History and Heritage

The ASCE Orange County Branch's History and Heritage Committee since 1982 have been actively seeking and reviewing important Civil Engineering projects that have been constructed in Orange County, California, and that are considered worthy of being nominated as Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks. Of these projects, twelve have been nominated and have subsequently been awarded Historic Civil Engineering Landmark status. All of these projects have been honored with the placement of a bronze plaque signifying their status as a Local, State, or National ASCE Historic Civil Engineering Landmark; a few of these projects have received multiple recognition plaques due to the size of the project or due to the project having multiple historic points of interest.

Local Historical Civil Engineering Landmarks

For the geographic coordinates of the Orange County Branch's Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks, please click here.

Biographies of ASCE Orange County Branch Past Presidents and Other Prominent Members:

The History and Heritage Committee has, over the years, made an effort to prepare biographies of its Past Presidents and other prominent members, and when possible, Oral History interviews have been recorded and transcribed into permanent reference documents. The following is the beginning of an effort to place these biographies on this web page for general reading and reference:

Herbert George Osborne (1915 - 1999):

A Biography of H. G. Osborne, P.E. was prepared by Carl R. Nelson, P.E. in early 2011. The nine-page document follows here.

The transcript of an Oral History of George Osborne, recorded by Ms. Lisa Vandorpe on October 18 and November 15, 1996, will be uploaded to this site in the near future. It is 63 pages in length.

An article was written for the September 2012 O.C. Branch Newsletter also highlighted George Osborne's biography and that article can be read here.

ASCE National History and Heritage Newsletters

From time to time, editions of the ASCE National History and Heritage Newsletter will be posted on this web page. These newsletters contain brief, but interesting articles on National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and other Civil Engineering topics of National interest. The following are links to some of these newsletters:

November 2012, Volume VI, No. 6: Click here.

To learn more about this committee, please read the attached policies and procedures in the committee files section of this page. If you are interested in participating in this committee, please contact hhc@asceoc.org.

See Related News below for more details about recent History & Heritage Committee activities.

Contacts

Tom Broz
History & Heritage Chair
Retired
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 949-246-9970

Committee Files

History and Heritage Policy & Procedures

Secretary's Column - One of My American Civil Engineer Heroes

In my introductory Secretary’s Column last month, I mentioned that one of my passions is American history. Most recently, my historical interests have been directed towards the Civil War. So, it came as no surprise to my family last year when I started planning a trip back east to Virginia and Pennsylvania, with our entire itinerary centered around visiting historic Civil War sites. Visiting each of these historic locations was like a pilgrimage, where I saw the history that I had been studying come to life before my eyes. But our trip to Gettysburg was particularly inspiring to me, for it was during this trip that I learned about a little known, but great Union leader who played an instrumental role in winning this historic battle by implementing his civil engineering know-how to successfully defend his position.

Shaping Our Future World

Civil engineers reimagine the world and shape the future of our civilizations. Recent conversations with several Orange County Branch members reminded me of the inspiring initiative led by ASCE, known as Future World Vision. The effects of climate change, increasing population, and rapid deployment of new technologies drive civil engineers and the infrastructure industry to be at the forefront of changing trends and to constantly adapt. ASCE performed an in-depth analysis of future macrotrends to generate a projected evolution of our industry's infrastructure through the Year 2070.

Summer Bike Rides

My friend, Sam Ali, P.E., recently wrote a story on bike trail connectivity in Orange County. The article was published in the ASCE Civil Engineering Magazine. Since Sam and I share the same passion for cycling, I thought I would seize the opportunity to share a few enjoyable rides in our OC backyard.

Inflation and Shortage Supply Impacts

We have all been witnessing price inflation, whether it is at the gas station or at the grocery store. Both inflation and material shortage have become part of our design considerations when we select and specify materials for our projects. The approach has been further emphasized over the last couple of years: the Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) community should initiate design and construction projects with a thorough understanding of material availability, fabrication, delivery lead time, projected construction index price, and an evaluation of equivalent alternatives.

Sudamericana Water Conservation

Last month, I traveled to Chile for my brother’s wedding and took the opportunity to wander in Patagonia, the Colchagua Valley (wine country), Santiago, and a few other places. I don’t know if the pattern is common across my peers, but as for myself, travels are generally punctuated by a constant evaluation of the local infrastructure, design details, construction means and methods, and an assessment of the infrastructure challenges that each region faces.

ASCE OC Branch - Member Appreciation Picnic

The ASCE OC Branch and YMF carved out some time between COVID spikes to show our appreciation for the volunteers that have helped keep us so successful during the pandemic.