orange county branch newsletter · membership co-chair 714.938.0782 fax [email protected] sam...

Orange County BranchNewsletter

Published Monthly By the ASCE, Orange County Branch October 2007

by

Yazdan Emrani, PE

CONTACT ASCE:OC Branch

www.asceoc.org714-258-8390

•Los Angeles Sectionwww.ascelasection.org

714-258-8306•

ASCE Nationalwww.asce.org

1-800-548-ASCE

“Winner of the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Regions 8 & 9 Awards for Outstanding Branch and Newsletter”

In ThisIssue

President’s Message . . . . .1,2,9Board of DirectorsCommittee Chairs . . . . . . . . . . . 2Secretary’s Column . . . . . . . 3,5Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . 4Spotlight on Infrastructure . . . . . 4Branch News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Legislative News . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Professional Practice . . . . . . . . . 8In the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8OCYMF Sponsorship Form . . .10Continuing Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Order of the Engineer . . . . . . . . 12Announcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13EmploymentOpportunities . . . . . . . . . . . 14-17Congratulations . . . . . . . . . . . .17Letter to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . 17Student Assistance Fund Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19Membership Info . . . . . . . . . . . 20Inserts:* Luncheon Meeting / Nominations Form* UCI - CEEA Fall Quarterly Mtng

Well, it is my last article as the President of the Orange County Branch and I have mixed feelings about it. On one

hand, I am relieved about not having to come up with monthly topics that are not only timely but hopefully informative and entertaining. At the same time, this has got to be one of the best experiences of my professional life. I have met a lot of our members this year and have heard from others about their opinions and concerns regarding our profession, our business, and our branch. The Orange County Branch is the best Branch in the entire ASCE universe, because of the level of dedication and excellence of its members. If you take a look at all the committees that we have and all the activities that we sponsor, not many branches or even sections can even come close. So, with that in mind, I thought it would only be fair to give you a quick review of the highlights of the past year and the people who made it happen.

Each year, the incoming President, sets the Branch’s strategic goals and together with the offi cers of the Board and various committees works on implementing them. Last October, at the beginning of my term, I set out three major goals for the Branch. These were: Increase Legislative Awareness/Grassroots Outreach, Focus on Mentorship, Increase Student Outreach. To accomplish our fi rst goal, we worked with and through our existing Legislative Committee. The Branch was fortunate to have Co-Chairs,

Durry Atassi, PE and Ziad Mazboudi, PE step up to the plate and help carry this load. By working very closely with the Legislative Committee, we accomplished quite a bit. Last October, the ASCE Orange County Board of Directors passed a resolution in support of Propositions 1A, 1B, 1E, and 84 that had been placed on the November ballot. This along with the work many members of the Orange County Branch, as well as other branches and sections throughout California, did in producing the fi rst ever “California Infrastructure Report Card” helped publicize the plight of infrastructure in California and in my opinion, contributed in helping to pass the bond measures in November. In June 2007,

again, ASCE Orange County Board of Directors passed a resolution supporting the extension of the Foothill South, 241 Freeway; which is an important segment of the total transportation system in Orange County. Our voice helped to at least bring balance to a discussion, which had been dominated more by

emotion and allegations, rather than logic. We also worked closely with the LA Section’s Legislative Committee as well as Region 9 on the fi rst ever ASCE Infrastructure Summit in Sacramento, held on February 5, 2007. Our branch sent a large delegation to this event and to the “Legislative Day Visit” held the next day. This summit which was well attended by public sector, and private sector employees as well as state legislators, focused on the need for renewing and improving of California’s

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Thursday, October 25th, 2007. TOPIC: The Evolution of Civil Engineering: A Look at the Past, Present and Future SPEAKER: Dr. Hany J. Farran, Ph.D., PE, ASCE Fellow, M. IABSE – Professor of Civil & Structural Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Cal Poly Pomona. LOCATION: The Costa Mesa Hilton, Costa Mesa, CA TIME: 11:30am – Social 12:00pm – Lunch 12:30 – 1:10pm Program . See fl yer included in this newsletter for more details.

OCTOBERNOTICE

“STATE OF THE BRANCH: A FAREWELL REPORT”

Continued on page 2

“Be well, do good work, and keep in touch” Garrison Keillor

2 ASCE OC-Newsletter • October 2007

OC BranchAmerican Society of Civil Engineers

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS

Yazdan Emrani, PE 949.855.8300President 949.855.0800 FAX

[email protected] Adrian, PE 714.939.1030Vice President 714.938.9488 FAX

[email protected] Rosenfield, PE 949.707.2655Treasurer 949.707.2633 FAX

[email protected] Shinkai, PE 714.327.1600Secretary 714.327.1601 FAX

[email protected] Hogan, PE 714.665.4500Past President 714.665.4501 FAX

[email protected]

Mike Hoolihan, PE 949.453.5553ASCE Website Co-Chair 949.453.0228 FAX

[email protected] Weishaupt 949.215.7783ASCE Website Co-Chair

[email protected] Heiertz, PE 949.453.5560Awards/Nominations 949.453.0228 FAX

[email protected] Ali, PE 714.751.7373Continuing Education 714.545.8883 FAX

[email protected] Meier, PE 714.550.7551History & Heritage 714.550.7551 FAX

[email protected] Emrani, PE 949.855.8300Infrastructure Report Card949.855.0800 FAX

[email protected] A. Lee 714.327.1600K-12 Outreach Co-Chair 714.327.1601 FAX

[email protected] Park, PE 714.327.1600K-12 Outreach Co-Chair 714.327.1601 FAX

[email protected] Mazboudi, PE 949.234.4413Legislative Chair

[email protected] McConville, PE 949.673.4475Life Member Forum

[email protected] Awad-Fromhertz 949.768.9112Marketing

[email protected] Ly, PE 714.720.4868Membership Co-Chair 714.938.0782 FAX

[email protected] Nabbout 714.871.9083Membership Co-Chair 714.871.3652 FAX

[email protected]. Bathala, PE 949.724.2994OCEC Liaison 949.724.2995 FAX

[email protected] Dybel, PE 949 499-7874Professional Practice

[email protected] Nelson, PE 626.333.0336Programs 626.336.7076 FAX

[email protected] Volz, PE 714.834.2037Publicity 714.834.5106 FAX

[email protected] Lomeli, Jr 714.327.1600Student Activities 714.327.1601 FAX

[email protected] Gilbert, PE 714.245.2920Younger Member Forum714.245.2950 FAX

[email protected]

TECHNICAL GROUP CHAIRPERSONS

Khashayar Hadipour, PhD, PE 818.226.6900Transportation

[email protected]

Roger Chung, PE 949.474.1401x271Hydrology & Hydraulics 949.261.8482 FAX

[email protected]

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEContinued from page 1

infrastructure. Personally, I was elated to see a few of the speakers even cite examples and quotes from the “California Infrastructure Report Card” in their presentations. The Legislative Committee will continue its work under the leadership of Gary Gilbert, PE, its new Chair. The Committee has established regular monthly meetings and will continue its mission including the goal of more outreach to state legislators. I encourage all of you to try and attend as many of its meetings as you can.

Mentorship and Student Outreach to me mean reaching kids in elementary, middle, and high school and making an impression on them about what Civil Engineering is and hoping some of them will consider choosing Civil Engineering when they go to college. That was one of Orange County Branch’s major pushes this year. Through our K-12 Outreach Committee and the leadership shown by its Co-Chairs, Brandon Park, PE, and Grace Lee we were able to accomplish quite a bit in this area. Some of our activities in this area included School Visitations to Santa Ana Nativity School and Marina High School. Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition held at Cal State Long Beach with invitation letters mailed out to over 500 schools in LA, Ventura and Orange County. Committee members volunteered to visit 10 schools; and 12 schools participated with over 200 students in attendance for the competition. In March of this year the Committee participated in Math Counts at UCI and participated in Career Day at Crescent Intermediate. Committee members also participated in “Girls Inc.” which is an event held at Orange Coast College and involved mentoring and assisting 60 students on the “Newspaper Tower Competition”. Again all these fun events are designed to show young students that Civil Engineering is fun and it is a viable career. Last, but not least, I am happy to report that we have also teamed up with the ACE Mentor Program. The ACE Mentor program is a not-for-profi t organization that began in New York City in 1995 and has now expanded to more than

20 sites across the country. The program brings together architects, contractors and engineers (ACE) to encourage high schools students interested in entering careers in construction and design-related fi elds. Practitioners are charged with providing mentoring and scholarship opportunities for the students as they move through their secondary education and support them in making decisions about their future. We have selected Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana as this year’s target school. Currently, our partnership includes looking for volunteers that can donate their time in helping with mentoring students and helping them out with their technical apprenticeship. Again, I would encourage all who are interested in this worthy cause to contact Brandon or Grace directly.

The Branch was also very successful in other areas. Here is a summary of our other achievements and the people who made it possible:

• The Program Committee came into its own this year by adding members and selecting programs and speakers that had across the board appeal and was popular with our members. Josh Nelson, PE, our Program Committee Chair did an outstanding job in making this happen. • After years of detailed planning and implementation, the Branch’s web site blossomed this year, thanks mainly to the efforts of Mike Hoolihan, PE, and Meire Weishaupt. Mike and Meire transformed a regular, ordinary looking web site to a premiere portal of information where users can get information on Branch and its activities as well as use it as a forum for data research including job searches. In fact, we were so proud of the web site that we submitted it for the fi rst ever ASCE National Web Site competition.• At the college level, the branch supports three ASCE chapters: CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, and UC Irvine. With dedicated branch members like our Student Activities chair, Mario Lomeli, and the practitioner

Continued on page 9

ASCE OC-Newsletter • October 2007 3

As I look back at last year when I fi rst accepted this position as Secretary I am amazed at how quickly it has passed

by! Back then, I knew that writing this monthly article was going to be tough, but I inevitably learned that some months were going to end up being quite a challenge. Each month I thought about what our members would be interested in reading, regardless of their generation or position at a company and how I could keep my topic engineering related without making it too technical oriented. I wanted to base my articles to my personal experiences as well as cover topics that my peers wanted to read about. I hope I was able to keep everyone’s interest this year.

As I mentioned in my very fi rst article, there were three key words representing the topics I wanted to focus on this year which were: “Membership”, “Network”, and most importantly “Fulfi llment”.

First, I wanted to focus on increasing our ASCE membership. I believe that the Board and our Committee Chairs this year have succeeded at this task. We currently print over 1500 issues of the monthly newsletter and our membership in Orange County has increased from 2234 to 2327 members. The YMF membership has increased from 616 to 669 members. I personally saw a higher attendance by students and younger members at our monthly meetings and yearly activities. The Orange County Branch Legislative Committee alone has generated increased interest and has noted a substantial increase in attendance at the monthly legislative meetings. With our grass roots membership effort, our OC YMF did a great job visiting local universities and making sure they helped students make the transition from school to the working professionals.

Second, Networking is very important in our Civil Engineering industry. As all of us know, civil engineers are being acknowledged due to some of the infrastructure issues that have surfaced recently, but we need to make sure that future engineers know about our history. It is equally important that the public acknowledge what we do and that our occupation brings interest to younger generations. We are in shortage of engineers and we need to turn this trend around. The

Orange County Branch, in collaboration with our OC YMF, visited K-12 students and educated them on what we do as Civil Engineers. This included various activities such as the Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, which shows kids how civil engineering can be applied to practical situations. We, as Civil Engineers, need to step up to the plate, and fi x the decrease in student enrollment in the nation’s Civil Engineering programs. We need everyone’s help to resolve this and I am happy to say that this past year

this issue was defi nitely on our radar and we are moving forward.

Third, I wanted each member to feel fulfi llment in what they do as Civil Engineers. I think if we can show the future engineers how much we enjoy our job and how we can maintain the work and life balance, younger generations would see the Civil Engineering job to be much more exciting and fulfi lling. My philosophy, as everyone close to me truly knows, is “Work hard, and play hard.” I do 110 percent of what needs to be done at work, continue my ASCE activities, but always have time for my friends and family and of course, myself. We all have trouble balancing and need to make sure we make adjustments and we move through our lives, but I hope that bringing this issue up has at least made us all take a look at ourselves and that balance. As I mentioned, YMF has many activities that are fun and benefi cial for both the YMF members and the Branch members. This year they did several community service projects such as Rebuilding Together and Habitat for Humanity. They had their Speaker Series, and social activities such as the Happy Hours and sports events. There is really an activity for everyone and these were just a few examples of how we can look at the opportunities out there in order for us to have that balance.

As always, I would like to encourage and invite all members to come to our monthly meetings, technical series, or attend one of YMF’s social events to see what ASCE is all about. I have heard people too many times saying that they wanted to come to the meetings, but didn’t get a chance to because they did not have time. When it comes down to it, if you want to see what ASCE is about, you just have to make time and

SECRETARY’S COLUMN

ByKathereen Shinkai, PE

WHAT A YEAR!

Continued on page 5


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERSOrange County Branch of the LA Section

DATE& DAY EVENT TIME LOCATION

October-07

23 OC Branch Board Meeting 7:00 AM 1405 Warner Avenue, Tustin, CA

25 OC Branch Regular Lunch Meeting 11:30 AM Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa, CA

November-07

15 OC Branch Dinner Meeting 5:30 PM Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa, CA


December-07


20 OC Branch Regular Lunch Meeting 11:30 AM Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa, CA

SPOTLIGHT ON INFRASTRUCTURE

CITY OF FOUNTAIN VALLEY INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND TRAFFIC

MANAGEMENT CENTERBy

Cuauhtemoc (Temo) R. GalvezAssociate Engineer

The City of Fountain Valley recently completed a

major reconstruction of the City’s traffi c signal

communication system and Traffi c Management

Center (TMC). This project installed fourteen thousand

(14,000) linear feet of single mode fi ber optic cable and

micro duct inner conduit housing, thirty-eight (38) Information

Protocol (I.P.) pan tilt zoom Closed Circuit Television cameras

(CCTV), fi fty-two (52) I.P. Ethernet based model 2070 traffi c

signal controllers and constructed a new TMC in City Hall,

outfi tted with an Ethernet processing tower, a command

work station, and ten (10) fl at screen monitors to create a

video wall.

The primary goal for the implementation of this project is to

provide for a quick response to changing traffi c demands

and to improve emergency response. With this new system,

City staff can make changes to local and coordinated timing

and immediately observe the improvements without having

to drive to each affected traffi c signal as all traffi c signals can

now be observed via the various CCTV cameras that pan

tilt and zoom as needed. Now, with this system, all timing

changes are easily input at the TMC and instantaneously

downloaded and implemented out in the fi eld. This new

system also improved communication reliability as copper

wire was replaced with fi ber optics thus, eliminating gaps in

the communication due to “noise” typically experienced with

copper.

The total project cost was $1.8 million dollars and was entirely

funded by the Measure M Signal Improvement Program

(SIP) and Turn Back funds administered by OCTA. Despite

the tremendous number of improvements, this system still

requires the constant attention by staff and traffi c signal

timing consultants to maintain signal timing and coordination

at optimal levels.


BRANCH NEWS

ASCE SEPTEMBER LUNCHEON

On September 20th, the Orange County Branch had their monthly lunch meeting with 110 members attending. The guest speaker, John Robertus

was introduced by the incoming Orange County Branch Secretary, Ziad Mazboudi. John talked about his engineering background and how as a young engineer, he developed an appreciation for the environment and tried to marry his knowledge in hydrology and drainage with his passion for nature and the environment to the best he could.

He talked about some of the challenges that most civil engineers encounter by not thinking “outside of the box.” He also emphasized on the importance of ingenuity in our work and stated some famous notations such as the defi nition of “insanity” as being “doing the same thing over and over expecting something different.” He said that he has one answer to all engineers’ repeated questions about NPDES permits which is “You have to meet the Water Quality Standards, pure and simple.” He pointed out the importance of educating civil engineers with other elements of water quality issues such as ecology and chemistry in addition to their hydrology and hydraulic training.

John spent a portion of his speech referring to “Low Impact Development” and how it is much more benefi cial to our future than conventional development that we currently

have. He paraphrased a quote from the Urban Runoff Management Book that is published by ASCE in 1998 that talked extensively about integrating drainage with water quality issues. Coupled with humor and information; John’s presentation was very informative and entertaining as well. He made us all think of ways to tackle the water quality issues from the source and to come up with creative ways to control the pollutants upstream instead of downstream.

John Robertus, Guest Speaker and Executive Offi cer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Boars, and Yazdan Emrani, President of ASCE Orange County Branch

fi nd out for yourself. ASCE is a voluntary organization and all our members who are involved dedicate their time. They enjoy doing it, and they wouldn’t do it if they thought it was not worth it. For those of you who are already involved, I hope ASCE has been educational and enjoyable and I hope you continue to be a part of this growing organization. We continue to increase our activities and would like to hear what members want to do. We also encourage you to bring friends not in the engineering fi eld to some of our events. It’s just another opportunity to not only fi nd that balance but share with others a little about us.

With this article, my position as Secretary will be complete and I will move onto the next step for me as Treasurer. I leave the newsletter in good hands to your new elected Secretary, Ziad Mazboudi. I met with Ziad the other day to transfer my duties to him and he is very excited to bring more diverse topics to the table. I am positive that he will add many great articles to your reading each month. I would like

to also continue to write articles occasionally that are dear to me and hopefully interesting to all of you. Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support this year. To many friends who helped out with topics that they wanted to discuss, and to members who gave their opinions to our “Letters to the Editor” segment. I appreciated members who came up to me at the monthly Branch meetings to share their comments or discuss a particular article. I would like to also give a special thanks to Jeanne Karcher from Karcher Digital Printing. She is the one who made sure that you got your newsletter in your mailbox on time, and that the newsletter looked professional each month. Thank you Jeanne for your continued support. With that, please stay involved in ASCE and I hope to see more of you at the upcoming meetings. Also, if you have any questions or comments, please always feel free to contact me by e-mail or by phone.

SECRETARY’S COLUMN

Continued from page 3


LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Let me introduce myself. I am Gary and I will be replacing Ziad and Durry as the Legislative Chair for the ASCE Orange County Branch. Ziad and Durry

did a great job starting this committee, and I hope to expand on their accomplishments. Two years ago I was asked to attend a Legislative Fly-In to Sacramento. The governor was pushing the legislature at the time to put Propositions on the ballot for infrastructure. I was surprised that we were actually able to talk to State Assembly members and Senators in person. The legislators were actually interested in hearing what we had to discuss and knowledgeable about the subject of infrastructure. I was not sure that the Propositions would pass, because most people that I talked to had no idea what infrastructure was and what a civil engineer did for a living. To my amazement the following Fall they all passed by large margins. I returned to Sacramento this year and thanked our legislative representatives for their help in pushing for passage of the Propositions and educated them on the need for further funding. These visits have motivated me to become more involved in getting the message of infrastructure to the politicians and media.

After the Katrina disaster and the tragedy in Minnesota, in-frastructure now appears to be getting more publicity in the news. I feel that it is important that people understand that there are great risks to our way of life and standard of living if we do not maintain and improve our infrastructure. I am not sure that the message is fully getting across. I noticed that the fi rst thing that was cut from the state budget this year was mass transit projects and several major proj-ects in Los Angeles will be delayed due this cut. The high speed rail was affected by the budget cuts and received about 10 percent of the funding requested. The levees are becoming a hot topic, but it looks like it will be a while before anything is even put before the voters. Most of the major infrastructure projects like the interstate highway sys-tem and California aqueduct were completed in the 1950s and 1960s. At that time about 20 percent of the state budget was spent on infrastructure and now it is closer to 5 percent. Some of the structures in use today were built

to lower seismic standards and need to be retrofi tted or replaced. The state needs a vision for the future of infra-structure so that our economy will continue to prosper and tragic failures can be minimized. This is why ASCE needs to continue and expand our legislative efforts.

The difference between a developed nation and a develop-ing nation is mainly infrastructure. The ability to provide basic necessities for the people, like drinking water, sew-age treatment, homes, transportation, and places to work. China and India are spending a large part of there budgets on infrastructure as the two nations work to become devel-oped nations. Unfortunately, a lot of our infrastructure in 50 years old even though sometimes they were designed for 20 to 40 year lives. When I read about European and Asian countries in the civil engineering magazines, they are building new train stations to move around people faster. The tallest buildings in the world, have not been in the US for a long time. America is sticking more with the status quo than trying new technologies.

Mass transit is not going to solve all our transportation problems. The conveyance in the delta is not going to solve out all our water issues. Cities are having diffi culty keeping up with all the unfunded mandates like storm water quality. Buildings and other structures are in danger of being dam-aged or destroyed during a major earthquake. Sewer lines are deteriorating faster than they can be replaced. Airports are having diffi culty expanding to meet the demand. We as civil engineers need to let the legislators know there are serious problems now and with a clear and consist mes-sage provide solutions to the problems.

I hope that you will join me in tackling these issues and spread the word. We plan to continue the bi-monthly meet-ings and will be assisting the state ASCE with providing talking points for our legislative visit next year. The next meeting is planned for November. Please keep on the look out for the announcement.

INTRODUCING THE NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE ASCE OC BRANCH

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE - GARY GILBERT


LEADERSHIP

LEADING UP AND LEADING ACROSS: CHALLENGES OF A 360° LEADER

By Dr. John C. Maxwell The Principles 360° Leaders Practice to Lead Up

Leading up is the 360° leader’s greatest challenge. We’re accustomed to infl uence fl owing from the top down, and, for that reason, leading up feels like running uphill. True enough, leading up requires extra effort. To exert infl uence upon those in authority above us calls for boldness, respect, and sacrifi ce. In the long run, the extra effort will distinguish you from the rest of the pack. Jack Welch calls this “getting out of the pile.” The following suggestions are ways to successfully catch the attention of those at the top.

Lighten Your Leader’s Load

To lead up, increase your value by helping to lift your leader’s load. Try to anticipate what your leader needs and wants. Occasionally, you may even approach your leader and ask, “What can I do for you today?” Always remember: when the boss succeeds, the organization succeeds. Ultimately, you can’t succeed if your boss fails. Being a load lifter has its benefi ts. It demonstrates your dedication to the team, and displays gratitude for your position on the team. In easing your leader’s burden, you’ll be noticed and valued. At the same time, you’ll be playing a substantial role in helping the organization move forward.

How to Lift Your Leader’s Load

Be sure to do your own job well before you concentrate on lifting your leader’s load. If you drop your personal responsibilities, you’ll drag your leader down rather than propping them up. When you fi nd a problem, provide a solution. If you only identify what is broken, you look no different than a complainer. Show initiative by repairing the problems you encounter. Tell your leaders what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. In the words of President Dwight Eisenhower: “A bold heart is half the battle.” Have the courage to speak your mind and confront diffi cult truths. Go the second mile. Be willing to arrive early, stay late, and do more than your share of work. Stand up for your leader whenever you can. Don’t become party to backbiting or criticism. Speak highly of your leaders and diffuse the negativity others may show toward them. Stand in for your leader whenever you can.

The Principles 360° Leaders Practice to Lead Across.

Leading your peers is no simple task. It’s easy for

an effective leader to lead followers, but leading across can be diffi cult—especially for highly productive people who might create feelings of jealousy or resentment among their peers. Effective 360° leaders give their colleagues reasons to respect and follow them. Because they lead across successfully, they are able to assist the people beside them, profi t the organization, and advance themselves.

Understand, Practice and Complete the Leadership Loop.

Leading peers is not a one-time event. It’s an ongoing process. When leading across, the temptation is to try to take the lead too quickly. Taking shortcuts or cheating the process will erode your respect from others rather than gaining infl uence with them.

The Leadership Loop Caring – Take an interest in people. People always move toward anyone who increases them and away from anyone who decreases them. Learning – Get to know people Invest the time to understand the values that motivate your fellow leaders. Appreciating – Respect people Find and encourage the strengths unique to each of your colleagues. Assume they have your best interests in mind, and be open to their ideas and concerns. Contributing – Add value to people Few activities add to a leader’s credibility like the dedication to add value to the people around them – especially when the leader is neither obligated to add value nor receiving direct benefi t from doing it. Adding value to peers lets them know that you are on their side and are cheering for them to win. Verbalizing – Affi rm people To affi rm signifi es to make fi rm. An affi rmation is a statement of truth you make fi rm by repetition. Affi rmations enable others to believe in their dreams. For people to reach their potential, their dreams must become more real than their doubts. Leading – Infl uence people Understand, enlarge, and empower those who are leading beside you. Succeeding – Win with People When you succeed with people, you gain opportunities to infl uence even more people. The leadership loop completes a cycle and begins anew. As additional people enter your life, you must again choose to take an interest in them, get to know.

“This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell’s free monthly e-newsletter ‘Leadership Wired’ available at www.maximumimpact.com”


PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

DO WE ASCE MEMBERS RESPECT OURSELVES AND OUR PROFESSION?

By Brad Dybel, PE, GE, CEG

I would imagine that most, if not all, of us who read our newsletter would say without hesitation, “Yes, absolutely, I respect myself and my civil engineering profession.” But

do our behaviors demonstrate it? Do we… Make our accomplishments known to clients, colleagues, and even the media, or do we fear being perceived as braggarts? Let people know that we are (proud) civil engineers, or do we assume that no one cares? Say that we “Provide Services” or even “Perform Commissions,” or say that we “Do Jobs,” or something equally disrespectful? Have “clients” (who value our expertise) or “customers” (who look for the lowest bid)? Respond to every boiler plate RFP from customers in the slim chance of beating out our “low price, questionable quality” competitors? Let customers dictate the scope of our work, or do we demonstrate and actually talk to clients about the value of our service? Take offense and object when customers ask, beg, or try to intimidate us to work for free? Educate ourselves and talk to others about the history of our profession, or do we put it off until we get around to it? Participate in Continuing Education and Professional Development activities, and volunteer at Professional

Societies and Civic Groups, or do we let our worries about our utilization rate dominate our decision making? Write in a clear, concise, robust way, or do we rationalize poor writing by thinking that “It doesn’t really matter” or “No one will read it anyway?” Use the “PE” designation after our names everywhere possible, a la MD’s, CPA’s, Esq.’s, etc., or are we afraid of what some people might think? Do anything to help enforce and uphold the standards of our practice, or do we always look the other way? I would bet that no one can honestly claim to do all of these things perfectly all the time. I sure can’t. But, one thing that I am going to do about it, though, is make a public pledge to myself to “practice respect…to the standards and the dignity of my profession” at our Branch’s annual Order of the Engineer ceremony that will be held this year at our November dinner meeting. I hope that many fellow ASCE members will join me. Anyone interested in concepts such as respect and integrity in our profession is encouraged to visit the Order of the Engineer website at www.order-of-the-engineer.org. Please visit the ASCE Orange County Branch website www.asceoc.org for more information, and to register for our Ceremony. I wish to credit the GeoCurmudgeon column in ASCE Geo-Institute’s Geo-Strata magazine, written by John P. Bachner, as a source for the ideas presented herein.

Contact Ali at:

Phone: (949) 777-1279

E-mail: [email protected]

Ali Bastani, PhD, PE, GE has joined Hushmand Associates, Inc. (HAI) as the new Vice President and Principal Engineer.

Dr. Bastani’s extensive knowledge and experience in geotech-nical aspects of transportation, water, ports, power plants, public works, solid waste landfills, and commercial and resi-

dential developments will be a great benefit to our clients as HAI expands its services throughout Southern California.

Dr. Bastani has practiced in every area of public and private sectors serving as the Geotechnical Engineer of record for many high profile projects in Southern California.

Dr. Ali Bastani is a welcome addition to HAI’s team.

250 Goddard Irvine CA 92618 P: (949) 777-1266 F: (949) 777-1276 www.hushmand-associates.com

IN THE NEWS


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEContinued from page 2

advisors for each chapter, our three chapters are consistently listed among the top chapters in ASCE. Mario will continue his work and contribution by moving on to become the President of the Younger Member Forum. • This year, the Branch also awarded $10,000 in scholarships to deserving students from the three chapters through our student scholarship fund donations. Contributors have their business cards displayed each month in the newsletter. Our scholarship fund campaign this year was very capably handled by branch V.P. Darren Adrian, PE, and our Marketing Chair, Anne Awad-Fromhertz. • The Branch conducts an annual awards event in conjunction with Engineers Week in February. This year’s Awards Committee comprised of past OC Branch presidents and led by Greg Heiertz, PE, did a great job in soliciting nominations, making the award selections, and then conducting a memorable program that was befi tting of the stature of those we recognized. Many of our branch award winners were also selected for recognition for LA Section awards. Getting the word out to the public on these achievements and branch activities throughout the year is attributable to the efforts of our Publicity Committee, chaired by Jim Volz, PE.• The Branch has a very active History & Heritage Committee whose goal is to bring recognition to our historic works. This year, the Committee worked on obtaining recognition as a state Historic Civil Engineering Landmark for Anaheim Union Water District, as well as the John Wayne Airport. The work to secure these honors is not yet completed, but Fred Meier, PE, the long-time leader of this committee, will continue his tireless effort on this important aspect of the Branch’s mission. He will also be helped along in this mission by Gary Gilbert, PE.• As the old saying goes, “There is strength in numbers!” During the course of this past year, our membership numbers expanded to 2,327, the vast majority of whom also pay section/branch dues. Anh Ly, PE, and Sam Nabbout, P.E., Membership Co-Chairs did a great job in working to increase our members.• Having an active and engaged Younger Member Forum is a crucial element in ensuring the continuity of leadership for any branch or section. Our Branch has one of the most active YMF groups in all of Southern California. A fact not lost on ASCE National which recognized our YMF as one of the best in the entire country. This year, our YMF, was ably led by Gary Gilbert, PE.• The Life Member Forum in Orange County is led by Ted McConville, PE, a regular contributor to our planning and our branch activities. The Life Member Forum had an outstanding year and a full calendar all thanks to Ted’s tireless efforts.• We enjoy a great relationship with the Orange County Engineering Council (OCEC) with the help of C.T. Bathala, PE. Besides his role with OCEC, C.T. will again be busy for the next few months as he works closely with the faculty of

UCI to organize the 2008 ASCE International Conference at UCI. • As always, Sam Ali, PE did an outstanding job as Chair of our Continuing Education Committee. The Committee conducts low-cost half-day design seminars twice each year. This year’s seminars on stormwater program in Orange County sustainable design were excellent. Not only are these seminars a valuable service to our membership, but the proceeds enable the Branch to help fund student chapter programs. • Thanks also to Gayle Stewart Enterprises, and the team of Christina, Brooke, and Darlene in working with our Board and to successfully conduct our programs and maintain comprehensive detailed accounting of our growing revenue and expenses. • One of our crucial but sometimes under-appreciated committees is the Professional Practices Committee. This committee usually sponsors an annual event in May to raise awareness on not so exciting but very critical elements of our practice such as new rules and regulations form the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, of Registration, ethics, and design standards. This committee is also responsible for inducting new members to the “Order of the Engineer”. This year, Brad Dybel, PE did a great job in leading this committee. He is also organizing the induction of the new members for the Order of the Engineer at the November’s History and Heritage Installation Dinner.• Last, but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge the fantastic job that our Board of Directors did. The dynamic duo team of our newsletter editor, Kathereen Shinkai, PE, and our publisher, Jeanne Karcher did an outstanding job of pulling together each issue of our award winning newsletter. Kathereen also did a great job in writing her interesting and thought provoking columns. I know she will continue her good work as our incoming Treasurer. I am also looking forward to reading Ziad Mazboudi’s articles as he prepares to transition form the Legislative Committee to the incoming Secretary of the Orange County Branch. Ken Rosenfi eld, PE did an outstanding job as our Branch’s Treasurer ensuring accurate and timely reporting of Branch’s fi nancial activities. Ken will no doubt do a great job as the Branch’s incoming Vice President. I would like to thank our most recent Past President, John Hogan, PE for his insights and advice on a variety of issues. I hope to continue that tradition on the Board, in my new role, as the Past President.

It has been an honor and privilege for me to serve as Orange County Branch’s 55th President. It has been a great experience which would not have been possible without the help and contribution of our great Board, committees, and members. Orange County Branch is the best Branch in the entire family of ASCE branch and sections and I know it will be in good hands under the leadership of our new President, Darren Adrian, PE.


OCYMF SPONSORSHIP FORM

OC Younger Member Forum SPONSORSHIP FORM

Company Name Contact person Address

Phone number Fax number Email

Annual Orange County Installation and Student Night/Job Fair Thursday, November 15, 2007

OC YMF Sponsorship

Job Fair Booth - $300. Please note that the banquet tickets must be purchased separately.

Book Store Gift Certificate - $200.

Each year we have $200 book store gift certificates for the university students from CSUF, CSULB, and UCI. OC Branch has created a number of different Sponsorship Levels. The Job Fair Booth is a fundraiser for the OC YMF group.

Presidential Sponsorship - $1200 Includes Job Fair Booth of your choice, Book Store Gift Certificate, Banquet tickets for 4, Reserved table, 4 students

seated at sponsor’s table, CD of Student Resumes, Logo on Program, Signage at Event, Newsletter publicity, and Specific Recognition during the program.

Gold Sponsorship - $1000

Includes Job Fair Booth, Book Store Gift Certificate, Banquet tickets for 4, Reserved table (shared), 4 students seated at sponsor’s table, CD of Student Resumes, Name listed on Program, Newsletter publicity, and Recognition during the program.

Silver Sponsorship - $700

Includes Job Fair Booth, Book Store Gift Certificate, Banquet tickets for 2, Reserved table (shared), 2 students seated at sponsor’s table, CD of Student Resumes, Name listed on Program, Newsletter publicity, and Recognition during the program.

Please send all forms and checks to:

Gary Gilbert

Diaz Yourman & Associates 1616 East 17th Street Santa Ana, CA 92705

Forms can also be sent via email to:

[email protected]

Please make checks payable to “ASCE OC Branch”

For more info or if you would like to e-mail your electronic forms : [email protected]

Sponsorships must be pre-paid by Friday, November 9, 2007.

Your support through your company's participation and generous contribution is greatly appreciated!

www.asce-oc-ymf.org


CONTINUING EDUCATION SEMINARSASCE Fall 2007/Winter 2008 Continuing Education Seminars

In our continuing effort to enhance communications between ASCE’s Regions, Sections, Branches and ASCE National, Geographic Services is pleased to advise you of the following seminars scheduled in your geographic area from October 2007 through March 2008:

October 18-19, 2007Effective Project Risk Management (Management)

San Francisco, CANovember 1-2, 2007

Design and Evaluation of Highway Bridge Superstructures Using LRFD (Structural)Los Angeles, CA

November 8-9, 2007Financial Management for the Professional Engineer (Management)

San Francisco, CANovember 16, 2007

Seismic Design of Liquid Storage Tanks (Structural/Geotechnical)Palm Springs, CA

December 6-7, 2007Probabilistic Methods in Geotechnical Engineering (Geotechnical)

San Francisco, CAJanuary 10-11, 2008

Pipe Selection for Municipal Facilities (Hydraulics)San Diego, CA

January 24-25, 2008Earthquake Induced Ground Motions (Structural/Geotechnical)

San Francisco/OaklandFebruary 13-15, 2008

Design and Construction of Microtunneling Projects (Geotechnical)San Francisco, CA

February 13-15, 2008HEC-RAS Computer Workshop (Hydraulics)

San Francisco, CAFebruary 28-29, 2008

HEC-HMS Computer Workshop (Hydraulics)Irvine, CA

March 6-7, 2008Soil & Rock Slope Stability (Geotechnical)

San Francisco, CAMarch 26-28, 2008

HEC-RAS Sediment Transport Analysis using the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System ~NEW! (Hydraulics)

San Diego, CAMarch 27-28, 2008

Financial Management for the Professional Engineer (Management)San Diego, CA

March 27-28, 2008Presentation Skills Training for Civil Engineers ~NEW! (Management)

San Francisco, CA These in-depth, practice-oriented programs are produced by ASCE’s Continuing Education Department and may be of interest to many ASCE members in your Sections and Branches. We would greatly appreciate if you would consider positing information on these seminars in your newsletters and on your websites. Detailed descriptions of the seminars (by title) are available on ASCE’s website at www.asce.org/conted/seminars. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Kelly Jarvis, Continuing Education Registrar at [email protected], or me at [email protected].


ORDER OF THE ENGINEER RING CEREMONY

ORDER OF THE ENGINEER RING CEREMONYAT THE ASCE ORANGE COUNTY BRANCH

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County Branch invites you to participate in the Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony to be held in conjunction with the annual Student Night dinner meeting on November 15, 2007.

The Order of the Engineer was initiated in the United States to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession, to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer. The fi rst Ring Ceremony was held on June 4, 1970 at Cleveland State University. Over 2,400 ASCE members have participated in ASCE-led Ring Ceremonies across the United States since Summer, 2003. More information on the Order of the Engineer can be found at www.order-of-the-engineer.org.

Participants at the Ring Ceremony will take the Obligation of the Engineer and receive a stainless steel ring. The cost will be $15. Please visit the ASCE Orange County Branch website www.asceoc.org for more information. A registration form for the Ring Ceremony will be posted there, once it is available.

For additional information on the Ceremony, please contact: Brad Dybel, PE Chairman of the Professional Practice Committee ASCE Orange County Branch (949) 291-5291


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Phone: (949) 888-6513 Email: [email protected] Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

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TRC is seeking project managers, engineers, designers, and interns for the transportation, land development, and water resources departments in its Irvine offi ce.

Incorporated in 1970, TRC is a full-service environmental and engineering services fi rm employing over 2,700 professionals in more than 80 offi ces nationwide. TRC provides innovative services to a broad range of public and private sector clients in the infrastructure, transportation, environmental assessment/ remediation and permitting, energy, and land development markets.

Ideal candidates will possess strong communication skills, as well as successful prior experience relevant to desired position.

Please send letters of interest and resumes to Ross Lew via fax at (949) 753-5164 or via email to [email protected].

It’s great to be at TRC

Any thoughts or comments

about the newsletter? Please email,

phone or fax to:Kathereen Shinkai, PE

Secretary ASCE OC Branch

[email protected]

Fax: 714-327-1601

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWLY

ELECTED BOARD OFFICERS

FOR 2007- 2008

President: Darren Adrian, PE

Vice President: Kenneth Rosenfi eld, PE

Treasurer: Kathereen Shinkai, PE

Secretary: Ziad Mazbourdi, PE

CONGRATULATIONS


Tel: (949) 209-8822Fax: (949) 315-3001

Yazdan(Yaz) T. Emrani, M.S., P.E.President

23275 South Pointe DriveSuite 150

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

Phone: 949.855.8300Fax: 949.855.0800Email: [email protected]

2007-2008 STUDENT ASSISTANCE FUND DONORS

YOURBUSINESS CARD

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ADVERTISING RATES (Approximate number of mailings: 1500 per month)

Orange County BranchAMERICAN SOCIETYOF CIVIL ENGINEERS

1405 Warner AvenueTustin, CA 92780

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

1) BUSINESS CARD $250/year due in February2) OTHER ADVERTISEMENTS:

FULL PAGE $250/issue; 1/2 PAGE $200/issueminimum 1/4 PAGE $150.00/issue

3) FULL PAGE STUFFER (Non-commercial)Preprinted copies inserted: $200.00Printed one face plus insert: $250.00Printed two faces plus insert: $400.00

4) FULL SHEET COMMERCIALADVERTISEMENT00.054$)sedis owt ro enO(

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Please contact Anh Ly, O.C. Branch Membership Chairman at 714-720-4868 or FAX: 714-938-0782 for application forms, change of address and additional information. Or for address

changes on-line go to www.asce.org/myprofile. E-Mail for member questions is [email protected]

Printed on recycled paper by

16277 Laguna Canyon Road, #DIrvine, CA 92618

949.788.0080www.karcherdigital.com

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSANTA ANA, CA.PERMIT NO. 251

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please send all advertisements (Except Business Card Ads) to theSecretary before the 10th of each month. (You will be billed later.)

Kathereen Shinkai, Secretary ASCE OC Branchc/o Carter & Burgess, Inc., 4 Hutton Centre Dr., Ste. 800, Santa Ana, CA 92707

714-327-1600 • Fax:[email protected]

Send Business Card Ads (with $250.00) to:Kenneth H. Rosenfield, Treasurer ASCE, OC Branch

1405 Warner Avenue, Tustin, CA 92780

Type of Membership and Annual Dues (National)Student: FreeAssociate Member: $50 year of baccalaureate degree and first after, then incremental increases to $205 over five yearsMember: $205 annually Affiliate: $205 annuallySection (Branch) Dues $45/year (1) National ASCE Student Membership is now FEE! Those who have chapters or clubs still must be a member of them before joining National. To join as a student, log onto www.asce.org/join. To renew as a student go to www.asce.org/renew. Students may also call 1-800-548-ASCE or email [email protected]. (2) Online membership renewal available, go to www.asce.org/renewal. You just need your member number, all e-payments must be made with a major credit card. An e-receipt is transmitted to the member upon completion of the transaction. (3) For non-members, dues for O.C.Branch Newsletter only $45/year.

orange county branch newsletter · membership co-chair 714.938.0782 fax [email protected] sam...

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