ASCE Richmond Branch Newsletter

Volume 7 Issue 3

Important Upcoming Dates

April Event - ASCE's 2015 Virginia Infrastructure Report Card
April 14th, 6:10 PM, The Science Museum of
Virginia

March 2015
In This Issue
President's Message
Educational Outreach
News

President's Message
I hope everyone is surviving the unusual
weather we have had the last month, and just
when we got over all of the weather woes we
are hit with the waking up earlier than usual
due to daylight savings time. But not to worry,
we have a few events in the coming weeks and
months that will hopefully get you excited to
jumpstart into spring.
We have our annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, which is a
Richmond Joint Engineers Council EWeek event at the Science Museum
of Virginia, which will be held this Saturday (March 14) to support our
local middle and high school students. We have about 200 students
signed up this year, which makes for an exciting event. Please come out
and support the event, and especially if you have aspiring engineers in
your family. There is plenty of activities ranging from paper plane
contests to egg drop competitions. There will also be plenty of "Pi Day"
themed events hosted by the museum, and the fun will begin at 3-14-15
at 9:26 AM to correspond with Pi (3.1415926).
Our next PDH opportunity is coming up in April, also at the Science
Museum. ASCE Richmond is hosting A. Morton Thomas Richmond Office
Manager, Donald J. Rissmeyer, PE, CFM, who is also the chair of the
Infrastructure Committee for the 2015 Virginia Infrastructure Report
Card.Mr. Rissmeyer is a Past President of the ASCE Richmond Branch and
Virginia Section, and he will be discussing the January 2015 released
Virginia Infrastructure Report Card. This is a good addition to the ASCE
Meet and Greet, as it is a good opportunity to learn more about what
you can do to support Virginia infrastructure in your profession.
Thank you for your continued support of our organization, and as always
we are looking for comments on how to better serve you through
technical meetings and outreach. Please email me at
brooke.jackson@kimley-horn.com if you have questions or comments.

Government
Relations

Meet the Board

and Chair
Members!

Click here for our bio's

and contact
information

President - Brooke
Jackson
President Elect - Ashley
Johnson, P.E.

Vice President - Jonathan

Oliver
Secretary/Treasurer Shannon Kerrigan
Past President - Austin
Clarke, P.E.

Communications Chair Melanie Leckey, P.E.

Exciting Upcoming Events and PDH Opportunities!

April Branch Meeting - ASCE's 2015 Virginia Infrastructure
Report Card
When: Tuesday, April 14th,

Education Outreach Chairs

- Justin Watson & Ryan
Abalos
Government Relations
Chair - Loai El-Gazairly

2015, 6:15 - 7:30 PM

*Food will be served at 6:15 PM with presentation to start at 6:30 PM.

Membership Chair Jeremy Craft

Location: The Science Museum of Virginia

Cost:$25

Website Chair - Kevin

O'Neill, P.E.

PDH:1 credit
ASCE periodically examines the state of the nation's and the state's
infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, parks and recreation,
drinking water, energy, waste and waterways, among other things. A
report card is then released rating the nation or state on a letter grade
scale for each aspect and overall. The Virginia Section of the ASCE
recently released the Commonwealth's report card, giving Virginia a C-.
It doesn't just look at what's problematic right now. It also cites a need
for critical improvements and funding. Don chaired the Infrastructure
Committee for the 2015 Infrastructure Report Card, released in January
of this year.
Speaker: Donald J. Rissmeyer, PE, CFM
Don Rissmeyer is a licensed professional engineer
in five states and Washington DC, as well as a
certified floodplain manager. He has 25 years of
experience in providing consulting engineering
services to governmental clients at the local,
state and federal level. He currently manages
the Richmond, Virginia Office for A. Morton
Thomas and Associates, is the President of the
Virginia Floodplain Management Association
(VFMA), and is a member of the ASCE
Stormwater Technical Committee in Virginia. Mr.
Rissmeyer is also a Past President of the ASCE Richmond Branch and
Virginia Section, and recently chaired the Infrastructure Committee for
the 2015 Virginia Infrastructure Report Card.
Contact Jon Oliver by phone at 804-672-4723 or by email at
jonathan.oliver@kimley-horn.com for more information. Please register
on our website.

2015 RJEC Engineers' Week Banquet Rescheduled Due to

Winter Storm!

Young Member Chair Chris Friend & Carolyn

Desrochers

Connect with
ASCE Richmond
on our
LinkedIN Page!

When: Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

5:00 - 6:00 PM (Social with Cash Bar)
6:00 - 9:00 PM (Dinner, Awards, and Keynote Speaker)
Location: The Jefferson Hotel (101 West Franklin Street, Richmond, VA)
Cost: $65
Complete form online at www.rjec.org or Contact Amy Bird
abird@dewberry.com

Education Outreach News

2015 Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition - THIS SATURDAY!
ASCE Richmond's annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Contest will be held
Saturday, March 14 from 12-5pm at the Science Museum of Virginia!
This year, we have close to 100 teams registered which is sure to make
for an exciting event. Come out and watch middle and high schoolers
from the Greater Richmond area push their handmade bridges to the
limit! Pictures from last year's contest can be found here, and if you're

interested in helping out, email Ryan Abalos at

rabalos@dewberry.com.
You can also support the competition by purchasing a t-shirt here with
all profits going towards the ASCE Richmond Education Outreach fund.
We hope to see you there!
*Special note about traffic due to "Shamrock the Block" event on
Boulevard centered on Leigh Street, which is happening this Saturday
March 14th from 11 AM - 5 PM. Boulevard will be closed to through
traffic in the area, so please plan accordingly when traveling to get the
Science Museum.

FIRST Robotics Competition Virginia Regional 2015

March 20th and 21st - Free and Open to the Public
Join in the fun and cheer on over 60 high school teams from around the
world as they compete for two days at VCU's Stuart C. Siegel Center.
"The varsity Sport for the Mind," FRC combines the excitement of sport
with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited
resources and time limits, teams of 15-25 students or more are
challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills,
and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field
of competitors. Each year, the FRC challenge is as close to "real-world
engineering" as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend
their time and talents to guide each team. All teams received the same
components, but NO INSTRUCTIONS to accomplish their engineering
challenge. Teams have just six weeks to design, program and build their
robots. The FRC game challenge and rules are new each year.
Hands on activities will be available for younger children and Tech Row
will highlight the latest in technological advances.

Annual ASCE Golf Tournament to support ASCE's Annual

Scholarship
The Annual ASCE Golf Tournament is scheduled for April 23, 2015 at
Brandermill Country Club. The Tournament is held to benefit the ASCE's
Richmond Branch Engineering Scholarship Fund and Educational
Outreach Efforts.
Support the Scholarship Fund by:
Playing as a team - $500
Playing as an individual - $125
Hole Sponsorship - $100
Dinner Sponsorship - $300
Closest Pin Sponsorship - $150
Putting Contest Sponsorship - $150
12:00 PM Lunch and Registration
1:00 PM Shotgun Start
Dinner and Awards to Follow
Please contact Justin Watson at justin.watson@deq.virginia.gov for more
information.
Please sign up at www.ASCERichmond.org

Younger Member News

Younger Member Forum
The Richmond Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
is currently in the planning stages of a Younger Member Panel event.
Targeted towards our members under 35 years of age, the event is

intended to provide an opportunity for younger engineers to ask

questions to senior level engineers regarding their career in Civil
Engineering. We are currently looking for panelists for the event.
We are aiming to obtain 4 panelists who are senior level members in the
industry, preferably all within different sectors of Civil Engineering. We
intend to have each panelist discuss their background, work/life
balance, steps they've made in their career paths (and why they made
them), and any advice they have to offer.
The event is planned to last approximately 1 hour. After a brief
introduction for each panelist (lasting approximately 10 minutes), a Q &
A will follow. We plan to have 4-5 general questions that will then be
followed by a floor open to specific questions from the audience.
The event will take place at 12 PM on Tuesday April 28, 2015 in the
VDOT conference rooms in downtown Richmond. PDH's are planned to be
offered for the event.

National ASCE Events

Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress February 14-17, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND SESSIONS
GEO Institute (G-I) and Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the
American Society of Civil Engineers are hosting this first-of-its-kind
event! And, you can be a part of the excitement.
This joint conference has combined the best of both Institutes
Congresses into one unique event. This will take the place of the 2016
congress for both Institutes.
Submit an abstract or full session proposal by April 7, 2015
www.geo-structures.org
I hope you will consider making a submission and attend this unique
event.
Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress
February, 14-17, 2016 -Phoenix, AZ

Thanks to our Sponsors this Month!

Interested in advertising in this newsletter and being seen by

hundreds of local engineers and companies within the Greater
Richmond Area? Email Melanie at mleckey@dewberry.com for more
information!

If you have any comments regarding this newsletter, please don't

hesitate to contact me at mleckey@dewberry.com.
Thanks!
Melanie Leckey
ASCE Richmond Branch Communications Chair