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Robin Kemper Visit Recap

ASCE President-Elect Visit to DFW

ASCE President Elect Robin Kemper made a three-day visit to the DFW last month. During her visit Robin had the opportunity to see many aspects of both the Dallas and Fort Worth Branches. ASCE Texas Section President Larry Goldberg and ASCE Texas Section Executive Director Lindsay O’Leary also accompanied Robin for most of the week. The visit began on Monday, May 14^th with a construction site visit with the ASCE Dallas CE Club from Woodrow Wilson High School at the Ventana by Buckner project at the intersection of Highway 75 and Northwest Highway. Structural engineers from L.A. Fuess Partners, the structural consulting firm on the project, walked Robin and the students through the 12-story towers and explained the various aspects of the structural engineering that went into the building.

Next, Robin and the CE Club students ventured up to the ASCE Dallas Luncheon at Vouv Events Center. Mr. Khaled Naja, the Executive Vice-President of Infrastructure and Development at DFW Airport gave an update on the infrastructure projects at DFW Airport, and Robin installed the newest Life Members of the Dallas Branch. Robin, Lindsay, and Larry then traveled to the campus of Southern Methodist University where they met with the Civil Engineering Department Head, toured the Lyle School of Engineering and the structural engineering lab, and met with a small panel of current civil engineering students from the SMU ASCE Student Chapter. Monday ended with a Happy Hour hosted by ASCE Dallas Younger Members at British Beverage Company in Uptown Dallas.

On Tuesday, May 15^th Robin helped dedicate a plaque commemorating the Centennial Celebration of the ASCE Texas Section. The first ever meeting of the ASCE Texas Section occurred at the Old Red Courthouse in Downtown Dallas, and the Dallas Branch and Texas Section partnered together to sponsor a plaque that was recently installed at the courthouse. Past ASCE Dallas Branch and Texas Section Presidents were in attendance to unveil the plaque and share stories of ASCE past and present. Robin then travelled across the Metroplex to give 

the main presentation at the ASCE Fort Worth Branch luncheon. She also got to help the Fort Worth Branch hand out their annual scholarships to three UT-Arlington students. Dr. Jim Williams of UT-Arlington then gave Robin, Lindsay, and Larry a tour of the UTA civil engineering department and lab and set up a meeting with UTA President Vistasp Karbhari, a civil engineer himself. Finally, the UTA ASCE Student Chapter joined Robin and Fort Worth Younger Members on a tour of the Texas Live! construction site near the UTA campus.

Robin’s visit to DFW concluded on Wednesday, May 16^th with the Texas Infrastructure Report Card Panel Discussion at Vouv Events Center. Robin served as a panelist along with Larry Goldberg and leaders from TxDOT, the Dallas Regional Chamber, and the Trinity River Authority. The hope of the events was to bring awareness to the urgency of infrastructure investment, discuss infrastructure issues in North Texas, and discuss the economic impact of infrastructure investment.

Additional photos from Robin Kemper’s visit can be found online here. A special thanks to all our event sponsors: LCA Environmental, JACOBS, and the ASCE Texas Section.