often the Dallas Branch is able to recognize one of our members for receiving an ASCE Fellow Membership status. To be considered for an ASCE Fellow, the person must have made celebrated contributions and developed creative solutions that change lives around the world. It is a prestigious honor held by fewer than 3.5% of ASCE members. I’m excited to announce that the Branch will be recognizing our newest ASCE Fellow Member, Wendy Lopez, PE, FASCE, at the March meeting. For over 30 years Wendy has proven to be an innovator and leader in the Civil Engineering profession as well as in the community. She started and grew her company from a one-person consulting firm to a multi-disciplinary firm in less than 20 years. She now serves as Senior Vice President with AECOM leading the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area.

Also at our March meeting, our speaker will be Brian Stump with SMU who will talk about “What About the Recent Earthquakes in Our Backyard?” Brian is intending to give an overview of the types of activities that can induce or trigger earthquakes.  This topic has become of increasing interest, particularly in the DFW area, as communities have experienced small to moderate earthquakes in areas where there have not been historic events. He will provide some overview materials that set the historical background of the issue and present ideas that illustrate necessary steps forward in order to further understand the causes of these earthquakes.

Before closing, the Branch needs your help with the following:

Sponsorship: We are in our final push for 2016 sponsorships.  Please consider supporting your local ASCE Branch with your financial contribution! If you haven’t renewed your sponsorship please contact Phillip Packer, Fundraising Chair, ASAP so your company’s logo remains on the website. If you have any questions please contact Phillip at [email protected]. 

Scholarships: We are still looking for applications for our G.B. Mann Scholarship. The scholarship is available to the local high schoolers within our area.  If you know any high schoolers who are interested in pursuing a career in Civil Engineering, please encourage them to apply here on our website or contacting Hossein Hosseiny at [email protected].

Finally, I hope you can join us at our next meeting on Monday, March 14, 2016. Our Institutes will once again have Technical Sessions before and after the luncheon providing a great opportunity to earn up to three (3) PDHs each month. I look forward to seeing you there!