President's Message

By Joshua Nelson, PE

In December 2011, the ASCE released the second of four "Failure to Act" studies…

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Secretary's Column - YMF

By Gary Gilbert, PE

Many life lessons can be learned while participating in the ASCE Younger Member Forum…

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Branch News

By By Gary Gilbert, PE, GE

For our December meeting Engineers Without Borders Orange County Professional Chapter (EWB-OC) president Dan…

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In This Issue

President's Message

By Joshua Nelson, PE

In December 2011, the ASCE released the second of four "Failure to Act" studies ([url=http://www.asce.org/failuretoact]http://www.asce.org/failuretoact[/url]). These studies give us a closer look at the economic impacts of our failing infrastructure in America. They look forward to 2020 and 2040 to determine potential impacts on GDP, personal income, and jobs if current infrastructure investment trends continue. The first report focused on surface transportation and the most recent one covers water and wastewater treatment infrastructure.

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Secretary's Column - YMF

By Gary Gilbert, PE

Many life lessons can be learned while participating in the ASCE Younger Member Forum (YMF).  It can be difficult to balance your personal and professional life, but being involved in this organization can help reduce this imbalance by providing an opportunity for a partial overlap of these two areas of your life.  In YMF building life long friendships and develop your career at the same time happens with little effort.  In addition, this organization fulfills a portion of education missing from the college and university system.  Some of the components of career development learened in YMF are communication skills, the ability to see how your skills as an engineer impact people’s lives, and how to enjoy life while developing your profession.

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Branch News

By By Gary Gilbert, PE, GE

For our December meeting Engineers Without Borders Orange County Professional Chapter (EWB-OC) president Dan Ramey provided an update of their programs in Kenya, Honduras, and El Salvador.  Each program has completed one project including a bridge in Kenya, a water tank in El Salvador, and a technology project in Honduras.  Kenya and Honduras recently received grants allowing for them to continue work in 2012.  In Kenya, a team will go to Samburu Village to evaluate what can be done to provide water to several small comunities in the area.

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Photo Album

By

I thought members who attended the Engineers Without Borders USA Orange County Professional Chapter (EWB-OC) presentation in December would like to see what EWB-OC has been accomplished the last few years in the nations of El Salvador, Honduras, and Kenya.  Below are some photos that summarized the accomplishments so far.  Hopefully this will inspire the members of the ASCE Orange County Branch to become more active in EWB-OC.

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Mobilizing for the Year of Infrastructure

By Yazdan Emrani, Senior Vice President/Principal, Hall & Foreman, Inc.

Not too long ago when you mentioned the word infrastructure in a conversation with a non-engineer, you either got a blank stare or like the Spelling Bee, the listener asked you to spell it and use it in a sentence! Well, the good news is that "Infrastructure" has seeped into our national lexicon and you even hear leading politicians talk about needed infrastructure investments. The bad news is there is still not enough funding to even maintain what we have got, let alone invest in new infrastructure. The current recession has obviously made matters worse.

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Continuing Education Event Summary

By Mohammad Ataya

The ASCE-OC Continuing Education Committee organized the Road & Pavement Design and Construction seminar on Friday December 2nd, 2011 at the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) facility.

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New Practitioner Needed for CSUF

By

ASCE Orange County is seeking an enthusiastic professional to take on the role of Practitioner Advisor for Cal State Fullerton.  With the help of another professional, the individual will make themselves available to the student chapter, provide insight into the industry, and will also assist with status reporting.  If you are interested or for more information, please contact Giancarlo Ganddini at asce.ocsac@gmail.com

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Professional Development

By

The Orange County Branch would like to hear from members who have interest in participating in a formal mentoring program, as either a mentor or a protégé. It is anticipated that our program would be similar to the existing mentoring program at other branches, with modifications tailored to meet the needs of participants in our Branch.

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CSULB Update

By By Mike Ebenal ASCE CSULB President

On November 15, the ASCE OC Branch held a History & Heritage and Student Fellowship Night at UCI. The special speaker of the night was the ASCE National President-Elect who gave an amazing talk on the importance of Higher Engineering Education in the United States. A group of CSULB ASCE students were in attendance who participated in the Student Chapter Presentation and Order of Engineer Ring ceremony. The CSULB students were able to learn about the history of the Engineering Chapter in the OC Branch but also mingle with potential employers.

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2012 Life Members

By Gary Gilbert, PE

With 2012 approaching, the Orange County Branch will have a new group of life members. This article compiles a list of Orange County Branch members who will receive the honor of life member next year

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Hydraulics and Hydrology Technical Group

By By Portia Gonzalez

ASCE HHTG December speaker was Mr. David Jordan.  Mr. Jordan is a Principal Hydrogeologist with INTERA.  He is a registered professional engineer with over 20 years of experience in quantitative hydrogeology, engineering, numerical modeling, GIS, data management, and project management. He received a BS in Geophysics from Virginia Tech and an MS in Geophysics from New Mexico Tech.  Mr. Jordan provides management and technical guidance to a variety of projects in water resources, GIS, and contaminant hydrogeology.  He has led technical teams in the development and application of regional groundwater flow and transport models for evaluating water availability, water rights, mine dewatering, and seawater intrusion for private, state, municipal, and water district clients throughout the Western United States.

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OC Firm Spotlight

By By: Mike McGovern PE, FASCE

For more than 35 years, The Moote Group has built a solid reputation as an authority on infrastructure cost estimates and construction management.  Our team offers the resources you need for preliminary engineering and architectural support, public & private bid administration, cost estimates, utility coordination & dry utility design, applicant design services, construction management, program management and contract administration.

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